Dealing with loss in our Community - Oshwal Centre

Dealing with lossin our Communityby Suraj ShahAbout the AuthorSuraj Shah is a bereavement support visitor,writer and speaker. He lives in NW London andis a member of the UK Jain community.The death of a loved one affects us all.You may have lost someone close to you,someone old or young. They may havesuffered a long-term illness or suddenlypassed away. They may have faced a naturaldeath, or have been involved in a car crash.Perhaps they found it so hard to deal with their owncircumstances that they took their own life.Every death is different, surrounded by its ownunique set of circumstances.Every loss is also different, unique and verypersonal.Loss: a turbulent timeAt a time of loss and during the months and yearsthat follow, you may find yourself going through awhole range of emotions. Perhaps you feel angerand frustration one day, then guilt and sadness thenext. Some days you may feel despair, and yet onother days you may experience elation. Some daysyou may feel so lonely that you crave company,while other days you’re suffocated by those aroundyou and just want to push them away.Family, friends and colleagues around you mayeven be concerned about your yo-yo like emotionsand shifting personality. But they'll struggle to find away to support you, and you too may feel confusedabout how to move forward.So sure enough, just as every death and every lossis unique and personal, there is never a one-sizefits-allsolution for dealing with loss. You need todiscover what works for you and within our widercommunity there is support available to help youwith it.Support available to live with lossWithin our community, we have diverse forms ofsupport available to help us come to terms with andperhaps even glide through a loss.1. Detachment-cultivating stavansWhen someone in the community dies, all membersof the community plus extended family and friendsgather together at a sadadi (a.k.a. prarthna sabha orbetthak) to pay their respects to the family.This is usually where vairagya na stavano(detachment-cultivating songs) are sung to help usenhance calm within ourselves at this delicate time.It is also a wonderful opportunity to stay quiet, bringstillness to ourselves, and contemplate on thetemporary nature of our own bodies, the coming andgoing of people in our lives and the ever-changingsituations in the world around us.It helps us to question how we could possibly baseour happiness on things that will inevitably changeand encourages us to start seeking that which ispermanent which will bring rise to everlastinghappiness and peace.For more about vairagya na stavano, readlivewithloss.com/calm-inducing-rituals and to benefitmore from sadadis that you attend, readlivewithloss.com/from-disrespect-to-introspect2. Bereavement supportWhen you have faced the loss of a loved one, it canoften be hard to talk to family and friends about it.You may go to them seeking support and solace,

ut may find yourself walking away frustrated andsad.The thing is that family and friends care about youso much and they do want to support you, butemotions, agendas and selfish-motives sometimesget in the way, making it difficult to see you throughthis delicate time. (By the way, if you happen to beoffering comfort to a friend who has recently lostsomeone, check out the support tips atlivewithloss.com/offering-support - your friend willthank you for it.)If you find talking about your loss to be a struggle,you may want to reach out to a bereavementsupport service. They will help connect you with abereavement support visitor - an impartial personyou can confidentially talk to about anything to dowith your loss, especially things that you may feeluncomfortable talking with family and friends about.This is often a free service run by volunteers, so nocharge to you, and available to anyone of any age.You could meet with a visitor once a week for awhile and then see how it goes for you.You may wish to seek out a local bereavementsupport service or your GP could refer you to one.Learn more about getting bereavement support atlivewithloss.com/bereavement-support3. Living the virtuesIt may sound odd, but the one person you will getmost strength from at this delicate time may just beyour loved one who has passed away — through thecontemplation of their virtues.Self-realised Jain saint Shrimad Rajchandra, uponlearning about the death of his dearest friend andsoul-mate Saubhagbhai, wrote a letter toSaubhagbhai's sons (Vacchanamrut letter 782, inGujarati). Here is an abridged version — my basicunderstanding so I can share the essence of it withyou:"His loss has caused great sorrow to youbecause (i) he was your family elder / head ofthe family; (ii) of your gratitude towards him;(iii) the awesomeness of his virtues. This isunderstandable. Let go of the remorsearound the loss of your family elder, butcontinuously remember the great compassionhe has bestowed upon you. Encourage yoursoul to contemplate on the words of wisdomand virtues he has described. Don't dwell onthe sorrow that you have lost your father, butinstead dwell on the loss of his qualities.Remind yourself of the awesomeness of hisvirtues. With great patience and tolerance,pacify the sorrow born of delusion and takecomfort and shelter from his inspiring words.The following virtues of Shree Saubhag areworth contemplating on repeatedly:straightforwardness; firmness of resolve forthe ultimate truth; benevolence towards allseekers of the ultimate truth."If you feel down now that your loved one's physicalpresence is no longer with you, consider shiftingyour thoughts away from the sorrow of a physicalloss and towards a recollection and contemplation oftheir magnificent virtues.Appreciation of your loved one's qualities and thevalues they lived their life by can inspire you to applythem in your own life and help you at a time ofsorrow. Read more on this at:livewithloss.com/elder-valueslivewithloss.com/missing-dadCommunity support at a time of lossSo it turns out that at a time of loss, we have somegreat resources to see through the storm.We have the stavans that cultivate detachment andhelp to calm our emotions. We have bereavementsupport from family, friends and services in thewider community.Most importantly, we have the inspiring virtues ofbhagwan and other elevated souls. We canembrace the teachings of our elders and loved oneswe have lost to inspire us to lead a calm andpurposeful life.Sadadi AnnouncementsIf you would like to find out whether a Sadadi is being held atOshwal Centre, Oshwal Mahajanwadi or Oshwal Ekta Centre, inrespect of any deceased Oshwal, you may ring the InformationLine at the Oshwal Centre and a Recorded Message will adviseof the time of the Sadadi and the name of the person in whosememory the Sadadi is being held.Information Line Telephone Number:01707 661 066 (Recorded Message)