Why we should cremate the dead
Vrindavan
by: Jayasri Radha on 3/8/2007
Why We Should Cremate the Dead
The Vedic Viewpoint and Other Spiritual Perspectives
First of all we have to understand that we are not these bodies. We
are eternal spirit souls, part and parcel of the Supreme Soul, also
known as Krishna, Jehovah, Allah, Vishnu, etc. We never die, only the
body dies.
The subtle body consists of the soul, false ego, mind and intelligence
or lack of it. That is what goes with us when we so-call die.
The Bhagavad-Gita, which is the essence of all Vedic literature and
the spiritual "how to book" for all time, says; "What ever one
contemplates at the time of death, they are sure to attain." At the
time of death, generally one is thinking of their own body and how
much pain they are in. People are much attached to their material
bodies, even though it is only a vehicle for the soul within this
material world. At the time of death, if one is very attached to their
body, in most cases, they do not leave this world until the body is
cremated. As long as the material body is intact, they remain near by
or continue entering in and out of it. When the body is cremated, the
soul then generally leaves to their next destination, unless of course
they had committed suicide or died abruptly, by; murder, or some type
of accident. They may also remain if they are very attached to another
person or a place.
Another reason we should have our dead bodies cremated is because it
pollutes the environment. Just think of all the waste we are making by
putting all these bodies in big boxes in the ground. Everyone is going
to leave their body, that's a fact, so just think- we are going to
have a place in the ground for every person's body from now until the
end of time. This makes no sense, not even materially. There are so
many other practical things we can do with the land. It just shows our
lack of intelligence in this age.
There are innumerable disembodied souls hanging around because no one
performed a very simple ceremony that could have been done after their
death. (Cremation) Burning the body after death could help that
situation immensely.
In the Vedic culture it was unheard of to preserve someone's body
unless they were a pure saint or King. The reason was, that their
lives where supposed to be pure and used in service of God, so it did
not need to be burned, and persons could go and pray to them in the
tomb and get their blessings. But most of the kings were not pure and
they would even put their family members' dead bodies in the same
tombs, which was against the scriptural injunctions. As time went on
more and more people started having tombs instead of the scriptural
recommended cremation.
Even in the Bible it is stated, "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust." The
airtight boxes we are putting in the ground today will never become
ashes or dust. Believe me; no one is going to "rest in peace" in that
box. What a silly saying that is- as if when someone dies they just go
to sleep in their box.
People are worrying whether they will be buried next to some loved one
or in a suitable place like the Bahamas. How ludicrous is this. If
that person did things right in their life they are long gone from
that body, and if not, they had better have that body burned so they
can move on.
Let's give up our mundane attachment to these nasty bodies which are
just made of mucus, bile, blood, air, bones and waste. Let's get
spiritual America and realize we and our friends and relatives are not
these dead bodies. Ok- you don't have to throw it to the wolves, you
can have a respectable ceremony for the soul who once resided in it,
then burn it and throw the ashes in a river or ocean. The Ganges River
is the most recommended place to put them.
Let's stop polluting Mother Earth and wasting land space with all
these silly caskets and tombstones. There are better ways of honoring
the souls who have passed on other than worshiping their dead
carcasses with flowers at some grave site.
By Jayasri Radha