What is cremation rituals and its significance – Hinduism
Cremation Rituals – Cremation is a process in which physical body is burned and turned into the ashes. Cremation rituals are those which are performed after death of a person. Various doubts are there about the cremation, such as-
What are cremation rituals in true sense?
In Hinduism cremations rituals are done after death of a person. In cremation rituals, body made up of five physical elements is offered to the five elements back to remove total attachment of the person with the physical body.
To know the significance of cremation ritual, it necessary to know the exact meaning of death and birth, purpose of death, Who dies in true sense, purpose of birth after birth again and again or reincarnation, who obtains death and who takes birth, who are you in true sense, what is liberation, and who liberate during the liberation, etc.
All these are big mysteries for a common man.
What is death?
Death is only a small phase in your complete cycle of life and death in order to re-energize you, to learn more in the school of the world in order to go beyond the process of life and death.
You receive birth, enjoy joy and woe in your life and obtain death and again take birth repeatedly, no end except liberation.
You are made up of three kinds of bodies:
- Physical body,
- Subtle body and
- Pure consciousness
Soul
This pure consciousness is called a soul. This pure consciousness is divine consciousness which is beyond the life and death, joy and woe, and materialism.
This pure consciousness receives a human body and called a human being. When it becomes a human being, it automatically starts to feel deep belonging with his/her physical body and think that he or she is this physical body only. Hence, the person always feels that I am this body or this body is me. However, this is totally a false belief.
The person forgets that he or she is a pure consciousness. Due to this forgetfulness the person makes its feeling of “I” stronger as time passes. Resulting in, for everything the person finds him/her responsible and says I did this and I did that.
All these false belief creates a false ego (feeling of I) in the person. Due to false ego the person become responsible for his good and bad action and therefore, he has to face same kinds of realizations in the same life or in the future life till the liberation.
In every life, human being discharge energy accumulated due to his or her good and bad actions and also he or she accumulate more energy to discharge in the forthcoming lives. The cycle is infinite, no end.
Energy of Ego or I
This feeling of ‘I’ is so strong that no one can break this ego. Even death cannot break this ego. This ego can be broken only through a divine guru or a supreme consciousness or God. These three are same but seems different due to our false ego.
The person automatically attached with so many things such as, love, hate, revenge, anger, etc. These are emotions. Some are positive emotions and some are negative emotions.
When a person involves in positive emotions the person feel good and emits positivity all around and simultaneously collect positive Karma. Positive and good Karma gives good and positive life in the next birth.
Contrarily, when a person involves in the negative karma, he or she accumulate negative energy and feel negativity all around. The person also emits negative energy all around.
These positive and negative emotions and karma make your subtle body. This subtle body dynamically updated through your good and bad karma.
What happens after cremation in Hinduism?
Subtle body
When subtle body leaves the physical body, this physical body is called a dead body. Subtle body consists of following things:-
- Subtle body comprises all the emotions such as Anger, Love, Hate, truthfulness, Revenge, Reverence, and many more
- Subtle body consists of long lasting habit formations
- Desires
- Result of Karma both good karma and bad karma
- Curse and boons you earned in the soul life time
- Memories of all those things that you have realized in the current life and in the past lives
- Debts related to money
- Debts related to love and hate and many more things
Silver chord
Subtle body united with the physical body with a silver chord. You can do astral travel by leaving your physical body, but this silver chord never detached from the physical body.
Due to this silver chord you remain linked with the physical body doesn’t matter how far you travel in the world. Silver chord is made up of energy and no one can touch it and break it. At the time of death this silver chord detached from the physical body. Afterwards you don’t have any way to enter again into the physical body.
However, after death subtle body efforts a lot to enter into the physical body due to strong attachment with the physical body. In the subtle form a person has all the desires, and emotions but no way to express them.
Energy of Karma
After your death too, energy of your karma remains linked with the energy of your counter soul mates. Due to this linkage you come again and again in the world and you are forced to pay the debts to the counter soul mate. These debts may be related to love, hate, money, etc.
If someone kills you in one life, now to pay the debt of this act, you are forced to come again in the world and the counter soul mate also forced to come again in the world.
Both of you again come in the contact to discharge the accumulated energy. In the previous life your friend killed you and now you are forced to kill him. You are automatically trapped in the cycle of life and death due to your Karma.
“Life is echo, everything come back.”
What is the significance of cremation rituals?
In the Hinduism cremation rituals are very important. These cremations rituals remove the attachment of the subtle body from its physical body. This detachment is very essential in order to make journey easy after the death.
Otherwise, deceased person enters into the ghost life (“Preta Yoni”). This ghost life is very painful. In this ghost life, deceased person desires everything but he or she has no way to fulfill desires.
Is cremation okay spiritually?
Yes, cremation is 100 percent okay spiritually. This is the only way to make your subtle journey easy and peaceful.
What happens to our energy when cremated?
After cremation your energy start the journey further, search new physical body, and physical parents to come again in the world in order to fulfill desires accumulated in the subtle repository.
How does God feel about cremation rituals?
God is Universe. God is supreme consciousness. God is beyond all these kinds of feelings.
Is it against God to cremate a body?
No, cremation rituals are not against God .