How to Make Offerings to Ancestors on Diwali

Diwali, a 5-day Hindu celebration that is also known as the Festival of Lights, is a time to strengthen your bonds with your family, including all of your ancestors. By making offerings to all of your ancestors during the 5 days of Diwali, you will be able to make peace with them, heal old wounds and invite them to celebrate with you and your loved ones.

Things You'll Need

• Sesame seeds
• Water or milk

Instructions

Make Offerings to Ancestors on Diwali

1. Determine the exact days of the Diwali celebration. Normally held on the new moon phase of the Hindu month of Kartik, which can fall between late October and early November, the actual dates can vary from country to country, depending upon the length of the celebration.

2. Choose a time during the Diwali celebration to make offerings to your ancestors. Many people feel that the fifth day of the festival, known as Bhayiduj, is an excellent time to make an offering, since it is the day for brothers and sisters to get together and strengthen familial bonds. Others feel that the second day, Naraka Chaturdasi, is the best day, since it is a new moon day. They may believe that the souls of their ancestors need the light and illumination of the new moon to find their way from the afterlife.

3. Prepare a tarpana, which is a sacred ritual offering for ancestors. While tarpanas can vary greatly according to the occasion, small dishes containing sesame seeds (preferably the black variety) and water or milk are usually offered during Diwali.

4. Find a location where you can properly make the offering. Generally, Hindus will conduct the tarpana ritual inside a temple or, occasionally, on the gravesite of the ancestor. Be sure to face south when you make the tarpana.

5. Close your eyes and think about all of your ancestors, and visualize their faces one by one. Tell each ancestor that you wish to make the offering of the water and sesame seeds to release them of their earthly desires and to comfort them. Make the offering exactly the same for each ancestor.

6. Give the offering to an animal, or empty the dishes in a river or ocean, after you have finished making the offerings.

Tips & Warnings

• Use the offerings to ask for forgiveness or mend a strained relationship, if there were any negative feelings between you and a particular ancestor.