Cremation
is mostly in Hindus who are Aryans. The word Hindu is not the
correct word because they are originally Aryans. In Vedas, Rahayan
and Mahabharat the word Arya is used for Aryans and not Hindus.
How
did the word Hindu came ? :
The
word Hindu is derived from the Sanskrit word Sindhu which is
the local name for the Indus River that flows through the north-western
part of the Indian subcontinent. Sindhu also means sea. The
word Hindu or Indu was used by Greeks to denote the country
and people living beyond the Indus river. Megasthenes' 'Indica'
epitomizes the name for India and Indians around the 4th Century
B.C.E. This word was misunderstood to be coined by Arabs, by
medieval and some modern Indian Historians. But this was only
an extention of the name used by the Greeks. The Arabic term
al-Hind, referred to the land of the people who live across
the river Indus. By the 13th century, the word Hindustan began
to be used as a popular alternative name for India, meaning
the "land of Hindus". Towards the end of the 18th
century, the European merchants and colonists referred collectively
to the followers of the Dharmic religions in Hindustan —
which geographically referred to most parts of the northern
Indian subcontinent — as Hindus. Eventually, any person
of Indian origin who did not practice Abrahamic religions came
to be known as a Hindu, thereby encompassing a wide range of
religious beliefs and practices.
The
word Hinduism was soon adopted by the Hindus themselves, as
a term that encompassed their national, social and cultural
identity.
The
original word for the now-so-called Hindus is Sanatan and Arya.
The word Hindu is believed to not appear in the Hindu scriptures,
viz, Vedas, Upanishads, and Puranas. The contemporary Hindus
are believers of and accept the authority of the said scriptures,
hence, they are more accurately identified as Sanatanis or Aryans.
Another word which is more accurate than Hindu, is Bhaaratiya.
People of India are believed to be the descendants of King Bharat.
From his name comes the original name of India, Bhaarat, and,
those residing in Bhaarat (India) are Bhaaratiya.
Cremation
:
Cremation is a method of final disposition of
a dead body through burning (combustion).
Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral
rite and as an alternative to the burial or interment of an
intact dead body. In some countries, including India and Nepal,
cremation on an open-air pyre is an ancient tradition. Starting
in the 19th century, cremation was introduced or reintroduced
into other parts of the world. In modern times, cremation is
commonly carried out with a closed furnace (cremator), at a
crematorium.
Cremation
leaves behind an average of 2.4kg of remains, known as "ashes"
or "cremains". This is not actual ash but unburnt
fragments of bone mineral, which are commonly ground down into
powder. They do not constitute a health risk and may be buried,
interred in a memorial site, retained by relatives or scattered
in various ways.
History
:
Cremation
dates from at least 17,000 years ago in the archaeological record,
with the Mungo Lady, the remains of a partly cremated body found
at Lake Mungo, Australia.
Alternative death rituals emphasizing one method
of disposal of a body—inhumation (burial), cremation,
or exposure—have gone through periods of preference throughout
history.
In
the Middle East and Europe, both burial and cremation are evident
in the archaeological record in the Neolithic era. Cultural
groups had their own preferences and prohibitions. The ancient
Egyptians developed an intricate transmigration-of-soul theology,
which prohibited cremation. This was also widely adopted by
Semitic peoples. The Babylonians, according to Herodotus, embalmed
their dead. Early Persians practiced cremation, but this became
prohibited during the Zoroastrian Period. Phoenicians practiced
both cremation and burial. From the Cycladic civilisation in
3000 BCE until the Sub-Mycenaean era in 1200–1100 BCE,
Greeks practiced inhumation. Cremation appeared around the 12th
century BCE, constituting a new practice of burial, probably
influenced by Anatolia. Until the Christian era, when inhumation
again became the only burial practice, both combustion and inhumation
had been practiced, depending on the era and location. Romans
practiced both, with cremation generally associated with military
honors.
In
Europe, there are traces of cremation dating to the Early Bronze
Age (c. 2000 BCE) in the Pannonian Plain and along the middle
Danube. The custom became dominant throughout Bronze Age Europe
with the Urnfield culture (from c. 1300 BCE). In the Iron Age,
inhumation again becomes more common, but cremation persisted
in the Villanovan culture and elsewhere. Homer's account of
Patroclus' burial describes cremation with subsequent burial
in a tumulus, similar to Urnfield burials, and qualifying as
the earliest description of cremation rites. This may be an
anachronism, as during Mycenaean times burial was generally
preferred, and Homer may have been reflecting the more common
use of cremation at the time the Iliad was written, centuries
later.
