Sunday Special-Eco-Friendly ways to Rest ashes of Loved ones!
Eco-Friendly and Scientific ways to rest ashes of Loved Ones
Death
is an inevitable part of human life. For many, it is feared. Throughout
history, religion has attempted to explain death and speculate on what
happens
afterward, so it is less frightening. After death has occurred, the
body must be disposed of. Because of the various explanations for the
afterlife and the sacredness of a human body after death, different
methods of disposal are used in different religious
traditions.
The
most common form of corpse disposal, in Western religions, is burial,
usually in a cemetery. Burial is used by the major Abrahmic religions,
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
This practice of burial is based on examples from the Torah, such as a passage, “And [God] buried him (Moses) in the depression in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor.” Moses was buried by God, and the high status of Moses makes this way of disposal desirable. Christianity and Islam carried on this custom from Judaism, with some changes.
In Christianity, as with Judaism, the bodies are put in caskets to be placed in the ground. Grave markers for Christianity reflect the importance of the resurrection of Christ to their faith, as see on the one to the right. This is also part of the use of caskets. Most Christians believe in Judgment Day, when the God-devoted will be rewarded and the sinners punished. One aspect of this is the resurrection of the dead, therefore the bodies are still important after death.
The
Islamic dead are buried, but not in caskets. The body goes through a
cleansing and ritual process, is covered by a shroud, and placed in the
ground.
Although Muslims also believe in a form of the Last Judgment, they also discourage elaborate displays. Grave markers, if any, should be simple and not ornate. Islam teaches submission to God and excessive use of money on lavish items, such as a casket or expensive grave marker, is looked down upon. That encourages pleasure in earthly materials instead of devotion to God. Giving to the poor is also a major part of Islam, and wasting money with caskets and markers for the dead, who are gone from this earth, causes less to go to the poor.
In
most Eastern religions, the body does not hold the same sacredness as
in the Abrahmic religions. Saṃsāra, a concept in Hinduism, Buddhism,
Sikhism, and Jainism, is the cycle of reincarnation (portrayed by a
wheel in Buddhism, see above). Because of this cycle,
each human body is not very important; after death, the soul of the
person is gone and it is just an empty shell. All of these religions use
cremation as the most common method of corpse disposal.
Sikhs
usually throw the ashes over a river. This comes from the story of the
founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, depicted below. Guru Nanak would
meditate down by the river everyday. One day, though he
disappeared, and when he
reappeared 3 days later, he was filled with the spirit of God and began
to spread the word of Sikhism. Throwing the ashes over a river,
therefore, associates them
with
Guru Nanak and the significance of the river in the founding of their religion.
Buddhists
usually cremate as well, but there are exceptions. In the
mountainous country of Tibet, wood is scarce and the ground is hard.
Neither cremation or burial are plausible. The people of Tibet perform
sky burials
instead. They cut the corpse in certain locations and place it on a
mountaintop, to be eaten by animals, especially vultures. A main concept
of Buddhism is generosity and kindness to all living things. Because
the body is no longer occupied, giving it up as
food for other living beings is a final act of 
kindness
for the person’s body.
Another type of disposal was performed by Zoroastrians, before the 20th century. They
believed
that after death, the body was contaminated by a demon that rushed in.
In order for it not to spread this contaminant to the earth or fire by
burial or cremation, they built “Towers of Silence,” buildings with a
flat roof to place the bodies on. They would
leave the bodies there until the bones were bleached, which would then
be taken to disintegrate and wash out to the sea. The Zoroastrians do
not believe in reincarnation, until the final renovation of the
world,
and do not believe in any significance of the body after death. The
dead body only begins to decay and therefore must be gotten rid of to
keep everything else from being polluted.
The
most common form of corpse disposal, in Western religions, is burial,
usually in a cemetery. Burial is used by the major Abrahmic religions,
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.This practice of burial is based on examples from the Torah, such as a passage, “And [God] buried him (Moses) in the depression in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor.” Moses was buried by God, and the high status of Moses makes this way of disposal desirable. Christianity and Islam carried on this custom from Judaism, with some changes.
In Christianity, as with Judaism, the bodies are put in caskets to be placed in the ground. Grave markers for Christianity reflect the importance of the resurrection of Christ to their faith, as see on the one to the right. This is also part of the use of caskets. Most Christians believe in Judgment Day, when the God-devoted will be rewarded and the sinners punished. One aspect of this is the resurrection of the dead, therefore the bodies are still important after death.
The
Islamic dead are buried, but not in caskets. The body goes through a
cleansing and ritual process, is covered by a shroud, and placed in the
ground.Although Muslims also believe in a form of the Last Judgment, they also discourage elaborate displays. Grave markers, if any, should be simple and not ornate. Islam teaches submission to God and excessive use of money on lavish items, such as a casket or expensive grave marker, is looked down upon. That encourages pleasure in earthly materials instead of devotion to God. Giving to the poor is also a major part of Islam, and wasting money with caskets and markers for the dead, who are gone from this earth, causes less to go to the poor.
