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The world of the Dead

The world of the Dead

*Piyaray Raina

he ritualistic burial or cremation of the dead stems from the instinctive inability or refusal on the part of the man to accept that the death is the definitive end of the human life .Despite the horrifying evidence of the physical decomposition caused by death, the belief has somehow persisted that something of the individual person survives the experience of dying. This belief has profoundly influenced the thoughts, emotions and actions of mankind . The expression of this belief is found in all religions, past and present which has decisively conditioned their response towards the dead.

Two different viewpoints have emerged to what happens after death:

The individual person is a psychophysical organism of which both material and non-material constituents are essential in order to maintain a properly integral personal existence. Although death is the fatal shattering of the physical existence, some constituent element of the living person survives, not necessarily in its original form. Christians, Jews, Muslims believe that after death, a shadowy wraith (ghostlike) descends to the realm of death, wherefrom he will be resurrected by the god on the Judgment Day in his pre-existing body and thereafter live in an eternal bliss in heaven or everlasting torment in hell depending upon his earned merit in his life before death.

The Hinduism and Buddhism also hold an individual as psychophysical individual but with a difference. The individual person is a combination of self or soul which is non material and a physical body. The soul is regarded as immortal and existing before the body was formed and continues to live even after its destruction of body at the time of death. The soul in essence is the unlimited primordial consciousness (Purusha) of many small individuals cells some of which, are separated from the main body at the time of manifestation and are eager to go back to that state, to regain which they are born again and again till they complete their journey in the manifested world.

These two divergent thoughts about the world of the dead has manifested in a response befitting their viewpoints. After death it is a universal custom to prepare the corpse for final disposal. Generally this involves it’s washing, dressing in special garments,

some religious rites to bid farewell to the dead and also to guard living from the contagion of death. The believers of resurrection need to preserve the body of the dead and hence it is put in a grave in a well- made coffin and marked with a tombstone which sometimes reveal the identity of the individual by writing his name on it. The affluent ones raise beautiful structures (e.g.Tajmahal). In ancient Egypt the body of the dead was mummified by embalming for its preservation and their mouths were left open to breath and take nourishment. The Egyptian kings, Pharaohs planned their burial tombs ((Pyramids) in advance in which their prized material possessions were kept after death along with provision of needs for living comfortably till the day of judgment. In some cases pipes were connected with the grave from surface to feed the dead. The death of a Chinese king would demand that his entire retinue of servants would also have to die to serve him in the grave. Followers of Christianity believe in immediate and final Judgment. Final judgment may take a long time and hence a provision of purgatory (residing place for dead) has been made where the dead expiated their venial sins in readiness for the final judgment. Provisions of sacred bread and drinks in the graves have been made for consumption in the purgatory ,though the dead sufferer there in a dismembered state, because their bodies would not be resurrected until the judgment day

Though Hinduism does not believe in the resurrection of living body but it does believe in the resurrection of same soul along with that part of the body which does not get destroyed by cremation. Hindus believe there are three parts of the human body (Trividha sharira). These are:

a) Gross body (Sthul sharira), physical body which depends for survival on the food we take and dies at the time of death which is destroyed by cremation;

b) Subtle body (Sukshama-sharira), a compact unit of vital airs (five pranas), organs of knowledge (five jnanendriyas), abstract mind (manas) and intellect (buddhi). The subtle body does not get destroyed at the time of death;

c) Causal body (Karnan-sharira ), the innermost soul, which cannot live without a body. As per the theory of migration of soul (also known as law of karma) the soul keeps on reincarnating (we may call it Resurrection of soul) till it exhausts all its sins (papas) and gains good moral actions (punyas). There is no conception of the Judgment day in Hinduism but it has a deity Yama (the god of underworld) who is an efficient accountant and a judge (dharamraza). He keeps an accurate account of the karmic deeds of an individual and decides in fairness for stay of the dead in hell or heaven

