What happens after we die

Photos: Author Minakshi Dewan; the Chinvat Bridge

Author Minakshi Dewan’s book ‘The Final Farewell — Understanding the Last Rites and Rituals of India’s Major Faiths’ provides meaning and understanding.

By Shevlin Sebastian

Writer Minakshi Dewan was very close to her father, Vijay Dewan, an entrepreneur. He lived in Ambala Cantonment, in Haryana. But in 2019, because of liver sclerosis, Vijay passed away. His death came as a shock to Minakshi.

She lit the funeral pyre and immersed her father’s ashes in the Ganges at Haridwar. During this time, she conversed with the purohits and became fascinated by the rituals at the end of life. That’s when she got the idea of writing a book.

She began her research by visiting shamshans and kabristans in Delhi. Minakshi also went to the Harishchandra and Manikarnika ghats at Varanasi. She read articles, newspaper clips, books and watched films. She interviewed journalists, activists, funeral directors, academicians, and filmmakers, among many others.

The recently published book is called ‘The Final Farewell: Understanding the last rites and rituals of India’s Major Faiths’. Minakshi has gone deep into the last rites in Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Zoroastrianism and Sikhism.

It is a valuable book because it gives followers of each religion an insight into the meanings behind their rituals, which they tend to do mechanically.

One also gets an idea of the rituals of other religions. The book creates empathy and understanding in the reader for people of other religions, especially at a time of grave polarisation all over the world.

So, for example, the washing of a Muslim man begins on the right side. The first wash is usually with plain water, the second with water and soap, and the final one is usually with water and camphor. The Islamic tradition is to wrap the corpse with three unstitched cloth pieces: an izar (wraparound), a qamis (shift) and a lifafa, which covers the entire body from head to feet.

Minakshi has also focused on Hindu and Sikh women performing the last rites. She spoke to Dr Manisha Shete, a Hindu priest, practising for the past fifteen years. Manisha said, “I pursued this work because of my interest in ancient scriptures. I am the first in my family to become a priest.” Manisha is associated with the Pune-based Jnana Prabodhini, an organisation which trains men and women across castes to perform rituals.

Minakshi has also described the state of cremation and burial spaces, the gender and caste discrimination in last rites, and professional mourners like rudaalis. An interesting chapter is about Varanasi. “Varanasi celebrates death,” writes Minakshi.

Each religion has its own beliefs about what happens after death. In Zoroastrianism, for example, the Parsis believe humans comprise gaetha (physical) and mainyu (spiritual). Humans have an immortal urvan (soul). The soul remains near the body for three days and nights before departing. On the fourth day, the sun's rays draw up the soul for judgement. It has to cross the Chinvat Bridge. The bridge becomes wider or narrower, depending on the life the person led.

‘The Final Farewell’ is a most remarkable and valuable addition to spiritual literature.

(Published in The Sunday Magazine, New Indian Express, South India and Delhi)