Hinduism
and Jainism are notable for not only allowing but prescribing
cremation. Cremation in Bharat (India) is first attested in
the Cemetery culture, considered the formative stage of Vedic
civilization which is approx. 7000 years old (5,000 BCE or earlier).
The Rigveda contains a reference to the emerging practice, in
RV 10.15.14, where the forefathers "both cremated (agnidagdhá-)
and uncremated (ánagnidagdha-)" are invoked.
Cremation remained common but not universal,
in both ancient Greece and ancient Rome. According to Cicero,
in Rome, inhumation was considered the more archaic rite, while
the most honoured citizens were most typically cremated—especially
upper classes and members of imperial families.
The rise of Christianity saw an end to cremation,
being influenced by its roots in Judaism, the belief in the
resurrection of the body, and following the example of Christ's
burial. Anthropologists have been able to track the advance
of Christianity throughout Europe with the appearance of cemeteries.
By the 5th century, with the spread of Christianity, the practice
of burning bodies gradually disappeared from Europe.
In
early Roman Britain, cremation was usual but diminished by the
4th century. It then reappeared in the 5th and 6th centuries
during the migration era, when sacrificed animals were sometimes
included with the human bodies on the pyre, and the deceased
were dressed in costume and with ornaments for the burning.
That custom was also very widespread among the Germanic peoples
of the northern continental lands from which the Anglo-Saxon
migrants are supposed to have been derived, during the same
period. These ashes were usually thereafter deposited in a vessel
of clay or bronze in an "urn cemetery". The custom
again died out with the Christian conversion of the Anglo-Saxons
or Early English during the 7th century, when Christian burial
became general.
Middle
Ages :
In parts of Europe, cremation was forbidden
by law, and even punishable by death if combined with Heathen
rites. Cremation was sometimes used by Catholic authorities
as part of punishment for Protestant heretics, which included
burning at the stake. For example, the body of John Wycliff
was exhumed years after his death and burned to ashes, with
the ashes thrown in a river, explicitly as a posthumous punishment
for his denial of the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation.
The
first to advocate for the use of cremation was the physician
Sir Thomas Browne in 1658. Honoretta Brooks Pratt became the
first recorded cremated European individual in modern times
when she died on 26 September 1769 and was illegally cremated
at the burial ground on Hanover Square in London.
Different
religions and Cremation :
Indian
religions :
Indian
religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism practice
cremation. The founder of Buddhism, Shakyamuni Buddha, was cremated.
For Buddhist spiritual masters who are cremated, one of the
results of cremation is the formation of Buddhist relics.
Hinduism
:
Antyesti literally means "last sacrifice",
and refers to the funeral rites for the dead in Hinduism, which
usually involve cremation of the body. This rite of passage
is the last sanskar in a series of traditional life cycle sanskars
that start from conception in Hindu tradition. It is also referred
to as Antim Sanskar, Antya-kriya, Anvarohanyya, or as Vahni
Sanskar.
The details of the Antyesti ceremony depends
on the region, caste, gender and age of the dead.
A
dead adult Hindu is mourned with a cremation, while a dead child
is typically buried. The rite of passage is performed in harmony
with the Hindu religious view that the microcosm of all living
beings is a reflection of a macrocosm of the universe. The soul
(Atman, Brahman) is the essence and immortal that is released
at the Antyeshti ritual, but both the body and the universe
are vehicles and transitory in various schools of Hinduism.
They consist of five elements – air, water, fire, earth
and space. The last rite of passage returns the body to the
five elements and origins. The roots of this belief are found
in the Vedas, for example in the hymns of Rigveda in section
10.16, as follows:
Burn
him not up, nor quite consume him, Agni: let not his body or
his skin be scattered,
O all possessing Fire, when thou hast matured him, then send
him on his way unto the Fathers.
When thou hast made him ready, all possessing Fire, then do
thou give him over to the Fathers,
When he attains unto the life that waits him, he shall become
subject to the will of gods.
The Sun receive thine eye, the Wind thy Prana (life-principle,
breathe); go, as thy merit is, to earth or heaven.
Go, if it be thy lot, unto the waters; go, make thine home in
plants with all thy members.
