Ancestors & Pitru Paksha

“Something inside of us transforms when our hearts turn to our Ancestors”.

In this life, our time of birth and death are fixed. Every soul that is born must one day return to the source. This is the cycle of life and death and no one can extend their life. This is the law of nature.

Our bodies are composed of 5 elements, Fire, Air, Water, Ether and Earth. The body has 7 Chakras and 9 Gates or openings. It is through these gates or chakras that the soul will leave depending on our past and present Karma and the way we lived our life. The best way for our soul to leave our body is through the crown chakra, and the most difficult is through the base chakra.

A departed soul can take one of three paths after death, to Devaloka (the realm of the Gods) if a soul practised extensive devotion, to Pitrloka (the realm of the Ancestors) if a soul performed rites without devotion, and finally to Naraka (the realm of Hell) if a soul has led a life without ritual and prayer.

All souls owe a debt to their parents for providing the opportunity to enter this universe.If our ancestors are not at peace or died young or in an unnatural way, they suffer because of their bad deeds and this is called Pitru Dosha. Our ancestors can also suffer from ancestral curse known as Pitru Shraap, where rituals have not been performed for their soul. This is why it is so important to honour our ancestors and help them to be at peace.

Our ancestors visit us yearly on Pitru Paksha in Autumn to get relief, we honour our ancestors with food, prayer and ceremony for two weeks. At this time the veil between the worlds is lighter and we are able to connect with our ancestors and show them great honour and respect.

By honouring and fostering a connection with our ancestors, we can receive their blessings and clear off our karmic debts, which ultimately leads to peace and abundance in life.