sati or suttee

[rainycity]

I'm just wondering how common this practice was, its origins, and if it was approved by saints or gurus?
I know there is a legend about one of shiva's consorts immolating herself through the fire of her own yoga, but was this written to explain or justify sati or did the practice of sati derive from this story?

[sambya]

well, shivas consort is one --devi . maybe what ur trying to say is that one of the forms if devi(namely sati) gave her life . well, many historians agree that sati's self-sacrifice did not give rise to this practice . besides there are varied accounts of how she ended her life among different puranas .

there are'nt many shastric refferences about sati . but i remember reading one shastric sloka (i cant remember the name of the scripture right away) from a purana which mentions that a woman who commits sati would reside as many years in heaven as there are hairs on her body .

[SANT]

Maa Sati burned herself when shiva was alive.The story is given in the Srimad bhagavatam.But sati practie, as it is practiced, means a woman will burn herself after the death of her husband.As samba has pointed above from the garuda puran (i think) ,it says that a woman will go to heaven if she burns herself after the death of her husband.But nowhere is it written that she will have to do it.Just like a person, if he tells the truth always will attain mukti or highest heaven, but it doesnt mean he'll go to hell if he doesnt.These are austerities or tapasyas.Just like krishna mentions in the gita.Pativrata vrata women will consider her husband as lord and god and will serve his feet.This is their dharma.
Burning of women in rajashtan in the name of sati was a common practice.
These practices are like the mindset of muslim jihadi converters, because they beleive that what they are doing is right and they also might beleive they are actually doing good to the victim by sending here to heaven or saving her from hell.

[sanjaya]

To my knowledge there are a few arguments from the Scriptures both for and against sati. In addition to what you mentioned, there's Sambya's mention of sati as praiseworthy (I did some searching, it's in the Garuda Purana). There are also Scriptural statements against sati, e.g. Ram and Hanuman dissuading the wife of Vali from committing sati in the Ramayana.

I'm sure people have great arguments both for and against sati. But one of the great hallmarks of Hinduism is that ours is an evolving religion. Let's say, for argument's sake, that certain Scriptures do sanction sati (I don't believe that any of them do, but I suggest this only hypothetically). Sati is a detestable practice that, according to human reason, ought not to be practiced. And if any passages of Scripture support it, then those passages should go the way of the Manusmirti and be discarded. We don't rely solely on books to tell us the will of God. On the contrary, we have avatars of God who have come to us through the ages, as Sri Krishna promised in the Gita, and simply by looking at their lives and teachings we can tell that sati ought not to ever be practiced. I think the meaning of the Hindu Scriptures is clarified by the countless gurus, rishis, and avatars of God that India has given us throughout the centurues. Thus, India has rightly legislated that sati is illegal. I don't see any Hindu ever suggesting that sati is a practice that God would approve of.

[TatTvamAsi]

I'm just wondering, if pedophilia is a long tradition of christianity or was it preached by jesus himself? After all, the evidence is paramount to that dead-jew bastard himself proclaiming pedophilia as a path to reach heaven.

You are far too idiotic to understand Sati.


I'm just wondering how common this practice was, its origins, and if it was approved by saints or gurus?
I know there is a legend about one of shiva's consorts immolating herself through the fire of her own yoga, but was this written to explain or justify sati or did the practice of sati derive from this story?

[isavasya]

I'm just wondering how common this practice was, its origins, and if it was approved by saints or gurus?

There was no practice of sati in ancient india.If you read historians (even though most of indian historians are anti-hindu communists), you will never find any one mentioning sati pratha before medieval age.Above all if you read buddhist and jain scriptures of ancient India, you will still not find any mention of sati.Its origin ? well It was as simple as that, barbarians (arabs and muslims) who usually lived on stealing and loot often invaded india, sometimes if all of males( soldiers) would die in battle, their wives would commit sati, to save their honour. Hindus and sikhs alike.Initially it was like this, though it did became common practice in few parts of the country for sometime.Apart from that there is no mention of sati in any authentic hindu scriptures.


I know there is a legend about one of shiva's consorts immolating herself through the fire of her own yoga, but was this written to explain or justify sati or did the practice of sati derive from this story?

This part of you post is completely wrong and it seems you have read a anti-hindu site or something like that.The legend of Uma devi's self immolation has nothing to do with sati pratha, the one you are talking about.

1. Shiva has only one wife -his eternal half shakti, and she is supreme ruler of this universe.

2.In Sati pratha of medieval age, women immolated themselves after death of their husband, when did shiva died that his wife would commit sati? Uma devi (shakti's incarnation) immolated herself because her father disrespected shiva, by inviting everyone excluding shiva in his yagya.That was one of her ways to teach a lesson to daksha her father, which he latter did and repented.

[RamaRaksha]

The practice started with wiwes, daughters of kings - if a King lost a battle and his kingdom, the wiwes and daughters could expect rape and abuse, not to mention loss of money and prestige. Unable to go thru with that hell, some of them started killing themselves and it later became a ritual. There was no way this was widespread.

We have to realise who is in control of news decimated around the world - news controlled by people of a religion that would destroy every other faith if given the chance.

How many poor women were branded as witches and killed? How many innocent young men and women were killed because they refused to become christians or practice christianity? One count was 50 million! America was founded by people fleeing persecution from members of their own religion! Hitler by himself did not kill 6 million jews, he had plenty of help. The abuse against jews continues to even this day, but these storeis have been buried by the press.

[rahulg]

I'm just wondering, if pedophilia is a long tradition of christianity or was it preached by jesus himself? After all, the evidence is paramount to that dead-jew bastard himself proclaiming pedophilia as a path to reach heaven.

You are far too idiotic to understand Sati.

What's all this -- calling someone a dead Jew b*****d??? Is there no decorum to maintain? People may get the wrong idea about us Hindus. Anyway, sati was essentially a tribal practice, so Hindus have nothing to do with it. There's no reason why Hindus must give an answer, because sati is not so much Hindu as Indian.