The final rite in the case of untimely death of a child is usually
not cremation but a burial. This is rooted in Rig Veda's section
10.18, where the hymns mourn the death of the child, praying
to deity Mrityu to "neither harm our girls nor our boys",
and pleads the earth to cover, protect the deceased child as
a soft wool.
Ashes
of the cremated bodies are usually spread in a river, which
are considered holy in the Hindu practice. Ganga is considered
to be the holiest river and Varanasi, which is on the banks
of river Ganga the holiest place to be cremated at.
Saints
and Small Children's are buried in Hinduism :
Saints
:
According
to the Ancient Hindu tradition, there are four phases of human
life, also called as Ashrams. They are Brahmacharya (bachelor
student), Grihasth (After marriage with family), Vaanprasth
(Retirement after completing his household responsibilities),
and Sanyas in the later part of their life.
There
is no rule that a person has to follow through this cycle to
attain Sanyas. Great souls who renounce worldly pleasures can
attain Sanyas in brahmacharya phase itself to dedicate the rest
of their lives towards spiritual advancement.

The
greatest example of true Sanyasi is Jagadguru Adi Sankaracharya,
who attained sanyas at the age of 8 years.
There
are some duties and responsibilities for leading a life of Sanyasi.
They will attain Sanyas when they are detached from all worldly
pleasures and they have to live a simple life and typically
detached from all relational and emotional attachments. After
his death i.e., the sanyasi leaves this physical body, he is
believed to attain immortality through kapal moksh (pran coming
out of brahmarandhra). Their mortal remains are buried in the
soil.
Why
are Sanyasis buried :
It
is Hindu tradition to cremate their dead to release the soul
of the deceased. It is believed that the Agni sanskar, will
help the departed soul to relinquish attachments on this physical
body without hovering and continue his upward journey towards
heaven. The rituals performed during the cremation and afterward
help the soul to severe ties with earthly life.
According to Hinduism a Sanyasi has already relinquished all
his earthly ties and lost attachments on this physical body.
So he need not be cremated to achieve the moksh. After the burial,
a Brindavan (Tulsi plant) is grown over the site.
As
per the rules of the Sampraday, many Sanyasis are buried, but
not the way of other religions. A pit 10 * 10 * 10 (enough big
so that 2/3 persons can go down holding the body). Darbhs are
spread at the base, body is kept in sitting position and pit
is filled with auspicious substances like panchamrit, flowers,
scented oils, etc.
Scriptures
related to burying of Sanyasis :
Hindus traditionally cremate their dead because a fiery dissolution
of the body brings swifter, more complete release of the soul
than burial, which preserves the soul's psychic connection to
its just-ended earthly life. After death, the departed soul
hovers close to the earth plane in its astral body, emotionally
attached to the physical body and its old surroundings, still
able to see this material world. The funeral rites and burning
of the body signify spiritual release, notifying the soul that,
in fact, death has come. Some of the funeral chants address
the deceased, urging the soul to relinquish attachments and
continue its spiritual journey. The Gods and devas are invoked
to assist the soul in its transition. The fire severs ties to
earthly life and gives momentum to the soul, granting at least
momentary access to refined, heavenly realms.
All
attention is on a singular goal, as expressed in this prayer
from the Rig Ved :
"Release
him again, O Agni, to the fathers. The one offered to you now
proceeds to his destiny. Putting on new life, let him approach
the surviving, let him reunite with a [new] body, All-Knowing
One!" (10. 16. 5).
So
a person is cremated for his soul to achieve after death what
a sannyasi has already achieved before death.
The
sannyasin has no sacrament involving the sacred fire: he has
the fire of knowledge (jnanagni) in him. His body is not cremated
- that is there is no Agni-samskar for it- but interred as a
matter of respect. Strictly speaking, it must be cut into four
parts and consigned to the four quarters of a forest. There
it will be food for birds and beasts. In an inhabited place
the severed parts of the body would cause inconvenience to people.
That is why they were thrown into the forest. There it would
be food for its denizens; if buried it would be manure for the
plants. Now over the site of the interment of a sannyasin's
body a Brindavana is grown [or built] : this again is done out
of respect. At such sites all that is to be done is to plant
a bilva or asvattha tree.
When
the Yogi separates himself from the physical body at the time
of death, Brahmarandhra bursts open and Prana comes out through
this opening (Kapal Moksh). “A hundred and one are the
nerves of the heart. Of them one (Sushumna) has gone out piercing
the head; going up through it, one attains immortality”
(Kathopanishad).
