Tag Archives: Karma

Antim Sanskar: The Ancient Practice of Hindu Funeral Rites

Hindu funeral rites celebrate cultural heritage through preparing the body and spirit for the next life

Death, in many cultures, is the ultimate transition that life is leading up to. So it is no surprise that among the core series of sacraments, known as Sanskara, or rituals of perfection, the final rite comes in the funerary … Continue reading

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Embracing Death with the Jain Ritual of Santhara

A look at the spiritually liberating Jain ritual of fasting to death at the end of life

For most of us, learning to embrace death is the most difficult challenge of our lives. We all die, whether we want to or not. Many of us may find out more about ourselves in our final moments than we … Continue reading

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Buddhism and the Eastern Middle Ground

In Buddhist tradition, our death falls into a plane of existence that continues even after our final breath

The relation of life to death, what happens after the end, what we do with the years we have and what we leave behind, remains perhaps the most consistently affecting and important issue plaguing human life. Religions throughout the ages … Continue reading

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Hinduism: How the World’s Oldest Religion Is Not, Strictly Speaking, a Religion

Hindu death rituals are carefully defined and lovingly observed

Every culture, and every person within that culture, has a different way of dealing with death. A different set of rules, beliefs, practices, personal and societal rituals, strategies for dealing with the inevitable trauma and equally inevitable aftermath. Hinduism, the … Continue reading

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