Samadhi (shrine)
In Hinduism, Sikhism, and Sufism a samadhi or samadhi mandir is a temple, shrine, or memorial commemorating the dead, which may or may not contain the body of the deceased. Samadhi sites are often built in this way to honour people regarded as saints or gurus in Hindu religious traditions, wherein such souls are said to have passed into mahāsamādhi, or were already in samadhi at the time of death.
File:Ancient-Indian-Architecture.jpg|thumb|Ruined group of samadhi for the rajas of Kutch and their courts, at Bhuj, Gujarat
In Sikhism, the term "samadhi" is used for the mausoleums of eminent figures, both religious and political. Examples include the Samadhi of Ranjit Singh in Lahore, and that of Maharaja Sher Singh near Lahore. Hindu equivalents are usually called chatri, although those for Maratha Empire figures also often use "samadhi". The forms of structure called "samadhi" vary greatly. The word is sometimes used for a memorial stele, also called paliya, a type of hero stone once common in parts of Gujarat and Sindh. It may be used for small memorial buildings such as open chatri, often placed around a temple. In Punjab, samadhis are also known as marhī.
The tradition of India is cremation for most Hindu people at the time of death, while samadhi is generally reserved for very advanced souls, such as yogis and saints, who have already been "purified by the fire of yoga" or who are believed to have been in the state of samadhi at the time of death. Samadhi usually involves inhumation rather than cremation.
Examples
One of the popular site of pilgrimage in India is the town of Alandi in the state of Maharashtra where the 13th century Varkari saint Dnyaneshwar took Sanjivan Samadhi, or entombed himself in the state of Samadhi. His devotees believe that he is still alive.“The Levitating Saint,” Bhaduri Mahasaya - also known as Paramahansa Maharshi Nagendranath, the founder of the Sanatan Dharma Pracharini Sabha - is commemorated through a Samadhi Mandir on Rammohan Roy Road in Kolkata, West Bengal. After attaining Mahasamadhi, his sacred ashes were respectfully enshrined, and a Samadhi Mandir was constructed at Sanatan Dharma Pracharini Sabha, in Nagendra Math, a site closely associated with his final spiritual practices. Today, this sacred shrine serves as a place of reverence, remembrance, and spiritual inspiration for devotees from India and around the world.
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada the founder of ISKCON, is commemorated with a large Samadhi Mandir in
Mayapur, West Bengal.