Cremation, Caste, and Cosmogony in Karmic Traditions.

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ethically conditioned (fig 1.2). This conditioning must include the person’s actions in a preceding life. The principle of reward and punishment cannot only include the otherworld, but the forthcoming rebirth as well (ibid:78-80). “If ethicisation is carried out to embrace the whole eschatological sphere constituting the otherworld (or – worlds), as well as the human world into which one is reborn, and if this is followed through into finite and infinite rebirth cycles, then one will have created a theory like that of karma” (ibid:82). A rebirth eschatology does not concern itself with “salvation”. In theory, it is possible to have a karma theory without salvation. Consequently, nirvana is sought outside samsara or the cycle of rebirths: it must result in the cessation of rebirth. There is no way to achieve nirvana without transcending or abolishing samsara (ibid:127-128). Another problem is when and where the punishments take place. In every society people are punished on earth for their bad deeds. In a society with ethicisation step 1 they continue to be punished or rewarded in some heaven or hell. But if they have been punished and rewarded, then there should be no reason for them to suffer in another reincarnation (ethicisation step 2) (ibid:236). The solutions to this dilemma are at least twofold. Firstly, I cannot be punished for the wrong I do now at the very same existence without turning a karmic eschatology back into a rebirth eschatology. Hence, “an impersonal ethical law that punishes or rewards me straight away for what I have done empties heavens and hells and good and bad rebirths of any ethical significance” (ibid:82), and therefore, immediate punishments are rare in Indian religions. Secondly, any rewards or punishments are not completed or totally fulfilled in the first or forthcoming reincarnation. There will always be some karmic “remains”, and introducing aporias solves this problem. Obeyesekere has observed that there is a “psychological uncertainty” about one’s previous karma (Obeyesekere 1968:21), because the theory supposes that “one’s past is part of one’s present and that one’s present and past together will be one’s future, and…these transformations and transportations…of past into present and present into future are carried out by the cultural mechanism…establishing the dictum that “a person is what he does and he does what he is” (Daniel 1983:111)”. Thus, the law of karma is embedded in five main philosophical and religious doctrines: 1) All actions which are morally accountable made out of desire for their fruits have consequences, 2) the consequences of these actions are according to the character of the actions – good actions have good consequences whereas wrong actions cause bad consequences, 3) depending upon the consequences, some are manifested in this life or immediately, some in the next life and some in more remote futures, 4) the effects of these karmic actions can be accumulated, and 5) humans can be reborn into this 8 world (Reichenbach 1990:13-22). The law of karma is related to causation, but not strictly for many reasons: 1) Causality produces consequences regardless of agents whereas the law of karma is concerned with the doer of the actions, 2) causality is not dependent upon the intention of the actor but only his actual acts whereas the law of karma is dependent upon both, 3) the law of karma produces same effects – good actions causes good consequences and so forth, 4) causality is irrespective of moral issues whereas the law of karma is solely concerned with this, and 5) causality causes immediate or direct consequences whereas the karmic consequences might be manifested in the next life or in even more remote futures (ibid:24-25). Karma is not a mere abstraction, but a substance that can only be transmitted through bodily substances (Daniel, S. 1983:28). Although a person will be punished for his own sins and rewarded for good merits, he will also be rewarded or punished for acts committed by his ancestors and living kinsmen over which he has no control (ibid:30). The problem then is that the transference of both merit and demerit contradicts the notion of justice; the possibility for getting others to suffer for our bad deeds requires some theistic administrator who “keeps the record” (Reichenbach 1990:155) in accordance with his own divine plan. “The goal of human striving is to achieve liberation from the constant round of rebirths which is driven by karma”, Reichenbach argues, but “the cycle can be broken and liberation achieved only when our karma is exhausted and there is nothing more to cause subsequent rebirths. This means that the ideal karmic state occurs when the sum total of karmic residues is zero” (ibid:177). The law of karma is a metaphysical doctrine describing the nature of reality. According to Weber, “the karma doctrine transformed the world into a strictly rational, ethically-determined cosmos; it represents the most consistent theodicy ever produced by history” (Weber 1958:121). The doctrine of karma is the result of the process of ethicisation, as indicated, but also of a process of rationalisation. Rationalisation is a process through which cultures define their religious life-world, and it comprises two major facets; 1) an intellectual clarification, specification, and systematisation of ideas, and 2) normative controls of sanctions whereby humans are subject to a “hierarchy of controls” (Parsons 1964:xxxii). In Weber’s thought there is a basic duality between magic and ethic or emotional and rational-social (ibid:xxxvii). The ritual significance of caste observances, or in other words, the social sacramentalism in Indian religions must also be emphasised (ibid:liii). “Hinduism is unusually tolerant of doctrine (mata) while placing the greatest emphasis on ritual duties (dharma). Nevertheless, Hinduism has certain dogmas…if by dogma one means creedal truths whose denial is considered heretical and places the group if not the individual outside the Hindu community” (Weber 1958:117-118).
