Death and its ramifications

Chitvish · Aug 7, 2011

Dear Sabitha,
An eternally favorite subject to me!! I am here promptly!!
Yes, our lives are intertwined, without our own knowledge over the births!!

By our words & deeds we cast an invisible net around ourselves, which has as many plus points as there are minus. Just remember, nothing goes unaccounted for in the Universe. So by conscious choice making, if we increase the plus points, we will be able to tide over the adverse reactions caused by the minus points, with strength of mind. There is no second thought about the fact, that we are makers of our own destiny. By prayers, we increase our moral conviction & acceptance that there will be as many sorrows as there are pleasures. Even if I give a general example, I am scared that if by chance, anybody has that problem, they may get offended. When you read my next post, I do hope you will understand & accpt better.
Do we not say in tamil
வினை விதைத்தவன் வினை அறுப்பான்
தினை விதைத்தவன் தினை அறுப்பான்.

Meaning - one who sows good seeds reaps good deeds:
one who sows evild seeds reaps evil deeds:

That law cannot be challenged under any circumstances !
This "intertwining" of many people's lives cannot be better understood than hundreds of people dying in aircrash at the same "appointed" moment!!
Many lives, many msters is a great favourie book of mine!!
Sometimes I feel as though it has been proved true in my own life, on meting some people!

Death does not destroy the sukshma sariram which is a bundle of the "cause-effects" of our karmas! If you make an attempt to understand
The Law of Karma,

you will be at peace with yourself. Personally, I think (only) that I have conquered the fear of death after understanding that. My actions have become "conscious choice making" to a very great extent. I feel totally at peace with myself most often, though not always (understandably!).

Cheeniya · Aug 10, 2011

Dear Viji
When someone dies suddenly, it is really good for the person who dies but it is a great trauma for those who survive him. They find it hard to come to grips with. I have seen some welfare associations even teach particularly the womenfolk who are not well educated about how to cope with the sudden loss of the bread winner.

You are right about the persons who always do good things and leave good memories behind. Immortality is not the ability to live in our present physical form for ever and ever. Immortality is to strive and achieve a state that will keep us permanently in the memory of all our friends, relatives and others. Death is just termination of our present physical existence. But what lives beyond us is the effect of our good deeds.
Sri

Viswamitra · Jan 22, 2012

we are nothing but prescription medication with no expiry date written on it. We can be used until the unknown expiry date arrives. The science has declared that terminally ill patients go through five stages called a) denial (this is not happening to me), b) anger (why is this happening to me?), c) bargaining (I promise I will be a better person if you let me off the hook), d) depression (I don't care anymore) and e) acceptance (I am ready for whatever comes).

Franklin D.Roosevelt said, "only thing we need to fear is fear itself". The fear of death is really overwhelming. Even visualizing movies where a) a plane going down rapidly, b) ship like titanic sinking in the mid sea and c) a terror plot unfolding raises our heart rate significantly leave alone facing it in real life.

I debate a lot in my mind whether it feels better to go through a slow death with time to settle things in life or a sudden departure without any notice. There is no clear answer. It depends on how we lived our life to date. I think the best option is to live the life as if today is the last day so that whichever way it comes, it is not going to make us regret. Death is inevitable and it is the beginning of the rest of the series of lives one is going to experience. What is the point in regretting unfinished business when it is the cause for us coming back anyway?

The preparation for death is not done in a few days or months or years but it is done right from the time of our birth. How much should I worry if I lose my shirt (body) and a Parker pen (mind) I use to write my thoughts? Will I if I knew that I would get a new shirt and new Parker pen?

I am actually glad that I don't know the date and time of my departure. I am also equally glad that I do not know my thoughts of prior lives as it would make my life a living hell if I knew that I wasn't a good person. Let me make use of my time wisely to pursue happiness as much as I could when I have the time. I definitely do not like to be a Kumaresan. If no one is regretting my death at least I want to make sure no one is celebrating it.

Viswa

Cheeniya · Jan 22, 2012

Dear Viswa
"If no one is regretting my death at least I want to make sure no one is celebrating it." I love this attitude of yours. In fact, this should be the goal of every living person. In a fraternity to which I belong, we are exhorted to 'live respected and die regretted'. The greatest thing about death is its mystery. Barring a small percentage of living beings, the rest are too busy playing their respective parts in this drama called life that they do not give any thought about how the drama will end. Death has such a finality about it that when the thought of it enters the mind, it becomes an obsession.

Once I landed in Bangalore hours after a plane had crashed in the runway and we were thankful that we were not travelling in that ill-fated plane. Nobody even thought for a second that it could have happened to us too. That's the beauty of death. We attend a funeral and express our deep condolences but we never think that we'll be lying where the body of the dead is now kept! The conversation between Yama and Nachikethas in Katha Upanishad is a great treatise on Death. If we want to liberate ourselves from the fear of Death, we must read this gem a number of times.
Sri