To
attain this or symbolically yogis and sanyasins after death
are placed in yoga posture. Sometimes kapal moksh is made by
throwing a coconut on the head. Then the mortal body is buried.
Brahmarandhra
: When the Yogi separates himself from the physical body at
the time of death, this Brahmarandhra bursts open and Prana
comes out through this opening (Kapala Moksha). “A hundred
and one are the nerves of the heart. Of them one (Sushumna)
has gone out piercing the head; going up through it, one attains
immortality” (Kathopanishad).
For the Sannyasis, there is an explanation given in the so-called
Sannyasa Upanishads, which are all minor Upanishads.
I am quoting from the Paingala Upanishad that is linked with
the Shukla Yajurved :
He gives up his body whether in a sacred place, or in a chandal's
(outcaste's) house (without any distinction whatever), and attains
salvation. Such a body (when seen by a person) should be offered
as a sacrifice to dik (the quarters) or should be buried (underground).
It is only to Purush (the wise) that sannyas (renunciation)
is ordained and not to others. In case of the death of an ascetic
who is of the form (or has attained the nature) of Brahman,
there is no pollution (to be observed) ; neither the ceremonies
of fire (as burning the body, hom, eta); nor the pind (balls
of rice), nor ceremonies of water, nor the periodical ceremonies
(monthly and yearly). Just as a food once cooked is not again
cooked, so a body once burnt (by the fire of wisdom) should
not be burnt (or exposed to fire) again.
To one whose body was burnt by the fire of wisdom there is neither
sraddh (required to be performed), nor (funeral) ceremony.
From
the Upanishad's 4th Adhyai.
So,
food once cooked is not to be cooked again is the logic being
provided.
Another relevant verse from another Sannyasa Upanishad :
Triple staff, sacrificial string, loincloth, sling, and water
strainer: these he should carry all his life. These are the
five articles of a renouncer. They are declared to be the five
parts of Brahman.5 Let him not abandon them until death. Even
at death he should be buried with them.6
Initiation and Last Rites of a Sanyasi :
Vamdev
requested Kartikey to enlighten his mind with that knowledge,
without which a Sanyasi can never attain liberation.
Kartikey then told him about the methods how a Sanyasi should
get initiation from his guru. A disciple should worship his
guru in any of the following months - Shravan, Ashwin, Kartik,
Agahan and Magh. He should then establish a Kalash and worship
it. He should again worship his guru considering him as the
form of Lord Shiv.
The guru should then initiate him with the Shiv mantra. After
getting the Mantra, the disciple should chant it considering
himself as Shiv - Shivoaham. After this the disciple should
get his head tonsured. The barber who is supposed to shave off
the hairs should be given pure clothes to wear. The barber should
also wash his hands with mud and water. The instruments and
apparatus, which he is supposed to use, should be made pure
by the 'Astra' mantras.
First of all the front portion of the head should be shaved
off after that the back portion of the head should be shaved
off. The disciple should then get his beards and moustache shaved
off. After this the disciple should massage his body with mud
and take bath by taking twelve dips in a pond. After taking
his bath he should worship his Guru and meditate on Lord Shiv.
Kartikey told Sage Vamdev that an ascetic does not die but takes
a Samadhi, therefore instead of being cremated he is buried.
Therefore an ascetic must practice the art of Samadhi to perfection.
If he has not yet perfected the art of Samadhi, then he should
keep on practicing yog till he attains mastery over the art
of Samadhi. He should try to concentrate his mind on the Omkar
mantra, which is eternal. If his body has become weak and feeble
and incapable of doing physical exercises like Pranayam then
he should indulge himself in Shiv remembrance. This way an ascetic
can attain to heaven. After his death the rest of the ascetics
should perform the rituals at his place of death for ten days.
An altar should be constructed on the eleventh day. Five quadrangular
mandals should be made facing towards the northern direction.
In each of these mandas, deities like Deveshwari, Atiwahak etc.
should be established first and then worshipped. The worship
should be done as per the instruction of Guru by offering 'Prasad'.
This Prasad should be, given to a virgin girl or cow, later
on. The articles used in the process of worship should be immersed
in the river or pond. In this way, the Parvan shradh ceremony
of the deceased ascetic is accomplished. It is worth nothing
that 'Ekodisht' Shradh is not performed after an ascetic death.
After the completion of 'Parvan Shradh' the ascetic should perform
the Ekadashah Shradh as per the instructions of their Guru.