Fig. 1.2. Karmic eschatology (ethicized rebirth eschatology). Salvation is impossible in this scheme, and nirvana occurs outside the rebirth cycle Conditionality of reward Birth (dislocation) Ethicization step 2 good rebirth (+) bad rebirth (-) Source: Obeyesekere 2002, 79. Other World (temporary, ”becoming”) This World (temporary, ”becoming”) 9 Ethicization step 1 Heaven (+) Hell (-) Conditionality of reward Death
Page 3: Death and Life-Giving Waters Cremat
Page 7 and 8: Preface Contents List of figures In
Page 9 and 10: The origin of Pashupatinath and the
Page 11 and 12: Fig. 5.1 Map of Bangladesh with Far
Page 13 and 14: In karmic traditions, death and lif
Page 15 and 16: constructions, it has often been ap
Page 17: Part 1: Cremating Death - Creating
Page 22 and 23: The pervasiveness of karma linking
Page 24 and 25: Fig. 1.3. Pashupatinath temple and
Page 26 and 27: Fig. 1.5. Cremation priest lighting
Page 28 and 29: Fig. 1.7. Ghat management and servi
Page 30 and 31: theories of castes as an organisati
Page 32 and 33: Fig. 1.9. The sons collected the as
Page 34 and 35: highly polluted that the people wou
Page 36 and 37: 24 Fig. 1.12. Durga Prasad Sapkota
Page 38 and 39: problematic (Levinson 1982:198), es
Page 40 and 41: (seeds, food). In life a person bec
Page 42 and 43: Fig. 2.1. Manikarnika Ghat, Varanas
Page 44 and 45: the dead, (they shall eat) their fo
Page 46 and 47: Fig. 2.6. The representation of cas
Page 48 and 49: degrees of purity and pollution. En
Page 50 and 51: Fig. 2.8. Caste structure according
Page 52 and 53: Nevertheless, it is preferable to b
Page 54 and 55: the sacrifier is the sacrifice. Thu
Page 56 and 57: partly a process by which the gods
Page 59 and 60: Chapter 3: Meditation upon death an
Page 61 and 62: Being a part of a religious elite i
Page 63 and 64: The dangers of social interaction S
Page 65 and 66: Third party observing and legitimat
Page 67 and 68: Fig. 3.4. Tyaginath sitting next to
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the Mahabrahmans mostly consume the
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Religion and ritual Studies of deat
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purest in common sense is not alway
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Fig. 4.3. Modes of fleshly incarnat
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e reincarnated into regarding spiri
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Fig. 4.5. Hocart’s and Dumont’s
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impure and still treated as a Brahm
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Part 2: The Sisters Kali and Ganga
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Ganga Brahmaputra • Faridpur Bay
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Fig. 5.4. Ambikapur Shashan Ghat. F
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Fig. 5.6. Channel from the pyre whe
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The head is always supposed to be d
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Hinduism. She is employed as a care
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Only Hindus are cremated at the cem
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According to Hazera, Badol cremated
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Fig. 6.1. Statue of Jagadbandhu. 90
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Fig. 6.2. Rajani receives the bless
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His disciples are like missionaries
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In the Ashram all the expenses are
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Fig. 6.7. Burial in coffin. 98
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Fig. 6.8. Private Kali temple in Ba
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Fig. 6.9. Jagadbandhu temple in Ban
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The importance of the priest in rit
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the rituals, and they have differen
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108
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Fig. 7.1. The mighty Ganga. Fig. 7.
