KEEPING THE FAITH:
Questions about a comparison:
death in two traditions

October 12, 2009 by Haley Etchison 

It is frighteningly easy for me to fall into the attractively simple idea that culture and religion fit together in some way that can be unraveled to find meaning. But the truth is, the more I try to find logical relationships between faith and culture, the more questions I have.

My latest puzzle has me struggling to make sense a comparison between death rituals in two religions – the one I was raised in, and the one I identify with most, philosophically.

Many Americans are familiar with Christian death rituals, since they have heavily permeated secular culture in the United States. For those who are not, I suggest that one key identifier of Christian mourning is silence.

The practice of holding one’s peace in respect for the loss of a loved one reflects a long tradition in Judeo-Christianity of observing great loss through solitary reflection. We see it from Job’s mourning for his children to the persistence of Christian martyrs in the wake of their companions’ deaths.

Now consider death rituals in Hinduism. Though I feel I have a solid working knowledge of the faith through cultural exposure, I admit I have never mourned death of a Hindu friend or family member. In fact I know relatively little about Hindu death traditions, but the one thing I recognize as being characteristic of bereavement in Hinduism is the intense wailing of mourners.

I thought perhaps this heartwrenching display of grief – mourners’ agonized weeping for the dead, hitting their own chests in torment and beating their heads against the ground – might be more nationally culturally than religious. (My exposure to Hinduism comes largely through Indian culture, so there was a chance my impressions associated the two too closely.) But then I learned that Islam, India’s second-most prominent religion, discourages excessive weeping, as a result of the Prophet Muhammad’s instruction at the time of his own son’s death: “We shall not say anything except which pleases our Lord.”

It seems that this ritual of mourning is indeed related to Hindu tradition.
But here’s what had me baffled: Looking at the theology of afterlife in the two religions, obserance of death in Christianity and Hinduism seems oddly contradictory.
It stands to reason that of the two, the faith with the lesser threat of damnation after death ought to sustain rituals that demonstrate greater hope in afterlife.
Most Christians face at least the theoretical the possibility of eternal torment in Hell. But Hindus can, at the worst, be reincarnated in a form in which conscious aspiration to equalizing dharma and karma is less achievable. Of the two, it seems that Christians have the greater cause for torment.
Certainly, the feeling of personal loss that survivors suffer is consistent across cultures and religions. But I struggle to understand what about Hindu theology precipitates such display of agony, when the afterlife seems so joyful in this faith.
If one lives a good life and fulfills his moral and spiritual duties on Earth, Hinduism holds that following the human life, the soul is liberated from the cycle of reincarnation and is unified with God.
What then moves mourners to such lengths? I am still searching for the answer.
For those of you who followed this column last year, I hope you’re glad to see it again! You will now find more ways than ever to keep in touch with thoughts and questions like this about religion and philosophy, from me and other members of the UNLV community.
Keeping the Faith will print in The Rebel Yell occasionally, and I will blog on our Web site, unlvrebelyell.com. There you can also download podcasts featuring conversations with interesting religious thinkers and members of faith-based communities at UNLV.
I hope you are as excited as I am about continuing to talk about religion and philosophy this year, and about building a community of openness and intellectual interest in faith.
KEEPING THE FAITH is part of a multimedia effort that seeks to open constructive discussion about our most important beliefs. Blogs, podcasts and the electronic version of this column are available at unlvrebelyell.com.