Death - fish food on the River.

The hotel we stayed in while in Benaris, was a pure eye opener. The air we breathed could be classified as a solid rather than a gas... the ash from the pyres swirled around us as we moved in our rooms. Breakfast was had to the accompaniment of bells - to waken the gods - and smoke drifting in off the river bank - to flavour the meal.... what an amazing experience. Being Burned on the Ganga River and Ashes fed to the Mother River, is a sure way to to stop the Cycle of birth and rebirth to these people. The destination of choice is Varanasi to those who are dying, old or infirm and fortunate enough to have the money to travel... Gratefully, we camp on grace.
Few people escape the fires... babies - innocent.
people with leprosy - they are deemed pure, the reasoning is that they cannot do harm, as they are unable to steal and run away - go figure.
And then there are those who die from snake bites - these are supposed to already be purified by the poison of the snake, which is a god too...
Then there are those who have already died to self. Renunciates too avoid the flames, as they went through a rtualistic version of the fires... they get tied to a flat stone, loosely tied mind you and get taken out to the river and dropped into it - fish food, honestly.

I just pass on what I learned, I don't claim to believe or understand this at all.