• This forum contains old posts that have been closed. New threads and replies may not be made here. Please navigate to the relevant forum to create a new thread or post a reply.
  • Welcome to Tamil Brahmins forums.

    You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our Free Brahmin Community you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today!

    If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact contact us.

I firmly believe in organ donation

Status
Not open for further replies.
I firmly believe in organ donation


1. Some people believe that if they donate any organ then they will be born without those organs in their next birth.

Answer:

This is a hypothetical belief; there is no concrete proof to sustain this argument.
Even if it is true, I would prefer to take a risk and help a person in current life
instead of worrying about my next life. If I love people around me in this life,
I am sure that God will take care of me. I have that faith in God. He is not
evil.
I have already pledged my eyes after my death, and told my son/ daughter in law to donate it.


2 Mantras recited at the time of funeral pyre insists upon whole-body cremation, hence organ donation is against this.


Answer:

The whole-body cremation was insisted just due to a practical situation. Suppose some one died in an accident and his/her limbs got severed, People then must take care to see that all salvageable limbs are gathered and cremation done of all limbs, so that nothing is left decaying. In the case of organ donation the same was done knowingly and the question of decaying limbs does not arise there.

3 Another objection for organ donation is based on unethical usage of a Brahmin limp for Mantrikas etc

In all our karmas, you can see, all the used materials like:
dharbha pavitram, leaves, paristharana dhabhams, parithi samithu etc. are instructed to burn in the fire after usage.

Likely, the cloth used to bear the pindams for ten days also instructed to make in to pieces before throwing it.
The basic purpose of this doing is: the things used for one person and one karma should not be used for other things.

Actually the limbs of a Brahmin are prohibited to leave available, because which can be used for wicked and evil works
by some manthrikas.


Answer:
The Number of Vaitheegas of Brahmin community donating organ is almost nil, or very rare, so this objection can be over looked.



4 Parts of the Hindu funeral rites (Antyeshti Kriyaa) describes the return of the life force
(Jeevaatmaa) and the constituent parts of the Paarthiv Shareer (mortal remains)
to Eeshwar. Here is the Pramaan (scriptural evidence):
Sooryam Chakshurgachatu Vaatamaatmaa dyaam cha gachaprithiveem cha dharmanaa
Apovaa gacha yadi tatra te hitamoshadheeshu prati tishthaa shareeraih


(Rig
Ved, X.16.3)
Some Hindu may feel therefore that by removing constituent parts of the body after death may hinder the progress of Atman to the celestial realm.
.
Answer:
Life after death is a strong belief of Hinduism and is an ongoing process of rebirth. It is a perpetual circle of birth and rebirth. So, the physical body is insignificant.
Hindus follow many samskaras and one
of them is “ear piercing ceremony’ at the age of one, which makes the body
unfit for sacrifices because of a “defect in the body”.
When the same body is cremated,
mantras are chanted as if the ‘whole body’ is offered to Agni.

Purohits are silent about minor surgeries undergone during lifetime, when tissues
are removed, an appendectomy or surgical procedures for prevention of
conception, cataract, hernia, prostate enlargement etc. and surgeries where
partial amputations are necessary to save life when certain body parts can not
be saved due to accident or ailment like diabetes.
Thus the only derivative is that there is no blanket injunction against organ
donation, to help others.

However when one of my relative died in a road accident and the no one was sure that all the limbs were collected and offered at the funeral rites; so the sasthrigal made some parihara mantram at the funeral rites.

Conclusion:
Going by Hindu Dharma’s dictum ‘paropakaaraartham idam shareeram' =
this body is for rendering assistance to others.

Bhagavad Gita, chapter 2:25
Of all the things that it is possible to donate, to donate your own
body is infinitely more worthwhile.”
 
The human body is a garment that is discarded upon death and a new garment is taken up in the next life.

So there is no problems to donate organ.
 
Dear Dr Renu

You are right - maybe I could do with a little bit of brains from Paddu Sir - sometimes
I feel a slight deficiency.

And again, " Insha Ganesha " you'll do a good job of the surgery.

yay Yem
 
Posting this question is not just to start a thread, but get the opinion of some learned members here.

When we were doing Srardham in our home, in the course of conversation with our Sasthrigal , the topic about Eye donation came up; Sasthrigal was of the opinion that " our Sastras' do not recommend organ donation' but he could not come up with relevant portion from our sastras except saying" by removing constituent parts of the body after death may hinder the progress of Atman to the celestial realm".
'Saastras do not allow voluntary organ donation. Nothing wrong if an organ is lost in an accident'. says swamiji
1 - Page 2
Hence wanted learned members opinion.

