Antyesti (Hindu funeral rites)

Antyesti rites are the final sacraments in a series that ideally begins at the moment of conception and is performed at each important stage of a man’s life.

Imagine how Western sex would change if the moment of conception were treated as a holy event and celebrated with a ceremony!  What would such a ceremony look like?

Imagine being so aware of death that one performs a ceremony centered around death at every milestone of one’s life.  Can you imagine the college graduation ceremonies?

It appears from the article that the oldest son may participate in the cremation. Is there an awful, even Freudian, symbolism in a son setting fire to the body of a dead father?  At least the death duties are performed hands-on by family members rather than delegated to a mortician.

With such an everyday awareness of death in the East, why is life so cheap there?

The Antlion (aka the doodlebug)

What if humans only ate until the age of 6–and then never ate again?

The antlion larva digs a funnel-shaped pit (a pitfall) and then buries itself so that only its jaws are visible.  Any small insect that ventures over the edge of the sandy pit slips to the bottom and is seized.

What caught me: Since the adult does not feed, the larva must consume enough food to sustain the adult.

What if humans were the same way?

Would the weight-loss industry exist?

(And if there were no fat people, what would the standard of beauty be?)

Would our lifespans be short? If so, would people value the right things in life, in time?

More importantly, would all the customs associated with eating not exist?  Think of a world where

1)  We don’t take a date out to dinner or break bread with an enemy

2)  We don’t have holidays centered around eating, like Thanksgiving or Christmas.  In fact, there is no “family meal.”

3)  We have no idea what aphrodisiacs are.

Food for thought?

Photo credit: http://bit.ly/1oFn1Iu