105592885-The-16th-Sacrament-Death-Ritual-in-Hinduism

2008

The one certainty about life is the fact that we all must die. How different cultures and peoples handle this has been a point of interest for me. In this essay, I will be focusing on Hindu views and rituals surrounding death and the cycle of life.

The Lancet, 2005

G Hinduism, often described as a way of life, embraces a diversity of traditions.

Romanian Journal of Indian Studies, 2019

In world cultures, the individual's transition from one stage of existence to the other is marked by specific ceremonies. When a youth is on the verge of entering adulthood, this milestone is touched upon through rites-more or less challenging from a physical, mental and emotional point of view-meant to prepare him for the active participation in the community's life, of which he is a member, and take on the specific responsibilities of his new identity. I have used the term identity since, we shall see, the transition from one stage to the other involves the casting off of one's old garb and bedecking one's self anew, a fundamental reconfiguration of the individual. Starting from the philosophical framing of the rites, in order to understand the concept of initiatory death we shall, first, reveal the origins of Upanayana, the context of its birth, its development stages, goal, and lastly, stop at some relevant passages for this rite from the sacred texts.

The Buddhist Forum, Volume VI, The Institute of Buddhist Studies Tring, UK, 2001

Out of the four rituals translated here, the first one details the practice of the transference of consciousness and consists of three integral parts, which explain how to learn during one's lifetime the method of transferring consciousness, how to execute it personally at the moment of dying, and how to perform it on behalf of other people at the time of their death. The second ritual consists in a set of instructions that are read to the departed consciousness during the period of the intermediate existence. The third ritual, the cremation rites (ro sreg), includes a group of integral rituals such as the consecration of the dead body, the purification and preparation of the cremation site, the actual cremation of the dead body, and the disposal of the ashes. The fourth ritual, like the previous one, also includes several integral rituals.

Long J.D., Sherma R.D., Jain P., Khanna M. (eds) Hinduism and Tribal Religions. Encyclopedia of Indian Religions. Springer, Dordrecht, 2022

An encyclopedic entry on death and dying in Hinduism . To be read together with other entries: Antyeṣṭi, Burial, Śrāddha and Yama.

This article discusses the rituals of death followed by the Hindus in Odisha, an eastern state in India. It focuses on Hindu religious beliefs and socio-cultural practices regarding death. Hindus believe in the cyclical reincarnation of the soul. So, funeral rites are performed not only for the disposal of the body, but also to assist the departed soul in its transmigration to the next destination. The paper discusses how the responsibility of the immediate family members to perform the funeral rites and the rights to inheritance are inter-related. Funeral rites are not performed for the unmarried people and suicidal victims, although the body is disposed. Hence, the eligibility for funeral rites creates not only the necessity of a married life and progenitors, but also warns people not to commit suicide. The rites highlight the gender-bias in the society, the eldest son being the principal performer of the rites. Performing such rituals ensures comfort to the grieved family, and em...

Death, what makes everyone to pass way from this mundane world, is common to all who are born. This is the only reality that every human being never dares to remember. All of us wanted immortality and wellbeing. Even those who are differently abled persons never wish to depart from this world of suffering. Death is also an important part of every religion and culture. Death has been given many interpretations based on myths of each religion and culture. Few religions try to connect birth and death as both sides of a coin. Multifarious interpretations are given to the phenomena “death”. Even the modern science could not explain exactly what happens exactly after death. Therefore even a scientist die, he will be cremated as per religious order. No one, who had normal death, is simply thrown into the pit directly by anyone. Even then there are many exceptions. This academic paper entitled, “Death and Funeral Customs” deals with the questions: What is death? What is after death? What are the philosophical explanations given to death and life after death by different religions? What does science say about “Death”?