Conversion agents targeting Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists have long used a similar method: attack Vedic samskaras, spread fear about hellfire/dojakh ki aag, and then position conversion to Islam and Christianity as the only path to safety or salvation.
For example, a video is now in circulation, in which a man is seen telling Hindu villagers that cremation is an “Aryan conspiracy meant to erase one’s existence” while “burial preserves proof that a person once lived” and hence superior.
Another example is convicted criminal Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui’s own admission in interviews that that fear of hellfire is a major factor in why many people convert to Islam.
That is why followers of Vedic traditions need clear, reasoned and confident answers to such claims. A society that cannot defend its samskaras becomes easy prey for those who weaponise lies, ignorance and fear in the name of religion.
Read this comprehensive answer by Rashtra Jyoti below.
Section 1 – Theories of Judgement Day/Hell/Heaven Not Aligned With Vedas
The practice of burial is directly linked to certain theories of what happens after death, but those theories are NOT aligned with Vedas, the source-code of Hinduism.
The practice of burial in Christianity is because of the following ideas:
According to mainstream Christianity, humans have souls that leave the body after death.
And where do the souls go?
They remain in a state of waiting, also called afterlife, for the Final Judgement or Day of Judgement.
What happens on Judgement Day?
All these:
Christ returns to Earth.
God too comes to Earth from Heaven. God raises the dead from coffins. This means skeletons miraculously regain a full body and the soul returns.
All people stand before God.
God judges their deeds and faith towards Christ.
Believers of Christ enter eternal life in Heaven with God.
Rest go to hell.
And why the emphasis on accepting Christ before death?
According to mainstream Christianity, accepting Christ “saves” one soul’s during afterlife and reserves a spot in Heaven.
When missionaries say conversion will “save your soul,” they generally mean:
• your soul is in danger
• accepting Christ rescues your soul from Hell
When will Judgement Day occur? According to mainstream Christianity, no human being knows when the Day of Judgment will happen. They say it will happen at the “end of the age”.
Though Islamic theory on this subject is not directly the subject of this article, it is roughly the same as mainstream Christian view. Afterlife can be equated with Akhirah, soul with Ruh, God with Allah, accepting Jesus with submission to Allah and accepting Prophet Mohammed as his last and final messenger, Day of Judgement with Qayamat, Hell with Jahannum, Heaven with Jannat etc.
Vedas do not have these theories.
The Vedic wisdom, which predates Christianity and Islam, says body is temporary and mortal, while Aatma is eternal.
After death, the body should be returned to the elements. Cremation – Antyeshti or Dah Sanskar – is a final samskara after which the body is returned to the elements.
Aatma enters another bodythrough Punarjanma. The cycle repeats until the Aatma attains Moksha and reaches a state of Sachhidanand by becoming one with Ishwar.
Ishwar has no form and no specific address like Heaven.
Section 2
Vatican actually allows cremation.
The Vatican – highest seat of Roman Catholic Church – states that cremation is permitted in Christianity.
In other words, even within Catholic doctrine, burial is not an absolute religious necessity.
That alone destroys the propaganda claim that burial is inherently superior or religiously indispensable.
Section 3
Hard reality: Christian countries are rejecting burial and adopting cremation.
In England and Wales, the Law Commission has stated that cremation has long overtaken burial and now accounts for more than 8 in 10 funerals.
In Denmark, the cremation rate in 2023 was 86.48%.
In Italy, cremations rose from under 3% in 1995 to 37.74% of all deaths in 2023.
These are just some examples. The global trend is cremation – the opposite of what such conversion agents suggest.
Section 4
Burial can be land grab in many cases – and so countries like Japan have rejected ever-increased demands for burial by certain sections.
Japan’s cremation rate is over 99%. When Muslim organisations in Japan asked for establishment of a cemetery in each prefecture, the Japanese government turned down the proposal.
A Japanese politician, Mizuho Umemura, very clearly stated in her speech Japan has limited space and the culture in Japan is cremation not burial, and that Muslims emigrating to Japan must follow the culture.
She added that if they can’t, they must ship the bodies back to their country of origin to be buried.
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Thus, this anti-cremation propaganda is purely a conversion tactic.
This messaging uses a familiar conversion playbook:
- attack native customs
- induce shame and civilizational doubt
- present an imported practice as morally superior
- weaken confidence in inherited samskaras
- offer conversion as the escape route
Now after this explainer, every follower of Vedic wisdom must answer those who try to misrepresent cremation or show fear of Hellfire to push for conversion.
