![]() ![]() Vedic Hinduism SW Jamison and M Witzel, Harvard University The Hindu Religion, Swami Vivekananda (1894). International Encyclopedia of Philosophy /hindu Websites and Resources on Hinduism: Hinduism Today India Divine Wikipedia article Wikipedia Oxford center of Hindu Studies Hindu Website /hinduindex Hindu Gallery Įncyclopædia Britannica Online article See Separate Articles: HINDU VIEWS ON DEATH ![]() They are more efficient and cleaner, and save precious fuel and forests. New electric crematoriums are becoming more popular. These are victims of suicide, murder, or some other kind of violence who, it is believed, have souls that will not rest, no matter what is done to the corpse.Ĭremation has remained common, possibly because cemeteries are a waste of space. In some cases an effigy is burned to symbolize cremation. Families who can not afford the wood for cremation sometimes throw unburned corpses in the Ganges. In many cases today they are not buried but are taken to the middle of the Ganges or another sacred river and dropped to the river bottom with a weighed stone. Small children under two are not cremated because their soul does not need purifying. Holy men, lepers and people with small pox have traditionally been buried, with holy men traditionally buried in a vertical position preserved with salt. The god Pushan is asked to accept the sacrifice and guide the soul to its proper place in the afterlife. Cremations are still associated with sacrifices. The fire god Agni is asked to consume the physical body and create its essence in heaven in preparation for transmigration. Fire is the chosen method to dispose of the dead because of its association with purity and its power to scare away harmful ghosts, demons and spirits. ![]() If it is not done or not done properly, it is thought, the soul will be disturbed and not find its way to its proper place in the afterlife and come back and haunt living relatives. They believe it releases an individual’s spiritual essence from its transitory physical body so it can be reborn. The average cost of a funeral is $12 to $71.Ĭremation is an extremely important ritual for Hindus. For the part most cremations are still done the way they have been done for centuries, by following the final life ritual called antyesti, outlined in the Grihya Sutras. Gandhi cremation There are about 3.14 million deaths a year in India. ![]()
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