Guest guest Posted June 25, 2005 Report Share Posted June 25, 2005 Last Thursday, my father, Irving Rosenberg, left his body. He requested to be cremated, and then my sister is paying to have his ashes buried beside my mother. Burial is Sunday. My family was not of a religious inclination, and there will be no ritual or religious component to the burial. My friends know that I am a Wiccan priest, and a long-time student of things Hindu. They have asked if I'm doing anything Wiccan or Hindu to commemorate my father's passing. Well, obviously not in my sister's presence! But I'm curious about what Hindus do at a funeral. I recall reading that Ganesha's presence is not invoked for honoring the recently deceased. And that for a certain period, the immediate family in mouring should not participate in pujas, or other celebrations. Any other details? -- Len/ Kalipadma __ Sports Rekindle the Rivalries. Sign up for Fantasy Football http://football.fantasysports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 25, 2005 Report Share Posted June 25, 2005 My sincere condolences, Len. My prayers to you & your family for strength and for your father's deliverance. Hindu Funeral rites vary with regions and corresponding customs. >From my experience, an offering of food be made to the departed soul for 12 days after the passing. On these days the only lamp lit (traditional oil lamp) will be for the departed soul. On the 13th, a puja is performed for God with lit lamps and offerings made to God. The home is cleansed spritually by sprinkling holy water after the ceremony. After this, puja to God can be performed daily. Generally, the karthaa (one who is eligible to perform the rites, generally a direct descendant) and the family will not celebrate any festivals for a year. Of course, if a child is born in the family within that period, it is regarded as an auspicious sign and the mourning is discontinued. There may be other practices depending on one's customs. But I hope this helps in some way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 25, 2005 Report Share Posted June 25, 2005 These views are that of orthedox vaideeka lineages. In tantrIka lineage the passing is a moment of rejoicing and no daily rituals are broken. in fact when my father dies, while the body was lying in the house to be honored by friends and relatives, i did my navavarana pooja much to the astonishment of the non-taantrikaas in the family. in Hindu tantric tradition there is nothing to be done except in the case of gurus where the tantric cremation is conducted. and thereafter there will be kaula shraadha. in the case of non taantriks there is 11 days of mourning and no religious rituals are carried out in the house. On 3rd day of the death (in some cases 5) there is sanjayana where specific bones are taken along with some ash that will be kept in the house and on an apropriate day confined to a river or the sea. In the olden days daily "Shradha" ceremony would be done by the Son or in the case of matrilinial lines (like mine) nephew for one whole year. There the annual shradha is conducted on the basis of the Moon position at the time of death. Thats all Len Rosenberg <kalipadma108 wrote: Last Thursday, my father, Irving Rosenberg, left his body. He requested to be cremated, and then my sister is paying to have his ashes buried beside my mother. Burial is Sunday. My family was not of a religious inclination, and there will be no ritual or religious component to the burial. My friends know that I am a Wiccan priest, and a long-time student of things Hindu. They have asked if I'm doing anything Wiccan or Hindu to commemorate my father's passing. Well, obviously not in my sister's presence! But I'm curious about what Hindus do at a funeral. I recall reading that Ganesha's presence is not invoked for honoring the recently deceased. And that for a certain period, the immediate family in mouring should not participate in pujas, or other celebrations. Any other details? -- Len/ Kalipadma __ Sports Rekindle the Rivalries. Sign up for Fantasy Football http://football.fantasysports. / Mail Mobile Take Mail with you! Check email on your mobile phone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 26, 2005 Report Share Posted June 26, 2005 Namaste Len, I'm sorry to hear about your loss. My thoughts are with you and your family. prainbow , Len Rosenberg <kalipadma108> wrote: > > > Last Thursday, my father, Irving Rosenberg, left his > body. He requested to be cremated, and then my sister > is paying to have his ashes buried beside my mother. > Burial is Sunday. > > My family was not of a religious inclination, and > there will be no ritual or religious component to the > burial. My friends know that I am a Wiccan priest, > and a long-time student of things Hindu. They have > asked if I'm doing anything Wiccan or Hindu to > commemorate my father's passing. Well, obviously