Ibrahim says : Greetings of Peace to one and all
Dear all,
Firstly before I discuss in this thread about this simple concept as understood by ancient Hindu women, let me apologize for revealing the TRUTH, since truth is too hot to handle for some, especially Hindus today and before they turn this thread into a mud slinging contest between Islam and Hinduism.
First…
Do today’s Hindus sanction this practice?
Ask any modern Hindu today and he/she will vehemently deny that such a thing had existed in Hinduism.
There are a number of common excuses that Hindus are fond of conveying in this respect form my past discussions with hindus on this subject.
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They will deny that it has anything to do with Hinduism
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It is not a Hindu practice but introduced by Muslims and practiced by ignorant Hindus.
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It was performed by women who had no choice since Muslims were trying to rape them once their husbands died in wars.
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It was a custom before and had been banned and no one actually practices it nowadays. It is Obsolete.
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Hinduism had some errors BUT we have changed completely…pointing the finger at the Indian constitution.
Ibrahim says: We should not blame the Hindus for coming up with the above lame excuses since it is an abominable practice and no human being in his right mind will want to accept that it is part of their religion.
** On the Other hand the current hindutva practice of putting the blame on the Muslims is also despicable. And most hindus are unaware that it is being revived by the hindu rashtra fanatics of India.**
The concept is simple, now, the reason a women was created was to be a good wife to her husband , hence if for any reason her husband died before her, she should follow suit and accompany him to heaven where she can be his wife also instead of her husband seeking pleasure with other women in heaven . Otherwise she should remain loyal and mourn for her husband till she dies.
** Thus in Hinduism widows cannot remarry as such it is either die with the husband and accompany him to wherever he goes or adorn a white cloth and stay under the protection of the son or father till death approaches them. **
Hence women who does not commit sati will be in mourning and cannot remarry in Hinduism. ( which is most common in these days when sati was frowned upon by the Muslims and British that ruled India, who also designed rules for its abolition.)
Ok, lets hope the above was simple to understand , now lets look at the scriptural sanction for this, as revealed in Hindu scriptures.
”Suttee” or Sanskrit “Sati” is the Indian custom of a widow burning herself, either on the funeral pyre of her dead husband or soon after his death. ** Sometimes, the wife was immolated before the husband’s expected death in battle, ** (eg. when the men were to fight a battle against all odds), ** it is then known as “Jauhar “ **
How prevalent is it?
In 1990, more than 50 widows were burnt alive in sati. [Sonali Verma, Reuter,12 August 1997, New Delhi]
Note: The data gathered for the report of 50 widows burned to death was not gathered on a collective basis, but as data for micro-sections of India.
So let us explore its origin
** It is believed that sati originated because the Hindu needed his companions in the next world/Hindu heaven. This concept is illustrated in the Valmiki Ramayana; after Lord Rama murdered the relatively innocent Vali from ambush, Vali’s wife Tara requests if he can kill her as well so she can join her husband:**
So let us explore it roots in the Vedas since Ramayana is only an epic, was it just a tradition or was it sanctioned by the “Timeless Veda” which is the foundation for the Vedic religion and is considered sruti ( meaning revelation) that is infallible
The most sacred of Aryan scriptures are the Vedas, and the Rig Veda, the oldest veda, explicitly sanctions the custom of sati. The following famous `Sati Hymn’ of the Rig Veda was (and still is) recited during the actual immolation of the widow -
Rig Veda X.18.7 : " Let these women, whose husbands are worthy and are living, enter the house with ghee (applied) as corrylium ( to their eyes). ** Let these wives first step into the pyre, tearless without any affliction and well adorned." **
Further, the Vishnu smirti gives only two choices for the widow:
Vishnu Smirti.XXV.14 : “If a woman’s husband dies, let her lead a life of chastity, or else mount his pyre”
another translation
“(Now the duties of a woman are as follows): ** After the death of her husband, to preserve her chastity, or to ascend the pile (funeral pyre) after him.”** – Visnusmrti 25:14.
The Brahma Purana also conveys the same in the following verses
Brahma Purana. 80.75 : " It is the highest duty of the woman to immolate herself after her husband ",
Brahma Purana. 80.76, 80.77 : " She the sati ] lives with her husband in heaven for as many years as there are pores in the human body, ie. for 35 million years. "
Ibrahim says: ** Hence NO woman can resist this OFFER in principal, here she is told that she will Go to heaven ( when she kills herself) and will live with her husband for 35 million years**
Several Hindu Goddesses also performed sati
Vishnu Purana.V.38 : " ** The 8 queens of Krishna, who have been named, with Rukmini at their head, embraced the body of Hari, and entered the funeral fire.** Revati also embracing the corpse of Rama, entered the blazing pile, which was cool to her, happy in contact with her lord. Hearing these events, Ugrasena and Anakadundubhi, with Devaki and Rohini, committed themselves to the flames."
