Sikh Funerals
What does Sikhism Say about End of Life?
Sikhs believe the soul goes through a cycle of rebirths, with the ultimate objective being to break the cycle and be reunited with God. They believe that the present life is influenced by what happened in previous ones and the current life will set the scene for the next.
How to Arrange a Sikh Funeral Service?
Time & date of the service
You can have a visitation the night before the funeral or everything can take place in one day.
Making Selections
You can conveniently select what items are needed such as the casket, urn, flowers, memorial cards, etc. and we will take care of organizing them for the service.
Arranging a Gurdwara & Priest
You can bring a priest from the Gurdwara that you have arranged the prayers at or we can arrange one for you.
Ritual dressing
You can either assist us in dressing your loved one or you can provide us the clothing along with any religious items and we will dress your loved one with compassion and care
The Typical Sikh Funeral Services
Length
The funeral service is normally two hours long. Immediate family members can arrive earlier to spend some time with their loved one before guests come.
Visitation
The last 30 minutes is the “final viewing”, our staff will usher guests up to and hand them rose petals to place in the casket. Guests are allowed to come in throughout the service and quietly pay their respects to the deceased.
Prayer Service
The priest will do Sukhmani Sahib path (a prayer of peace), 1 hour 15 minutes or Japji Sahib path ( meditative recitation), 20 minutes. Once the path finishes an ardas will be done. Kirtan Sohila (night time prayer) and the final ardas will take place shortly after the cremation.
Tributes/Speeches
Once the religious component is done there is time for the family to share any tributes, speeches, video recording, etc. It is best to know who is speaking and how long is needed for time to be allocated correctly.
Cremation
Our crematorium is on-site at the funeral home so the immediate family members can accompany us and assist in starting the process.
Why Select us for a Sikh
Funeral Service?
Ritual bathing and dressing areas.
Customized caskets, exclusive. Khanda and Ek Onkar features on the casket are available to our families.
Personalized memorial cards and funeral programs. All of our memorial cards are completely customizable to fit the needs of our families.
Pooja material including ingredients, havan kund and white sheets can be provided
Reception facilities are available in our private lounges (Accommodate 20-350 people). Ask us about the local restaurants that we work with to provide your family with their preference in a caterer.
We can provide an assortment of background audio to create a calm environment for the family. We have many Hindu religious bhajan options which include Gayatri Mantra, Hey Ram, and many others. Families are also welcome to bring in their own music on a USB in MP3 format if they wish. Our technology friendly facilities allow us unlimited possibilities in the personalization of your loved one’s funeral service.
Our visitation rooms come in a variety of capacities and setups to fit the needs of each individual family. Capacities can vary from 30-500 people. The rooms can be set up as a traditional chapel, visitation style, or even a living room style setup for those who require something less formal.
