Necessity and Purpose of Funerals: Personal Reflections and Comparison with Hadad's Views

Personal Reflections on Funerals

Do You Feel It Is Necessary To Have a Funeral? Why Or Why Not? Describe What You Would Like To Have Happen At Your Own Death.

Evaluate Your Reflections On Cruikshank’s In Comparison With The Marilyn Hadad Reading , How Do Your Experiences Or Thoughts Around Funerals Affirm Or Deny Hadad’s Points Concerning The Purpose Or Function Of End-Of-Life Rituals?

The concept of funeral is full of controversies in the religious concept. Many critics have said that the need for funeral is very important because the dead body has to be disposed through some mechanism. The social order has to preserved and all the roles and responsibilities should be fulfilled by other members of his family. From the ancient times, the concept of funeral has been in practice like the Mummy in Egypt (MacDonald: 36). However, these rituals of funeral have become very obsolete in the Western societies. In my personal view, I do not want a funeral for myself after my death. It is because I do not think it will be very unnecessary for my family members to observe the rituals after my death.

The thing they can do for me at the maximum is to dispose my dead body. After that, they can live their usual lives and remember me through their works and understand the value of my beliefs when I was alive. I want them to realize that my soul will rest in peace if they memorize my works. I respect all the religious traditions but I believe it is the best to celebrate the works of the man while he is alive. Ultimately, the beloved ones of the dead person has to face the reality of death. Religious traditions will be there but respecting and valuing the dead person is unparallel. People can definitely apply other alternative rituals and value the dead person (Hadad: 44).

The comparison has to be found in this section of the paper regarding the rituals in the world. In this article, the reason for funerals has been given as it is one of the most intricate practices in the society. There are certain controversies in this scenario but the critics like Crukshank and Hadad have presented their own views on this concept (Hadad: 45). The primary values of funeral come up with the rites of separation. The question still remains if observing the rituals in the proper manner will give comfort and peace to the dead person. The author Marilyn Hadad has pointed out the concepts of all types of funerals in the society. The rituals of most popular religions like Christian, Islam, Judaism, Sikh, Hindu and others have been discussed in this paper (Hadad: 46). The perspective of mourning for the dead is the main aspect of observing these rituals. It is definite that actions will be different.

The author has discussed about the different kinds of permutations in the Christian funerals. The most common and popular of them is that of Roman Catholicism. On the other hand, orthodox Jews are seen to present their funeral practices completely different from that of Christians. As an example, the author has said that the son or very close relative of the deceased person will close down the eyes and mouth. Then he will bind up the lower jaw of that person. On the other hand, the funeral practices of Christians include the embalming of the dead body by the funeral director. The deceased body will be put in the casket and taken to the local Catholic Church for the purpose of Mass (Hadad: 47). The author has also expressed his views on the rituals of Mexico in this context. It will include the religious traditions and cultural traditions. The Day of the Dead is celebrated in Mexico to honor the dead through their cultural ways. The Aztec culture of Mexico is shown in this festival.

In the case of Islamic rituals, all the near relatives of the dead person appear there so they could give comfort to the dead and mourn the death (Hadad: 49). After that, the dead body of the person would be washed in the scented water. In the Hindu rituals, the dying person would be placed on the floor and the Hindu priest will recite the holy hymns from religious texts. The body will be cremated by burning the dead body in fire to ensure the departure of the soul (Hadad: 48). Thus, Hadad has presented his points on providing comfort and peace to all the people in the world. Here, the author of the article has presented the views in favor of observing funerals for the sake of liturgical reasons. The economic perspectives and behavior of funeral directors have turned many people to observe these rituals. The concern for environment has also been another reason for the preservation of funerals within the society.

References

Chakraborty, Rajshekhar, et al. "A systematic review of religious beliefs about major end-of-life issues in the five major world religions." Palliative & supportive care 15.5 (2017): 609-622.

Hadad, Marilyn. The ultimate challenge: Coping with death, dying and bereavement. Nelson Education, 2008.

MacDonald, Nathan, ed. Ritual Innovation in the Hebrew Bible and Early Judaism. Vol. 468. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG, 2016.