Importance of cremation in Eastern faiths emphasized

TUCSON: The annual convention of Arizona Funeral Directors Association, representing all the directors and managers of various funeral homes in Arizona, took place in Tucson on Saturday, June 6.

Over the last several years, Dr. Jaswant Singh Sachdev has been single-handedly approaching managers of a local cremation outfit frequented by Indian Diaspora. He has been convincing the management to address Indian Diaspora's needs in relation to cremation.

The executive committee of this high profile association finally approached him to speak at their annual convention so that it could help enhance their knowledge about cremations and Indian Faiths. It was felt that only through such dialogues, some steps could be taken that might help rectify the situation.

Dr Jaswant Singh explained that the cultural-religious behavior of the people of India is such that they do not consider a funeral to be a closed- in process. On the contrary, almost anyone, known to the deceased or its family would tend to be part of the important event at the end of life's journey for such visits are considered essential in sharing the grief and burden of the family. If the deceased happens to reside in town for a while the presence of a large numbers of mourners is not unusual.

He said the stark differences between the poor aesthetics of locations for the cremation as well as a lack of availability of the resources in and around the incinerators as opposed to rather well-kept cemeteries for burials are fairly obvious. The cemeteries are often very appeasing to the eyes with beautiful well-manicured lawns, water fountains and gardens.

But the incinerators for cremations are neglected lots that otherwise double up as storage sheds for maintenance, heavy equipments and other unsightly objects. There are usually no facilities around the incinerators where the mourning families and their near and dear ones could sit or stand for the prescribed collective prayers at the time when cremation is going on. To add fuel to the fire there often are no facilities for water fountain or other such essentials.

He spent considerable time explaining the fundamental and salient features of various Eastern faiths including their origins and basic principles as well as tradition of cremations. The people belonging to the Eastern faith consider cremation to be a most sacred and religious act and not a just a method of mechanical combustion of corpse to dispose it off. 

During Hindu cremation on an open pyre, Vedic Mantras are chanted by the Hindu priests that are believed to help ease the process of separation and diminishes the pain. The funeral rites are fairly elaborated in Buddhism, therefore, the involvement of the monks becomes essential. The friends and relatives pour water on the hands of the dead body when the Mantras are being chanted by the monks.

After providing some insight into various Dharmic faiths, Dr. Sachdev posed the central question relating to the differences between the burial sites vs. what is offered at crematoria. If neat and aesthetically appealing surroundings and environments can be made available at the burial sites, why couldn't similar facilities be arranged for the crematoria, whether they are part of cemeteries or individually standing?

Affording full respect and concern for the religious needs of a bereaved family belonging to a Dharmic faith should also be the responsibility of such outfits. The managers/owners were asked to provide neat clean outdoor ramadas, pavilions or indoor spaces close to the incinerators with comfortable seating on carpeted floor or/and chairs for chanting Mantra or singing of Gurbani (Kirtan) prior to or/and during cremation depending upon the faith of the family.

Dr. Sachdev further suggested that elegant landscaping and appropriate decoration of the area conducive to the comfort for grieving members of the bereaved family must be made available close to crematoria. Cold drinking water and first aid should be included among the essentials.  The incinerators should have temperature resistant glass partition so that family members could safely get closer and have a full view should they so decide.

All this requires added expenses but if such facilities are available, Dr. Sachdev stated, the grieving families of the deceased wouldn't hesitate to chip in whatever extra it takes?
The talk was well-received with great enthusiasm and many among the audience thanked Dr. Sachdev for educating them about this very important but neglected issue, promising that they are going to look into this matter seriously to help ease the pain of Diaspora.