BURNING GATS ON THE TYNE

It seems that Hindus and Sikhs in Britain are calling for the right to have traditional open air funeral pyres to send their dear departed to be reincarnated.

It is proposed that the first burning gat will be in Newcastle on the Tyne.

Burning Gats by the Ganges are there because the river is considered Holy. The usual procedure, at Benares anyway, is to burn said relative on a pile of sandlewood (well, it'll smell nicer in plantations than those bloody pine trees everywhere), dowse the flames with the holy water from the river and toss the remains of auntie Edna in the river. Singed human remains floating in rivers where this takes place is the norm.

You shall have a fishy on a little dishy takes on a whole new meaning.

HINDUS and Sikhs in Britain should have the right to cremate their dead on funeral pyres at open-air ceremonies, a race relations group said yesterday.
The Anglo-Asian Friendship Society said that a ban on the use of funeral pyres, dating back to 1930, unfairly penalised followers of both religions. It has approached a local authority to seek land for open-air cremations and is threatening to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights.
The charity, which has 2,000 members, said that its proposal for pyres located at sites across the country, beginning with one near Newcastle upon Tyne, would meet all planning and environmental requirements.
Davendar Ghai, the society’s president, said that open-air cremations were considered essential to the process of reincarnation. “Reincarnation is a foundation of the faith and the older generation fully believe that, without these essential last rites, the soul languishes in restless torment,” he said.
Mr Ghai said that many Hindus and Sikhs were offended by having no alternative but to use the gas-powered furnaces of a conventional crematorium.
In a traditional Hindu funeral, the appropriate disposal of the ashes is vital. They are cooled and carefully collected so that there is no possibility of intermingling with other ashes.
Mr Ghai said that many relatives chose the expensive option of taking the remains to India to avoid risking the “catastrophic consequences for the departed soul” of a failure to observe all the rituals.
Lawyers working for the society, which is based in Gosforth, near Newcastle, have prepared a case to be heard under the 1988 Human Rights Act.

I prided myself on being tolerant towards a multicultural society and try to respect everyone's religious faith (although I think they are poor misguided people who would be happier without it), but even I am losing patience.

Lets bring back crucifiction, and be damned.

Kats