Burial

Although cremation is the most common means by which Hindus dispose of
corpses, occasionally bodies are buried.
One such case is with the bodies of very
young children, as if it is recognized that
they never developed into real individuals. The only other people usually buried
are ascetics, for which there are varying
interpretations. One idea is that they are
not actually dead but in a state of deep
meditation (samadhi). In such cases the
ascetic is often buried in a sitting posture
because he is considered still present.
Another reason for burying ascetics may
reflect the general assumption that
renouncing the world had made them
“dead” to it, making further ceremonies
unnecessary. Indeed, one part of some
ascetic initiations is to perform one’s
own funeral rites. Burial is often reserved
for ascetics with disciples who will keep
their graves as shrines. Those who are not
buried are usually weighted down with
rocks and thrown into bodies of water.