.
 
Posting this question is not just to start a thread, but get the opinion of some learned members here.

When we were doing Srardham in our home, in the course of conversation with our Sasthrigal , the topic about Eye donation came up; Sasthrigal was of the opinion that " our Sastras' do not recommend organ donation' but he could not come up with relevant portion from our sastras except saying" by removing constituent parts of the body after death may hinder the progress of Atman to the celestial realm".
'Saastras do not allow voluntary organ donation. Nothing wrong if an organ is lost in an accident'. says swamiji
1 - Page 2
Hence wanted learned members opinion.

.

Dear Sir,

I am no learned person but I am really surprised you were given that information by your Sastrigal...that by removing constituent parts of the body after death may hinder the progress of Atman to the celestial realm".

As far as I know only Abrahamic religions believe in Judgment Day where they believe that the physical body will rise.

For us Hindus..we cremate bodies and its reduced to ashes which represents the 5 elements and we also do not subscribe to the physical body rising for judgment since we believe in the theory of Karma.

Ok in cases of people who amputate limbs..besides Muslims..all other religions just allows the hospital to discard the limb.

Muslims take any amputated body part and bury it in the cemetery so that when the person dies later..his body is complete.

So for us Hindus..going by what your Sasthrigal said..if a person undergoes limb amputation that should also technically hinder the progress of the Atman after death isn't it?
Then what about hair and finger nails?
Hair and nails are cut at regular basis and discarded..shouldn't that too hinder the progress of Atman?
Doesn't make sense isn't it?

BTW we do have evidence of Organ Donation in the Bhagavata Purana.

Sage Dadhichi had voluntarily donated his bones to Indra to make a weapon to defeat Asura Vritta.

His act of donating his bones is viewed as the supreme act of sacrifice for the benefit of the world.

So going by that..I feel Organ Donation should also be viewed as an act of Sacrifice for the Benefit of Mankind.




 
Posting this question is not just to start a thread, but get the opinion of some learned members here.

When we were doing Srardham in our home, in the course of conversation with our Sasthrigal , the topic about Eye donation came up; Sasthrigal was of the opinion that " our Sastras' do not recommend organ donation' but he could not come up with relevant portion from our sastras except saying" by removing constituent parts of the body after death may hinder the progress of Atman to the celestial realm".
'Saastras do not allow voluntary organ donation. Nothing wrong if an organ is lost in an accident'. says swamiji
1 - Page 2
Hence wanted learned members opinion.

.

Dear sri. Padmanabhan, Greetings.

I am not a learned person. I do not know saastras either.

Sanyasi's body neither gets cremated nor gets buried. Once I read, his body gets cut in pieces and fed to animals. The point was to donate the flesh to few hungry animals and birds.

Most Hindus belive in 'good karma'. Capacity to improve some one else's life through organ donation is a boon. Such donations should be considered as pretty good karma. Going by that logic, organ donation is good.

Kannappa nayanar donated his own eyes. That did not stop him from getting mukthi. Just a point to ponder.

Cheers!
 

From Wikipedia: Kannappan


Picture: Kannappa stopped by Shiva as he tries to remove his second eye.


Kannappa.jpg



In another 'thiru vilayadal' of Lord Shiva, one day Thinnan or Dheeran noticed that one of the eyes of the Shiva linga was

oozing blood and tears. Sensing that the Lord's eye had been injured, Dheeran proceeded to pluck his one eye out with one of

his arrows and placed it in the spot of the bleeding eye of the Shiva linga. This stopped the bleeding in that eye of the linga.

But to complicate matters further, he noticed that the other eye of the linga has also started oozing blood. So Thinnan thought

that if he were to pluck his other eye too, he would become blind to exactly know the spot where he has to place his own

second eye over the bleeding second eye of the lingam. So he placed his great toe on the linga to mark the spot of the

bleeding second eye and proceeded to pluck out his other and only eye.


Moved by his extreme devotion, Lord Shiva appeared before Thinnan and restored both his eyes. "Nillu Kannappa"

("Stop Kannappan!") He made Thinnan as one of the
Nayanmars and henceforth he would be called as Kannappan or

Kannappa Nayanar.
 

One more story! Source: Wikipedia.

