There is only one thing that we can know for absolutely certain – one day, we will pass.
As you reflect on this truth, what do you notice? How does it feel? Depressing? Easeful? Quiet? Frightening? Mysterious?
No matter how you feel about it, the fact is that at some point or another we are all going to face our own mortality. In the dharma tradition, we try to remember this simple truth for a few moments each day, once a month on the New Moon, and once a year for a fortnight during the sacred time known as Pitṛpakṣa. This doesn’t have to be a morbid experience. All things have a beginning, middle, and an end, and death is a beautiful and essential part of the cycle of life.
Please note that this doesn’t mean we don’t grieve the loss of our loved ones, or that we need to look forward to death while rejecting life. Of course there will be sadness when we experience ourselves separated from those we love, even if we remain connected inside the heart. But the point here is that we can embrace death with wisdom and peace, knowing that we have lived meaningful, compassionate, and fulfilling lives, and helped others to do the same.
As we recognize that death is part of life, we also recognize that those who have passed are also part of our living world. We call these beings ancestors, and all of us have at one point or another felt their presence and love here on earth. According to this tradition, when people die, they enter pitṛloka – the realm of the ancestors. It isn’t a physical place per se, but a space within our collective consciousness, a space within the energetic flow of the universe.
From this place, while the dead can no longer grow or change their karma (energetic patterns), they can offer protection, guidance, and blessings to the living, and in particular their direct descendants. In fact, the ancestors are thought to be the guardians and protectors of life – they are said to be the invisible forces that help couples meet and fall in love, they protect children as they grow, they guide us to the right job, and silently support us as we fulfill your personal and spiritual goals.
Life is a stream, and we are all drops within it, constantly changing forms but always connected to each other, impacting each other. If your life feels stuck, overwhelming, or somehow unbearable, the tradition invites you to look backwards and remember where you came from – that you draw on your roots for the strength to soar upwards.
And it also asks us to honor our ancestors’ lives – not by repeating their choices, but by becoming greater than them – more wise, kind, brave, and generous. As we awaken from subconscious patterns of suffering, because of our interconnectedness, we also release our ancestors as well.
Each year, there is a special time set aside to connect with the ancestors, to bridge the gap between the living and the dead, so that life can flow forth in a good way. During this time, called Pitṛ Pakṣa, the veil between this realm and their realm is quite thin, and we have easier access to them than usual.
From tonight’s full moon until the next new moon, there are a range of practices you can do to connect with your ancestors and heal any unresolved karma (energetic patterns) that are affecting the flow of life.
Even if you’re a major skeptic, we invite you to try these practices with an open mind and a consistent effort. This is one of those mysterious areas where no one really knows for sure how or why ancestor practices are so powerful, only that they are!
Please keep the following things in mind:
1) You can do one of these suggested practices, some of them, or all of them. You can do each one as many times or for however long that you wish. You can also listen to your heart for guidance on how to connect with and serve your ancestors. As with all dharmic practices, it is your inner experience that is more significant than “doing it right” on the outside. So trust yourself, and do what you can with a sense of balance and harmony. There’s no value to hurting yourself while trying to help others, so choose what is best for all beings!
2) During Pitṛpakṣa, our attention turns towards death, the past, and the bigger picture. It is a quiet and austere time – ideal for reflection, charitable service, silence, and meditation. It is not the best time for partying, traveling, or starting new things. If possible, wait until the end of the fortnight, when we begin Navrātrā, the joyful celebration for the Goddess, who embodies life.
3) Remember that ancestors can be people within our family lineage, but can also include teachers, elders, mentors, or even animals who have passed. And since all of humanity is related within 50 generations, we actually all share ancestors – the ancestor practices you do are ultimately for all humanity, and even all life! We invite you to hold this broad view even when you focus on practices specific to your immediate ancestors.
There are 16 days of Pitṛpakṣa, and so we have included 16 different ancestor practices (Lessons 2-17). We will release a new lesson each day. If you have any questions, or want to share your experience, you can do so by emailing us at admin@livingsanskrit.com.
Teacher: Shivani Hawkins
Maitreya Larios is a scholar and practitioner of the ancient and living traditions of India. He has been a practitioner of Indian spirituality since he was 9 years old.
In 2013, he obtained a doctorate in classical Indology from the University of Heidelberg in Germany, where he is currently employed as a research fellow. He wrote his dissertation on the living Vedic traditions of Maharashtra, which will appear as a book in late 2015.
He is most excited about being a student of Sanskrit and philosophy and about igniting that enthusiasm in his students. His personal journey over the 26 years of studentship in this tradition has been a humbling experience, but it is a path that he assures brings the most amazing transformations.
Besides his area of expertise as a scholar of Indian culture and religion, Maitreya is passionate about photography, visual arts, traveling and vegan/vegetarian cooking.
He is happily married and a father to a beautiful boy named Kabīr.
Few artists have the power to create an indelible impact on the minds of their audiences through their art form and one such name in the world of Kathak is Shambhavi Dandekar. Shambhavi Dandekar as an accomplished Indian Kathak master performer, has carved a niche for herself through her sheer talent, unique performances and unparelled choreography, that has brought her recognition on the national as well as the international platforms.
As a young dancer, Shambhavi started her training under the able guidance of her own mother and renowned Guru Pandita Maneesha Sathe, a celebrated dancer and a teacher in her own right. Shambhavi then went on to complete her intense training in ‘laya and tala’ or rhythm and beats from Table virtuoso “Taalyogi” Pandit Suresh Talwalkar. Along with her top-notch traditional dance training, Shambhavi also has a strong academic educational background with a Bachelors in Commerce and two Masters degrees in Dance. Furthermore, she also holds Diplomas both in French and Sanskrit.
