--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Those from whom we were born have long…" description: "\"Those from whom we were born have long since departed, and those with whom we grew up exist only in memory. We, too, through the approach of death, bec..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29e/bhartrhari-25321_approach_those-from-whom-we-were-born-have-long-s_2514348.png" --- # Those from whom we were born have long since departed, and… ![“Those from whom we were born have long since departed, and those with whom we grew up exist only in memory. We, too, through the approach of death, become, as it were, trees growing on the sandy bank of a river.” quote by Bhartrhari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29e/bhartrhari-25321_approach_those-from-whom-we-were-born-have-long-s_2514348.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29e/bhartrhari-25321_approach_those-from-whom-we-were-born-have-long-s_2514348.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29e/bhartrhari-25321_approach_those-from-whom-we-were-born-have-long-s_2514348.png) > “Those from whom we were born have long since departed, and those with whom we grew up exist only in memory. We, too, through the approach of death, become, as it were, trees growing on the sandy bank of a river.” [Bhartrhari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhartrhari/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life is fleeting; we lose loved ones and become like trees by a river, awaiting death. **In simple terms:** People die, memories remain, we age. Key Takeaway Cherish relationships while alive. Themes mortality memory impermanence Mood reflective melancholic Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - family gatherings - grieving - legacy planning - intergenerational storytelling Key Concepts Samsara transience ephemerality Questions to Reflect On - How do you honor those who have passed? - What does the river metaphor suggest about life's flow? A Different Perspective The metaphor may overlook personal agency in shaping one’s legacy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Approach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approach/) [Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Death Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-trees-1187927/) [Departed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/departed/) [Departed Grew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/departed-grew-1187926/) [Grew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grew/) [Grew Exist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grew-exist-1187928/) [Grew up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grew-up/) [Growing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rivers/) [Sandy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sandy/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) [Trees Growing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees-growing-242253/) ## Related quotes > [“He was standing by the edge of a small pool- not more than ten feet from side to side- in a wood. 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I guess I did die…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/i-haven-t-died-in-a-movie-in-a-while-the-departed-body-of-lies/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [So I departed and was free from imprisonment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-i-departed-and-was-free-from-imprisonment/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am indeed a fortunate man and today's hours are but a bonus, undeserved. 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Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/) > [Leo couldnt deliver Mr. Martin Scorsese his Oscar with The Aviator, but I will go on record to say I will do so in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-anderson/leo-couldnt-deliver-mr-martin-scorsese-his-oscar-with-the-aviator-but/) [Anthony Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-anderson/) > [So in the heart, When, fading slowly down the past, Fond memories depart, And each that leaves it seems the last; Long after all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-van-dyke/so-in-the-heart-when-fading-slowly-down-the-past-fond-memories-depart/) [Henry Van Dyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-van-dyke/) > [I find very reasonable the Celtic belief that the souls of our dearly departed are trapped in some inferior being, in an animal, aplant,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/i-find-very-reasonable-the-celtic-belief-that-the-souls-of-our-dearly/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [The end result of how I obviously departed from the Cubs wasn't ideal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-schwarber/the-end-result-of-how-i-obviously-departed-from-the-cubs-wasn-t-ideal/) [Kyle Schwarber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-schwarber/) ## More by Bhartrhari > [The constant man loses not his virtue in misfortune. A torch may point towards the ground, but its flame will still point upwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhartrhari/the-constant-man-loses-not-his-virtue-in-misfortune-a-torch-may-point/) [Bhartrhari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhartrhari/) > [The good man shuns evil and follows good; he keeps secret that which ought to be hidden; he makes his virtues manifest to all;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhartrhari/the-good-man-shuns-evil-and-follows-good-he-keeps-secret-that-which/) [Bhartrhari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhartrhari/) > [Trees loaded with fruit are bent down; the clouds when charged with fresh rain hang down near the earth: even so good men are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhartrhari/trees-loaded-with-fruit-are-bent-down-the-clouds-when-charged-with/) [Bhartrhari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhartrhari/) > [Those who possess that treasure which no thief can take away, Which, though on suppliants freely spent, increaseth day by day, The source of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhartrhari/those-who-possess-that-treasure-which-no-thief-can-take-away-which/) [Bhartrhari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhartrhari/) > [Trees bend low with ripened fruit; clouds hang down with gentle rain; noble people bow graciously. 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Our joys are brief as lightning flash In summer's cloudy days, Our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhartrhari/our-life-is-like-th-unstable-wave-our-bloom-of-youth-decays-our-joys/) [Bhartrhari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhartrhari/) > [The pearl on my beloved's neck, Afflicted sore the oyster!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhartrhari/the-pearl-on-my-beloved-s-neck-afflicted-sore-the-oyster/) [Bhartrhari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhartrhari/) > [Man is but a beast without it: such a glorious god is Learning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhartrhari/man-is-but-a-beast-without-it-such-a-glorious-god-is-learning/) [Bhartrhari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhartrhari/) > [What is the most profitable? Fellowship with the good. What is the worst thing in the world? The society of evil men. What is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhartrhari/what-is-the-most-profitable-fellowship-with-the-good-what-is-the/) [Bhartrhari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhartrhari/) > [Knowledge is wonderful and truth serene But man in their service bleeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhartrhari/knowledge-is-wonderful-and-truth-serene-but-man-in-their-service/) [Bhartrhari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhartrhari/) > [Idleness is a great enemy to mankind. There is no friend like energy, for, if you cultivate that, it will never fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhartrhari/idleness-is-a-great-enemy-to-mankind-there-is-no-friend-like-energy/) [Bhartrhari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhartrhari/) > [Three courses open lie to wealth, to give, enjoy, or lose, Who shrinketh from the former two, perforce the third doth choose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhartrhari/three-courses-open-lie-to-wealth-to-give-enjoy-or-lose-who-shrinketh/) [Bhartrhari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhartrhari/) > [For a moment man is a boy, for a moment a lovesick youth, for a moment bereft of wealth, for a moment in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhartrhari/for-a-moment-man-is-a-boy-for-a-moment-a-lovesick-youth-for-a-moment/) [Bhartrhari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhartrhari/) > [There is no medicine to cure a fool!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhartrhari/there-is-no-medicine-to-cure-a-fool/) [Bhartrhari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhartrhari/) [Explore all 23 Bhartrhari quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhartrhari/) ## More Approach quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [I'm in a business where there's complete anarchy. 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Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [One of the things I regret about not putting in that book or I think it's there but I didn't really elaborate on it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/one-of-the-things-i-regret-about-not-putting-in-that-book-or-i-think/) [Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/) > [Ideal for the child and society in the best of times, Rudolf Steiner's brilliant process of education is critically needed and profoundly relevant now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-chilton-pearce/ideal-for-the-child-and-society-in-the-best-of-times-rudolf-steiner-s/) [Joseph Chilton Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-chilton-pearce/) > [I don't have any particular method, my approach is very simple. 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