Image courtesy: ISHA Foundation
Samana, which he associates with maintaining the body’s temperature, begins to withdraw within approximately 21 to 24 minutes, according to his explanation. He said Prana withdraws between 48 and 64 minutes, followed by Udana between six and 12 hours. He then explained that Apana withdraws between eight and 18 hours, while Vyana, which he described as the preservative aspect of prana, can take much longer to leave. This final process may continue for 11 to 14 days after a natural death, according to him. For other garments, he described a traditional practice in which the clothes of the deceased were washed within the first 10 or 11 days.
Some yogis even burn the huts in which they have lived after their death because they do not want their physical traces to remain, according to him. Because traces of that person’s scent remain on it, he said a trained police dog could identify a particular person’s jacket from among a thousand jackets.
Sadhguru began by explaining that, according to yogic understanding, death is not an instantaneous process. “You were not born in one day,” he told the questioner. He said these manifestations withdraw from the body in stages, even after a doctor has declared a person dead. He said the body starts cooling as this happens. He said that objects closely associated with someone’s body may retain traces of their physical presence. “Today, we know that DNA can be extracted from your old clothes,” he said, adding that something of a person’s physical identity remains in the things they have worn and touched. The intention, he said, is to avoid accumulating possessions and forming too many physical attachments. These belongings may become a place where different kinds of energies remain, according to him. Sadhguru said the decision depends on the belongings and the circumstances. “Certain things that have been in very close and intimate contact with the body, particularly underclothes, should be burnt,” he said. The purpose, according to him, was to prevent the deceased person’s possessions from remaining concentrated in one place. He said that in India, clothes were traditionally washed more frequently after being worn, although these habits are changing. He said people often accumulate far more belongings than they need, but those possessions do not accompany them when they die. They may say they love you, but they cannot accompany you,” he said.
What should a family do with the clothes of someone who has died? Should they be kept as memories, passed on to relatives or given away? In an old video on his official YouTube channel, spiritual leader Sadhguru explained why certain Indian traditions advise against keeping a deceased person’s belongings and why some clothes are traditionally burnt while others are distributed among several people. In the video, Sadhguru was responding to a question from a person whose father had died and who still had several of his clothes. The questioner wanted to know why some traditions discourage keeping the belongings of the deceased and what should be done with them. He compared it with birth, which has a fixed date but takes nine to nine-and-a-half months to complete. “Similarly, you do not die in one day. You die slowly. Image courtesy: ISHA Foundation Sadhguru explained this process through the five basic manifestations of prana, or life energy, in yogic philosophy. He also referred to the traditional practice of checking the nose for coldness as a way of determining whether someone had died. Sadhguru claimed that as long as Udana remains, certain tantric processes can potentially revive the body, although he described revival after its withdrawal as practically impossible. These timings and the concept of prana withdrawing in stages are part of Sadhguru’s yogic and spiritual explanation. They are not established medical descriptions of what happens after death. Photo: Canva Sadhguru connected this understanding of death to the traditional handling of a deceased person’s belongings. He used this idea to explain why yogis traditionally try to leave behind very few possessions. He also described the simple living arrangements of a sannyasi, who may own only a few pairs of clothes, a drinking vessel, a plate and a sheet to sleep on. Sadhguru also referred to the scent left behind on clothing. He used this example to explain his belief that clothes can continue to carry a connection with the person who wore them. However, he specifically advised burning items that have been in very close contact with the body, particularly underclothes. If they were valuable, they could then be distributed among different people. He explained that the clothes should not all go to one person or family. A jacket could be given to one person, trousers to another and the remaining belongings to others. Sadhguru also compared this practice with clothing habits in colder Western countries, where people may wear a jacket repeatedly without washing it after every use. He offered two ways of handling the belongings: wash the clothes and distribute them among several people, or burn particularly intimate clothing. Towards the end of the explanation, Sadhguru returned to the idea of physical attachment. “When you want to leave, the people attached to you will not necessarily come with you. The practices he described reflect his interpretation of traditional yogic beliefs. They should not be understood as medical requirements or as evidence that wearing a deceased family member’s clothes is physically harmful. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test Get the latest Lifestyle News and more. Download the TOI app.
He acknowledged that burning every item would be wasteful, particularly today, when people own large quantities of clothing and footwear.
