Adieu, the final farewell, an exploration of death!
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Quick Links:
| Definition | Sacraments |
| Founder | Afterlife |
| Paramatman | Death |
| Vedas | Cremation |
| Puruṣārthas | Funeral |
| Vedangas | Mourning |
| Sects | Varanasi |
| Rites |
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The third most significant religion is Hinduism. It is followed by some 15% of the World’s population, thus some 1.2bn people.
It makes claim to being the oldest religion in the world (2,300 to 1,500 BCE) and derives from the early Indus Valley civilizations.
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| [FACTOID: The name Hindu derives from the Indus River.] |
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It has no one founder but consists as more of a fusion of developed beliefs. It is said by some to have always existed, the Sanatana Dharma or eternal religion, that it is beyond human history as revealed by its Sanskrit Vedas. Some argue that it was founded as a reaction to the arrival of Muslims in India, others suggest it was a later development as a reaction to Western Imperialism.
Hindus believe in one god, Paramatman, though this god can manifest itself in infinite forms, as many gods. They believe that the atman, or self of the person who has died, will be reincarnated. Or they will attain moksha (akamokṣa or mukti), whereupon they are freed from samsara, the cycle of death and rebirth. They believe in karma, in cause and effect. They live by observing dharma, and behave within their caste and status.
Vedas set out a broad array of philosophies and detail the rituals, concepts and pilgrimage sites. The four Vedas-namely the Ṛg-veda, Yajur-veda, Sāma-veda and Atharva-veda-are texts that set out the theology.
Its central teaching is that God is within every being and object and that the objective of life is to fully appreciate this divine presence.
At the religion’s core are the four puruṣārthas which sets out the goals for the self and for fulfilment – dharma deals with the moral values of the religion, artha concerns economic values, kama deals with psychological matters, and moksha focuses on spiritual significance.
The Vedic texts originally set out just the first three of these. It was in the Upanishad period (700 to 500 BCE) that the fourth was introduced to encompass the traditions that the earlier sages had evolved.
The society was divided into four Varṇa or social classes – Kshatriyas, the rulers, administrators and warriors; Brahmins, the priests, scholars and teachers; Vaishyas, the farmers and merchants; and Shudras, labourers and servants. Those outside this system were the sinners or untouchables and all foreigners or barbarians. (This system should not be confused with the later Jātis, or castes.)
The Vedangas emerged from Brahmins study of the texts.
They evolved into a number of disciplines –
- shiksa which sought to regularise the pronunciation of the Vedic texts,
- chandas which studies their poetic metre to better understand them,
- vyakarana deals with the grammar of the texts,
- nirukta looks at the etymology of the more complex words within the texts,
- jyotisa studies astronomy and astrology to establish the correct times to perform prescribed rituals,
- kalpa concentrates on the detailed observance of the performance of the rituals.
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There are four scholarly traditions, four Hindu sects:
- Shaivism (centred on Shiva),
- Shaktism (on Shakti),
- Vaishnavism (on Vishnu)
- Smartism (five deities are treated the same).
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These arrangements and debates were discussed in the epic poems, Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa.
- The Mahābhārata describes the events and aftermath of a war between two princely cousins and the development of Hinduism from 400 to 200 BCE. It is a narrative full of myth, allegory and heroism. With over 100,000 verses, it is seven times the size of a combined Iliad and Odyssey.
- The Rāmāyaṇa is a 24,000-verse epic tale of Rama, a prince, his journey and coming of age. Together with the Mahābhārata it forms the core of Hindu literature, which is essentially a narrative discussion of dharma, the moral issues of Hindu religion.
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Hindu funeral rites are set out by the Vedas, these are called antyesti, which means ‘last sacrifice’ or ‘last auspicious ceremony’.
The details vary according to caste and religious sect. However, the principles are similar, it begins with the deceased at home, the sacrament rituals, a cremation and the disposal of the ashes into a sacred river, or into flowing water in a natural setting. Organ transplants are supported as dharma.
This final sacrament is part of a process that begins at conception.
Sixteen samskaras celebrate and mark the various stages of the human condition
- four samskaras are celebrated from the conception to birth,
- eleven are celebrated during the course of life,
- one is celebrated when the soul leaves the body, this is the antyesti.
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Hindus believe that the physical body dies but that the soul survives.
It is reincarnated based upon the previous life, an aspect of karma. Cycles of reincarnation continue until they move closer to God, Brahma, and the soul achieves its true nature. This requires the following eight virtues to be obtained – compassion, patience, non-envy, purity of thought speech and body, inner calm and peace, positive attitude, generosity and a lack of possessiveness.
The tradition was to wash the body with ghee, honey, milk, and yoghurt, today it may be with purified water. It is anointed with sandalwood for males and turmeric for females. The body was then traditionally dressed in a white sheet, today it is often dressed in smart clothes. The big toes are tied together and the palms placed as if praying.
The body then remains at home where family and friends can visit and offer their sympathy. Flowers are placed around the deceased as are pinda, rice balls. Rice and sesame seeds are inserted into the deceased mouth as a last meal. There are also customs of putting a lamp near the head to symbolise the soul and of sprinkling water on the body.
Because the physical body serves no further purpose there is usually no embalming and it is cremated, usually within twenty-four hours, and the Vedic examplar is just ninety minutes. This is thought to help hasten the soul’s departure and returns the body back to its constituent parts – air, earth, fire, space and water.
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The body is placed in an open casket and is expected to be viewed by the mourners. The body is considered impure and should not be touched. Male family members carry the body to the cremation site, where they place the person’s body with feet facing south.
The cremation ceremony, or mukhagni, is overseen by a Hindu priest with a senior family member, the eldest son, officiating. The approach is to use the funeral to assist the individual through the transition of death to reincarnation. The cremation usually takes place within 24 or 48 hours. In the UK open-air cremation has been something of an issue.
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This was traditionally a men-only ceremony, but today women are permitted.
Now, it lasts around thirty minutes and consists of hymns and prayers, reciting mantras and scriptures from the Bhagavad Gita, Part of the Mahābhārata. Three generations of ancestors are honoured and invoked to assist the soul on its journey.
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| [FACTOID: Hindus had long practised Sati, aka Suttee, where the widow threw herself on her husband’s funeral pyre, to follow him into the next life. In 1829, during the Raj, the practice was declared illegal and later it was forbidden by modern Hindu texts.] |
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After the funeral the family remains at home, where they display a photo of the deceased with a garland of flowers. They receive and feed visitors.
This mourning period can last from ten to thirty days. One custom suggests that the family’s mattresses should be placed upon the floor for the first thirteen days. Prayers are said at sunrise and sunset, with meals served thereafter.
For the first ten to thirteen days, it is believed that the soul is moving towards the Paramatman, or supreme Self, and that it moves progressively away from family and friends.
On the tenth day the Srāddha ritual helps to restore the soul and pay homage to the ancestors. On the eleventh, gifts are given to nourish the soul, and on the twelfth a ritual establishes the dharma to the soul. On the thirteenth day the preta-karma ceremony ensures the soul is further nourished before its release upon its journey. These rituals also assist with the emotional healing of the family and friends.
At the end of the mourning period the ashes are poured into a sacred river, traditionally this was the Ganges, but given the Hindu diaspora this can be substituted by running water in any natural environment. This act finally liberates the soul.
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Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, is on the banks of the Ganges.
Here, India bodies are paraded through the streets by the mourners. They are dressed in colourful outfits that represent their virtues during life. At the end of this, the body is sprinkled with Ganges water before cremation and committal to the river. This is all designed to achieve salvation and a good reincarnation. –
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