{"id":13560,"date":"2014-06-02T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-06-02T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hinduismtoday.com\/hpi\/2014\/06\/02\/canada-how-diversity-has-changed-the-way-we-handle-our-dead\/"},"modified":"2014-06-02T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2014-06-02T12:00:00","slug":"canada-how-diversity-has-changed-the-way-we-handle-our-dead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hinduismtoday.com\/hpi\/2014\/06\/02\/canada-how-diversity-has-changed-the-way-we-handle-our-dead\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada: How Diversity Has Changed the Way We Handle Our Dead"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source<\/a><\/p>\n

ONTARIO, CANADA, May 29, 2014 (Caledon Enterprise): When his father died more than 15 years ago, Hindu priest Pandit Roopnauth Sharma took his ashes down to Lake Ontario. Sharma looked around, made sure no one was watching and placed them in the water. \u201a\u00c4\u00faI realized there was a lot that was wrong with that,\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 recalls the spiritual leader of Mississauga\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s Ram Mandir Hindu temple and president of the Hindu Federation. Not having a proper place to scatter the ashes – a sacred ritual for Hindus and Sikhs – was \u201a\u00c4\u00favery stressful and very painful.\u201a\u00c4\u00f9<\/p>\n

That prompted the federation to work with community members, conservation authorities and government officials, resulting in the provincial guidelines of 2009 allowing ashes to be scattered on Ontario\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s Crown land and water. Now, the Hindu Federation plans to ask Mississauga and Oakville to erect signs and create designated areas for the scattering of ashes along Lake Ontario. Signs would prevent curious onlookers from asking what\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s going on or saying it\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s not permitted. Plus, it would alleviate discomfort some Hindu families have.<\/p>\n

That\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s just one of many examples of how the Greater Toronto Area\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s ever-evolving demographics are redefining how we handle our dead. Hospitals now allow Buddhists to stay by the bedside of deceased loved ones, chanting prayers to help the spirit leave the body. Interfaith couples can be buried together. And cemetery operators have turned to Feng Shui masters for advice on positioning graves. Years ago this would have been unheard of. But now, a concerted effort is being made to accommodate cultural and religious needs for final disposition in a region that\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s among the most ethnically diverse in the world.<\/p>\n

At Mount Pleasant Group (MPG), funeral homes have units for burning oils and ghee during Hindu services; and they set up a table during Buddhist services for relatives to leave the deceased offerings, such as vegetarian food, fruit and tea. In recent decades, there\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s been a steady increase in cremation rates – today it\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s about 60 per cent in Ontario. In part, this has been driven by immigration – many Buddhists choose cremation and it\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s required of Hindus and Sikhs. Because Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists must witness the cremation, MPG is upgrading its four crematoriums, from small industrial-like spaces to areas that comfortably accommodate large groups. Often, the oldest son \u201a\u00c4\u00ee or next of kin \u201a\u00c4\u00ee begins the cremation process as tradition stipulates.<\/p>\n

Much more at source.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source ONTARIO, CANADA, May 29, 2014 (Caledon Enterprise): When his father died more than 15 years ago, Hindu priest Pandit,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hinduismtoday.com\/hpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hinduismtoday.com\/hpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hinduismtoday.com\/hpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hinduismtoday.com\/hpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hinduismtoday.com\/hpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13560"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.hinduismtoday.com\/hpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13560\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hinduismtoday.com\/hpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hinduismtoday.com\/hpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hinduismtoday.com\/hpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}