Sanskaras - lost in translation

Sanskaras  is one of the most difficult word to translate correctly. On wikipedia it is said to be the imprints left on the subconscious mind by experience in this or previous lives, which then color all of life, one's nature, responses, states of mind. This is how I chose to define it in Dear Popples: The closest would be values, but samskara is more than mere values. It is something we hold sacred in our traditions, almost an atavistic genetic imprint, and yet in today’s day and age, it seems to skip many and find root in some. To me samskaras are what make you intuitively do the right thing at the right moment and is visible in simple gestures. (dear Popples, page 184)

The reason why I feel the need of talking of Sanskaras today is that never before I have felt the importance of these inbred values that you often accept automatically without questioning them however cartesian you may be. That is because more often than not they do not clash with your reality. They are simply the way you function. But there are times, when they clash in a way that shake your very core. For many years my sanskaras compelled me unequivocally to stand with my child whose only support I could be, even if that entailed alienating the whole world. I did and bore in Hamlet's words: The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. I had no choice. But today my sanskaras take on an new meaning as I need to include those of a partner with whom I shared wows forty years ago where I pledged to participate with my husband in all his noble and divine acts. This pledge is not to be taken lightly. Any religious ritual will not be complete without me by his side in heart and soul.

In a few days we will be doing all the rituals enabling his parent's soul to fulfil their onward journey in the best way possible. I will ensure that I accompany my husband in this solemn ceremony with my heart and soul, just as I did for my own parents over two decades ago. This is what my sanskaras tell me to do.