Hindu Funeral Traditions

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Recommended: Introduction to reincarnation

As we discussed in class, Hinduism is a religion that puts a stronger emphasis on the soul than the body. Hindus believe they are two separate entities and that the soul detaches from the body after death and lives on. In other words, most Hindus believe that death is similar falling asleep and that being born is like waking up, it is simply a reoccurring cycle that can only be broken by attaining Moksha. Hinduism revolves around the concepts of Samsara, Karma, and Moksha. Looking back at the funeral now, these ideas were surely indirectly and directly referenced. The overall purpose of a Hindu funeral is to help the wandering soul realize that it has separated from its body and to allow the transition into the next cycle. This directly correlates …show more content…

She had overcome it a few times over the years, however this last time was too much for the body to handle. Mrunalini elected to not tell anyone and made her husband promise to do the same. She did not want to be a burden on anyone, especially her children. Yash her oldest son is a year older than me. Yash had moved to Boston last September to work as a scribe at MGH while he applied to medical schools. Mrunalini never wanted to tell him even when she was at her worst which was a few weeks right before she passed. She didn’t want Yash to drop everything he has been working so hard for and come home to take care of her. The week before Mrunalini passed away Yash was told to come home because his mom was sick. It wasn’t until he got there that they told him what the situation was. Why do I mention all of this? Because during the funeral, family members brought this up when they were sharing their memories of Mrunalini. They said she was the strongest woman they knew and that she and her husband took on all this pain and suffering by themselves so they wouldn’t burden anyone. Due to this everyone believed she was going to have a great reincarnation if any because her actions were so selfless and testing that she could have achieved Moksha or liberation from

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