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August 19, 2010

Preparing For A Funeral Service For A Late Loved One

Filed under: Business — Tags: , , , , , — Carlo Silva @ 7:02 am

One of the certainties of our being is death. Each one of use has to confront it and is yet not ready for it. Conducting a service in memory of the dead is one of the oldest customs that has undergone tremendous changes. Traditionally, a funeral service was carried out in church and the deceased was bid farewell with hymns as well as a eulogy. But, this practice is changing today, with a lot of people wishing to go for a more personal funeral service for their near and dear one.

Carrying out a funeral service right after the death of a near and dear one can be an extremely difficult job for any family. A general myth that a service is a legal necessity is incorrect as no law makes it mandatory to conduct a funeral service.

Secondly, majority of people think that it has to be held in a church, which again is not the case. It is crucial to realize that conventionally, such services were conducted in church but these days, with importance being given to a personal touch, funeral services are being held more often in homes.

Thirdly, such services do not mandate the presence of either the clergy or the casket and can be easily held without either.

However, for any such personal funeral service, you have to take into account the dead person while making the preparations. Music, should be such that it is soft, soothing and from the personal favourites of the deceased. You can either engage a live music band or choose to play music records.

Some families opt for putting up the personal items of the dead person in a collage, for the gathering to reflect on his or her life. Another crucial factor in any funeral service is an address, in the form of a recital, a song or even a speech describing the deceased.

Lastly, it is advisable to give the guests gathered at the service some type of a memento that will make them remember the departed forever.

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February 20, 2010

Spiritually Significant Aspects Of Buddhist Funerals

Filed under: Business — Tags: , , , , , — Amy Tan @ 8:04 am

In a Buddhist funeral, the followers of the religion believe in carrying out elaborate rites and rituals during the funeral proceedings. The funeral service, according to Buddhism, symbolizes the setting free of the deceased person’s soul, which was trapped in the futility of existence, and its quest for a new life after death.

Monks are invited to perform the ceremonies and rituals during a Buddhist funeral, which typically ends with cremation. The dormant positive energies are freed from the soul by the chanting of the correct sutras by monks who read from the religious books. To prevent any decomposition in case of delayed cremation, the mortal remains are prepared cautiously while the religious chanting is being performed. The body is bathed and put to rest in a coffin along with incense sticks, candles, wreaths and a photograph of the deceased person.

When the last rites are deferred to allow distant relatives to arrive for paying their last respects to the deceased, invited monks visit the home everyday to read and chant from the Buddhist religious book Abhidharma.

The monks complete the last rites on the day of the funeral and the head monk gives a speech recounting the noble deeds and actions done by the deceased and consoling the grieving family members and relatives. The Pansakula, a significant ritual which is expected to carry blessings and good energies to the soul of the departed is done during the last stage of chanting while a white cloth is being wrapped around the coffin.

Just before the cremation, a close family member is requested to say something about the departed individual. The Buddhist funeral ceremonies conclude with a light feast for the visitors after the funeral.

Although some variations in rituals can be seen, these are the broad ritualistic procedures carried out during funeral service by followers in countries like Tibet, Thailand and China, where a huge number of Buddhists live.

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February 14, 2010

An Efficient Funeral Director Gives Support When You Need It Most

Filed under: Business — Tags: , , , , , — Abby Esteban @ 8:06 am

For family and friends dealing with the recent demise of a loved one, the funeral director is an extremely important source of strength and help. They take care of the intricacies of all the arrangements that have to be made, leaving the grieving members to cope with their overwrought emotions without worrying about the intricacies of the service.

The job of a funeral director encompasses many responsibilities starting from making arrangements to bring over the deceased’s body from the morgue or the home to its place of burial or cremation. All kinds of documentation and essential paperwork involved in the process, like acquiring a death certificate, getting all the approvals, organ donation etc comes under the responsibilities of the funeral director.