On the twelfth day, the ascetics should invite the brahmins,
after getting up in the morning and taking their bath. These
brahmins should be feeded.
The ascetics should then take a vow to worship their Guru by
holding a 'Kush' grass in their hands. After that, they should
wash the lotus feet's of their Guru and worship him. Even the
worship of Guru's teacher should be done.
After the worship is over, the Guru should get up by saying
'Shubhamastu'- benediction to all. He should then sprinkle the
purified rice by chanting mantras. At last donations should
be made to the invited brahmins.
Children's :
Children,
on the other hand, are buried as the soul has not stayed in
the body long enough to develop any attachment.
Cremation
is the norm in Hinduism to dispose of the dead body. However,
this norm does not apply to children. The bodies of young children
who die within a year from the date of their birth are usually
buried rather than cremated. In some instances they are consigned
to rivers. In other words their bodies are offered to water
or the earth, rather than fire. It is because the subtle bodies
of children remain underdeveloped and hence unfit for fire sacrifice.
The final rites of a burial, in case of untimely death of a
child, is rooted in Rig Veda's section 10.18, where the hymns
mourn the death of the child, praying to deity Mrityu to "neither
harm our girls nor our boys", and pleads the earth to cover,
protect the deceased child as a soft wool.
Betake
thee to the Iap of Earth the Mother, of Earth far-spreading,
very kind and gracious. Young Dame, wool-soft unto the guerdon
giver, may she preserve thee from Destruction's bosom.
Satyayaniya
Upanishad
As
regards, the children, then we find the scriptural injunctions,
but i don't think we can find the reasons as well :
Immediate
is [the purification, on the death of a child] who has not teethed
; [and impurity extends over] one night, before the ceremony
of tonsure (Chuddkaranam) [is performed within two years] ;
and three nights,, before the investiture with the sacred thread
(Upanayanam] ; and ten nights, afterwards.
Usana Smriti verses
When
a child dies before it is 3 years old or before teething, no
offerings of food or water are prescribed, and it should not
be cremated.
Baudhayana Dharma Sutras 1.11.7
So,
IMO impurities do not result from a child's death depending
on whether it had teethed or not and also on few other factors.
Christianity
:
In
Christian countries and cultures, cremation has historically
been discouraged, but now in many denominations it is accepted.
Catholicism
:
Christians preferred to bury the dead rather
than to cremate the remains, as was common in Roman culture.
The Roman catacombs and veneration of relics of saints witness
to this preference. For them, the body was not a mere receptacle
for a spirit that was the real person, but an integral part
of the human person. They looked on the body as sanctified by
the sacraments and itself the temple of the Holy Spirit, and
thus requiring to be disposed of in a way that honours and reveres
it, and they saw many early practices involved with disposal
of dead bodies as pagan in origin or an insult to the body.
The idea that cremation might interfere with
God's ability to resurrect the body was refuted as early as
the 2nd-century Octavius of Minucius Felix, in which he said:
"Every body, whether it is dried up into dust, or is dissolved
into moisture, or is compressed into ashes, or is attenuated
into smoke, is withdrawn from us, but it is reserved for God
in the custody of the elements. Nor, as you believe, do we fear
any loss from sepulture, but we adopt the ancient and better
custom of burying in the earth." And while there was a
clear preference for burial, there was no general Church law
forbidding cremation until 1866. Even in Medieval Europe, cremation
was practiced in situations where there were multitudes of corpses
simultaneously present, such as after a battle, after a pestilence
or famine, and where there was an imminent fear of diseases
spreading from the corpses, since individual burials with digging
graves would take too long and body decomposition would begin
before all the corpses had been interred.
Beginning in the Middle Ages, and even more
so in the 18th century and later, rationalists and classicists
began to advocate cremation again as a statement denying the
resurrection and/or the afterlife, although the pro-cremation
movement more often than not took care to address and refute
theological concerns about cremation in their works. Sentiment
within the Catholic Church against cremation became hardened
in the face of the association of cremation with "professed
enemies of God." When some Masonic groups advocated cremation
as a means of rejecting Christian belief in the resurrection,
the Holy See forbade Catholics to practise cremation in 1886.
The 1917 Code of Canon Law incorporated this ban, but in 1963,
recognizing that, in general, cremation was being sought for
practical purposes and not as a denial of bodily resurrection,
the choice of cremation was permitted in many circumstances.
