Antyesti-kriya: Funeral Rites
bhale gopl-mrddnkitam
tulasi-mdlikoraskarh
sprseyur na yamodbhatah
"Those whose body is adorned with tilaka or gopi-candana, and marked all over with the Holy Names of the Lord, and whose neck and chest are adorned with tulasi-mala, will never be approached by the Yamadutas." (Skanda Parana)
1. Introduction
This is the last samskara, the last ritual associated with the body which it will purify one last time.
This ritual is performed in order for the soul to become detached from the body and not have to take on the form of a ghost (preta), as well as to make sure the departed soul is promoted to a better world.
This universe is also called the kingdom of death! Yet man foolishly thinks he can become immortal by fighting the invincible material nature (see Mahabharata, Vana-parva 313.116). But in the Svetasvatara Upanisad (3.8), it is said that only those who know the Absolute can transcend the world of birth and death.
Thus devotees who worship the Lord, their hearts filled with love, and constantly chant His Holy Names are sure to carry on their spiritual activities in this world or the kingdom of God (Vaikuntha). Therefore their family and friends are not so attached to executing all the rites of antyesti-kriya.
In the Shrimad-Bhagavatam, Maharaja Parikslt asks Sukadeva Gosvami before dying: "Tell me of the duty of everyone in all circumstances, and specifically of those who are just about to die." (S.B.I.19.24). Sukadeva Gosvami answers: "The highest perfection of human life is to remember the Personality of Godhead at the end of life." All the samskaras performed during one's life help a person to become purified and remember the prime duty: reach the original abode (Goloka Vrndavana). Samskaras help us to mold our existence so as to remember the Lord at every step.
Chanakya Pandita says that if we seek salvation, then we must remember that death is always near, waiting to seize us at every moment. But if we seek sense gratification instead, we had better think that we shall never die. As for whoever remembers Krishna at the time of death, they will live with Him.
(B.G. 8.5, 6). No more rebirth, for they never return to this world as promised by Shri Krishna (B.G. 8.15-16). That is the conclusion of the Vedanta, as expressed in its last sutra...
2. The Procedure
Rituals are more or less the same according to time, place and circumstances (kala, desa, pdtrd). In the section dealing with rituals, we will explain the procedure used in India.
"There is no coming back because of God's word; no, there is no coming back because of God's word." (V.S. 4.4.22). formalities so that cremation of the body is done as soon as possible. The Jayakhya-samhita explains that boys under five years and girls under seven years should be buried instead. In that case, tarpana rites do not have to be performed.
Make sure that cremation does not take place on Ekadashi or Maha-dvadasi. (otherwise, postpone it until the next day). Cremation should take place during daylight hours.
On that day, family members should fast all day and eat light food (salads, fruits, etc.) for three days. It is even recommended to eat outside one's home and avoid having to cook for consciousness permeates the food. Mourning inspires a certain modesty, respect full of dignity and gravity. There is no question of distraction (television, cinema, cafe, restaurant, amusement park, etc.), during mourning; it is better to read the scriptures. On that same day, perform one last ceremony in the crematorium shrine where a reading of the scriptures should be held for family and friends, etc. A soft klrtana should be performed as the body is carried to the incinerator while a brahmana offers prayers.
Retrieve the ashes from the cremation service and before one year has passed, bring them to India and throw them in a sacred river like the Ganges, the Yamuna, the Godavari, the SarasvatI, the Narmada or the Kaveri as advised by local Brahmins. Most Brahmins take the ashes of the departed to Holy rivers and scatter them in the Yamuna at Kesi-ghata or Ganga at Navadvipa. Before doing so, mix them with panca-gavya and earth from the banks so as to form a homogeneous ball.
Three days after the death, a feast should be offered to the Lord's arca-vigraha on behalf of the departed. Devotees will honor this prasadam along with the family of the departed afterwards.
The brahmana who took part in the ceremony will accompany the other members of the family to their home where the children will enter first. The home will then be purified by burning dried cow dung coated with ghee while the brahmana recites auspicious mantras.
According to some authorities, the ashes should be collected on the fourth day.
3. Asaucham or Contamination Period
The death of a relative involves a contamination period whose length varies according to family status. During this time, one should not study the holy scriptures, perform fire sacrifices, worship the Deity (or only through mdnasa-puja), or receive guests. However, if one has taken vows which involve daily Deity worship or study of the scriptures, etc., such vows should not be broken. One must take advantage of this period to settle all the administrative problems linked with death. This asauca period lasts 10 days for a brdhmana, 12 days for a ksatriya, 15 days for a vaisya and 30 days for a sudra. If death strikes a distant relative, the asauca period lasts 3 days.
The priest performing the funeral rites is not involved in the contamination (asauca) periods linked with the deceased.
4. Sraddha-kriya: Rite for the Welfare of Forefathers
So that the deceased does not wander like a ghost in the ether with only a subtle body, but instead takes on a body with which he may live pleasantly on the planet of the Pitrs, which offers certain delights, one must make offerings to him and at end of sraddha to the other Pitrs. During the contamination period, one offers the deceased daily water. The eleventh day after the demise (for the relative of a brahmana), the house is purified, offerings are made to the departed and eleven brahmanas are fed.
From that day on, sraddha ceremonies should be performed every month for a whole year. In the sixth and twelfth month, two special sraddha ceremonies should be added to the usual ones. Afterward, an annual sraddha is performed on the anniversary day of the departed's demise.
In the realm of karma-kanda, the sraddha ceremony is performed for those who received the antyesti-kriya-samskara. It makes it possible to offer the wandering spirit a material "support". According to the Upanisad, the soul no longer has a physical body (sthula-sarira) after death, but wanders in a subtle body (linga-sarira) the size of a thumb and can neither drink nor eat. In this state, the soul is called preta.
The soul thus stays three days in water, three days in fire, three more days in space then travels on the wind on the tenth day. On the eleventh day begins the pinda ceremony which consists in offering food - small balls of rice cooked in milk with black sesame, ghee and honey - to the deceased and his forefathers. Performed by the eldest son, this ritual is repeated every month for eleven months along with two sraddha ceremonies during the year. The pinda ceremony ends with a last offering, during the twelfth month, known as sapindadi-karana which enables the preta to obtain the body of a Pitr to enter the heavenly Pitrloka planet ruled by Yamaraja.
Of course, such rituals do not erase the karma accumulated by the living entity throughout his past lives.
The Garuda Purana (11.34.44) explains that the offering of pinda re-forms a temporary body with organs and senses that are equivalent to those we are familiar with. This body is built as follows according to the Garuda Purana:
* 1st offering: the head
* 2nd offering: the eyes, the ears, and nose
* 3rd offering: the cheeks, the mouth and neck
* 4th offering: the heart, sides, stomach, sexual organs
* 5th offering: the waist, the back and anus
* 6th offering: the thighs
* 7th offering: the ankles
* 8th offering: the calves
* 9th offering: the feet
* 10th offering: hunger and thirst
The sraddha ceremony can also be performed during the twelve days following the death of the deceased, on the basis of one offering per day.
Thus in due course of time, the living entity will rejoin his forefathers' community on the planet of the Pitrs, who will bestow their blessings upon the family that keeps performing this ritual and protect its descendants. The birth of a son insures that the ritual will be maintained
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