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What remains of us when the body is no longer the self?
In the Balinese Hindu understanding of life and death, the physical body is temporary, while the soul carries a deeper existence beyond its earthly form. Ngaben expresses this profound belief through the sacred act of cremation—the release of the soul from its attachment to the physical body so that its spiritual journey may continue toward the divine.
The fire becomes a powerful symbol of transformation. It consumes the physical form, yet what is believed to be most essential—the soul—is not destroyed. Instead, the ceremony marks a passage: a letting go of earthly attachment and a return toward the spiritual realm.
Beyond the ritual itself lies a remarkable philosophy of impermanence. The body belongs to the earth and its elements, while the soul belongs to a greater spiritual order. Human beings therefore stand between nature and the divine, entrusted for a time with a physical existence that must eventually be released.
This painting invites contemplation of a truth that transcends culture: perhaps we are more than the form we inhabit.
Ngaben is not simply a ceremony of death. It is an affirmation of the soul—a sacred reminder that when the body returns to nature, the spirit continues its journey toward the divine.
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