The current 1983 Code of Canon Law, states: "The Church
earnestly recommends the pious custom of burial be retained;
but it does not forbid cremation, unless this is chosen for
reasons which are contrary to Christian teaching."
There are no universal rules governing Catholic
funeral rites in connection with cremation, but episcopal conferences
have laid down rules for various countries. Of these, perhaps
the most elaborate are those established, with the necessary
confirmation of the Holy See, by the United States Conference
of Catholic Bishops and published as Appendix II of the United
States edition of the Order of Christian Funerals.
Although the Holy See has in some cases authorized
bishops to grant permission for funeral rites to be carried
out in the presence of cremated remains, it is preferred that
the rites be carried out before cremation, in the presence of
the still intact body. Practices that show insufficient respect
for the ashes of the dead such as turning them into jewelry
or scattering them are forbidden for Catholics.
Anglicanism
and Lutheranism :
In 1917, Volume 6 of the American Lutheran Survey stated that
"The Lutheran clergy as a rule refuse" and that "Episcopal
pastors often take a stand against it." Indeed, in the
1870s, the Anglican Bishop of London stated that the practice
of cremation would "undermine the faith of mankind in the
doctrine of the resurrection of the body, and so bring about
a most disastrous social revolution." In The Lutheran Pastor,
George Henry Gerberding stated:
Third.
As to cremation. This is not a Biblical or Christian mode of
disposing of the dead. The Old and New Testament agree and take
for granted that as the body was taken originally from the earth,
so it is to return to the earth again. Burial is the natural
and Christian mode. There is a beautiful symbolism in it. The
whole terminology of eschatology presupposes it. Cremation is
purely heathenish. It was the practice among the Greeks and
Romans. The mass of the Hindoos thus dispose of their dead.
It is dishonoring to the body, intended for a temple of the
Holy Ghost and to bear the image of God. It is an insidious
denial of the doctrine of the resurrection.
However, Protestant churches welcomed the use
of cremation at a much earlier date than the Catholic Church;
pro-cremation sentiment was not unanimous among Protestants,
however. The first crematoria in the Protestant countries were
built in the 1870s, and in 1908, the Dean and Chapter of Westminster
Abbey—one of the most famous Anglican churches—required
that remains be cremated for burial in the abbey's precincts.
Today, "scattering", or "strewing," is an
acceptable practice in many Protestant denominations, and some
churches have their own "garden of remembrance" on
their grounds in which remains can be scattered. Other groups
also support cremation. Some denominations, like Lutheran churches
in Scandinavia, favour the urns being buried in family graves.
A family grave can contain urns of many generations and also
the urns of spouses and loved ones.
Methodism
:
An early Methodist tract titled Immortality
and Resurrection noted that "burial is the result of a
belief in the resurrection of the body, while cremation anticipates
its annihilation." The Methodist Review noted that "Three
thoughts alone would lead us to suppose that the early Christians
would have special care for their dead, namely, the essential
Jewish origin of the Church; the mode of burial of their founder;
and the doctrine of the resurrection of the body, so powerfully
urged by the apostles, and so mighty in its influence on the
primitive Christians. From these considerations, the Roman custom
of cremation would be most repulsive to the Christian mind."
Eastern
Orthodox and others who forbid cremation :
On the other hand, some branches of Christianity
oppose cremation, including some minority Protestant groups
and Orthodox. Most notably, the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental
Orthodox Churches forbid cremation, as a custom, but not dogmatically.
Exceptions are made for circumstances where it may not be avoided
(when civil authority demands it, or epidemics) or if it may
be sought for good cause,[clarification needed] but when a cremation
is willfully chosen for no good cause by the one who is deceased,
he or she is not permitted a funeral in the church and may also
be permanently excluded from liturgical prayers for the departed.
In Orthodoxy, cremation is perceived by some a rejection of
the dogma of the general resurrection.
The Church of God (Restoration) also forbids
the practice of cremation, believing it to be a pagan practice.
Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints :
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
(LDS Church) has, in past decades, discouraged cremation without
expressly forbidding it. In the 1950s, for example, Apostle
Bruce R. McConkie wrote that "only under the most extraordinary
and unusual circumstances" would cremation be consistent
with LDS teachings.
However, more recent LDS publications have provided
instructions for how to dress the deceased when they have received
their temple endowments (and thus wear temple garments) prior
to cremation for those wishing to do so, or in countries where
the law requires cremation. Except where required by law, the
family of the deceased may decide whether the body should be
cremated, though the Church "does not normally encourage
cremation."
