The Third Rebirth Shwetha Jayaraj
The journey of the Hindu soul once it has died is thought to follow a unique rite of passage in which the quest to the next phase is allowed to commence after death. This narrative will describe the process of one soul's journey through this unique ritual process into the next life. This ritual is known as final rites cremation or antyesti.
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Part 1: Separation The grieving family around the soul looked somberly at his body. Their eyes were filled with tears and still others in the room next to them were struggling hard to keep up their hope in their loved one. One woman, who had known and stayed with the man that was on the bed, solemnly nodded to bring in the holy looking man with orange robes into the heavy-hearted room. It is commonly known that, as the soul approaches death, a priest is contacted and, with his arrival, the priest and the family should gather around the dying person. Those present chant mantras or play a recording of mantras being chanted. When death seems imminent, the body should, if possible, be transferred to a grass mat on the floor. A small amount of water from the Ganges River should be placed in the dying person’s mouth. If this is not possible before death, then these actions should take place immediately following the death. The family surrounded him solemnly and the man with orange robes continued reciting sanskrit lines but now sprinkled holy water on this body. With each splash, the water allowed the man to free himself from his body. The man saw others around his body look onward and hug each other with forelonging. They were all in pain having to go through this process of losing a loved one. The soul did not want to accept his fate but once he saw the priest arrive, he knew the inevitability of what was to come, and his desires swiftly pacified away. The atmosphere was like a thick blanket as a the priest walked over to the man’s body and began reciting emphatic verses, and the soul began to feel lighter than ever before: The doctors confirmed the news, and the man’s body was quickly taken away from the room, the building, and then transferred into a grand cleansing bathtub. Preparations for the funeral began immediately. It is customary for the funeral to take place as soon as possible—traditionally, by the next dusk or dawn, whichever occurs first. The family hence commenced preparing the body for a special bath in which the body was washed by family members and close friends. For the ritual washing, the deceased’s head is faced southward. A lighted oil lamp as well as a picture of the deceased’s favorite deity is then kept by the deceased’s head. Traditionally, for the abhishegam (holy bath), the body can also be washed in a mixture of milk, yogurt, ghee (clarified butter), and honey. The body may also be washed in purified water and so this is what the soul’s family did. While the body was being washed, the family members that were washing the man’s body began to recite mantras. Once the body is sufficiently cleaned, the big toes were then tied together, with the hands placed palm-to-palm in a position of prayer, and the man’s body then shrouded in a plain white sheet and dressed in simple white cloth. Afterwards, taking care to avoid unnecessary touching of the body as that is considered impure, the man’s body was then placed on a stretcher into the middle of the room. While the lively beings around the soul sobbed in pain around him, the soul knew that he was soon to embark on a journey where this pain would not be the case any longer. Hinduism upholds the belief of cycles of life through reincarnation, this ritual also prepared the deceased for the life to come.
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Part 2: Transition Generally it is customary to hold a brief wake before cremation. Hence, the man’s body was placed in a simple, inexpensive casket before the final ceremony began. Vibhuti (ash) or chandanam (sandalwood) was applied to the forehead of the man and a garland of flowers was placed around his neck, along with holy basil placed in the casket. During the wake, family and friends gathered around the casket and recited hymns & mantras. At the end of the wake, before the body is removed for cremation, many Hindus place pinda (rice balls) near the casket. At the end of the wake, the casket is removed feet-first and brought to the place of cremation. More holy water was sprinkled on the body at various points in the service. Extreme care was given by all mourners to avoid touching the body, an act of blatant disrespect and impurity. The body is then carried on a stretcher to the area of cremation or burial. People accompanying the body will offer the kirtan, mantras chanted in a hymn-like manner. For many Hindus, it is important that the skull be cracked, urging the departed soul to move on. This is a significant part of the ceremony. In the meantime, the soul makes a trip to Yama immediately after death and in this realm gets properly identified by the Death God himself on where the soul will go. However, it is only after cremation that the soul gets to rise and make this trip to the Realm of Fathers. With this in mind, the soul travelled back to the cremation ritual once Yama gave his final verdict. Praise is often sung of Yama in the preluding ritual to the cremation ceremony. The Karta i s selected as the person who will light the cremation pyre. Traditionally, it is the oldest son that is selected or eldest male of the family. In this family, indeed it was the man’s son who had children of his own that were looking on as the ceremony began. The karta began to walk around the pyre three times counterclockwise with the body to the left of him reciting the mantras told to him by the priest with the man’s body resting in the middle of the pyre. The son then, with not a single tear in his eye, lit the pyre on fire. In the Hindu religion, fire is considered a sacred gateway to the spiritual world. Agni, the Fire God as well as the messenger of the gods, is called upon while the funeral pyre is lit to help guide the soul to his path as well as to allow his physical body to return to the natural elements of where it came from through this ceremony: 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,
