The veneration of the dead, including one's ancestors, is based on love and respect for the dead. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a continued existence, and may possess the ability to influence the fortune of the living. Some groups venerate their direct, familial ancestors; some faith communities, in particular the Catholic Church, venerate saints as intercessors with God, as well as praying for and to departed souls in Purgatory.
In Europe, Asia, and Oceania, and in some African and Afro-Diasporic cultures, the goal of ancestor veneration is to ensure the ancestors' continued well-being and positive disposition towards the living, and sometimes to ask for special favours or assistance. The social or non-religious function of ancestor veneration is to cultivate kinship values, such as filial piety, family loyalty, and continuity of the family lineage. Ancestor veneration occurs in societies with every degree of social, political, and technological complexity, and it remains an important component of various religious practices in modern times.
I don't love, I don't give, I don't care' cause
I've already been there
I don't want, I don't need, I don't take,
'cause I had it all
I don't guess, I just know, what this is,
is a place to die from
I am not what you see, you are real but not for real
I'm not scared, I'm not high, I'm a man
and I'm all right
We are here, we are gone, and the rest are
left to wonder
What is life, in the hand of illusion, what is life
to a man in confusion
What is right, for a life that is losin', what is time,
what is, what is, what is?
Take look, open up, look inside, what is there
In your heart, in your mind, in your soul
there's the answer
Why you want, why you need, the side effects of
what you see
What is life, in the hand of illusion
What is life, to a man in confusion
What is right for a life that is losin', what is time,
what is, what is, what is?
I don't pay, I just know what this is,