Instale los cuatro VedasColoque cuatro vasijas de barro en las esquinas de la arena de sacrificio con los siguientes ingredientes: agua, hojas de Tulasi, pétalos de flores, granos de arroz, cúrcuma, hojas de mango, agua de ríos sagrados. En el sitio donde se colocan las vasijas, marque en el piso un loto de ocho pétalos ó un chakra mandala (estrella de seis puntas) y cante el mantra:om adhara - shaktaye hamahColoque ahora cocos secos encima de las vasijas. Rig Veda al este, Sama Veda al sur, Yajur Veda al oeste y Atharva Veda al norte.
What follows is an alternative procedure adjusted for western civil standards. 1/. If a Vaisnava leaves his body at a temple.Inform the local authorities about it. Clean the body; put on fresh Vaisnava dress, tilak, garland from the Deities; apply candana on his forehead and print the name of Lord Krsna with candan on the body. All this should be done accompanied by kirtan. Put Tulasi leaves from the feet of the Lord in his or her mouth. If holy water from the Ganges or Yamuna is available spinkle the body with it. Circumambulate the temple with the body three times in kirtan with the dead body if posible going feet first. The body should be covered with a Hari Nama chadar or clean cloth. Then arrange for the formalities for the cremation at the nearest crematorium as soon as possible.Generally the authorities will take the body and perform an autopsy. It also takes some time until the crematorium is free sometimes. In the mean time, the authorities will keep the body in a freezer in some hospital, funeral parlour or similar place.The cremation day should not be an ekadasi or mahadwadasi, as all the participants will go to hell according to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Jiva Goswami. On the the day of the cremation the devotees should hold kirtan and a lecture for the family and relatives or simply for the Vaisnava community, in the chapel which is usually attached to each crematorium. The cremation should always be performed during daylight hours. When the time for taking the coffin down to the furnace has come, a small group of devotees should accompany the coffin while chanting the Nrsimha prayers, then the om hrim ksraum mantra;om hrim ksraum ugram viram mahavisnum jwalantam sarvatmukham sphura sphura bandha bandha ghataya ghataya ghataya hum phat swaha nrsimham bhisanam bhadram mrtyu mrtyam namamyahamAt the moment when the coffin is pushed into the burning chamber one can chant the last two verse of Sri Isopanishad, and ending in om shanti shanti shantih.vayur anilam amrtam / athedam bhasmanatam sariram om krato smara krtam smara / krato smara krtam smara"Let this temporary body be burnt to ashes, and let the air of life be merged with the totality of air. Now, O my Lord, please remember all my sacrifices, and because You are the ultimate Beneficiary, please remember all that I have done for You." Sri Isa Upanishad17agne naya supatharaye asman / visvani deva vayunani vidvan yuyodhy asmaj juhuranam eno / bhuyistham te nama uktim vidhema" O my Lord, powerful as the fire, Omnipotent One, now I do offer You all obeisances, falling at Your feet on the ground. O my Lord, please lead me on the right path to reach You, and, as You know all of what I have done in the past, please make me free from the reactions to my past sins, so that there will be no hinderance to my progress." Sri Isa Upanishad18The ashes, which one gets from the crematorium after the burning in completed, can later, (within the period of one year it is suggested), be taken to India and placed in a holy river like the Ganges or Yamuna, etc.After three days a function should be held in the temple, and bhoga is offered to the Deity on behalf of the departed soul. Then the assembled Vaisnavas take the prasadam of the Lord and the family members are also invited to come and take.For those who are living outside, like members of the Indian community or grhastas who live outside the temple sanction, or who are simply members of the greater congregation, and who quit their body somewhere outside the temple: When a time at the crematorium and chapel has been arranged, the clerks at the crematorium have to be instructed that the coffin will have to be opened.Ceremony at the chapelThe priest should hand different auspicious items to the family members of the departed, which should be placed on the dead body by them. Such as maha garlands from the Deities, Tulasi leaves, candan, holy water etc. While the family members apply these things to the body, the priest should recite swasti vacan beginning;om svasti no govindah svasti no' cyutanantau svasti no vasudevo visnur dadhatu svasti no narayano naro vai svasti nah padmanabhah purusottamo dadhatu svasti no visvakseno visvesvarah svasti no hrsikeso harir dadhatu svasti no vainateyo harih svasti no'njanasuto hanur bhagavato dadhatu svasti svasti sumangalikeso mahan sri krsna saccid ananda ghanah sarvesvaresvaro dadhatu(May krsna, the lord of lords, and his dear sevants, bestow auspiciousness to us.)hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hareIn the case of the departed being an elderly person in the family has departed, the eldest son should offer incense and a ghee lamp in an arati fashion to the body. All the relatives can come and offer flowers to the body and sprinkle the body with Ganga jal, (if not available make some...gange ca yamuna caiva etc.), or use the Deities bathing water, charanamrta.The priest should then recite the Visnu sahasra nam strotra, or hold a kirtan. Then he should give a short lecture from Bhagavad Gita about the nature of the soul and speak some comforting words to the friends and relatives.Read Bhagavad Gita 2:19 text, and 20 text and purport at the service. Text 2:27 first few lines of purport are very nice.When the time for burning has come, proceed in the same manner as above.For members of the Indian community, most often, after the cremation is done, we hold a little program at their home with a small puja, bhajan and a short talk again.In regards to the shraddha ceremony that Hindus observe one should read the verse and puport to SB 3:20:43., which states how devotees benefit by having son's (or children) like Prahlada, putra. This also applies to any relative of any devotee (male or female) irrespective of the relative's gender, favourability or lack of it, or station in their former life. Such is the potencey of devotees service to the Lord.Eleven days after the cremation a purification of the house is generally held, along with offering of prasadams to the departed. At this time a Shaligram Sila can be worshipped, since it is most auspicious to perform these rites before the Shaligram according to Padma Purana. Failing this, make an altar with pictures and hold the puja to them. Offer pindas (cooked rice mixed with ghee) or halavah to the guru parampara and then to the picture of the departed soul. This food stuff should not be eaten by anyone else, it may be disposed of in a river, garden, or given to lower animals, (Not cows).A small avahana homa (Purusha Sukta homa) can be performed and oblations of halava be offered at the time of ahuti (oblations into the fire). The priest should be given prasadam, and daksina, in the case of a lady departing, a Vaishnavi (female devotee), should also be fed at this time.This yajna can be performed anytime for example at Janmastami chant the gayatri mantra of the Deity either 8, 28, or 108 times whilst offering ahutis, plus108 names of Krsna.Gaura Purnima chant Gaura gayatri 8, 28, 108, times, plus 108 names of Lord Caitanya.Nrsimha Caturdasi chant nrsimha gayatri, ugram viram etc......, 8, 28, 108, plus various prayers to Lord Nrsimhadeva or 108 names of.....!On the Brahmotsav, the anniversary of the installation of the Deity, Brahma Samhita can be chanted and ahutis offered etc.
