Cremation And Death Rituals

[Smt. Priyanka asked: Padanamaskaram Swami! Can You please explain in detail how a death ritual should be performed in the correct manner? Also, if someone chooses to go through electric cremation, how should the family member proceed with all the rituals? Some people have desires such as their ashes being spread in specific locations as well. Is there any significance as to where their ashes are spread? Are there some ideal locations one should select? I hear that most people chose to immerse the ashes in the Ganga River.

I also hear that extended family members living anywhere in the world should also not touch anything or anyone for 13 days or take a head bath on the 13^th day. What all rituals should the extended family follow and what is the significance of doing so?

Similarly, can You please explain how death anniversaries should be performed and if the son /daughter of the departed family member follow a specific ritual on each death anniversary throughout their life? At Your divine feet, Priyanka.]

Swami replied: O Learned and Devoted Servants of God! In our traditions, the truth established by the sages, is sometimes diverted by some of our egoistic and ignorant ancestors. So, the present form of the tradition is like an iron rod covered with rust, as said in the Gītā (Āvṛtaṃ jñānametena jñānino nitya vairiṇā). We have to remove the rust by our sharp analysis and discover the original rust-free iron rod. We should at least be aware of the truth, even though, sometimes, we have to follow the rusted tradition blindly, due to the force of the blind elders around us. The Gītā says that one should know the truth and only then perform the traditional rituals (Jñātvā kurvīta karmāṇi). Elsewhere in the Gītā itself, the same concept repeated, where it is said that knowledge is far better than doing the ritual blindly, following the blind misinterpretations of our some ignorant and egoistic ancestors. These ancestors recited the Veda blindly, without taking care to study the meaning (Śreyohi jñānamabhyāsāt…). Poet Kālidāsa says that all that is old is not gold and that all that is the latest is not the best. So, we have to analyze both and take whichever is the truth and reject whichever is false. Kālidāsa further says that only a blind fool follows the old, just because it is old or the latest, just because it is the latest (Purāṇamityeva...). Scholars also say that a blind rigid idiot drinks even harsh hard water from a well saying that it must be sweet because the well was dug by his father (Tātastya kūpoyamiti…).

The departed soul leaves behind the material human body in this world itself. Taking up an energetic body, the soul goes up to the upper Preta Loka to face the enquiry of its deeds. As per tradition, the children and immediate family of the departed person are supposed to donate food to priests. But in reality, the food required for an energetic body is direct cosmic energy itself and not this material food. This does not mean that you should not feed good and deserving priests because the donation of food to a good and deserving receiver helps the departed soul. Such a good donation brings merit called apūrvam, which yields good fruit. I only mean to say that the food eaten by the receiver here does not directly go to the departed soul. This is because matter is no more food for the energetic being, which has left its material body.

The entire essence of the ritual which yields good fruit depends on the deservingness of the receiver-priest. Saying that the food fed to a deserving receiver here on earth reaches the departed ancestor is an arthavāda, which is a lie told for a good purpose. It makes a greedy person donate some food at least to a deserving receiver, due to the fear that his departed ancestors will suffer from hunger, if the food-donation is not done. We must know the truth so that we will not be exploited by bad priests. Such priests might say that you should prepare such and such a sweet dish, so that the departed ancestor will not be hungry for six months. In Telugu, the priest says “Arisa āru nelala grāsam”, which means that the special sweet-dish called arisa must be prepared in the ritual for departed souls. The reality is that the priest is fond of that special sweet and is exploiting us with that trick!

The Veda says that when the human being dies, its soul alone, covered by an energetic body, goes up to the upper world (Manomayaḥ…). All the rest, gets merged into the corresponding five elements, wherever you may dispose of the body and in whichever manner. Commonly, people bury the dead body in the earth, burn it in fire, dispose of it into a river or leave it in a forest, as food for wild birds and animals. Whatever may be the place of disposal of the body and whatever may be the manner of disposal, the five elements of the body merge with the corresponding five cosmic elements in the world (Ihaiva prāṇāḥ samavalīyante…, ṣoḍaśakalāḥ puruṣāyaṇāh…—Veda). All the hymns read in any death ritual are just a sincere devotional prayer to God for the protection of the departed soul. The performance of the ritual is good for the doer of the ritual, more than for the departed soul. One can even perform these prayers on his own in his own mother tongue, if a priest is not available. Śaṅkara performed the death ritual of His mother, without the assistance of any priest since He was the knower of the ultimate truth of all rituals!

