Horizontal Burying or Vertical Burying?
Sathya Sai Baba was buried in an horizontal position. Most burials in the world take place in an horizontal position. A monk of Visakhapatnam Shri Swaroopaananda, was said to have objected to burying the Baba in an horizontal position. It appears that as Baba's body was lying in a laid down state ever since his death, bending/shifting his body to a vertical posture might have become difficult. News reports indicate that Shri Swaroopananda felt irritated for not being consulted about keeping the body in an erect position. It may be true that God-seekers and preachers may prefer to sit in a sitting posture of 'lotus-seat' (padmasana in Sanskrit). Once a person dies, his/her identity is lost and what remains is only an admixture of several compounds of inorganic chemicals. The chemicals undergo decompositions and double decompositions, while interacting with the environment and the bacteria. A body mainly consists of hydrocarbons and moisture. The body in other wo...