Dr. Jeyarajan from Saraswathy Illam – Ramanalayam in Sri Lanka provided a Hindu perspective on confronting life and death during the pandemic. Some key points included: - From a Hindu perspective, life is eternal but death is a transitional process. Rituals after death help the living cope and give closure, though the loss is still felt. - Pandemics resulting in mass deaths are not new, but the current COVID-19 pandemic is different as the deaths are imminent, gradual, and families cannot see the body. - In response, the ashram has focused on assisting the elderly, encouraging vaccination, providing emergency aid to affected families, and offering religious sol

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December 2021
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Confronting Life &
Death in
Pandemic Times:
Spiritual & Secular
Perspectives
A HINDU PERSPECTIVE
Dr Jeyarajan, President
Saraswathy Illam – Ramanalayam
Sri Lanka
Kasih Hospice Foundation Interfaith
Dialogue 2021

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From a Hindu Perspective…
◦ Life is eternal
◦ Death and Birth are transitional
◦ Yet, suffering is real!
◦ The dead are remembered and sometimes made divine
◦ The rituals are often for the living to come to terms
with the dead; to give a closure
◦ There are several rituals to cope with death
◦ Yet the loss is felt and the person is missed

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Pandemics are not new…
◦ Large scale losses due to Pandemics and Catastrophes
are not new!
◦ Wars and natural calamities have taken 100’s of lives
◦ The Tsunami of 2005 caused 1000s of deaths!
◦ The pandemic we face now is different because it is:
◦ Imminent,
◦ Gradual, and
◦ In every case, the body or remains are not seen by the
family

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Responses to the pandemic…
◦ Our Ashram focuses on the elderly
◦ Our continued response is to encourage vaccination
and safe practices and provide transport
◦ Families that were affected and quarantined were
given emergency provisions – not sustainable
◦ One-on-one sharings with affected family members
◦ Providing solace based on Hindu religious beliefs
◦ Giving a platform for “hearing”

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Responses to the pandemic…
◦ Peaks and troughs (waves) – constant vigilance
◦ Making rituals meaningful – what happens after death
and actions by family members
◦ Cremation
◦ Offerings
◦ Appeasing the spirit
◦ Dissolving the ashes in the waters
◦ A religious or spiritual understanding into the
meaning of life is followed up after

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Suffering at four levels
For the dying
– difficulties
to access
when under
quarantine
For the family
– to cope with
the imminent
loss and after
For health
personal and
care givers –
facing
constant
negativity
For our staff
and volunteers
– working
under new
circumstances

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Defining death and after life…
◦ Emphasize that the body and soul are separate – body
dies but not the soul
◦ Explain that the soul is reborn
◦ The rituals are meant to give peace to the departed
soul
◦ Rituals also give a closure to the living and move on
◦ Coping with the lack of a body for last rites and
dealing with the ashes

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Defining death and after life… (Cont.)
◦ Dealing with legal and family responsibilities – wills,
transfer of assets, coping and sharing responsibilities..
◦ Overcoming taboos and superstitions
◦ Protecting the living through safe practices
◦ Rituals also give a closure to the living and move on
◦ Coping with the lack of a body for last rites and
dealing with the ashes

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◦ When the imminent death of a dear or near one, or in
someone’s care, calls another or others to grieve and mourn,
they should have the courage, faith, love and support to
remain open to the pain and the loss in the situation, and
introjectively exude empathy
◦ Death is not a fiend; it is the truest of friends. It delivers us
from agony.” (Mahatma, 1960)
◦ Fear of death to life is one of the five unwholesome mental
states which have to be overcome by attaining enlightenment
◦ yogic (or spiritual) practices that help the adept to overcome
“fear, agony, despair, helplessness and other feelings [that are]
embedded in one’s being”
As a follow up…

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◦ By working towards “Self-Realisation” one overcomes the fear
of dropping the body. Thus, preparing for the inevitable
without any sense of ownership to self or materials.
◦ The cultivation of this disposition is reinforced with constant
practice of contemplation, meditation, devotion or
supplication to the gods and ancestors with mantra-
recitations, and counselling of a guru or care-therapist. The
profess intent here is to seek release from mortality and fear
of death
◦ It is believed in the Hindu tradition that death, detachment
and grief are not unrelated psycho-tropes of human
experience.
As a follow up… (cont.)

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Aum Shanti