In
most Eastern religions, the body does not hold the same sacredness as
in the Abrahmic religions. Saṃsāra, a concept in Hinduism, Buddhism,
Sikhism, and Jainism, is the cycle of reincarnation (portrayed by a
wheel in Buddhism, see above). Because of this cycle,
each human body is not very important; after death, the soul of the
person is gone and it is just an empty shell. All of these religions use
cremation as the most common method of corpse disposal.
Sikhs
usually throw the ashes over a river. This comes from the story of the
founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, depicted below. Guru Nanak would
meditate down by the river everyday. One day, though he
disappeared, and when he
reappeared 3 days later, he was filled with the spirit of God and began
to spread the word of Sikhism. Throwing the ashes over a river,
therefore, associates them
with
Guru Nanak and the significance of the river in the founding of their religion.
Buddhists
usually cremate as well, but there are exceptions. In the
mountainous country of Tibet, wood is scarce and the ground is hard.
Neither cremation or burial are plausible. The people of Tibet perform
sky burials
instead. They cut the corpse in certain locations and place it on a
mountaintop, to be eaten by animals, especially vultures. A main concept
of Buddhism is generosity and kindness to all living things. Because
the body is no longer occupied, giving it up as
food for other living beings is a final act of 
kindness
for the person’s body.Another type of disposal was performed by Zoroastrians, before the 20th century. They
believed
that after death, the body was contaminated by a demon that rushed in.
In order for it not to spread this contaminant to the earth or fire by
burial or cremation, they built “Towers of Silence,” buildings with a
flat roof to place the bodies on. They would
leave the bodies there until the bones were bleached, which would then
be taken to disintegrate and wash out to the sea. The Zoroastrians do
not believe in reincarnation, until the final renovation of the
world,
and do not believe in any significance of the body after death. The
dead body only begins to decay and therefore must be gotten rid of to
keep everything else from being polluted.
Parsis ( a community of Zoroastrians that fled Iran in the 10th
century to avoid Islamic incursions in Persia and its aftermath), who
are today mainstream Indians but still practice the Zoroastrian
traditions. They number 70000 in India out of a World population
of 200000. One of the most striking facets of their religion is the
disposal of the body after death in Towers of Silence; a special place
on a hill where the body is returned to nature without polluting land,
water or fire, by committing the body to putrefaction
by sunlight and to be consumed by birds of prey.
Green and Eco friendly Disposal of Body &Remembrance of Loved Ones
Designers Anna Citelli and Raoul Bretzel propose bizarre burial method :
Green and Eco friendly Disposal of Body &Remembrance of Loved Ones
Designers Anna Citelli and Raoul Bretzel propose bizarre burial method :
New
green burial plans will see corpses placed in giant 'seed pod' chambers
with a tree growing out of the top in a scheme to turn graveyards into
'sacred forests'
Ashes To Diamonds: Swiss Company Turns People’s Cremated Remains Into Diamonds
The human body
is 18% carbon. 2% of this carbon remains after cremation, and it is this
carbon that Algordanza uses to make their diamonds
Italian
designers Anna Citelli and Raoul Bretzel have created the 'Capsula
Mundi' concept - a radical programme designed to 'promote the
realization of green cemeteries'.
They hope
their proposed method of burial will catch on to the point cemeteries
will 'no longer be full of tombstones and will become a sacred forest'.
The person first chooses the tree they want to
be planted, then upon their death they are placed inside a capsule and
buried underneath it
'Capsula
Mundi saves the life of a tree and proposes to plant one more. By
planting different kinds of trees next to each other it creates a
forest.
'A place
where children will be able to learn all about trees. It’s also a place
for a beautiful walk and a reminder of our loved ones.'
Above the
capsule, a tree previously selected by the deceased is planted, in the
hope nutrients from the corpse will help it grow.
When hundreds are planted together, its designers claim they would create a 'memory forest' rather than a traditional cemetery
Poetree
How Cremation Diamonds Are Made
Cremation Diamonds are a unique way to rember
the life of a special loved one. We would like to assure you that these
cremation diamonds are in fact created from the ashes of your loved
ones. Below is an outline of the process that
is used to create genuine cremation diamonds made from ashes.
Algordanza, a Swiss company, has taken a
fascinating and unexpected approach to memorializing our loved ones who
have passed; They will compress and super-heat your loved one’s cremated
ashes and turn them into a man-made diamond
that can be worn and cherished.
It all begins with a chemical process that
extracts the carbon from the departed’s ashes. This carbon is then
heated to convert it into graphite. That graphite is then heated to as
many as 2,700 degrees Fehrenheit and subjected
to forces as high as 870,000 pounds per square inch. The color of the
finished diamond, which can range from white to dark blue, depends on
the boron content of the ashes of the deceased. The prices begin at
4,259 Swiss Francs ($4,474 USD) for a small diamond
with no additional service.
last photos is from a man who took his grandmother on a trip through the U.S. after her cremated remains were turned into a diamond ring
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