Shibi offering flesh to Eagle to protect Pigeon

220px-Mahabharata02ramauoft_0022_17.jpg


The story of the King and the pigeon and the hawk is used to illustrate the compassion and generosity of the king.

This story of Shibi appears in both the
Mahabharata and the Ramayana. The story of Shibi in brief is as follows:


The Gods, wanting to test the compassionate nature of King Shibi, took the form of a hawk and a pigeon. The pigeon

chased by the hawk fell on King Shibi's lap seeking his protection. The hawk argued that the pigeon is its food. Shibi

offered to compensate with his own flesh. Finally he offered himself to be eaten and the Gods showed him their true

form and blessed him.
 
Dadhichi and Shib , Kannapa Nayanar and possibly others donated their organ only when they are alive. ( there is no evidence from our scriptures as far as I know, about organ donation after death, if there is one please let me know)

Scriptures permit you to donate organs while you are alive because it is useful to you...provided your
object of human life is achieved it is said. ( I have no ref to that from scripture.)
A body after death is useless and donating a useless thing one can not say it is a donation or Thyag .


Yahoo! Groups
 

Does a person who donates organs after death want himself / herself to be branded as 'ThyAgi'? :noidea:

I thought it is just considered as a help to the society. Why waste something which would be useful to others?

P.S: My friend wished to donate her body to a hospital after death but the hospital refused since she is a woman!! :nono:
 
Dadhichi and Shib , Kannapa Nayanar and possibly others donated their organ only when they are alive. ( there is no evidence from our scriptures as far as I know, about organ donation after death, if there is one please let me know)

Scriptures permit you to donate organs while you are alive because it is useful to you...provided your
object of human life is achieved it is said. ( I have no ref to that from scripture.)
A body after death is useless and donating a useless thing one can not say it is a donation or Thyag .


Yahoo! Groups

Most of body parts is not from cadaver. They have to be harvested while blood is still circulating in that organ. Kidney, hart, liver etc are harvested when a person is brain dead.
Organ harvesting - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A main reason for organ harvesting is to do with the extreme difficulty with which organs can be preserved postmortem, usually requiring a brain dead but still functionally alive donor, and the long waiting lists for available organs.

I do not think you need physical body for after life in Hinduism. Jivatma has a subtle body.
 
Eye donation is donating the eyes after a person’s death.Age does not matter while making this precious donation. Person suffering from Diabetics, Hypertension, Systemic disorders like Asthma and Tuberculosis CAN ALSO donate their eyes. Cataract surgery patient can also be a happy donor.

i have already requested my son and daughter in law to donate my eyes after my death.

http://www.freewebs.com/giftyoursight/whatiseyedonation.htm
 


P.S: My friend wished to donate her body to a hospital after death but the hospital refused since she is a woman!! :nono:

Dear RR ji,

May be your friend should try donating her body to a medical college cos female bodies are needed for anatomy dissection classes.

Medical colleges in Thailand have extreme respect for all cadavers.

Once the body is used for dissection and not needed anymore the students of the class that had used the body have to conduct funeral rites for the cadaver.

A Buddhist monk is called to recite prayers for the final rites before the body is cremated.
 
Eye donation is donating the eyes after a person’s death.Age does not matter while making this precious donation. Person suffering from Diabetics, Hypertension, Systemic disorders like Asthma and Tuberculosis CAN ALSO donate their eyes. Cataract surgery patient can also be a happy donor.

i have already requested my son and daughter in law to donate my eyes after my death.

What is Eye Donation? - Pledge and Donate Eyes :: Gift Your Sight!


Dear Sir,

Here we are given a donor card and I carry my donor card with me wherever I go.
I have pledged eyes and internal organs.
 
Dear sri. Padmanabhan, Greetings.

A body after death is useless and donating a useless thing one can not say it is a donation or Thyag .

Sir, you quoted saastras and some swamijis ruling which were not in favour of organ donation. In such a society which is not used to spantaneous organ donation, organ donation after death is remarkable. Just imagine, Islamic culture don't encourage organ donation at all! Some people do think their organs are very much required even after death.

Cheers!
 
Dear sri. Padmanabhan, Greetings.

I am not a learned person. I do not know saastras either.

Sanyasi's body neither gets cremated nor gets buried. Once I read, his body gets cut in pieces and fed to animals. The point was to donate the flesh to few hungry animals and birds.

