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Asked: 2023-06-28T02:26:49+00:00 In:

Burial vs Cremation

Mauricio

If I personally believe it is better to bury than to cremate, and plan to bury me and my family when dead, am I being a bad Sikh?

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    4 Answers

    1. ਕੁਲਵਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ

      Brother, though the Sikh Rehat Maryada provides for burning the body, as understood by the undersigned, once Akalpurakh sitting inside a body, as a soul, withdraws the strength, the physical death takes place. The soul merges with Akalpurakh and what happens to it thereafter no one knows. The five elements of which the body is made of merge with the earth whether you burn the body or bury it or use some other method for its disposal. Therefore, once the soul has left the body, it doesn’t matter, how the body is disposed off. As per undersigned’s understanding of Gurbani, the mode of disposal of the body has nothing to do with the spirituality i.e. Sikhi.

    2. Manvinder Pal Singh

      as per sikh traditions the body needs to be burnt after death
      in other casses could you list any benifit?
      most important is the soul/conscience which immediately leaves the body

      • Mauricio

        Hello Malvinder Pal Singh. Thank you for your response. Are you sure it is a Sikh tradition and not a Hindu tradition?
        Since Sikhi respects the natural processes created by Akal Purakh, I think that burial must be chosen as the most natural way to dispose human corps. It is the same motivation that promotes Kesh. Cremation, on the other hand, requires of a difficult artificial procedure which involves treating the dead body as the worst of trash. And I mean the worst of trash because usually garbage is not burned (at least where I live), except for the worst part of it: the part that is discomforting and difficult to dispose of.
        If the most important is the soul/conscience, then why going through a difficult artificial process like cremation? Just dig a pit and put the body in there with a Sikh ceremony. Leave the rest to the Akal Purakh’s creatures that he created for that purpose. The disintegrated body can even serve as compost for other life forms.