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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. — Rigveda 10.161 The Antyeshti, or final Hindu funeral rites, will vary slightly according to the religious sect or caste of the deceased. The rites have customs that take place around the body, including the covering of the body with flowers, a lamp placed at the head of the body, and incense being burned in the room. During the ceremony, often officiated by a Hindu priest or by the karta, prayers will be offered and hymns sung. Non-Hindus are often invited to attend the cremation service. They usually are asked to sit rather than participate, though it is becoming more common to allow guests to participate in any part of the ceremony in which they would feel comfortable. Part 3: Incorporation At the moment when the final verse completes, the cremation ceremony is over and it is from this time onwards, and only after this time, that the soul can then be let go to unite with their respective yonim or sanskrit word synonym for “home of the soul”. For the others, it is customary that on the third day after cremation, the karta then goes to the cremation service area and collects the ashes of the man’s body. The karta would then see that the ashes were disposed of in a significant river. In India, many still travel to the Ganges River to scatter the ashes there. Today many other rivers have been approved for such purposes as well. For Hindus living outside of India, there are companies that will arrange for the shipment of the cremated remains to India and will submerge the ashes in the Ganges as per tradition. Hindus souls follow the narrative that life and death are part of the concept of samsara, or rebirth. The ultimate goal for these souls are to become free from desire, thereby escaping samsara and attaining moksha, the transcendent state of salvation. Once moksha is attained, the soul is absorbed into Brahman, the divine force and ultimate reality. However, moksha is not for everyone. According to the vedic texts, the saiva community is divided into 2 broad categories according to their goals in this current life. The vast majority of savites aim mainly to better their life in this world and to secure rebirth in a better situation. Next time around, they are bubukshu, or seekers of worldly benefit. Only a very small number of “ripened” souls aim to attain liberation during this life. They are called mumukshu, or seeker of moksha (heaven). In fact, this idea of rebirth during death is so ingrained in Hindu culture that often this is characterized as the Third Rebirth. In Hindu scripts, it is noted in fact, that there are three times when a soul is born: the first by their mother and father, the second when they perform sacrifice, and the third when they die and continue life in their next form2. Thus, ultimately, this cremation ritual celebrates the commencement of their third rebirth. "2.4: Reincarnation - Humanities Libertexts." 30 Nov. 2019, 2.4: Reincarnation - Humanities Libertexts. Accessed 11 May. 2020. 2 "Cremation and Liberation: The Revision of a Hindu Ritual - jstor." https://www.jstor.org/stable/1062167. Accessed 11 May. 2020. 1
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One year after cremation, the family observes a memorial event called ​sraddha​ which pays homage to the deceased. The karta invites Brahmins to the home to remember back to the now-gone soul & perform more prayer rituals. The family of the passed soul then provides them with an elaborate meal or offering, treating them as they would their own parents & thanking those involved for a successful passage in the departure of their beloved soul.
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Annotated Bibliography
Davis, Richard H. “Cremation and Liberation: The Revision of a Hindu Ritual.” History of Religions, vol. 28, no. 1, 1988, pp. 37–53. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1062167. Accessed 16 Apr. 2020. This text provides a more in-depth look at the study of the Hindu ritual of cremation and how the history of this ritual has evolved from what it had previously been known for. This will provide a more updated context of what a funeral process of cremation currently looks like compared to previous times & ensures the most current analysis of this ritual.
Hornbacher, Annette. “Contested Moksa in Balinese Agama Hindu: Balinese Death Rituals between Ancestor Worship and Modern Hinduism.” Dynamics of Religion in Southeast Asia: Magic and Modernity, edited by Volker Gottowik, Amsterdam University Press, Amsterdam, 2014, pp. 237–260. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt12877t8.15. Accessed 16 Apr. 2020. This text of the concept of moksha in hinduism follows death rituals commonly seen in cremation. Cremation has long been identified as a religious ritual corresponding to Hinduism but this text will provide a deeper analysis to how modernism changes this ritual to mean more than what it used to. It outlines cremation practices that are practiced outside of India but still follow a religious context which is helpful in understanding this ritual based on differing geographical contexts.
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Poleman, Horace I. “The Ritualistic Continuity of Ṛgveda X. 14-18.” Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 54, no. 3, 1934, pp. 276–281. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/594167. Accessed 16 Apr. 2020. The Ritualistic Continuity text provides a religious summary of what the process of cremation means in Hinduism exactly means as well as the exact processes of these death rites. In this text, we will find what each part of the cremation ceremony will signify as well as the translation of how actions on earth will cross over to other worlds spiritually once a person dies in a Hindu context. This translation of meaning will be useful in deciphering why each part of the cremation ritual comes from in modern day Indian funeral rites.
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