The Funeral and Death Rituals in Hinduism and Buddhism

Introduction

This paper focuses on the comparison of two different religions that are more or less similar to each other. These 2 religions are Hinduism and Buddhism. This paper will first provide the introduction and background of both the religions. Then it discusses the funeral and death rituals in Hinduism and Buddhism. In the end, it summarizes the whole paper.

This paper identifies the similarities and differences between the funeral practices carried out by Hindus and Budhists.

Hindusim

Hinduism is the oldest of all living religions. It is also known by the names Sanatana-Dharma and Vaidika-Dharma. The meaning of Sanatana-Dharma is eternal religion. Vaidika-Dharma means the religion of the Vedas. The Vedas are the fundamental scriptures of Hinduism. According to information collected during an interview, the rituals of hindu funerals and the approach are based on the understanding that:

"the body is there, and there is a driver, which is [known as] a jeeve... When the jeeve departs from the body, there is no use for that body".

In Hinduism, the purpose of rites and rituals is to overcome weaknesses and develop strength. Hindus practice a variety of rituals and practices. Each ritual and practice has its own importance and influence. Some of the rituals and spiritual practices include meditation, japa i.e. repetition of the Lord's name, Sandhyopasana, and paaraayana i.e. reading of the scriptures (Kubler, Pp. 35).

Another common ritual in Hinduism is to prostrate before elders including parents and teachers. In Hinduism, it is also a ritual to offer food to the Lord. After this, Hindus partake of it as prasaada i.e. a holy gift from the Lord (Shroder, Pp. 174). The doctrine of reincarnation in Hinduism is also known as metempsychosis or metensomatosis. According to the doctrine of reincarnation, the soul takes on a body for a definite purpose. Hindus believe that their souls get a different body in different births (Vicki, Pp. 28).

In Hinduism, any action either physical or mental is Karma. According to Karma, virtuous deeds result in fruitful results while evil deeds bear evil results. According to the notion of Samsara in Hinduism, human beings are trapped in an endless cycle of life, death, and rebirth. This perpetual entails that all actions performed by human beings result in appropriate consequences. The notion of Moshka involves the realization of the complete non-difference of the human soul from God (Mullin, Pp. 47).

The word Polytheism in the West carries the same idea as Hindu Polytheism. However, the understanding of polytheism in West is different from Hindu Polytheism. In the West, Polytheism is the plurality of God. However, in India, polytheism describes that God is supreme, and He manifests Himself in different forms. Thus, when considered rightly, Hindu theology of Polytheism is same as Western monotheism (Mullin, Pp. 89).

Buddhism

Buddhism originated in northeast India based on Siddhartha Gautama's teachings. The two major branches of Buddhism are the Mahayana, which means the Great Vehicle and the Theravada hat means the Way of the Elders. Buddhism is majorly present in Southeast ...