Assistance Needed - Death Of A Friend

[worldview289]

Firstly, greetings to all on these forums. I apologise if I am not in the right place to ask, but I'm a bit lost at the moment. My name is Charles, and I'm not of the Sikh faith, but I need advice from those who are.

Yesterday morning, a very good friend of mine whom I've known for almost 35 years, a local shopkeeper in my area, Mr Narogen Singh, passed away following a heart attack.

I know this is a very distressing time for his widow, Rupinder, and I am unfamiliar with the things you do following a death in the Sikh Faith. As a christian, we do all the usuals, such as send condolence cards, flowers, etc, maybe even go to the funeral.

But as I've not got much of an understanding, the last thing I want to do, is the wrong thing.

If anyone has any advice on what you should and should not do after an event like this, your help would be truly welcomed.

Thank you.

[TejiKaur]

welcome to the forum , well depends on how religous he was, Sikhs are taught to meditate and connect to God while alive and also that the soul is eternal and will never die

basically Sikhs dont believe in a matirial heaven or hell the reason being that if matirial things dont make one happy in this life how would they in the afterlife

to a Sikh hell is living a life separated from God and heaven is living a life in service to God and humanity but when a Sikh dies it is proper to wish the widower that her husband find his eternal place in the arms of God and a card would be sweet maybe just let her know ur there oh and by the way i think its super sweet that you took the effort to come on this forum and find out in order to help another person its a wonderful gesture and judging by it u must be a very sympathetic person of a good heart which is hard to find these days. many blessings always

[JSinghnz]

Go to their house and offer your condolences to the family.

Ask when the funeral is and if it suits you, you can go to that.

After a few days, the family usually has a prayer ceremony at the local Gurudwara

which you should join.

[S1ngh]

Very good of you to show such support to your friend. This is exactly how our community get stronger when we lookout for each other.

Here is the website which gives bit detail of Sikh funeral if in case you decide to go. http://aboutsikhs.com/beginners-introduction/life-events/death-mourning/

Sending a card or flowers is a good idea too.

[PAL 07]

Below is a link to a pdf book in English on Sikh Rites of Practice. Page 45 deals with the death ceremony. I hope this helps, if you have any questions please ask.

http://www.gurmatvee...eechar.com).pdf

[Azaad]

worldview289.... :respect:

[worldview289]

Thank you all for your replies. It has been a great help speaking to those who understand this a whole lot better than I do. Below, you'll see a picture of my friend, Narogen. We held a vigil for him outside his store today, and completely closed 2 roads in the process - more than 600 people turned up. Thank you again, and may you all have peace.

In memory, Narogen Singh (1949-2011)

"Sitting down, standing up, while sleeping or awake with each morsel of food, and every breath I never forget You." [sri Guru Granth Sahib, 378]

[_singhni_]

That was a very nice thing for you to have done

May God bless bhai Sahibs soul