As per my knowledge and understanding, according to Hinduism, cremation is considered more hygienic and symbolizes the end of life and mukti of soul and desire to be born again. Please provide more information if you have?
It probably ties in with the common-sense notion that you will eventually use up a lot of land for buried bodies. I think that at least some Christians follow burials because when they die, they await Judgment Day, when they rise from their grave to be judged, or something like that. They must have their dead bodies to rise from. You might have to ask a Christian expert on this, as I'm not one.
The soul needs to move on. The next body awaits after the intermediary period between lives. The last thing it needs is a corpse to help hold it here. So if there is no body, it's easier to move on.
Just an opinion Hindus believe that the body is made up of five elements which are earth, water, air, fire and ether and that the God of Fire transports these five elements to their respective mother sources at death. Agni (holy fire) is the purifying agent that enables the soul to be liberated from the physical body. Usually the body is cremated within six hours, and on the very day the death occurs.
Basically Hindus are mankind which are inclined to nature and hence they burn body. Human body is made of five elements Etherial Airial Solid Liquid Fire Now when a human is born its mix of these three elements..now when a human dies we return these elements back to nature Fire - burns body in fire so as that one element gets submerged in it fire along with the airial element getting submerged in air of the environment, the soul is form of etherial has evaporates as long as the human body dies,Solid submerged to solid in form of ash in land, now when cremation is done the ash is submerged to water so as to submerge the element water with water. Note: These are my personal observations based on my understandings
Namaste Sheena ! There are lots of lots of reasons behind cremation of bodies. I am giving you summary of that: Spiritual reasons : The body is not of the soul, the soul have to depart. Body is made up of Panch Mahabhut and it should be disintegrate in them. Fire I.e Agni is purest of them, so this is used for this purpose. A soul get attached to the body after living in it so long, so it is necessary to cremate the body. This make journey of soul sooner and easy. Cremation is done to removed Sukhsham Sharir from Stahula Sharir. Ecological Reasons : Why waste agricultural land. When the same land can be used in agriculture or other practices. Why used it in burial grounds. India is a tropical country. It soil is wet and after rainfall the soil mixed up to rivers and other water sources. Microbes grow easily on burial grounds and make also soil infected with these microbes. Cremation is healthy and with out defects. Have a nice day.
Hindus believe that the body is made up of five elements which are earth, water, air, fire and ether and that the God of Fire transports these five elements to their respective mother sources at death. Agni (holy fire) is the purifying agent that enables the soul to be liberated from the physical body. Usually the body is cremated within six hours, and on the very day the death occurs. Out of five elements fire has one unique quality. All other elements like Air , water purifies, but in the process themselves become polluted. Fire is the only element which purifies and remain pure!!
Why hindus burn dead bodies after death? First reason is, Human body is made of 5 elements (Space (Aakash), vayu,agni,prithvi and water), by cremating dead body all these 5 elements are made to re-merge into the universal 5 elements, whatever we take from nature is returned back to it with cremation. these elements in nature attains different forms time to time, this is process to natural recyclement. Second reason is, The Linga sharira (subtle body) of a dead person retains its attachment to the physical body even after death. It is believed that burning the body to ashes helps the dead person to overcome that attachment.
Thanks Pulkit for explaining the reason , can you please explain in brief about the second reason too.
