On today starts the Pitṛpaksha fortnight, when ancestors are venerated in Hinduism. Food offerings are made to the ancestors, who partake them in the form of birds.

On this day, I want to point out an important duty that we have towards our ancestors, which is often forgotten.

First, I want to make an argument why one needs to care for one's ancestors, even if one may not believe in afterlife. The reason is that our ancestors are a living part of our own consciousness: in the language we speak, in the food we eat, in our cultural habits and so on.

It is not just our immediate ancestors within the family that we are indebted to. Indeed, we are indebted to several generations of ancestors, who have contributed to our culture, to our knowledge, and to our standard of living. Our ancestors made this world habitable for us.

We have a duty to our ancestors to guard the world that is given to us, to protect all the good it contains, and to pass it on to the future. Our culture will naturally evolve and many new things will arise. But good things should not be left to decay due to our negligence.

The symbolic offerings of food given during the Pitṛpaksha are an acknowledgement of our gratitude within all the 5 spheres of consciousness: starting from Annamaya (food), but also Prānamaya (breath), Manomaya (mind), Vijñānamaya (understanding) and Ānandamaya (consciousness).

In this 5-fold realm of existence, the most important is the realm of language (Vijñānamaya). Language is the essential fabric of our consciousness. Whatever was passed from our ancestors in terms of culture, knowledge and life wisdom - it is embedded within the gift of language.

The duty that we have towards our ancestors is similar to the duty of a soldier who defends the motherland, or the duty of a farmer who must sow the crops in time. We need to be actively vigilant to guard the good things in the world, and devote time for things that matter.

If we are derelict in our duty, then the world, which is beautifully molded by our ancestors into an unstable equilibrium, will collapse. Things that are once lost cannot be recovered, except through great hardships.

In today's world, we are endlessly distracted from our duties.

The most important duty that we have to our ancestors is to guard their speech on our tongues. Our languages are the living vehicles of culture. But we are estranged from this living breath of language. The causes are many: colonialism, consumerism, short-term distractions..

Just like a soldier who was sleeping on duty, or worse, working for the opposite camp, we are abandoning our languages. Just like the farmer who has not sown the crops in time, we are leaving the language dry without sustenance. Is this not dereliction of duty towards ancestors?

I just want everyone to think about this issue during this fortnight of Pitṛpaksha. Please consider how you can repay your Pitṛna - the debt to your ancestors, through the form of living speech. There may be many things you can do, please do them regularly. Make them a habit.

If we let our languages die and fade away, then there will not be any thread that connects us to our ancestors. How can they then partake any form of food from us? If the very fabric of our consciousness (language) is left torn asunder, does anything else matter? (End of thread)