Hyderabad: Ratan Tata, business tycoon and scion of the Tata family passed away at 86 at a hospital, where he was admitted with age-related ailments.
His last rites will be performed as per the rituals of the Parsi community but unlike the traditional customs, his mortal remains will be cremated at the electric crematorium in Worli in Mumbai.
Tata will be accorded a state funeral with full honours which means that the cremation will be concluded by a gun salute by the state. His body has been taken to his residence in Colaba, where his family members and close friends will pay their last tribute. In the afternoon, his body will be brought to the National Centre for Performing Arts for the common people to pay their final respects.
The final rituals of the Parsis are a host of ceremonies that are held for disposing of the deceased. These rituals are aimed at honoring the deceased while emphasising on spiritual purity and the cycle of life.
The three-step preparations:
1. Separation: The deceased is kept in a separate room to prevent spiritual impurity.
2. Purification: Family members perform ritual ablutions.
3. Clothing: The deceased is dressed in white, symbolising purity.
Sacred rituals that are followed:
- Sagdid (viewing): During the ritual of Sagdid, family and friends pay respects.
- Navjote (initiation): Prayers are recited to reconnect the soul to divine forces in Navjote custom.
- Vendidad (purification): Rituals are performed to cleanse the soul in Vendidad.
- Yasna (worship): Offerings to Ahura Mazda (the supreme deity) is done in Yasna.
- Dokhmenashini (funeral): Parsis believe that fire and earth are sacred and the deceased is carried to the Tower of Silence.
The Tower of Silence
As per Parsi customs, the deceased is placed in the Tower of Silence, where the body is consumed by vultures, as a belief that the earth and fire are sacred.
The Tower of Silence is a circular structure, exposed to the sun, wind and scavenging birds. There are separate areas for men, women, and children. The body is neither cremated nor buried, which is seen as defying the earth and fire's sanctity.
Post-Funeral Rituals:
- Uthamna (four-day ceremony): During this period prayers are held for the departed soul and offerings made in his remembrance.
- Chhahum (forty-day ceremony): This period of 40 days is observed to commemorate the soul's journey.
- Annual memorials: This is meant for honouring the loved ones.
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