Jay Lakhani
LONDON, March 24, 2009 (by Jay Lakhani): This week the Royal Courts of Justice will review the right of Mr Ghai to an open air cremation in the United Kingdom. I suspect that most Hindu bodies in the country have supported Mr Ghai on the grounds of Human Rights. Every individual should have freedom of choice in deciding how their remains are disposed of, provided it does not breach local or national law.
The area of concern for me is Mr Ghai’s belief that unless his body undergoes an open air cremation his soul will not be liberated. In the Bhagavad Gita 2.22 Krishna teaches: Just as one casts off old garments for new, at death, the soul casts off one body and takes on another. Krishna does not teach that this can only happen if the body is cremated, or that this cremation has to be in open air.
I am not suggesting that Mr Ghai’s human rights be compromised but the argument he is using to win his case is harming the integrity of Hinduism in two ways. First it fails to take into account that Hinduism is a forward looking, evolving religion. In ancient times open air cremations were fine; we now have more efficient and less morbid methods of cremating. Hindu teachings would encourage Hindus to use them. Secondly, the idea that the soul requires an open air cremation in order to be released, demolishes the potency of the soul and thereby undermines the very foundation of Hinduism. Hindus are keen to protect Mr Ghai’s Human Rights but is Mr Ghai even aware of the damage he may be causing to his religion? I doubt it. What ever the outcome of this legal case, one certain casualty in the process has been the credibility of Hinduism in the eyes of the greater public.