With or without the same body, the ultimate journey of the dead ends up in heaven or hell The hell is conceived as dark ,grim damned joyless, gloomy place where the shades of all dead merely survive. An interesting account of hell is given in an eighth century Japanese text ,the koji-ki, which tells of the first contact with death experienced by the primordial pair Izangi and Izanami .When his wife died Izanami descended to Yomi, the underworld of darkness to bring back his wife. The request was granted by the god Yomi on the condition that he does not look at her in the underworld. Impatiently he struck a light and was horrified to see his wife’s decomposed corpse. He fled in terror and disgust, blocking the entrance to Yomi with a great rock. On the other side the heaven is pictured as a place full of noble beings who are immortal and where there are beautiful gardens and one has unlimited access to free enjoyment of all sorts –wine, beautiful women etc. No wealth is needed there to buy these anything. For a Hindu even heaven (swarga) is not the final place of resting . His ultimate goal to merge back with Brahman and live there with Him as a part of His body (advaita concept) or live in His proximity (dvaita concept).

The journey to these places is conceived differently and accordingly necessary provisions have been made for this journey. Ancient Egyptian coffins (on display in various museums )bear painted plans for the journey to the underworld along with a copy of the book for the dead. Romans and Greeks provided money to pay Charon for their passage across the Styx (river) along with honey cakes for Cerberus the fearsome dog that guarded the entrance to Hades (the underworld god). After the judgment day the Pharaoh flies to heaven to meet Sun god Re in a solar boat across the sky or he may use a ladder for which provisions have to be made in his pyramid. Truly speaking, the Hindu religion does not prescribe any provisions for the journey of the dead other than water oblations(tarpan), because the body does not survive after cremation, but later insertions through Puranic mythology and priestly interests have introduced a system of material offerings to the dead for his year long journey till he enters a new body

A different view existed in the Aztec civilization which flourished in present day Mexico. There was no hell or heaven concept. The

Sacrifice was a common theme in Mesoamerican cultures

ultimate goal of an Aztec was to reach sun god which he would automatically reach after nine deaths and rebirths.(how they maintained count of their births/deaths is not known). But if one offered himself for sacrifice, willingly or unwillingly, to propitiate sun god with his blood for preserving the cosmic order he would go to sun god directly. Even children were offered to sun god if crops failed. The dead would live as humming birds and visit their families regularly. Specially raised altars (still preserved) were raised for these sacrifices. To honour the sacrifice, November first and second, are even now traditionally observed day of the dead. It is believed the dead visit their families on these two days (children on first and others on second). Preparations for these two days start months ahead. All establishments remain closed on these days. The whole country makes elaborate arrangements for the reception of dead ones, which include raising a platforms outside their home, on which are placed ,symbolic sugar skulls, bread rolls shaped like human bone, miniature candy coffins floral wreaths, candies, candles, incense, specially prepared foods from maize. The path to the altar is decorated with flower petals as a welcome to the departed souls. Celebrations are now made in churches and food offered to dead is shared there in the name of dead ones .

Death rituals of a Hindu individual centre around offering the body to Yama through a yagnya (cremation), immersion of his ashes in a sacred river ,preserving of his clan identity (gotra) by ritualistic worship in which he or she is merged in the clan of his ancestors Males with males and females with females. and there after on the annual day of the death, as per lunar calendar , they are remembered by their progeny by performing a shraddha ceremony in which a yagnya is performed , brahmin priests are offered a heavy meal (brahm bojan) and paid money (dakshna) for conducting the ceremony. All the family members and near relations join in the evening meal

(For details of death rituals in Kashmiri Pandits visit Pujas at www.kpsamarpan .org)

*Piyaray Raina was born in Srinagar Kashmir in1936.He is Geologist by profession . He received initiation into spiritual fold at an early age. Married to Krishna . He has a son Dijjotam ,who lives in Atlanta and a daughter Jyoti ,who lives in London. He is the author of “Socio Religious and Cultural Traditions of Kashmiri Pandits.” He writes for various community journals. Mr. Raina lives USA with his son and in Gurgaon India . He is President of Samarpan Public Charitable Trust (Regd) which is engaged in various social , cultural and educational activities. He runs a school for children at Gurgaon.

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