Only for the ones who are in Hindu religion.?

Question

Why do Hindus always burn the dead-bodies? Tell me the reason behind it.

Do Sikhs also do this?

Answer 1

there r several reasons:
1.human body is made op of 5 elements"wood, fire, earth, metal and water". so it has 2 finish in these five elements. wood and fire is used creminate d body, ash gets mixed up in earth/soil (metal is also a component of earth), bones etc. are put in water (mostly ganga water). in this way it is a most natural way.
2.To save land. And unlike other religion, most of them bury corpses. As usual, other religions might find cemeteries an unlucky place to be in. So by burning bodies, unluckiness will be eliminated.
3.burning steralizes the body so disease does not spread.
4.also the minerals left from the organics in the body will get recycled into the earth. one more reason is that the remains of the body will not enter the food chain directly.

Answer 2

After the Person is dead, the soul passes over to another body. So what is the use of keeping the body? Some Religion keep the body in the grave and keep going to put flowers there, but the soul has already passed away. This they do not understand.
The dead body has 3 destinations - become Stool by the worms that eat it, Become mud or become ash.
The Body is made of earth, water, fire, air and ether. And it needs to return back to these elements. When burnt Fire, air and ether get their elements. But pouring the rest in a river or sea, the water and earth get their element.
We see now there are so many graveyards of Muslims and Christians. So much of land is wasted simply for keeping the dead body even though the soul has entered another body. The Vedic Culture has very practical way.

Answer 3

After death, the soul remains on the earthly plane for a short while because it still identifies with the body and with a material existance. By burning the body, the soul becomes more detached and is motivated to move on to a higher, spiritual plane. I've heard that when bodies are buried, the souls linger around the body at times because of their past attachment. I wouldn't doubt it. Cremation therefore eliminates this problem.

Answer 4

Scientific reason:
As a body starts decaying once his soul leaves it, it should be burnt which will prevent the speading of virus & bacteria from the corpse

Practical reason:
Burning of bodies prevent space constraint. Practically speaking, we are facing population explosion, wherein if we have to bury all the dead bodies where can we go for space? That too in crowded cities.

Spiritual reason:
According to vedic dharma, birth & death is a continious process till the soul attains Mukthi. As "Adi Sankara" mentions in "Bhaja Govindam".
The Soul leaves one body and reaches to new body as prescribed its karma. It is like removing (death)old shirt and wearing new one (birth). So hindu does not attaches any thing to this body. So, to avoid recognising the soul with the body Hindus are cremating the body.


Philosophical reason:
Philosophically speaking, one of the highest dharmic values mentioned in vedic scriptures is "non-attachment". For a hindu, he does not recognize himself with his body, and nothing is omnipresent except the ever prevading, omnipotent God. So, as a mark of total detachment after one's death, his body which carried the soul, cannot be recognized with a piece of land. If a body is buried, then the said place where it is buried will continue to be the body's place. So, to avoid that the body is burnt. Thereby reuniting the body with the five elements by which it is made of.

Answer 5

Since the body, after death, starts decomposing fast and may spread diseases including the one which caused the death, it must be disposed off quickly and properly as it is perishable (nashwar). The fastest process of disposal is consigning it to fire which reduces it to ashes besides eliminating the disease-causing germs. The ashes, then, can be poured into flowing water of rivers to be carried to the sea. This process of cremation is superior to other processes like laying in grave, allowing it to be consumed by birds or beasts or fishes as cremation by burning does not cause pollution and does not occupy vast lands. Consigning of the body to fire ensures that the soul will not linger on near the body and take re-birth as another life-form depending on 'karma' or deeds in the past life. It also ensures that the body which is made up of five elements (earth, water, fire, ether and air) unites with those elements in the universe after purification in fire.

The process of cremation by burning follwed in Hindu religion is also followed by its off-shoots like Jainism and Sikhism.

Answer 6

First you have to understand that you are not this body. You are the atma within. The body is a machine, a vehicle, and you the driver. But due to the bodily conception of life we are extremely attached to this body. At the time of death, you are forced to leave the gross body and are carried via the subtle body.to your next birth. A person who is too attached will still try to hang around his gross body in this subtle body, so to break that attachment the body is burnt. But the great souls who are completely free from all attachment to this material world because of their deep attachment to Sri Krishna are put in samadhi, their bodies are never burnt.

Answer 7

In the Chudaman Upanishad, it is said that Brahma gave birth only to the flame-like soul. From the soul, the sky was born.From the sky, air was born, from air fire, from fire, water and from water the earth was born.These five elements united to form the human body. When a dead body is cremated in fire, the elements return to nature from where they came initially.

So Hindus believe in cremation of the dead body.

Answer 8

well,,,, one of the most scientific reasons is, once the body is burned, there is no way any infection (whether known or unknown or commonor deadly) from the dead body will spread in the neighbourhood. also there is no wastage of space in burying the bodies. also the minerals left from the organics in the body will get recycled into the earth. one more reason is that the remains of the body will not enter the food chain directly.

Answer 9

I read some place it was to release the soul or spirit of that person that can only get out by burning up the body.

Answer 10

because when the human being is dead their soul goes away to god and there is no point to leave the body on earch, cause if there is no life in boy than it will get rotting and will start smelling and insects will eat it, so they burn the body, so that body dosent have to go through all this and the soul rest in peace