Birth, Naming and Funeral Rites

The Sikh Rehat Maryada says the family should go to the gurdwara as soon as the mother is able, however many days that takes, with kara prashad or arranging for it there. Hymns of joy and thanks are recited, such as those on angs 396 and 628.

A hukam is then taken, by reading a hymn from Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. The granthi proposes a name beginning with the first letter of that hymn. Once the sangat accepts it, the name is announced. A boy's name takes Singh and a girl's takes Kaur. Six stanzas of Anand Sahib, Ardas and kara prashad complete the rite. Sikhs who take amrit without a name given in this way receive one at that ceremony.

The code rejects the belief that a birth makes a household impure. This echoes Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji on ang 472, where birth and death are said to come by God's order. The hair of a child is to be left uncut.[Src][EoS]

The code asks those present to recite Gurbani or repeat Vahiguru by the bedside, and to avoid loud mourning. Sikh teaching sees death as part of hukam, and treats it as a call to return to God. Baba Sundar's Ramkali Sadu on ang 923 recalls Sri Guru Amar Das Ji asking his family not to weep for him.

The body is washed and dressed in clean clothes, with the articles of faith left in place. After Ardas, it is carried to the cremation ground while hymns are sung. The code prefers cremation for people of any age, but says that where this cannot be arranged other means are acceptable. A son, relative or friend lights the pyre. When it is fully alight, the sangat recites Kirtan Sohila and offers Ardas.[Src][EoS][EoS][EoS]

A reading of the whole of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji is begun at home or in a gurdwara, and is ideally finished about the tenth day, though another date may be chosen. Family and relatives share the reading, and kirtan may be held at night. No further rite is required.

The ashes are placed in flowing water or buried and the ground levelled. The code forbids monuments at a cremation site. It also rejects many older customs: lamps kept burning after a death, ritual offerings of rice or barley, breaking a pot on the way to the pyre, set periods of formal mourning, and carrying the bones to the Ganga or even to Patalpuri at Kiratpur.[Src]