Things to remember and how to organise a Hindu prathna in person or virtually (UK)

Ishani 108 Puzzles
Jun 18
3 min read

Organising a prathna can be quite overwhelming. Especially when the grief is close to home. I've tried to summarise the key things to consider according to how my community (Gujaratis in the UK) fulfil these final ceremonies. Please note the intended purpose of this is not to prescribe how anything should be done but to guide as I have been asked a few times and thought it may be helpful to share my experiences.

Prathna Sabha

While many families have up to 13 days of prathna at home they often have one main community centered prayer meeting for everyone to pay their respects. It saves people coming home which sometimes can be disruptive for the family who are grieving. This is often held in local community halls and some like the Lohana samaj have a bereavement committee that can help you with all the logistics.

What needs to organised before the day

hire a hall or create an online zoom prathna (Wednesdays are not usually chosen).

In person

ensure there is a sound system arranged and know how much it'll cost
who is going to lead the prathna - a bhajan group and again their charges
send out details to those who wish to attend. Many communities also have a mailing list that they can send out. Use their template and send this out. If there's a specific cause you'd like people to donate to this can be worth adding as opposed to them sending flowers.
have a photo printed and framed that can go on a table at the prathna (it's usually used for the home prayers also unless you want a larger size)
a divo for the photo, a haar to put around (it's useful to keep sellotape and blu tak to help it stick if needed)
slideshow of memories and who is going to do any speeches
which device will be used if you're also going to stream on zoom

On Zoom

set your meeting settings when creating the meeting ID so that everyone automatically joins on mute
determine if there will be more than 100 people as then you need to upgrade the account
don't use a free account as that only lasts for 40 minutes.
have a waiting room for people before the prayer meeting starts with the persons name and image
have someone to manage this on the day to let people in, ensure the sound is clear, spotlight the person talking
ensure the musicians have the original audio sound setting on

On the day

sound check and check the slideshow is visible, if you're also doing a zoom where will that go and who is running it
white table cloth to cover the table
any flowers or candles you want on the table, perhaps some vases too
as mentioned a divo and haar
a Shankar bhagwan murti or image is usually kept, check if the community are providing this already
family members often wear white or blues depending on the age of the person who has passed away
tissues and bottles of water for the family

Format of prathna

usually for half an hour before there is a meet and greet the family while instrumental music is playing

prathna will then start and usually these are some prayers that are acceptable, the general princple is that you don't sing up beat bhajans as people are grieving and you want to give them strength so lead and follow and more dhoons are better. Some often read verses from the Bhagavad Gita. The prathna then concludes with meeting the family for those who were unable to at the beginning.

3 aums to start

A selection of bhajans - i've listed some that we sing

Hanuman Chalisa

Shri Ram Jai Ram

Ram Stuti

Shree Krishna Govind

Radhe Govinda Ram

Om Namah Shivaya

Shivoham

Kailash Ke Ni vasi

Shree Krishna Sharanam Mama

Ghat Ma Giradhari