Every part of the Tulsi plant is revered and considered sacred. Even the soil around the plant is holy. The Padma Purana declares a person who is cremated with Tulsi twigs in his funeral pyre gains moksha and a place in Vishnu's abode Vaikuntha. If a Tulsi stick is used to burn a lamp for Vishnu, it is like offering the gods lakhs of lamps. If one makes a paste of dried Tulsi wood (from a plant that died naturally) and smears it over his body and worships Vishnu, it is worth several ordinary pujas and lakhs of Godan (donation of cows). Water mixed with the Tulsi leaves is given to the dying to raise their departing souls to heaven.