Shambhavi has more than 20 years of teaching experience at an undergraduate and a graduate level at various dance education institutions in India. She has also started her own international school of dance in 2008, called ‘Shambhavi’s International School of Kathak’ or SISK. SISK is a prominent and a thriving international institution with five branches in India and the United States of America with over 400 students and a staff of 15 teachers who are trained by Shambhavi herself.
SISK has produced many a talented student over the years. Shambhavi’s years of experience, intellectual understanding and analysis of the nuances of the art form, has helped her create stellar performers out of her dedicated students. Many of her students are emerging as budding Kathak professionals. Shambhavi guides performers and students all over the world through workshops and master classes.
Shivani is a meditation teacher and multi-disciplinary artist, and the founder of Living Sanskrit. Born both American and into the yogic tradition, she is devoted to preserving and accurately practicing ancient indigenous wisdom in modern times and non-native contexts.
Shivani first heard Sanskrit in the womb, and not a day has gone by without it. She grew up immersed in dharma culture, yogic teachings, and sacred practices under the guidance of her spiritual teacher and also her grandmother.
Living Sanskrit is the culmination of a long-held dream to keep this tradition alive and share its magnificent gifts with the world.
Shivani started teaching meditation in 2001, and professionally a few years later at the suggestion of her spiritual teacher. Since then, Shivani has shared meditation with thousands of people at venues that range from corporate offices to hospitals to schools. From 2008-2014, Shivani was a Fellow with the Berkeley Initiative for Mindfulness and Law, leading retreats and weekly meditation sessions at Berkeley Law School.
Alongside teaching, Shivani is a prolific artist, photographer, and writer. She is a graduate of the Waterfront Conservatory and Playhouse, a member of the California Bar, and has a J.D. from the University of Southern California and a B.A. in Rhetoric with minors in Theater, Business Administration, and South Asian Studies from the University of California, Berkeley.
She lives with her beloved husband Nick in Redwood City, California, where she can often be found dancing, gardening, listening to birdsong, and hiking in nature.
Ekabhumi is an award-winning poet, author, illustrator, yoga instructor and arts educator with 18 years of international teaching experience. Through a ritualized and meditative creative method, he makes artworks for ceremonial and educational use that help people deepen their spiritual practice, recognize the divinity of common experiences, and find meaning in the beauty of our world. His artworks may be found in yoga studios, private homes, and on altars around the world. He is currently part of the core faculty of livingsanskrit.com.
His name was given by his first guru during a formal initiation ceremony into a tantric yoga lineage in 2005. Since that time, he has studied with many spiritual teachers and traditional artists both in India and the States. His art teachers include eminent western figurative painters like Domenic Cretara, as well as Newar artist Dinesh Charan Shrestha, Bikaner-style miniature painter Mahaveer Swami, Thangka painter Andy Weber, and yantra painter Mavis Gewant.
Ekabhumi’s writing and artwork has been published widely, appearing in anthologies and journals like The Poetry of Yoga, Berkeley Fiction Review, and Pearl, as well as books like Tantra Illuminated by Christopher Hareesh Wallis and Awakening Shakti by Sally Kempton. His instructional Shakti Coloring Book and the uplifting Bhakti Coloring Book are now available world-wide from Sounds True Press.
Though his first love is the arts, he has a wide range of interests that are reflected in his many past occupations: event producer, stock options broker, handyman, journalist, ski boot fitter, competitive surfer and champion sailor. He toured internationally as a performance poet, and the poets he coached won numerous regional and national titles. He facilitated writer’s groups, hosted poetry readings, and organized spoken-word festivals for nearly 20 years, culminating in the acclaimed 2009 Individual World Poetry Slam.
Ekabhumi is an inspiring, playful yet methodical teacher who helps students cultivate deeper intuitive states. For nearly two decades, he variously taught yoga, painting, public speaking, and creative writing to students ranging from kindergarten to post-graduate level. Much of his time is now spent creating educational material about interpreting, making, and utilizing sacred art of the dharma traditions. On weekends, he can be found in his garden practicing silence and learning directly from Nature.
Hema Patankar has spent her life immersed in study, practice and service to the Vedic tradition. It began when she was a teenager irresistibly attracted to the sound of Sanskrit and images of yogis who had become profoundly wise and blissful through meditation.
An alumni of a gurukula in Western India, Hema spent over 30 years intimately engaged with the traditions that have emerged from the Vedas. She worked on research, translation, and editorial projects in the company of learned pandits and scholars. She assisted with yajnas – ancient fire ceremonies – and rituals, which allowed her to get extraordinarily close to the living practice of Vedic traditions. She immersed herself in the sādhana of singing Sanskrit hymns and the songs of the poet saints, which she studied intensively with her Gurus and traditional devotional singers. She became known for devotional singing, and taught students from around the world.
Hema has a passion for the preservation of sacred Vedic heritage. For several years she was the Executive Director of the Muktabodha Indological Research Institute. There she spearheaded the development of an extensive online collection of rare Sanskrit texts. She nurtured the establishment of a traditional Vedic school where an endangered branch of the Vedas is preserved. She also directed the video documentation of remarkable Vedic rituals and brought rare texts on Śaiva philosophy and Vedic ritual to publication.
She later studied traditional Āyūrveda and earned a Vaidya Bhusana (vaidyabhūṣaṇa) Ayurvedic Practitioner degree. She is President of the Board of Trustees of Vedika Global, a school for the study and practice of traditional Āyūrveda and Vedic sciences. She has published articles on Āyūrveda, the Bhakti tradition, and the preservation of Vedic manuscripts. Most recently she edited a text on Vedic full and new moon rituals. Her current writing focuses on the intersection of living Ayurveda with the rituals and philosophy of the Vedic tradition.