Ibrahim says: ** Hence the notion that sati is not sanctioned in the Hindu scriptures is utterly FALSE! But Hindus have no option except to deny its existence. **
http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/women/sati/timeline.htm
6th Century A.D. Kadamba king Raviverma’s wife commits Sati after his death
908 A.D. First documented instance of Sati - Heggadetomma’s widow Balakka goes Sati
1510 Portuguese traveler Barbosa visits the Vijayanagar empire and witnesses Sati prevalent in the Kshatriya community
1623 Italian traveler Pietro-Della Valle’s account of a Sati ritual at Ikkeri
1805 Dewan Purnayya in Mysore Court of Wodeyars gives consent to a Brahmin widow to undergo Sati.(This is historically rare instance of an upper caste woman undergoing Sati.)
1828 Rajaram Mohan Roy establishes Brahmo Samaj to fight the evils of Hinduism like Sati, which gains momentum
1829 The British Administration of William Bentinck bans the Sati system
1850 Colonel Sleeman’s account of a Sati ritual
1987 Roop Kanwar, a young widow goes Sati in the state of Rajasthan, stirring a social debate on the topic. People who assisted her in suicide are arrested. But Roop Kanwar is idolized and attains a deity status.
1996 The Indian Court upholds the suicide as a social tradition and frees the relatives who assisted Roop Kanwar.
: A sati and a murder
: Crowd at `sati’ site lathicharged
: Hundreds still flock to sati site
: Shocking Sati in UP
** Sati was prohibited by the British Government in 1829. Regulation XVII of 1829 declared sati illegal and punishable by the criminal courts as ‘culpable homicide’ amounting to manslaughter,’ for which a death sentence could be awarded.** 2 ]. The orthodox Hindus protested and made an appeal to the Privy Council in England. However, the council dismissed the appeal. ** Thus after having been practiced in India for over two thousand years, the institution of widow-burning became illegal by the law enacted by a foreign power.**
** In 1990, more than 50 widows were burnt alive in sati. ** [Sonali Verma, Reuter,12 August 1997, New Delhi]
Note: The data gathered for the report of 50 widows burned to death was not gathered on a collective basis, but as data for micro-sections of India.
Deccan Herald Feb 8, 1999
international vice-president of the ** VHP Acharya Giriraj Kishore who once reacted to the Roop Kanwar case by saying that ''Hindu dharma has no space for sati was now defending the practice: ''There is nothing wrong if any woman who cannot bear the separation from her husband opts to join him in his funeral pyre.
The VHP leader said the revival of 'sati would not be out of tune with the VHPs ideology of establishing Hindu Rashtra.**
The Times of India reported (14-9-87):
Jaipur- In what appeared to be a revival of a centuries-old custom of “Sati”, a young woman belonging to a warrior caste of Rajasthan climbed into the funeral pyre of her husband, police said yesterday. Eighteen-year old Roop Kanwar’s husband, Mansingh, had died in a hospital in Kikar district on Friday, His body was later taken to his home village at Diwrala for cremation. Roop Kanwar sat on the funeral pyre while it was lit by one of Mansingh ’ s relatives. Hundreds of villagers who knew of her “Sati” well in advance gathered at the spot shouting slogans in praise of the burning widow. Police, who claimed to have received the information late, registered a case against four close relatives of Mansingh for having “HELPED” Roop Kanwar commit “Sati”.
Roop Kanwar’s husband, Mansingh took more than Rs. 100,000 worth of dowry in the form of money, 25 tola of gold, a TV, a radio and a refrigerator. Though Mansingh had demanded dowry worth of 200,000 rupees, her father had success- fully negotiated and reduced the amount to Rs. 100,000/=. So far in the same village more than 23 dowry killings have occurred in the last 3 years as recompense for not bringing the promised dowry in time.
The paper continues that the most revealing statement came from Mr. Cheeta Singh, a village teacher who said: “After all, she had no life to took forward to. As a widow, remarriage was out of the question in the Hindu tradition bound community”.
The teacher continues: ** "The society treats a widow as a “kulachani” (an evil omen) and a economic liability. She has to remain barefoot, sleep on the floor and is not allowed to venture out of the house. She is slandered if seen talking to any male. It was better that she died, than live such a life ** "he said.
** Widow kills children, attempts suicide
June 28, 2000**
A young widow murdered her two kids and attempted suicide in Kolhapur last night.
Police said Meena Arvinda Gaikwad (23), who lived with her two children and mother-in-law at Shahupuri, ** had struggled to come to terms with her husband’s death six months back.**
Last night ** she strangulated her three-month-old daughter Shrutika and three-year-old-son Hrushikesh with a rope. Later, she consumed a poisonous liquid.**
The incident came to in light, when Meena’s mother-in-law Shashikala returned home, police said.
Meena and the children were taken to the Chhatrapati Pramila Raje Civil Hospital, where the kids were declared dead on admission.
Meena, doctors attending to her said, is recovering.
Additional References :-
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