ceremonies

In orthodox Brahmin communities, any special occasion involves rituals. The ceremonies associated with death are more so; and since they all involve the soul of the dead relative, it becomes almost impossible to not follow them exactly.
Yesterday, I was going through such an occasion. Since the relative had died a year ago, my mind was not preoccupied with thoughts of the dead person, but was wandering, and I could not help feeling that the rituals resemble the actions of persons with serious OCD. The darbham grass must be placed just so, 4 in four directions, a line should be drawn from the top right to the bottom left...no!no!...not bottom to top! The junior priest would measure the grass and nip it to exact lengths...... These rituals may have some meaning attached to them, but without knowing what that is, it's a lot like OCD.