The code of conduct as per Sanatan Dharma places primary emphasis on the two main qualities in a human being which distinguish him from animals and lower life characters. They are Education (Vidya) and proper social and religious conduct (samskara). Of the two Education is considered to be more important because the other samskara does not come without education.
Funeral or Anthyeshti is the last sacrament in a persons’ worldly journey. Although rebirth is part of Sanatans core belief death is generally considered as an inauspicious or sad occasion. The general belief is that at the time of death the soul leaves the body and travels to other worlds. While the souls of pious people with good karma go to higher worlds, those with low merit and bad karma go to the lower worlds. Funeral rites of Sanatans are based on ancient traditions and established practice rooted in Sanatans’ core belief.
Cremation is based on the Vedic belief that Agni (The god of fire) receives all offerings made in a yagna (sacrifice) on behalf of the gods and that the human body is an aggregation of the five main elements “Pancha Bhutas”(fire, earth, wind, water and space), triple qualities (gunas) and 24 principles (tattvas). Cremation is a kind of sacrifice in which whatever is offered to Agni is shared by the other gods through Agni. Blessed thus by the divinities, the sacrifice sanctifies the offering (the body) made in the cremation ceremony and ensures a place in heaven for the departed soul. Sanatans also believe the body to be the creation of “parakriti” or nature that is made up of the above-mentioned elements, qualities & principles. When a person dies & his body is cremated, these constituent parts return to nature to be recycled and regenerated/manifested in other forms.
To put it in perspective a Christian or Muslim feels assured of his place in heaven after death, regardless of whether he has earned it / deserves it or not, simply by accepting the son of God or the messenger of God to be the only means to heaven.
The way we scatter the ashes of our loved ones after they are cremated, either helps them in the afterlife or obstructs their onward journey. Spiritual research conducted has shown that immersing ashes in water alone can benefit our ancestors. This article also provides information on the reasons behind the spiritually correct methods to be adopted – right from the collection of ashes to its final disposal.
Nowadays there is an increasing trend of people choosing cremation over burial as a funeral rite. The funeral rite of cremation that takes place either on a funeral pyre or in a crematorium does not dispose off the body totally. The remnants (ashes) are handed back to the family in a pot or urn. The entire process from receiving the ashes to the scattering of the ashes is important from a spiritual point of view. Depending on the process adopted, we can either help our departed loved one to move on in their afterlife or we may be instrumental in their remaining earthbound. However, the surviving relatives who receive the ashes in a cremation urn are generally unaware of the spiritually correct way of scattering the ashes.
We know that we can medically identify a decomposed body that is beyond recognition by techniques such as DNA testing etc. because even a small remnant of a tooth or hair matches exactly to the person. Similarly at a subtler, intangible level the smallest remnant of the corpse, even in the ashes has the same frequencies and vibrations as the person.
These frequencies are generally negative in nature. Given that in general most of us are not spiritually oriented, let alone spiritually evolved, it would be fair to say that 50% of the population is below 30% spiritual level, the frequencies emanating from the body are the subtle basic Raja-Tama frequencies. Also, as 100% of the population (regardless of whether they are Sanatan or otherwise) is affected by negative energies (also commonly referred to as Devil, Ghost etc.) the frequencies emanating from the body and ashes are of the Tama variety. As a result, they are distressing to us at a subtle level.
There is also a subtle bond that exists between the ashes and the departed ancestor because of the similar frequencies. These negative frequencies and subtle bond can create obstacles in the subtle body’s journey after death and then end up controlling the subtle body. This enables them to trouble the subtle body or make it do many undesirable acts as per their bidding (referred to generally as ‘possessed’).
As water is all-assimilating, it imbibes the distressing vibrations remaining from the dead body in the ashes and the other related to the subtle body like Absolute Earth (Pruthvī), Fire (Tēj), Air (Vāyu) element etc. This helps to break the remaining attachment of the subtle body to its gross body (sthūladēha) on the Earth region (Bhūlok). As a result, the probability of the subtle body getting stuck in the Earth region as well as that of being attacked by ghosts is dramatically reduced.
Sea water is the best for disposal of ashes. This is because sea water has the maximum all-assimilating property among all types of waters. Amongst other waters, holy rivers are the best. Holy rivers are those rivers whose waters have a very high content of subtle basic Sattva component. For example, in rivers like the Ganges in India the subtle basic Sattva component is high despite the water being heavily polluted. In general, flowing water is the best as it scatters the ashes thus making it near impossible for the ghosts to gain control on the subtle body through the ashes. -Rajesh Krishnamurthy is an Auckland based writer and a finance professional. (Editor’s note-the above article is based on thousands of years old Sanatan traditions and practices as described in several Sanatan Dharma scriptures about human life)
