Can someone explain to me the 12 DAY HINDU RITUAL after a DEATH? the 1invloving feeding the cows, no meat etc?

Answer 1

There are many customs prevailing in Hinduism asper the practice of the sub-sects or family traditions. But generally they follow the rituals as under-

Hindus do not feed cows and they only make a gift of cow to a Bhramin (GO-DHAAN) and never use meat in the ritual days.

(i)By and large, Hindus adopt "Cremation", i.e. burning at
some specified place. Christians bury the body under belief that on the "Day of Judgement", the dead body will be brought to life and given judgement whether the person will go to eternal Heaven or to eternal Hell.

(ii)Hindus believe that the dead body is like a piece of cloth or dress which has been given up; that dead body is not going to be revived. There is no particular Day of Judgement: there is no eternal Heaven and no eternal Hell: Left to itself, the dead body will decompose and pollute the environment. It has to be disposed of in a manner which has following ingredients :
(a) Respect.
(b) Hygienic principles of life.
(c) Socially acceptable and beneficial system.

(iii) Keeping these principles in view, Hindus give ceremonial bath (cleaning) to the dead body, wrap the body in clean cloth or dress, put garlands and sprinkle scents and respectfully take the body to the cremation ground in the company of relatives and friends.Very close and sensitive relatives who cannot stand the sight of
confining the body to flames do not accompany the body to the cremation ground.
On the way, the accompanying persons chant the slogan: "God is the companion of the departed one. He will take care of the person".

(iv) At the cremation ground, some ceremonies are performed
with the help of professional family priests and the body is respectfully placed on the fire place. Fire is ignited among holy chantings and prayers, bowing down before fire. Fire is worshipped as a manifestation of God to whom the body is given as the last offering of the human birth.

(v) Those who have been to the cremation ground are advised to take bath and change their clothes before getting back to normal work. This is a part of hygiene. In the process of touching the dead body or being close to it, the person might be tainted by harmful bacteria, etc. Also, in the cremation ground, we have dead bodies who are afflicted by various types of diseases or the bodies which have undergone decomposition due to delay in cremation. Fire and Water are the cleaning and purifying Agents of Nature.

(vi) Ashes (bones) are respectfully collected from the
cremation place after 3 days and immersed in holy places at suitable times,with appropriate respect.

(vii) There are ceremonies for 12 to 13 days, with chanting of God's Names and singing of holy songs to create an atmosphere of soft and soothing adjustment of family members and friends to the new situation with loss of their close relative/friend.

(viii) There are monthly and annual ceremonies with memories of respect, affection and prayers for the welfare of the departed person.

(ix) Hindus believe that broadly an individual is composed of:
(a)Soul: Which never gets destroyed: It is immortal.
It witnesses birth and death in various bodies.

(b)Subtle Body: This accompanies the Soul, birth
after birth, till subtle body gets completely purified and soul merges into the total Universal Consciousness. This subtle body goes out of the gross body, in company of the soul at the time of "death".

This (soul + subtle body) takes rebirth of a type depending on the actions of the individual. A person with good record of actions in the past takes birth in a beautiful, healthy human body, in the family of pious and prosperous persons. A person with record of evil and cruel actions in the past takes birth in one of 84,00,000 types of bodies, including animals, insects, etc. In each body, the person
learns to do good in its own capacity and progresses upward to take birth again in human body, learns lessons of Nature and lives a life of nobleness, to be one with God, the Universal Consciousness.

(x) We Hindus avoid converting the whole or major part of our land surface on the earth into a wide graveyard, nor do we want to dump one dead body over the other at one place. We find cremation as the best method of disposal of a dead body, with due respect, honour and affection.-

Answer 2

Hindu Rituals After Death 13 Days

Answer 3

Amongst the Hindus, when a person dies he is immediately laid on the floor and a small flame is lit near the body. The body is laid out on the floor so that the germs that emanate from the corpse do not spread on the mattress. The Hindus believe that when a man dies his spirit comes out from the body and, because of his attachment to his family and material possessions, continues to inhabit his home. Since the spirit does not possess a physical form any more, the Hindus believe that it rests on the flame that has been lit near the dead body.

The Hindus cremate the body, symbolizing that all elements present in the body return to the elements present in the Cosmos. Then there is a period of prayers in the home of the deceased. In the case of the Sindhis, it normally lasts for a period of 12 days.

Answer 4

Hurrah, that's what I was exploring for! Thanks to author of this question.