Anant Antim Seva
Where Final Rites Become Eternal Blessings
Jithe antim sanskar ban jande ne anant aashirwad
Understanding Sikh Funeral Traditions in Malaysia
The Punjabi community in Malaysia is a lively and long-standing one, comprising mostly Sikhs and Hindus. How the Punjabi say their last goodbye is a mixture of cultural richness and spiritual devotion. These occasions are performed in depth and with great respect, often in rituals that take care of the wishes of the deceased as well as provide peace to the family. In Malaysia, these customs are still very much alive, preserving the local heritage as well as abiding by the legal frameworks of the country.Funeral Rites and Traditions among Punjabi Sikhs
Much of the funeral rites of the Sikhs of Punjab in Malaysia are carried out according to the words of the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs.
The body is sanitised and dressed in plain, nice clothes. The family may gather for a final Ardas (prayer) at home or a Gurdwara seeking peace for the soul of the departed one.
The standard method preferred is cremation, and following cremation, the Kirtan Sohila prayer is usually recited.
After this, the remaining ashes are collected and typically put into a river according to tradition, although in Malaysia, local regulations may mandate other ways of treatment.
One of the main parts of the Sikh funeral is the Antim Ardas (final prayer), which is the last day and is a time to spiritually say goodbye to the departed, usually held on the tenth day.
Hindu Punjabi Funeral Traditions
For Hindu Punjabis in Malaysia, it is the Vedic school of thought that inspires the funeral customs of their community.
The initial process is to bathe and change the attire of the deceased, in general, the white clothes, which shows the soul’s purity.
Then a priest, who is the one who leads the deceased soul to the afterlife, reads the last rites at the family’s home or the funeral place. He does this by using hymns and mantras.
Cremation is a prevalent practice indicating the spirit’s separation from the physical body. Fire is crucial in Hindu traditions as it symbolises both purity and change. After cremation, customs such as Asthi Visarjan (the immersion of ashes) are only to be celebrated when there is an opportunity to do it in the holy Ganga river or any other river in Malaysia. The practice of the mourning period, which lasts from 10 to 13 days, ends with Pind Daan or Shraddha ceremony to declare peace for the lost soul.
Just to explain a Punjabi Funeral Service in Malaysia in brief, a bit better of what a Sikh Cremation mean in Malaysia.
Malaysian funeral service operators like Eternity Funeral Services, usually the most recognised of those that exist locally, take full responsibility for sourcing the whole system that deals exclusively with the very rituals and current practices in this culture. Being experienced with these kinds of religious rituals, like the ones for Punjabi Sikhs and Hindus, the funeral is exactly as the mourning order of service prescribes.
Punjabi funerals in Malaysia thus keep the traditional practices but also adopt the local customs so that it can be a respectful goodbye that eventually satisfies both faith and heritage.