The use of an electric furnace for cremation also comes under the method of disposal of the body through fire. There are three types of fire mentioned in the scripture. (1) The first is laukikāgni or bhautikāgni, which is the fire produced by burning sticks. (2) The second is vaidyutāgni, which is electricity. (3) The third is devatāgni, which is the hunger fire existing in the stomach of a hungry person. The ash obtained after burning the body in any manner also finally goes into the earth alone. Even if one immerses a body into a river, the components of the disintegrating body get released in the water. When the water is used for agriculture, those components merge with the earth. The components may also go into the ocean along with the water. When the body is buried in the earth, the components of ash merge in the earth directly. Like this, all the five components of the body merge with the five cosmic components distributed all over the world. These components are again taken up by plants and through plants they are consumed by human beings. Thus, they are used for the construction and growth of the new body taken up by the soul.

The entire essence of all these rituals is only that one must donate to a deserving receiver and sincerely pray to God. Donation by the person, the deservingness of the receiver and the person’s prayer to God are the three fundamental factors. These factors are universal and the entire good fruit is based on these three alone. All the rest is just a false hungāma! When one donates money to a deserving priest, it is called as hiraṇya śrāddha, which means offering money to the good receiver in the place of food, materials etc., during the annual death ritual. This offering in the form of money is called Guru dakṣiṇā and is the best offering because with money, the good receiver can buy whatever is most needed by him. The Veda says that offering money is the best (Dhanena tyāgena ekena…). The Gītā also says the same, by further specifying that the offering must be the fruit of your hard work (Karmajaṃ buddhi yuktā hi, phalaṃ tyaktvā manīṣiṇaḥ). If one offers one’s hard-earned money to a deserving receiver, along with sincere prayers to God, all the rituals are automatically done, even if they are not done (Karmaṇyakarma yaḥ paśyet, akarmaṇi ca karma yaḥ…—Gītā). All the rest is only the gas that comes out through a municipal water-tap, without a single water drop, in times of water-shortage! You cannot say that the departed soul will be benefited only by a specific ritual mentioned by a specific religion because this essence is common to the rituals of all religions.

The actual aim of any ritual is to develop spiritual knowledge and devotion to God in the mind of the doer of the ritual. The priest receiving the offering from the doer of the ritual is totally responsible for developing spiritual knowledge and devotion in the doer. The blind recitation of the scripture is totally useless. If the priest is undeserving, which means that he does not have spiritual knowledge, the offering of the doer, which is his hard-earned money, totally goes waste. Not only that, but the donation made to an undeserving receiver is sin and it brings punishment to the donor, both here as well as in hell.

The Veda gives two criteria to decide the deservingness of the receiver: (1) The first criterion is that he should possess the true Vedic spiritual knowledge and (2) He should not aspire for anything from anybody since he has complete faith that God will take care of him fully, throughout his entire life (Śrotriyasya cākāmahatasya—Veda). Through the death rituals, the doer must get enlightened about the very temporariness of materialistic worldly life and the value of the eternal spiritual life. It is the soul’s progress on the spiritual path alone that will be useful, at the time of death and after death.

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| Shri Datta Swami | Cremation And Death Rituals | Aavrutam jnaanametena jnaanino nitya vairinaa Gita Jnaatvaa kurviita karmaani Shreyohi jnaana mabhyaasaat Kalidaasa Puraanamityeva Taatastya kuupoyamiti Apuurvam arisa aaru nelala graasam ihaiva praanaah samavaliiyante shodashakalaah purushaayanaah Shankara Laukikaagni Bhautikaagni Devataagni hungaama hungama Hiranya shraaddha Dhanena Tyaagena ekena Karmajam buddhi yuktaa phalam tyaktvaa maniishinah Karmanyakarma yah pashyet, akarmani cha karma yah Shrotriyasya chaakaamahatasya