Providers of all needed services for the funeral, like flowers, music, catering etc should also be managed effectively by the funeral director. He will be responsible for organising publication of obituaries in newspapers and informing the funeral service venue and programme to expected attendees, who could be the relatives or acquaintances of the deceased.

The funeral director, in discussion with the family, decides the date and venue for the funeral, and makes arrangements for the memorial service and the final burial. He also arranges for the visitation ceremony prior to the funeral service wherein close relatives and friends assemble to provide condolence to the grieving family. The funeral director’s task ends with the final sealing of the departed person’s grave on the funeral day.

In order to manage these functions towards successful conducting of the funeral service, the funeral director must have important traits of compassion and a service oriented attitude. You must thus make sure that the funeral director you desire to hire has appropriate licenses and enough experience. He should have a proven track record for sincere and efficient work so that he can perform all the essential functions without you having to fret about it.

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January 27, 2010

Buddhist Funeral Rituals And Their Significances

The core of Buddhist religion, practiced in many countries the world over, comes from the basic teachings of the Buddha. Love and mercy for mankind and acknowledgment of the Ultimate truth are essential in Buddhism.

Buddhist funerals show these essentals of Buddhism. When a Buddhist person passes, in order to ensure that his or her soul gets to a higher level in the next life, mandatory rites should be followed. Prayers are used to invoke the good energies of the deceased, ensuring his or her deliverance from this life and wishing them the best for the next life.

The funeral rituals begin with giving the deceased a traditional wash. The next stage entails invitation of monks, who chant from religious scriptures and thereby assist the deceased in finding eternity. The monks read out those sermons of the Buddha that talk about the significance of practising mercy and kindness. The body is meanwhile made ready for the final rites. Friends and family often place some coins in the casket of the deceased person. This is to pay for the dead person’s journey across the mythical River of Three Hells.

After which, the casket is exhibited to the near and dear ones to let them to pay their final respects by putting it at the altar. Attendees are required to pray for the dead person and the family and relatives offer their condolences. The proceeding is accompanied with chanting of relevant sutras by the monks. Once the chanting is complete, people bow at the altar to pay their final regards. After the ceremony, the family members of the departed distribute gifts to the attendees for sharing their sorrow.

Once these rites are over, the family members can decide to either bury or cremate the body based on their family beliefs. The different ceremonies are a way of bringing peace to the family of the deceased as they know their prayer offerings are aimed at elevating the status of the departed in his after life.

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Main Responsibilities Of A Funeral Director

Filed under: Business — Tags: , , , , , — Shirley Cruise @ 8:39 am

to the actual handling of the deceased’s corpse.

The essential tasks of a funeral director include moving the deceased to a mortuary, making the body ready for the funeral ceremony, making preparations for the services where people will remember and pay their last respects to the departed, and carrying out the final procedures on the body.

The responsibilities of a funeral director vary from posting obituaries in the local electronic and print media to arranging for a vehicle to shift the body, in addition to other planning tasks like choosing the time and venue for conducting the funeral service etc. Further, funeral directors have to arrange flowers and have the decoration done for each ceremony, make provisions for conveyance for the assembled people and clothe the deceased for the service after anointing it.

Apart from these jobs, a funeral director is also entrusted with the job of doing the essential paperwork formalities required following a person’s death. He assists the relatives in procuring a death certificate. He also shoulders the responsibility of settling claims of insurance for the family as well as helping them take benefit of schemes like seniors’ burial support. He can also arrange for the clearance of any annuities or pensions that the family members are entitled to receive, and provides tips to the family on how to manage funeral expenses.

He also has to associate with many people and needs to coordinate with all of them for successfully performing his tasks. He has to interact with doctors, pastors, coffin makers and flower sellers, all with equal ease.

Finally, the funeral directors must be humane too and should try to provide some comfort to the mourning family and try to bring them out of their grief over the demise of a loved one. Though it is an important aspect of the job, some funeral directors tend to ignore it as a trivial responsibility.

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