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Fig. 7.3. Tara. Fig. 7.4. Tripur-Su
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Fig. 7.11. Chinnamasta. 114
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immediate divine access and godly g
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Fig. 7.12. Pot-maker in front by th
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Fig. 7.14. The making of Durga. 120
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This image is the most important pa
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Fig. 7.17. Replacement of Shashan K
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Fig. 7.18. The Baishanti Durga puja
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tradition. The Bhaishanti Durga sta
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enlightenment and achieve liberatio
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132
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cloth. Although the Hindus in Farid
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Fig. 8.1. A combined Kali and Saras
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high-caste and priests as religious
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1979:115-118). As seen in Faridpur
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142
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144
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Fig. 9. 1. Map of Nepal. Kaligandak
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The opposite approach is the histor
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Fig. 9.2. Manang and Gangapurna gla
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Fig. 9.5. Bone grinding. 152
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Only 20-25 years ago air-burials we
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was completed by the end of the 18
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As a cultural construct water is al
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These sacrifices rebuild the deceas
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giving mother. A “spirit” is
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Gorakhnath promised the Nepalese th
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“Shiva, the god of eroticism, is
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Fig. 10. 3. Dagbatti - the lighting
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Fig. 10.4. Sexual engravings at the
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priori”, Jung argues; “The repr
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174
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are there in a quite objective sens
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Purana, “those who recite them wi
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forms of colour, 4) water with the
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Fig. 11.2. The spot where humans we
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Fig. 11.4. Bagmati originating from
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186
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Fig. 12.1. Sadhu fasting for Nepali
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If the river could not cleanse itse
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The trust is not directly involved
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Fig. 12.6. The outlet of treated wa
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As an example, once a complete drun
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Fig. 12.10. Bagmati River with clea
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positive or negative feedback upon
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this process happens slowly and pro
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Fig. 13.1. Decaying corpse at Nire
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achievement of a wanted state or co
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while unmarried girls and boys with
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Logic of sin and pollution Cosmogon
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212
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214
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less “true”, unimportant, or in
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From the present to the past, urban
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Dating traditions - the development
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The Muluki Ain aimed to arrange all
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spiritual fold took them to the upp
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choose one’s own path because onl
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esult of a variety of combinations
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practice, common people are ignoran
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procured for the people. The import
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Fig. 15.1. Gundestrup cauldron with
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236
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took place, at some time in history
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Fig. 16.1. Maneckji Seti Agiary in
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stony desert. The polluted body was
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Fig. 16.3. Zoroastrian ossuary from
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Fig. 16.4. Zarathushtra and fire-te
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Fig. 16.6. Inside a Tower of Silenc
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Fig. 16.7. Zarathushtra. 250
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meaningfully constituted and situat
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creative act in world-history - unl
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Alexander there offered sacrifices
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therefore concentrate on his docume
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Marshall suggested that the height
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Fig. 17.5. Dharmarajika: plan of re
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Fig. 17.6. Buddha from Building L n
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Fig. 17.8. The “smaller” Buddha
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is always explaining, instructing,
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Pakistan Fig. 17.9. Mohenjo-daro an
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Fig. 17.10. The Great Bath. From Ma
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This is problematic for several rea
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As mentioned before, Schutz has mad
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278
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of birth and death. The soul is ete
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constructions are applied and mater
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many possibilities such an approach
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follows her husband purifies the th
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improper performances of funerals.
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290
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292
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kept perpetually ablaze for over a
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Gange Farid million people. Muslim
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Manosha The patron saint of serpent
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Ratnasambhava The third dhyanibuddh
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Tirtha Spiritual ford, crossing pla
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304
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very nice. The last son (or husband
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y putting faces on people who other
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Hence, I have a feeling that I am o
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Fig. 18.3. Ram Mani Gyawali, author
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314
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When it again closes then Shiva bec
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or the opposite? Is the Aghori capa
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A man, after taking a bath in the P
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Vishnu said: Obeisance to you, O de
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The linga is pure, auspicious and i
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326
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Cambridge. Barth, F. 1990. The Guru
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Art, Religion & Culture: 184-191. M
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Priest. Cambridge University Press.
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Insoll, T. 1999b. Introduction. Res
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Lahiri, N. 2000. Archaeology and id
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Ahmedabad. Mirza, H. K. 2002. Liter
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Gandhi National Centre for the Arts
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(eds.). Representing Hinduism: 51-8
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Cremation, Caste, and Cosmogony in Karmic Traditions.

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