not > in my sister's presence! But I'm curious about what > Hindus do at a funeral. I recall reading that > Ganesha's presence is not invoked for honoring the > recently deceased. And that for a certain period, the > immediate family in mouring should not participate in > pujas, or other celebrations. Any other details? > > -- Len/ Kalipadma > > > > > __ > Sports > Rekindle the Rivalries. Sign up for Fantasy Football > http://football.fantasysports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 27, 2005 Report Share Posted June 27, 2005 Sri Mathrey Namah, Sri Len, my condolences. I am sure, the departed soul has merged with the Unity and would be a part of the Cycle of Life. humbly, samvidaananda saktha, Messenger NEW - crystal clear PC to PCcalling worldwide with voicemail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 27, 2005 Report Share Posted June 27, 2005 Dear Len: I too am sorry to learn of your father's passing; I lost my father four years ago come September, and the feelings are quite fresh. I cannot say, "I know how you feel" -- that one's just too damn complex -- but I can honestly say, "I empathize." A very nice Hindu tradition (though variations exist in many cultures) is the Shraddanjali -- the condolence or memorial gathering, held one week or one month after death, and/or annually thereafter, according to tradition. An image or images of the deceased is displayed, and friends, relatives and colleagues come to pay respects and keep his/her memory alive. As far as I know, the gathering is very free-form, consisting of prayers, songs, stories and memories, etc. Other members might give specific examples, if they wish. I'll date myself with this one -- but a while back, while browsing thru a table full of bootleg DVD's in Little India in Queens, NYC, I picked up a sweetly sentimental DVD called "Shraddanjali to Smita Patil." She was a very great actress of the 70's and 80's who specialized in "serious" art-house films and won great national and international critical acclaim (I believe the Cannes Film Festival honored her work at one point, and she's still a favorite in film series focused on India). She unexpectedly died in childbirth in 1986, at the young age of 30, and her legendary status was sealed. Anyway, when I finally got around to watching the Shraddanjali DVD, it was a truly head-spinning experience -- bhajans sung over lengthy, graphic footage of her funeral pyre; interspersed with film clips and interviews with friends, loved ones and professional associates extolling the greatness of her artistic achievement, and how nice she was as a person. Then more pyre, maybe an excerpted song-and-dance routine or some slice of heavy drama from an old film, then another interview, more funeral procession footage, sprinkling of ashes into the Ganga, etc. Wow. You really did get a taste of Smita as a person -- while, not incidentally, catching a pretty intense taste of eternity. So that's a Shraddanjali. I have one every summer for my father, I suppose you could say, which consists of inviting a bunch of his pals (from childhood to later-life) up to his (now my) self-built cottage on the shore of a still-mainly-wild lake deep in the woods of northern Maine, on the U.S.-Canada border. They sit around and tell old stories and have a few laughs, maybe take the canoe out for a paddle. Invariably, a few guests stray up the steep hill behind the house and return with baskets full of blueberries, which they cook up into something tasty. One of the best of that old crew (he and my father graduated high school together in 1950) just passed away this winter, so this year it seems we'll making it a Shraddanjali for two. Again, my sympathies and best wishes go out to you in this difficult time. DB , "ganpra" <ganpra@r...> wrote: > My sincere condolences, Len. My prayers to you & your family for > strength and for your father's deliverance. > > Hindu Funeral rites vary with regions and corresponding customs. > > From my experience, an offering of food be made to the departed soul > for 12 days after the passing. On these days the only lamp lit > (traditional oil lamp) will be for the departed soul. On the 13th, a > puja is performed for God with lit lamps and offerings made to God. > The home is cleansed spritually by sprinkling holy water after the > ceremony. > > After this, puja to God can be performed daily. Generally, the > karthaa > (one who is eligible to perform the rites, generally a direct > descendant) and the family will not celebrate any festivals for a > year. > > Of course, if a child is born in the family within that period, it is > regarded as an auspicious sign and the mourning is discontinued. > > There may be other practices depending on one's customs. But I hope > this helps in some way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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