​Death in family

 

Jain Funeral Rites Services

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Performed by Vanik Council (UK) volunteers ​​

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Please note that Funeral Services have changed during this Covid Period. Please contact one of the following members for further information

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Death in a family is the time when support from friends and community is most needed. Bereaving family is emotionally suffering the loss of the beloved one, yet has to run around to get all formalities completed to get the dead body cremated.

Every community in the world has a set procedures laid down by their religion for conducting last rites. Hindu families employ services of priests (Brahmin Pandits) to conduct last rites but Jains have no priests to conduct such services. In the Jain community, it is a practice to request the support of an experienced person to conduct last rites (antim Vidhi) at home and at crematorium. There has always been a few in the community who were willing to offer their voluntary support to the bereaving family by conducting the cremation rites.

Vanik Council is providing service for conducting funeral rites for Jains as a part of its Jain Spiritual Care (Hospital Chaplaincy project)

 

Additionally, Heena Modi has produced a useful toolkit on Death: what to do and how to manage.

Hope you find this useful.

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Currently the following people are offering their voluntary services and are fully knowledgeable in conducting Antim Vidhi at home and at crematorium. Their respective contact telephone number is given.

 

London:

Jayantilal Ghelani   07923 082830

Manhar Mehta       07775 523233

Kishore Shah         07950 295690

Ramanlal Shah      07973 266160

Hitesh Rayani        07779 164134

Vijay Sheth           07956 454149

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Ilford:

Hullas Mehta         07904 103015

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Leicester

Jain centre -         0116 254 1150 ​

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Manchester:

 Piyush Mehta       07831 838999

 

The community needs more Volunteers for this service in London and other areas of the UK

Please contact any of the above volunteers to join the team.

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Vanik Council UK appreciates the excellent feedback from the deceased's families.

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Jain Pre-funeral vidhi at home

 

Please note that for performing Jain Vidhi, the following is very important. According to Jain Dharma when Atma leaves this body, it takes nothing with it to its next life except its Karma. Old tradition of placing Laadu, Coconut, Ganga Jal etc. with the dead is not consistent with Jain Dharma.

 

Hence:

• We should not put in the coffin any coconut, laadu or any items that the person had a liking for, nor put Ganga Jal in their mouth.

• We should not use root vegetables (Kandmul) in Chhaash Rotla dinner. We are performing Jain Vidhi for the deceased and eating root vegetables is prohibited in Jain Dharma  

The items required for the vidhi at home and at the crematorium are as follows:

1. ​2 pieces of white cloth, each 2.25 meters

2. Sukhad Haar

3. Sukhad Powder

4. Kanku (only for a woman survived by husband)

5. Small quantity of rice and mag (mung beans)

6. One pkt agarbatti (for home and uthamnu at crematorium)

7. Two diva (kodia) (1 for home and 1 for uthamnu)

8. Cotton vaat with ghee (for both diva)

9. Thaali

10. Two vatki

11. Matchbox

12. One white handkerchief (for collecting donations for Jiv daya at the uthamnu. The family to forward the collected amount to an appropriate organisation for Jiv daya)

 

From the above items, please take the following with you to the crematorium for Uthamnu.

1. Some agarbatti

2. One divo, with vaat and ghee

3. Matchbox

4. White handkerchief

5. Person's photo

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