Cremation or burial?

Usually one spiritual Master is not liked by the disciples of other Masters — especially by those following different paths or religions. But both Muslims and Hindus liked Nanak very much, although he was a Sikh and had his own path. Everybody used to speak very highly of him. As a matter of fact, he had many disciples and admirers who were Hindus, Muslims and followers of other religions as well.

When Guru Nanak died, there was a terrible controversy between his Hindu and Muslim disciples. The Hindus said he had to be cremated and the Muslims said that he had to be buried. What could be done? The two parties were about to fight for the dead body.

In accordance with Indian tradition the dead body had been covered with a piece of cloth. All of a sudden, someone removed the cloth and everyone was amazed to see that the dead body had completely disappeared! In its place were hundreds of beautiful, fragrant flowers. So the Hindus and the Muslims each took half of the flowers.

Believe it or not, this is absolutely a true story. Real spiritual Masters can perform this kind of miracle. This story tells us that after the soul has left, you can discard the body in any manner you want. If you belong to the Hindu religion, then you will follow the Hindu system of cremation. If you belong to the Muslim religion, then you will follow the Muslim system of burial. But if you go beyond all religions, then you can do whatever you want to. When their life’s journey is about to come to a close, some spiritual Masters just run into a river or an ocean, never to be found. Some leave the body through their sahasrara or crown chakra. Some set fire to themselves, while others use their spiritual power to invoke burning flames from above, and when the flames descend they are totally burnt. So this is a most significant story.

From:Sri Chinmoy,Great Indian meals: divinely delicious and supremely nourishing, part 10, Agni Press, 1982
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/gim_10