October 14, 2015 Last week, a Hollywood family was in Haridwar to perform the Indian ritual of shradh for a young boy who they lost to drug overdose in 2012. Concerned with his late son's visions, Sylvester Stallone contacted a Vedic scholar from Rishikesh and asked his family to visit Haridwar to perform the shradh pooja for their beloved son. Last Saturday, when Indians across India were observing shradh and offering obeisance to their ancestors, Stallone's family was present in Haridwar where they performed the 'tithi shradh' - a prayer ceremony specially conducted for those who lose their lives to either murder or accident. Sage died in 2012 at the age of 36. He was found dead in his Los Angeles flat, due to a drug overdose Seen here are Stallone's half-brother Michael and wife performing Sage's shradh in Kankhal near Rishikesh. Stallone was desperate to see his son after the latter's death and in his attempts, reached out to Prateek Mishrapuri, an astrologer who accompanied the family to perform Sage's shradh rituals. Mishrapuri explained to Stallone in detail the significance of Indian shradh and its 'divine effect on the departed souls'. "In our meeting last year in LA, he (Sylvester Stallone) asked if it is possible to speak to his son. I told him it is possible, but it would be very painful for Sage's soul. He confessed that he had seen his son and that he was deeply disturbed. "After checking with the Panchang (sacred calendar), I told him of the date and time when the rituals should be done. He had plans to come here himself, but had to drop them. He then asked his brother to visit. This is a ritual that can be performed by only blood relatives. The family had sought to make it a quiet affair and I provided them details of nondescript hotels they could stay at. After the shradh of Sage, Michael also performed a ceremony for his sister Toni Ann, who died aged 48 in 2012," said Mishrapuri. (With inputs from The Times of India) source :TOI