Warning: This post includes discussion about death and religion, which are sensitive topics. Feel free to read at your own risk and comment your own opinions about the subject.
Funeral (noun): the ceremonies for a dead person prior to burial or cremation; obsequies.
The unfortunate death of Cory Monteith, the talented actor and musician who portrayed the resident jock on the popular television series Glee, has certainly gotten me thinking. What about, you may ask? Well, all the usual topics people have been thinking about since Monteith’s death: his family, Lea Michele, alcoholism, rehabilitation, and.. his funeral arrangements.
Funerals are the way that many human beings say adieu to their loved ones after their passing. However, I often wonder, is it really goodbye? In some religions, including Hinduism, there is a concept of an afterlife and the soul continues to exist. The cremation method of body disposal is essential, in the Hindu religion, to ensure the spirit’s entry back into the cycle of reincarnation. Imagine meeting a soul a second time, once before and once after re-entering the cycle. Do you think it sounds.. cool? Perhaps creepy?
I recall a time when I met an individual for the first time but there was something so.. familiar.. about them. Could that have possibly been an instance of myself meeting a soul that I had met before?
Another method to dispose of a human body is the infamous method of burial [into the ground], which can be an advantage, as those who still reside on Earth can continuously revisit the departed; an argument in Hinduism would however be that the cycle of reincarnation couldn’t happen, as the soul wouldn’t have been “set free.” A similar method is that of entombment, which involves the placement of the deteriorating body in a tomb.
A method of disposal that could be considered more fascinating than any of those above mentioned is the sky burial method, which originated in the Chinese provinces. I believe its pro is that it tries to use remains in a productive way that could benefit the future, which is to leave it for the birds to nibble on, using the dead to sustain the living. When you know your remains could benefit the lives of others, would you choose to be generous and allow your body to take part in this process? In my opinion, it’s an intriguing topic to ponder over. You must keep in mind when you internally debate this question that there are cons too: particularly that vultures don’t react well after eating those that were medicated, and in this day and age, how many of us reading this can say we haven’t ever been?
I continuously think of my own death, sometimes just “because” and other times, as I’m sure is true for many of us, in fear. I wonder how I’m going to be disposed of, especially. Cremation is how my family members are traditionally disposed of, so its likelihood is high, but I can’t help but wonder about other methods, especially sky burial.
Going back to the topic of Cory Monteith, it fascinates me that his loved ones chose to have him cremated, though I have little doubt their family made the right decision for their circumstances. May his spirit go through a wonderful cycle of reincarnation, or may he rest in peace, and may his legacy live on.
What do you believe is the right way of disposal for you when your time of passing arrives? What do you believe happens to the body after death? This may be a sensitive topic but I’d love to hear your opinions – all I ask of you is to be considerate to others!
– Mayank
Citation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_burial (Contains sensitive content – read at your own risk!)
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