Hindu Varanasi'de kremasyon

The subject of this dissertation is to explore Hindu death rituals in the holy city of Varanasi, specifically the cremation rites as a means for ultimate salvation. Among the oldest of the world's religions, Hinduism is not simply a belief but also a way of life. As such, it aims to regulate all spiritual and social aspects of a person's life, the end of which is accounted for morally and ethically through the attainment of karma - a measure of good and bad deeds. Life and death are interconnected social phenomena in a Hindu's life. Death rites are therefore of supreme importance. The objective of this research is to analyze three death rites: 1) Relocating a bhavan before death so as to die in a ritualized environment; 2) Rites conducted after death; 3) Finally, those administered to bring the recently deceased's spirit to live among the ancestor's abode in hopes for salvation. This research will deploy "total social phenomenon" so as to emphasize the relational and inter-connected nature of social phenomena. Such an approach bears a striking similarity in Hinduism's own sense of inter-connectivity. Using symbolic interactionism, it may also help us to make sense of how death rite participants communicate through symbols and reinterpret their meanings. Coping with death in Hindu Varanasi is the culmination of biological, psychological and social processes which interact over the course of life and dying.