Bali,
Indonesia :
Balinese Hindu dead are generally buried inside the container
for a period of time, which may exceed one month or more, so
that the cremation ceremony (Ngaben) can occur on an auspicious
day in the Balinese-Javanese Calendar system ("Saka").
Additionally, if the departed was a court servant, member of
the court or minor noble, the cremation can be postponed up
to several years to coincide with the cremation of their Prince.
Balinese funerals are very expensive and the body may be interred
until the family can afford it or until there is a group funeral
planned by the village or family when costs will be less. The
purpose of burying the corpse is for the decay process to consume
the fluids of the corpse, which allows for an easier, more rapid
and more complete cremation.
Islam
:
Islam strictly forbids cremation. Islam has specific rites for
the treatment of the body after death.
Judaism
:
Judaism traditionally disapproved of cremation in the past (it
was the traditional means of disposing the dead in the neighboring
Bronze Age cultures). It has also disapproved of preservation
of the dead by means of embalming and mummifying, a practice
of the ancient Egyptians.
Through history and up to the philosophical
movements of the current era Modern Orthodox, Orthodox, Haredi,
and Hasidic movements in Judaism have maintained a strict biblical
line against cremation, and disapprove of it as Halakha (Jewish
law) forbids it. This halakhic concern is grounded in the upholding
of bodily resurrection as a core belief of traditional Judaism,
as opposed to other ancient trends such as the Sadduccees, who
denied it as well as the clear wording of the Torah in Devarim
(Deuteronomy) 21:23 "Bury, you will bury him the same day;
for the (unburied body) is a curse to God" with both a
positive command derived from this verse to command one to bury
a dead body and a negative command forbidding neglecting to
bury a dead body. Some from the generally liberal Conservative
Jewish also oppose cremation, some very strongly.
During the 19th and early 20th centuries, as
the Jewish cemeteries in many European towns had become crowded
and were running out of space, in a few cases cremation for
the first time became an approved means of corpse disposal among
the emerging liberal and Reform Jewish movements in line with
their across the board rejection of traditional Torah ritual
laws having mandatory standing. Current liberal movements like
Reform Judaism still support cremation, although burial remains
the preferred option.
In Israel, where religious ritual events including
free burial and funeral services for all who die in Israel and
all citizens including the majority Jewish population including
for the secular or non-observant are almost universally facilitated
through the Rabinate of Israel which is an Orthodox organization
following traditional Jewish law, there were no formal crematories
until 2004 when B&L Cremation Systems Inc. became the first
crematory manufacturer to sell a retort to Israel. In August
2007, an orthodox youth group in Israel was accused of burning
down the country's sole crematorium. The crematorium was rebuilt
within weeks by its owner Aley Shalechet and the retort replaced.
Since that incident, cremation has taken place in Israel without
interruption.
Other
:
Baha'i :
The Baha'i Faith forbids cremation, "He feels that, in
view of what ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has said against
cremation, the believers should be strongly urged, as an act
of faith, to make provisions against their remains being cremated.
Bahá’u’lláh has laid down as a law,
in the Aqdas, the manner of Bahá’í burial,
and it is so beautiful, befitting and dignified, that no believer
should deprive himself of it."
Zoroastrianism
:
Traditionally, Zoroastrianism disavows cremation or burial to
preclude pollution of fire or earth. The traditional method
of corpse disposal is through ritual exposure in a "Tower
of Silence", but both burial and cremation are increasingly
popular alternatives. Some contemporary adhererents of the faith
have opted for cremation. Parsi-Zoroastrian singer Freddie Mercury
of the group Queen was cremated after his death.
China
:
Neo-Confucianism under Zhu Xi strongly discourages cremation
of one's parents' corpses as unfilial. Han Chinese traditionally
practiced burial and viewed cremation as taboo and as a barbarian
practice.
Traditionally, only Buddhist monks in China
exclusively practiced cremation because ordinary Han Chinese
detested cremation, refusing to do it. But now, the atheist
Communist party enforces a strict cremation policy on Han Chinese.
However, exceptions are made for Hui who do not cremate their
dead due to Islamic beliefs.
The minority Jurchen and their Manchu descendants
originally practiced cremation as part of their culture. They
adopted the practice of burial from the Han, but many Manchus
continued to cremate their dead.