Cremation vs Burial - A Spiritual Perspective

Every year more than 50 million people die worldwide. The two main forms of funeral rites adopted by most are either cremation or burial. The Parsis (Zoroastrians) in Mumbai, India, a small community, leave their dead out in the open in the Towers of silence to be consumed by vultures. In the past some civilizations would embalm their dead in the process of mummification. Through spiritual research methodologies, we have examined the effect of some of the main modern types of funeral rites from the point of view of helping our ancestors in the afterlife.

A popular concept is that after death the soul goes towards the light or has its loved ones waiting on the other side to welcome them etc.

One must have an understanding of how ancestors can be in a state of distress in the afterlife and how they can be helped, to really help them in their afterlife.

Another popular belief is that our ancestors who pass on are in a position to help us on Earth. However this is far from the truth. Most of our departed ancestors are desperately in need of help themselves. The only people who can do something for them are their descendants on Earth. The only way to get the attention of their descendants is to harass them. This harassment can come in many forms until they reach a point where the descendant is cornered into doing some spiritual practice which would go towards relieving the distress of the ancestors.

The method of disposal of the dead can contribute to or alleviate the distress that the ancestor has to go through in the subtle realm.

Sometimes people weigh the pros and cons of different forms of funeral rites based on its impact on the environment. This is one yard stick to use. However the most damage is done in the spiritual environment when a spiritually detrimental funeral rite is performed leading to further distress to the subtle body of the dead ancestor.

Out of all the types of funeral rites to let go of a body, committing it to cremation is the most beneficial. People who have lived relatively good lives, by the very act of burial increase their risk of becoming ghosts in the afterlife. Sometimes we are attached to the form of funeral rite that our culture is used to. However, the spiritual repercussions of burial and being consumed by vultures needs to be weighed against one's psychological attachment for a certain funeral rite.

For lots of intresting details with discriptive pictures in subtle, do click on the link below.

http://spiritualresearchfoundation.org/spiritualresearch/difficulties/ancestors/Burial_Cremation.php#7