REFLECTIONS ON DEATH

There are two things that are certain in this world! They are Birth and Death! The interregnum between birth and death is called Life which is uncertain and full of vicissitudes! Man knows that death is certain but doesn't want to die! He wants to be immortal with his mortal body made up of the five elements.” Jatasya maranam dhruvam” says the Sanskrit adage! We see our years draining away every second of the day, and our youth slowly leaving us.The days spent can never return and Time swallows up the entire universe! “ Ayur nasyati pasyatam pratidinam yati kshayam yaunanm pratyayanti gatah punar na divasa Kalo jagad bakshakaha!” Life is so sweet for mortal man that he desires to live forever! Yudhishtara, in the Mahabharata,... was asked a ticklish question by the Yaksha.”What is the most astonishing thing in the world?” The pandava warrior thought for a while and remarked, “ Man sees everyday people dying and being carried away to the burial ground. He knows that one day or other death shall overtake him.

But still he wants to live for ever and hates death over which he has no power or control! That is the most astonishing thing in the world!” The Yaksha was pleased at this truth and brought back to life the other pandava warriors who had fainted!

Death is relentless and takes away everything that is born and disintegrates all constructed by man! Bhagawan Sri Satya Sai Baba says, “Death is neither good nor bad. Man has no choice in the matter. Man cannot have it sooner if he wishes it to be so, nor can he avoid it. It is a consummation which is inevitable and commences from the very moment of birth. Some reach the cremation ground earlier than others, who go by a roundabout way and arrive late” “Like trailing clouds of glory do we come from God who is our home” says Wordsworth the Nature poet! Should we not return to our original Home? We should remember that our sleep is a temporary death for we don't know whether we wake-up in the morning. In other words we die every night and live in the morning! We sleep permanently when we die! We think of Yama as the God of Death. But Time is the God of death! “ Kalakshepo na karthavyaha kshina mayur kshane kshane Yamasya karuna nasthi karthavyam Hari kirtanam” “ Time and tide waits for no man” is a well known maxim. Swami says, “ The dying man spins the rope by every act of his during his life now or in the past. All acts done with egoism, self interest, an eye on the beneficial consequences, the fruits give a little more length, a stronger twist to that rope.”

How to live and die purposefully? Swami answers, “Men are born with a helpless cry; they should die with a smile of happy joy. That is the purpose of the years between”--(SSS March,1965) Man should realize that he is not the body composed of the five elements. He is the eternal Atma or the Soul enshrined in the body! It is indestructible, cannot be made wet or dried or cut by any instrument! The Lord has reminded Arjuna, the Pandava warrior, “Nainam chindanti sasthrani Nainam dahati pavakaha……”when he became despondent and put down his bow Gandiva and the quiver of arrows on the chariot! Knowing full well he has to depart one day or other williy nilly, Man has to prepare himself for a gleeful exit, not a moment of anguish. Swami suggests practice of ‘humility, obedience and compassion. Sankara warns in his Bhajagovinda Stotra, “ Ma kuru dhana Jana yauvana garvam harathi nimeshath Kalam sarvam” Money, materials, relations, wife and property can never go with the dead! Life is considered to be a bubble that can be pricked at any time!

How can mortal man become immortal? He cannot achieve this with the frail body destined to die! The thirst for immortality in man can be achieved by realizing the principle of the Self or the Atma! “ Mrutyorma Amrutam gamaya” Our great sages and seers had harnessed their energies in conquering death by severe penance and contemplation on God. While other nations utilize their knowledge for mass destruction, “In India, people are taught to dive deep and win the Pearl.”

Life is a journey where individuals have their own destinations. The sooner they reach their stations, the quicker they get down! Similarly when man reaches his goal of life, he has to shed his mortal coil, the body! Man should not waste his time in pursuit of wealth, wine and women and other transitory things. He has to reduce his wants and keep a ceiling on desires! These desires are the root cause of all sorrows! They are insatiable and one fulfillment leads to another! Swami says, “When death deprives you of resistance, your kith an kin even will cut off your nose to remove the nose-stud!”