ਹਸਣਿ (hasaṇ)
Meaning: noun: A dry well or tower of silence, a raised circular structure built by Parsis for dead bodies to be exposed to carrion birds.
Quote:
ਇਕ ਦਝਹਿ ਇਕ ਦਬੀਅਹਿ ਇਕਨਾ ਕੁਤੇ ਖਾਹਿ॥
ਇਕਿ ਪਾਣੀ ਵਿਚਿ ਉਸਟੀਅਹਿ ਇਕਿ ਭੀ ਫਿਰਿ ਹਸਣਿ ਪਾਹਿ॥
ik dajhahi ik dabeeahi iknaa kutte khaahi.
ik paaṇee vich usaṭeeahi ik bhee phir hasaṇ paahi.
Some are cremated, some are buried, and some are eaten by dogs. Some are thrown into the water, while others are also laid out on a tower of silence. -Guru Nanak Sahib, Guru Granth Sahib, 648
Message: Cremation or burial?
Some people burn their dead believing that this will help their soul to escape quickly from the body. Others bury them in the ground thinking the same.
Some are thrown away into open and their bodies are eaten by animals. Parsis place them in dry wells or the towers of silence to be fed to birds. Others cast their dead into a lake or river.
No matter how the body is disposed of, the end is the same. No one knows where the soul goes after death. Why then adhere to so many past beliefs and perform so many rituals?
Should we not pay heed to the Guru’s words of advice that it doesn’t really matter how a dead body is disposed of after death?
Some further questions to ponder upon: Though in some countries, bodies are cremated in accordance with the time allotted by the functionaries of the cemetery; does it matter if the dead bodies are disposed of during daytime or night? Is electrical cremation not a better option?
Etymology: Perhaps from Sanskrit aashryaṇ (refuge) → Lahndi aasaṇ (nest).