Most Hindus belive in 'good karma'. Capacity to improve some one else's life through organ donation is a boon. Such donations should be considered as pretty good karma. Going by that logic, organ donation is good.

Kannappa nayanar donated his own eyes. That did not stop him from getting mukthi. Just a point to ponder.

Cheers!

In Parsi community, they do not bury or cremate the body. They keep the body on top of the well covered with rods. In their rituals, dead body should not be wasted and the same should be fed to eagles, vultures etc. Even today this system is continued and there are separate places in Mumbai meant for final rites for Parsis.

In a picture "Engayum Eppodum", there is a specific scene highlighting the importance of organ donation - where when a person is alive he is submitting the necessary consent letter for donating the organs.

Venkat K
 
Raghy Sir
(Sir, you quoted saastras and some swamijis ruling which were not in favour of organ donation)
I am for organ donation, not against it, but those who oppose it simply say' Sastras do not permit it, without mentioning any link from any of our sastras.
 
Raghy Sir
(Sir, you quoted saastras and some swamijis ruling which were not in favour of organ donation)
I am for organ donation, not against it, but those who oppose it simply say' Sastras do not permit it, without mentioning any link from any of our sastras.

Dear sri. Padmanabhan,

I am aware you are for organ donation. My message was meant for the persons who have second thoughts about organ donation. Also to say, even if one considers the 'organs' are not 'useful for them' after one's death, still it is 'donation'.

Cheers!
 
I am for organ donation, not against it, but those who oppose it simply say' Sastras do not permit it, without mentioning any link from any of our sastras.

Dear Sir,

Frankly speaking I feel life is easier if we run it using our Viveka.

For me I am not going to do something just becos it is sanctioned by the scriptures hoping to get some better place in heaven!LOL

Most people actually want to be within the "good book of the scriptures" cos they just are looking for good fruits of their actions or some favor from God.

Just say tomorrow God decides to say "Hey Bhakta Dudes....from now on there will be no more place in heaven..gates are closed"

I am sure almost 99.9999999999999999999999% of people will cease to pray!


So the take home point is do what we feel is within the range of logic...that should suffice.

We should never be a Baa Baa Black Sheep and sing "Yes Sir Yes Sir Three Bags Full" just becos the majority says so.
 
Last edited:
In accordance with the practices of Hindus, the body of the departed
soul is nothing but a shell which has experienced the earth's emotions
and feelings. As soon as the soul leaves or departs, the physical body
as such is not imperative for the departed soul. Unless the soul achieves
its liberation from the cycle of rebirths, the soul is expected to go
to another life on this earth in a different body. Hence preservation of
the physical body after the departure of the soul has no special
significance. There is a practice of cremation of the physical body
to make sure that the departed soul is aware of its severance so
that it can proceed with its spiritual journey.


However it is important for the organ donor to inform his or her immediate
affectionate person or relative about the willingness to donate the organs
if they are sound, workable and feasible at the time of demise. As the soul
loses its rights to its body after it departs, it is important that the decision taken
is a joint decision amongst the members of the family. Any good karma
that the soul may accrue from organ donation will become nullified
if the donation causes/hurts the feelings amongst the family members.

Balasubramanian
Ambattur

 
Last edited:
Balasubramanian Sir,
In cases of brain death, only the sons, daughters, and close relatives take that decision; in case of eye donation, the person himself takes the decision and informs his dear and near ones or carry an eye donation card all the time.
The reason for posting this question is that'
Mantras recited at the time of funeral pyre insists upon whole-body cremation, hence organ donation is not acceptable".
Also [FONT=&quot]Parts of the Hindu funeral rites (Antyeshti Kriyaa) describes the return of the life force
(Jeevaatmaa) and the constituent parts of the Paarthiv Shareer (mortal remains)
to Eeshwar. Here is the Pramaan (scriptural evidence):
Sooryam Chakshurgachatu Vaatamaatmaa dyaam cha gachaprithiveem cha dharmanaa
Apovaa gacha yadi tatra te hitamoshadheeshu prati tishthaa shareeraih


(Rig
Ved, X.16.3)
Some Hindu may feel therefore that by removing constituent parts of the body after death may hinder the progress of Atman to the celestial realm.
There were many knowledgeable answers from many members, and those who oppose organ donation including some Swamjis says simply" sastras prohibit this" without giving any reference.
I am for organ donation, no matter if it against Sastras, and i have pledged my eyes after my death.[/FONT]


 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Latest ads

Back
Top