What is Mahalaya?

“There is a gift-giving time from the ancestors to their descendants living on this earth plane. The ancestors who passed from the earth and living in another plane are invoked to give abundant blessings. This two-week period is very critical for you, for everyone. Even the enlightened yogis and rishis wait for this time, which comes only once a year, to get blessings from their own ancestors.” — Dr. Pillai

Mahalaya is a once-a-year ceremony with 15 continuous days of ancestor invocations. The ceremony coincides with the waning cycle of the Moon, beginning on a 1st Moon and concluding on a powerful New Moon. It is considered to be among the most important times of each year to clear ancestral karma and receive their blessings.