I have firsthand experience with the hidden dangers of mandatory, prolonged rituals and strict dietary restrictions during Hindu mourning periods. I have personally witnessed grieving family members faint, collapse, and require emergency hospitalisation with IV fluids entirely due to severe electrolyte imbalances and physical exhaustion. These are not isolated incidents; they are a direct consequence of rigid, outdated cultural expectations that fail to account for modern health and economic realities.

During the traditional mourning period (Kriya/Shradh), grieving families face immense cultural pressure to adhere to strict dietary and financial obligations. However, these practices pose severe risks and are increasingly impossible to fulfil in today's world:

1. The 13-Day vs. 3-Day Reality: In today’s fast-paced economy, working individuals and young people simply do not have the luxury of taking 13 days off. Modern professional responsibilities demand a more practical approach, similar to practices adopted abroad, where the mourning period is condensed into a manageable 3 days.
2. Severe Salt Deprivation: Completely eliminating salt for days forces an emotionally devastated, exhausted body into sudden, total sodium deprivation, leading to acute hyponatremia. This causes dizziness, confusion, seizures, and can be life-threatening—especially for the elderly, diabetics, or those with underlying health conditions.
3. High-Carb, High-Fat Risks: The mandatory mourning diet, which heavily relies on high-carbohydrate foods like rice and large amounts of butter, is nutritionally unbalanced. Forcing grieving individuals into a high-carb, high-fat diet can trigger severe blood sugar spikes and metabolic distress, compounding their physical vulnerability. Dietary restrictions should never be imposed on people who are already suffering from intense grief.
4. Financial and Resource Strain: Young people and working-class families are heavily burdened by traditional demands to donate gold and large sums of money to pandits. Furthermore, rituals demanding Gai Dan (the donation of a cow) are completely detached from modern reality; finding a cow is an impossible task for residents living in Thimphu and other urban areas.
   Crucially, this extreme physical suffering and material strain are not required by true Hindu scriptures. Ancient authoritative texts, including the Sri Haribhaktivilasa, explicitly state that Saindhava (Rock Salt / Sendha Namak) is permissible for Havishyana (pure, simple mourning food). Furthermore, in the Bhavat Gita (Chapter 17, Verse 6), Lord Krishna explicitly warns against extreme, unregulated austerities that torture the physical body, calling them harmful.
5. Inclusion of Daughters in Last Rites: Tradition should not bar children from honouring their parents based on gender. If a family does not have a son, daughters must be permitted to perform the last rites—a progressive change that several forward-thinking villages have already successfully embraced. Furthermore, married daughters who possess the financial means to support the expensive rituals should be fully allowed to lead and perform the puja, ensuring that the spiritual duties remain within the immediate loving family rather than being outsourced due to rigid gender rules.

Protecting Prana (the life force) is the ultimate Dharma. Many communities globally have already safely adapted these rituals—using rock salt, shortening the observation period, and replacing impractical donations with symbolic gestures—to honour their faith without destroying their health or financial stability. There is no spiritual merit in forcing a grieving person into a medical or financial crisis.

Change is entirely possible. I urge Hindu religious councils, community elders, and priests to openly educate communities. It is time to explicitly advise that shortening the mourning period to 3 days, using rock salt, eating a balanced diet, and replacing archaic donations with feasible alternatives are both scripturally sound and practically necessary.

Tradition should comfort the living, not land them in debt or in the hospital. Please sign this petition to advocate for a compassionate, scripturally accurate balance between sacred tradition, modern reality, and human health.

If we get more than 50,000 signatures, we will be submitting this to the Hindu Dharma Samudaya of Bhutan