Death becomes a phase of life that knows no religion, culture, time, and place for a human being. Those who live, whatever the principles they live on while in the world, will surely experience death. Through his background and beliefs, each person will determine how he will be returned, be it buried, preserved, or burned to ashes.
The Hindu Beliefs
Every self-respecting Hindu dream of dying on the banks of the sacred River in the ancient city of Varanasi. And that’s not for nothing. If you die closer to Banaras, or as it is also called Kashi (i.e., Light), with the stress on the second syllable, you will leave the chain of rebirths and merge with the oversoul.
But over time, it’s not just those with Hinduism or Buddhism who practice it.Now people with Catholic beliefs and other religions who want their bodies cremated are legal.
The Deceased Deserve the Dignity
In Hinduism, cremation is considered very sacred from the essential part of the funeral rite, and it is believed that if the deceased didn’t get cremated with dignity, then the soul will not be able to achieve “Moksha.”
View of the Ghats
Hindus have been cremating their dead for more than one thousand years; this is how it has developed in society and still exists. According to Hindu spiritual texts, each person in his life goes through about 16 rituals symbolizing the entry into a certain period of life: the very first – when the child is given a name, one of the most important – marriage, and the most recent ritual – cremation, when the soul-Atman leaves the body and unites with the supreme spirit (God) Paramatma.
Hindu philosophy views the human being as a combination of five elements: fire (Agni), water (Jala), air (Vayu), earth (Prithvi), ether (akasha). When a person dies, the fire leaves his body, and cremation is performed to make up for the missing element and help the soul pass to another world.
In crematoriums in chamarajpet, various ghats are used for cremation. The most popular is Manikarnika ghat; it is the second – Harishchandra ghat; there is also an electric crematorium. True, it does not work now, and it has never been considered holy.
Customs and traditions
Traditional funerals imply the burning of the deceased (exceptions are made for children under two years of age, saints, and some other special categories) – this is supposed to help the soul get rid of the mortal shell and provide it with a favorable rebirth in a new body. From time immemorial, the hindu brahmin wood crematorium was used to burn funeral pyres, using wood as fuel. The ceremony is led by a representative of the Brahmin caste, who can also advise adding to the fire certain additional ritual items that should make the rite more successful and increase the chance that the deceased will be accompanied by good luck in the future life. Burning usually occurs within 24 hours of death, while the dead must (preferably) stay at home.
The ceremony is dressed in white (black clothing is considered unacceptable at the funeral).