My father-in-law died a few days ago. He was 87, had lived a long, fulfilling life and died after a short illness, short enough to not linger unduly in pain, long enough to let his family accept his imminent passing. As deaths go, probably one of the better ways to go about it. As if one could plan such a thing…..
Hindus cremate their dead. On a pyre of wood, they consecrate the ground and consign the body to the elements. As I stood there watching the flames rise higher and even higher, morbid thoughts arose in me. I could hear the crackling, I could imagine the flesh singeing, the fat popping, the deeper tissues……the science of anatomy was not my friend at that moment.
I wondered how barbaric Christians might find it, burning a person to ash. Especially those who have never seen it. To burn up a loved one? How macabre! And then I thought of how Hindus might think of burial. Letting a loved one rot in the ground like so much garbage…..What of the Parsis who let vultures pick their loved ones’ bones clean? I wondered if there was a humane way to go about it, to dispose of your dead. I read that Christian burial rituals were a sign of their hope in the end of days when the dead would rise from their graves. Hindus cremate their dead because fire is the great purifier and whatever you consign to a sacred fire goes to the gods. Every culture came up with its own method of ensuring the dead person’s soul/core/aatman/whatever reached their cultural deity/ies.
All the while the pyre burned hotter and brighter and the crackling was no longer so loud…….
hbhatnagar 
I’m so sorry for your loss ..
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Posted by Julie@frogpondfarm | 24/12/2016, 1:57 AMThank you Julie.
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Posted by hbhatnagar | 24/12/2016, 9:02 AMSorry to hear of your loss, Himanshu. Yes, every culture comes up with its own rituals to ease the pain of their loved ones passing. I hope it helped your family.
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Posted by Mick Canning | 19/12/2016, 6:28 PMThanks Mick. The rituals end here after 13 days, I guess it’s then that the enormity of the loss truly hits. .
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Posted by hbhatnagar | 20/12/2016, 8:18 AMYes, it frequently takes time. I lost my brother a year and a half ago, but it is this year that his family are finding the Christmas season especially difficult.
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Posted by Mick Canning | 20/12/2016, 1:48 PMMy condolences. I can imagine how it must be to not have him around, especially in this season..
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Posted by hbhatnagar | 20/12/2016, 8:36 PMChristmas does have a habit of poking at memories.
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Posted by Mick Canning | 20/12/2016, 8:38 PMI know. Happy times remind us of sadness..
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Posted by hbhatnagar | 20/12/2016, 8:42 PMThe scene is very terrible but your father in law will always be alive in your heart. I had faced a similar situation which is the reason My Theory is based on weird ideas. Please visit and read the new ultimate theory of human relativity exclusively on My Theory also give me some feedbacks as I am hungry for it.
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Everyone has the same fate, May God bless you and your family.
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Posted by My Theory | 19/12/2016, 8:52 AMThank you for reading and for your kind words. I will definitely read your post on this.
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Posted by hbhatnagar | 19/12/2016, 12:02 PMGross anatomy sticks with you and pops up at the oddest times. I have freaky thoughts like that too from time to time.
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Posted by Victo Dolore | 18/12/2016, 9:56 PMPerils of the profession…..sucks.
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Posted by hbhatnagar | 18/12/2016, 10:03 PMWell written article, Dr. Hb. At the end, with different culture, is how we want to pay respect to our loved ones.
My condolence…
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Posted by Amy | 18/12/2016, 9:51 PMThank you Amy. I was just thinking about how we think “we” are “normal” and the rest are not…..
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Posted by hbhatnagar | 18/12/2016, 10:02 PMI agree. People need to accept the differences. Easy to say…
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Posted by Amy | 18/12/2016, 10:06 PMTrue..
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Posted by hbhatnagar | 18/12/2016, 10:49 PM