DEATH OR REDEMPTION?

Death or redemption? Today, on a Sunday morning, when the weather seems to be cloudy and dull, I felt like writing about death. Make no mistake, the subject is by no means dull or gloomy to me :) As it is a day after Shivratri, I thought the subject is apt - with Lord Shiva, being worshipped as the destroyer, of the Brahma Vishnu Shiva Trinity.

Death has been a fascinating yet very mysterious fact of human existence. During school days, I remember reading about a piece which said Death is a great leveller.I could appreciate the thought of the poet even then. While no other life events may be the same between fellow humans, death brings in a commonality across all. Death sees no caste, creed, age, religion, geography, political status, economic status or morality. When it is time, you have to move on, from here to somewhere else.

Truth be told. I was quite hooked on to this topic since my formative years. While I used to think about death, I couldn’t share with anyone as it was taboo to discuss about death openly, just like sex. Hence, I never brought this topic in front of others, such was everyone’s fear. While death was certain, I never understood what the fuss was all about. I kept wondering… Is denial of truth makes it less ‘truthful’? Are we so scared of the afterlife that we don’t want to talk about it… Fear of the unknown? Does the discussion on death makes you more ‘suicidal’? The more it was banished from public discussion, the more it bore into my psyche. I was ‘dying’ to know more about ‘death’.

During student days, I would participate in many other activities, just to get my mind off the boring school stuff. One of my such escapades happened to be to join a school of music, to learn playing a percussion instrument called Tabla. I just loved the ambience, with sounds of flute, vocals, Veena, Violin and Harmonium, transporting me to a different world. Anyways,after the classes are over, I would make a dash to a hall nearby the school. Every evening, there would be discourses on Vedas & Hindu Mythology. Hindu Religion is a great mix of philosophy, psychology, numerology and science, I had discovered at a very young age. Hence, the subject of death would make its way in the discussion very often. In fact, the essence of the talks would be to make your life more meaningful, by learning virtues from those ancient scriptures and their teachings. My early memories of such discourses were from a very famous scholar from Udupi, who has inspired a generation of people like me, to understand Indian philosophy from a different perspective, not being too attached or too orthodox, but still being true to the subject. I was able to get a better understanding of Indian philosophy from those discourses, which has stuck with me until now.

Death is a beautiful creation, a gift to the mankind. Aaaaa..ha!! Don’t judge me yet…I am not suggesting anyone to ‘die’ or saying that death is enticing. When you know that death is an absolute certainty, then life seems to become very precious. What do you want to do with life (or what is left of it) becomes a very crucial choice, your own. Choice means freedom and there is nothing more liberating than that. You choose - make decisions and build a life for yourself (good, bad, ugly - per your own definitions). After all, it is said, man/woman is a product of his/her choices. The notion of facing death in the future, near or far, should make one appreciate life even better. Life should seem priceless, due to the very finite nature of it and hence, bring in a sense of humility and empathy towards others. Hence, a rational mind would argue that we should make choices in line with our own priorities, still being considerate of others. But, I wonder if that always happen - given the kind of world that we live in now.

Another take on the subject. If you believe that life is a journey of the ‘soul’ in this physical form of ‘body’, then, death is just a comma or full stop, depending on if you believe in rebirth or not. If life is a journey, what is the destination? - Ever wondered? More on this, perhaps, in the future blogs. But, most importantly, don’t you think that we should ‘live’ our ‘life’ a little more ‘lively’? - because death doesn’t give a second chance. No choice here, baby!