Devotee:
Greetings, Guru.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Greetings, my son. Speak.
Devotee:
Guru, today I would like to know about a specific subject. There are so many religionsâHindu, Parsi, Christian, Buddhist, Muslim. When a person from each of these religions dies, there are different customs. For example, Hindus cremate the body, Muslims bury it, and Parsis offer it to vultures. I want to understand from youâwhy is this?
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Look, this is the final stage. Death is the final chapter for a human being. There is nothing after this. The body is destroyed, but the soul does not perish. It remains and wanders around, trying to find a new body. It looks for a womb to enter. There are many aspects to this.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Now, our custom is to cremate. Parsis offer the body to vultures and kites; they leave the deceased on a rooftop, and the birds consume it. Muslims bury the body. These are the three main practicesâburial, Parsi customs (sometimes on mountains where birds eat them), and cremation.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
We need to look at what is scientific. Human beings are born, but they must also die. What should be done with this perishable body? We, the followers of the Sanatan Hindu Dharma, decided on cremation. No germs remain, nothing is left. For instance, when you bury a body in the earth, germs form inside the grave within the body. In the soil, these germs grow and eventually find a way out. But in our case, there is no such issue. We burn it, and it turns into ash.
Devotee:
From the five elements it came, and to the five elements it returns.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Yes. As the poet Ramprasad sang: "I have brought nothing with me, whatever I earned through hard work, the five elements consume." These five elements are: Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Ether (Space). These five elements make up our body. When we enter a womb, these five elements immediately begin forming the body. That is why Ramprasad said that the five elements consume everything. Therefore, the Hindu Sanatan Dharma gives this preference. Once burned, nothing of this perishable body remains; it turns into ashes. No matter how large the body, after cremation, the ashes weigh about one and a half kilograms. This is well-proven. We used to use the old measurement of "Seer," which is roughly equivalent to a kilogram today.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
After death, the real transition to the afterlife begins. From the day of death, the rituals for the afterlife start. We wear the sacred thread or observe specific mourning rituals. We control our food, sleep, and conduct. For a Brahmin, this lasts 13 days; for others, it is one month. Not everyone is a Brahmin, so others observe a month of "Ashouch" (ritual impurity). This is the tradition.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
I remember a gentleman once asked a mourner, "Have you observed the full month?" The man replied, "No, we did it for 15 days, like the Brahmins." The gentleman said, "No, go back and observe the full month; I will provide whatever money is needed." I forget his name now, but he was quite famous. He insisted that he wouldn't touch them unless they completed the full month of mourning.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Now, what does the ritual for the afterlife mean? It is very scientific. Previously, we used wood for cremation, though now electric furnaces are common. Even in electric crematoriums, the custom is to place a piece of wood on the chest. Without wood, the body is not considered ritually purified.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
When the funeral rites (Shraddha) are performed, who receives the offerings first? Those who "burned" with meâthe insects and germs that were on or in the body. They receive the "Pindo" (offering) first. During cremation, no family members are "with" me in the fire. Only the organisms that burn with the body are there. The mantra says: "Those beings who were consumed by the fire along with my body, who were part of my lineage at that moment, let them be satisfied."
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
We have three lineages: the fatherâs, the motherâs, and the maternal uncleâs. At the time of cremation, everyone else stays back out of fear or custom, but these organisms stay and perish with the body. That is why they are the first to receive the offering. Look at how scientific the Shraddha ritual is! They receive the offering first, and then the "Pretapindo" is given to the deceased. Most people don't know these detailsâ99% of people are unaware. Priests know because they perform the rituals.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Furthermore, the soul remains in the house for ten days. It doesn't want to leave. It stays, but in great distress, because although it sees its loved ones, no one can talk to it.
Devotee:
Loved ones are walking right by, but the soul is thirsty and no one gives it water.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Exactly. It has no voice, no physical body. It wants water or something else, but it cannot communicate, and no one speaks to it. This is a very painful time for the soul (Preta)âspending those ten days in the house. It follows you back from the crematorium. You might think ten people went and only nine came back, but the deceased also returns and stays for ten days. After ten days, there is a ritual at the riverbank where ten "Pindos" are offered. Since the soul hasn't eaten for ten days, a full day's worth of food is provided, and it is ritually requested to leave the house and move on.
