It’s been 19 years since Christophe’s Dad Michel died. He was cremated and his remains rest at Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. Today, we took advantage of the beautiful weather to visit the cemetery and pay our respects to Michel.
Père Lachaise Cemetery, at 44 ha, is a huge cemetery. And it’s old too. It was first opened on 21 May 1804.
The columbarium of Père Lachaise Cemetery is immense. You really have to know where you are going, otherwise you will get lost and might very possibly die there. Michel’s urn is in the crypt of the columbarium. We went there and chanted Om tryambakam for him:
Om tryambakam yajāmahe
sugandhim pushtivardhanam
urvā rukamiva bandhanān
mrtyor muksīya mā’mrtāt
A great life-giving mantra, which is used as a healing and peace mantra. We chant it every morning to finish our meditation, so we know it well. .
Looking around at all those plaques made me a bit sad. There are some that are quite old, and for people who have lived into a ripe old age, but there are also plaques for people who didn’t live very long. Children and even infants. And that is sad, no matter how you look at it. We are quite spiritual people and neither of us believe that this is the only life we live on this planet, and both of us believe that our spirits live on after our death, but still. Seeing the urn or grave of a child that didn’t even see it’s fifth birthday, that is sad.
We spent quite a bit of time at the cemetery and saw the tombs of many well known and even more less known people. It’s remarkable in that you will find tombs of people of all walks of life and religions. There are tomb inscriptions in languages that I had never seen before, and there are for example Chinese and Jewish tombs, with inscriptions and drawings that are beautiful though unreadable. I even saw a Japanese tomb.
There are also tomb stones that are so old that the lettering has completely faded. And tombs that are completely overgrown with moss and tiny little plants that somehow survive with virtually no soil. Maybe the dead provide them with some sustenance?
As usual, Christophe took many pictures, so here is a selection of them for you to enjoy. And if ever you visit Paris, do take the time to visit Père Lachaise Cemetery. It’s definitely worth your while.
