When I Die

[Mystical Warrior]

I know what happens to my soul, but what about my body? A few weeks ago a hospital worker asked me my religion and I was stumped. Not because I doubt Sanata Dharma but because I don't know the procedure for getting getting a Hindu priest.

Will one do my funeral if my family notifies them? Will they do it in a temple? Or for that matter where are Hindu funerals done?

How do I become an official temple member so that my family won't have to worry about technical details?
Are there special morticians who prepare Hindu bodies?
Do Hindus get embalmed?
If I am sick and in the hospital do Hindu priest make visits to the temple members?

I am basing these questions on my experience as a Christian, because honestly that is the only thing I know.

I was about to ask a Hindu priest this last year before I moved but something came up and we couldn't complete the conversation.

Thanks for any guidance.

[kralaro]

I think:

Hinduism is not strict about it, like in Hinduism: body can be offered to fire, to earth (like Christians do), to water (example rivers), left in jungle etc.
My mother's grandmother was a Hindu saint and she chose to be offered to fishes in river.

"If you desire a mango at the moment of death, you'll be born an insect. If you even desire the next breath, you will take birth again."
- http://maharajji.com/Maharajji-Quote...maharajji.html

"Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, that state he will attain without fail."
- http://www.asitis.com/8/6.html

[Vinayaka]

99.99 % of Hindus are cremated. 99.8% of Hindu ashes are dispersed in water. We want the soul to be able to move on and find a new body to continue it's evolution. Having a dead corpse or even an urn of ashes leaves something for the soul to cling to. This way there is nothong to be fettered to, even for the young confused soul.