ABSTRACT
Cremation is the dominant funeral practice in today's Hinduism. Cosmogony is the recreation of the world, not only mythologically, but also very concrete here and now. Cosmos is an ongoing process where cremation is a sacrificial act destroying in order to create – exactly according to the pattern of the creation myth – and the fire also causes life-giving powers to flow. The body is essentially made of five elements – air, water, fire, earth and ether – and these elements also constitute cosmos. The cremation fire dissolves the elements to their cosmic origin from where they take new forms and life-processes. Agni is not burning away the flesh of the body, but cooking it as a meal, which is given to the gods. The fire is life-giving, and the cremated ashes, after the cremation, are immersed in the holy water in the divine rivers. This last journey starts in Nepal and ends in Varanasi in India, which cosmologically is the holiest place not only in the Hindu world, but in the whole cosmos.