Devotee:
But Guru, even after cremation, I see people placing sweets or water in front of a photograph.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
That is nonsense. Itâs useless. One shouldn't even keep a photo of the deceased in that manner; I believe it can be harmful. Regardless, one should never place food or water in front of the photo.
Devotee:
Guru, what about the "Sati" practice during the British period?
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
That was a social evil, a superstition.
Devotee:
Was it sanctioned by the scriptures?
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
No, no, not at all. It was a superstition. There were many such social evils back then. They believed if a husband died, the wife had to die with him. She had no right to live.
Devotee:
So, there was no scriptural injunction?
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
None. It was just a few greedy and cruel people who created these rules. It was horrificâburning a living woman with her dead husband while playing loud drums to drown out her screams. Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar fought against this. They couldn't accept it. Ram Mohan Roy, who founded the Asiatic Society, studied in Varanasi and proved through scriptures that widow remarriage was permissible and Sati was not required.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Back then, people were very superstitious. For example, if someone crossed the ocean, it was called "Kala Pani" (Black Water), and they were outcasted from society. Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagoreâthey all faced social backlash or had to pay penalties for traveling abroad. Raja Ram Mohan Roy also went. It was a social rule: cross the sea, and you are outcasted.
Devotee:
What was the reason for that?
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
It was just a rule made by the pundits of that time. There was no scriptural basis. It was like how a Brahmin wouldn't let a "Methor" (sweeper) come within ten feet of him to avoid their shadow. Yet, if that same person gave him money, he would take it, wash it with water from his pot, and put it in his pocket. These were the double standards of the time.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Anyway, we are drifting. On the tenth day, the "Ghat Pindo" is given. The soul is told, "You haven't eaten for ten days, eat now and leave the house." From that moment, the soul begins searching for a new womb. It prefers to stay within its own family if a womb is available; if not, it looks elsewhere. Itâs like being in a foreign landâif you find someone who speaks your language, you feel a sense of belonging. The soul tries to stay among its own people. When it canât find a place there, it goes wherever it can. This is our Hindu philosophy.
Devotee:
Guru, during the one-year mourning period ("Kaal-Ashouch"), can the soul take a new body?
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Yes, birth can happen within a year.
Devotee:
Then why is the "Pindo" given after one year?
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
It is a tradition, a scriptural custom. You observe it for a year until the soul is reborn. Usually, a year is the standard wait. Also, the "Mukh-Agni" (the fire touched to the mouth during cremation) must be ritually cleared. A year later, a Shraddha is performed, often called the "Bantsharik" (Annual Rite). It can be done all at once or monthly. Itâs a long process. A good priest will take until evening to finish. After that, the fire ritual is concluded. Until then, the "shadow" of that fire remains, and we believe God does not accept offerings from that person. That is why the period of mourning is observedâto remember the deceased and allow for the soul's transition. Usually, after ten months and ten days, a soul is reborn and becomes "free" from its previous state.
Devotee:
Guru, we never knew these things. We never even tried to understand.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
You are at an age where you should understand these aspects of Hindu Sanatan Dharma.
Devotee:
We didn't have anyone to teach us. We are glad we found you.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Death is not the end. There is more work to be done.
Devotee:
Could you elaborate on what work remains?
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Whatever work a person left unfinished, they must return to complete. If I am performing rituals and prayers and I die, I must return to the point where I left off. If I had almost reached God-realization, I might be born again for a short time just to finish that journey and attain the divine. For example, there was a boy who was only one year away from God-realization. He had to be reborn; he was born as a goat and was eaten by a tiger. People wondered why such a holy boy met such a fate. But it was his destiny to leave this world that way.
Devotee:
So, it was the fruit of his previous life's merit?
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Yes, the tiger ate him, and that was the end of his worldly cycle. There are many things we don't know. Ultimately, as humans, our goal should be God-realization. But we get distracted by money, food, and worldly desires. We forget the main goal. Because we forget, we have to keep coming back to this world again and again until we see God. That is the purpose of birthâto attain that divine vision. If we don't, we return. Perhaps one day we meet a great soul, and slowly, we reach that goal.
Devotee:
Guru, we learned so much today. We hope to learn more in the future. Letâs conclude for today. Our respects to you.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Blessings to you.