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A new funeral home has opened in northeast Calgary, Alberta, Canada, offering multi-faith funeral services to the local community. The funeral home incorporates specific facilities to cater to a diversity of funeral practices, including those of the local Buddhist, Hindu, and Muslim communities, which have cultural roots in Sri Lanka, India, and Pakistan, respectively. The funeral home is the initiative of a group of local entrepreneurs including local South Asian business leader Baljinder Singh Bhuller and Michael Pierson, president of a local funeral service.

Country Hills Crematorium includes private bathing rooms, where relatives can bathe the remains of their beloved ones, simple and accessible cremation facilities, large gathering rooms, and private spaces where relatives can spend time with the deceased. The crematorium also maintains close ties with local gurudwaras (a place of worship for Sikhs) and temples, and has access to clergy of various faiths.
Bathing a loved one before  funeral rites or cremation is an important aspect of Buddhist, Sikh, Hindu, and Muslim traditions, and while there are now funeral homes such as the Country Hills Crematorium that cater to this tradition, this has not always been the case.
“We found there was a need for it [a multi-faith funeral home], facilities were not really comparable to our needs so the community, family and friends thought we should have something of our own where we can serve everybody,” said Bhuller.

(source: cbc.ca/news)

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Victor M. Parachin ... 

a Vedic educator, yoga instructor, Buddhist meditation teacher and author of a dozen books. Buy his books at amazon or your local bookstore. Sadly, Victor passed away in August 2025, but his blog continues. Janet Parachin, his partner of 45 years, shares quotes from his books and articles each week. 

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