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Life, Death And The Dying
Death be not proud, though some have called thee
-John Donne, Holy Sonnets, X
Death is not a topic which most people are fond of. In fact it is quite a gloomy, dismal subject for discussion. Even at hospitals and medical schools, doctors, nurses, and students avoid the topic of death and the dying. Death is taboo in hospitals, and even doctors feel uncomfortable with the fact of death. At big hospitals, one rarely sees a corpse. They vanish or are whisked out of sight, put in a van/ambulance and taken away.
In literature, death haas been presented from another angle. Death is in vogue as a topic of scholarly articles, books, discussions in seminars, etc. The topic of death seems very elusive and shrouded in mystery, although it is obvious that death is inevitable and all living things have to die. There are so many poets and writers, who have voiced their feelings and thoughts about death. Here are a few quotations from some of the most famous and popular poets, who have aptly described and personified death. horace in the Odes, I, 4 expressed, "Pale death, with impartial step, knocks at the poor man's cottage and the palace of Kings." The implication is that no one can escape death. In the Old Testament Genesis, III, 19, it has been expressed as the following: 'For dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return'. The lines portary how our bodies are made up of five elements of the earth, and after death, our bodies go and mix with the earth as ashes or through the decomposition of the body. In Virginia Woolf's essay, 'The death of the Moth', death is depicted as being more powerful than life. On the other hand, Is death really so powerful and victorious? In the New Testament, I, corinthians, XV, 54, death is mocked and personified, as it says, "O death, where is the sting? O grave, where is the victory?" Willam Shakespeare has expressed in Hamlet, III, I, "...Death, the undiscovered country, from whose bourn, No traveler returns". No-one has returned after death to tell about the eternal truth of life after death. In his tragic play Macbeth, Willam Shakespeare has expressed the futility of life and the temporariness of life in the lines:
"Out, out brief candle, life is but a walking shadow,
A poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more.
mi It's a tale told by an idiot, full
of sount and fury,
signifying nothing."
If we contemplate about life, we realize how futile the transient world is. Many spiritual people counsel their followers to meditate about death and not be afraid of it. Death is a transition from life to the hereafter. In the Mahabharat epic, Yudhisthir is tested by the Yaksha. The Yaksha asks him, "What is the final truth?" Yudhisthir, a righteous person, answers that death is the final truth. Only after death, one can know the truth about what happens after death. Is there something, continuity or a force which passes on from this life to another? Bothe Hindus and Buddhists believe in rebirth or reincarnation. They believe that after death one will be reborn according to one's Karma. can we change the Karma? It is said that a dying person sees different images, such as Yamraj or hairy creatures or gods and goddesses in carriages, etc. before death. If the dying person sees hairy animal-like creatures or monsters, he might be born in the animal world. If heavenly maidens come to take him, he might be born in a heavenly world (but even this might be temporary, and he will be born as a human again until he attains perfection and becomes free from the cycle of rebirth). The matter gets deeper and deeper. Then why do people fear death? Why is it so ominous of fearsome? Nobody wants to die, not even a small creature. People want to cling on to dear life. When a person finds out that he has a fatal disease like cancer, it scares the daylights out of him, and he will face the five stages of grief, i.e, Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. The relization comes at the end that one has to die, and there's no use lamenting about it. In other words, one had better be prepared for it, and die like a happy man. Even then, most dying persons feel very depressed, morbid, and suffers from Melancholia (extreme sadness). he doesn't want to eat, talk or do anything. Life seems so hopeless, and he cannot sleep. In such a state, the dying person needs spiritual help to soothe his pain and agony. In some Buddhist societies in Myanmar or Sri Lanka, an experiencedd monk or Bhikchhu is called to recite the sutras to ease the pain of the dying person. The dying person might even tell what he perceives, before he dies and even make his last wishes before and even make his last wishes before death takes him. Hindus and Christians believe that atonement and repentance before death washes away the pardonable sins. It may not wash away all the sins, for one has to face one's Karma, but the Karma may be changed for a better life because one has realized one's mistake before death. In Buddhism, too, if prayers are recited for the dying person, and the dying person makes a last dying wish to give daan or donation to Buddhist monks/ Vihara / or poor, deprived people, his Karma will change for a better condition. This kind of preparation before death will provide solance to a dying person so that he can die peacefully. We can take the example of Socrates, the great Greek philosopher, who was given the death sentence by the Greek rulers. Socrates was prepared to die and did not fear death. His followers wept for him, but he did not want to cling on to life. He believed that God would give him justice in another life. If some are prepared for death, there are many others, who while away their life as if they do not have to die, or they may follow the motto of the Epicureans, "Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow you die." In this busy world, people are so occupied and tied down by their daily chores, they forget about death. They are unaware of death and totally unprepared for it. They are immersed in this temporary, illusory world. Here, I would like to quote a Parable of the Rich fool form the Holy Gospels accorting to St. Luke:
One of the multitude said to Jesus, 'Master, bid my brother give me a share of our inheritance.' Jesus answered, 'Why, man, who has appointed me a judge to make awards between you?' Then he said to them, 'Look well and keep yourself clear of all covetousness. A man's life does not consist in having more possessions than he needs.' And he told them a parable. There was a rich man, whose lands yielded a heavy crop, and he debated in his mind, 'What I am to do, with no room to store my crops in?' Then he said, 'This is what I will do; I will put down my barns, and build greater ones, and there I shall be able to store all my harvest and all the goods that are mine; and then I will say to my soul, Come soul, thou hast goods in plenty laid up for many years to come: take thy rest now, eat, drink and make merry.' And God said, "Thou fool, this night thou must render up thy soul; and who will be master now of all thou hast laid by?" Thus it is with the man who lays up treasure for himself, and has no credit with God.
The parable clearly explains how unprepared we are for death. We think this is the 'be-all and end-all out here'. We do not realize that time's clock is ticking and death approaches everyone every second. Another thing is the ritural surrounding before-death conditions and after-death conditions. In the Tibetan Book of the Dead, the ancient, sacred Buddhist scripture called Bardo Thotrol is recited before death, at the moment of death and after death. It concerns the nature of mind and its projections_beautiful or terrible, peaceful or wrathful_which seem to exist objectively and inhabit the external world. The projections appear immediately after death at a time when the consciousness is no longer connected with a physical body. Terrifying seductive forms and manifestations appear after death, and through recognition of these forms, the dying person attains liberation or the state of enlightenment. The Barbo Thotrol is read aloud to the dying so that he/she is emancipated from this world and reaches salvation. Bardo means a gap or the interval of suspension after we die and also the suspension in the living situation. To learn more about this one must read the book itself. In conclusion, as in the words of the Tibetan monk Milarepa, "All wordly pursuits end in sorrow". A person, who is detached from this world, will be prepared for death. In the words of Osho,"If you are ambitious you will fail". Thus, there should be no attachment or desires at the moment of death.
May 19, 2011 at 10:53 AM
Ummmmmm..........