On this day, when we are welcoming the new year - according to the Hindu calender, writing about death seems ironical enough. The idea behind it is if you respect death, it will respect you and stay away from you. It is like bribing death to save yourself from it. It is to celebrate the spirit of life!!!!!
I had a dream one of these days:
All of a sudden, I die!! Nobody knows why. Nobody knows how. Neither do I. And, as per Hindu mythology, YAMAKINKARAS - the servants of Yama, the God of Death, come to chain my soul and take it away. I struggle. I struggle hard. Yet, I can not free myself from them. I feel life ebbing away!!
That's when I woke up with a start - I found myself sweating. I threw away my blanket and switched on the fan. Ah!! What a relief it was to find myself alive, again!! It had not been a dream - but a nightmare!!! That was when thoughts started flowing - for after a nightmare, you can seldom sleep well that night. I questioned myself what it would be to die. Well, nobody knows - those alive don't know. Those dead cannot return to tell how it is!!
At this point, I would like to narrate an incident that is said to have taken place in the family circle years ago:
There was this person who was suffering from illness. That person's health deteriorated to the the maximum and everybody - including the doctors - gave up hope! That person was shifted to another hospital. The patient was in coma. The doctors declared dead. And all of a sudden, that person stirred. There still was life in that person. It was declared nothing short of a miracle!! And when others asked what it felt like, that person said " I had been to hell!! I saw Yama. He told that since I had "accounts" to clear still on earth, I was not fit to be dead so soon. He sent me back to earth."
We can never verify the authenticity of what that person told - for that person is no longer alive. Was it the effect of the stories heard during that person's life that made them to see YAMA'S DARBAR? Perhaps it was. Or is it real that there exists a Yama, the accountant with his assistant, Chitragupta? We never know.
The word death seems very interesting and has an air of mystery around it - for nobody knows what is beyond death, do we?
And many times we "feel" we missed death by a whisker - whether or not we were close to death. Recently, my friends and I went to WONDER LA, one of the biggest and most popular amusement parks. And as we sat through the dry rides - I took part only in a countable few, not all - I felt life moving out of my body. I knew nothing would happen. Yet, the fear of something happening, the fear of death overtook my enthusiasm. I don't feel embarassed or ashamed to say that I was scared then. It is just that I love to live and I love life a lot!! "Is it wrong to love life?" is my question to those who call me a coward. Even though I know nothing happens in these amusement parks, for they would have taken the measures beforehand, I don't want to risk my life for a ride which I dont feel comfortable with.
Though people may say "I dont care for death. I am ready to face it", there will always be fear in their heart, which seems to be hidden beneath a layer of superficial bravery. Infact, it is only the soldiers who are the real bravehearts. Hats off to them!!
Even though I love life, I find myself sometimes being too philosophical and thinking that death is an inevitabilty; I am powerless; let me face it even if it consumes me right now. I know that is not me - for, as I have said, I love my life.
At this moment, I again feel philosophical. I find myself saying "Ah! It does'nt matter even if I die. I have seen India lifting the World Cup. What else does one require??!!" I deserve a tight slap off myself! I will give it!!
I had a dream one of these days:
All of a sudden, I die!! Nobody knows why. Nobody knows how. Neither do I. And, as per Hindu mythology, YAMAKINKARAS - the servants of Yama, the God of Death, come to chain my soul and take it away. I struggle. I struggle hard. Yet, I can not free myself from them. I feel life ebbing away!!
That's when I woke up with a start - I found myself sweating. I threw away my blanket and switched on the fan. Ah!! What a relief it was to find myself alive, again!! It had not been a dream - but a nightmare!!! That was when thoughts started flowing - for after a nightmare, you can seldom sleep well that night. I questioned myself what it would be to die. Well, nobody knows - those alive don't know. Those dead cannot return to tell how it is!!
At this point, I would like to narrate an incident that is said to have taken place in the family circle years ago:
There was this person who was suffering from illness. That person's health deteriorated to the the maximum and everybody - including the doctors - gave up hope! That person was shifted to another hospital. The patient was in coma. The doctors declared dead. And all of a sudden, that person stirred. There still was life in that person. It was declared nothing short of a miracle!! And when others asked what it felt like, that person said " I had been to hell!! I saw Yama. He told that since I had "accounts" to clear still on earth, I was not fit to be dead so soon. He sent me back to earth."
We can never verify the authenticity of what that person told - for that person is no longer alive. Was it the effect of the stories heard during that person's life that made them to see YAMA'S DARBAR? Perhaps it was. Or is it real that there exists a Yama, the accountant with his assistant, Chitragupta? We never know.
The word death seems very interesting and has an air of mystery around it - for nobody knows what is beyond death, do we?
And many times we "feel" we missed death by a whisker - whether or not we were close to death. Recently, my friends and I went to WONDER LA, one of the biggest and most popular amusement parks. And as we sat through the dry rides - I took part only in a countable few, not all - I felt life moving out of my body. I knew nothing would happen. Yet, the fear of something happening, the fear of death overtook my enthusiasm. I don't feel embarassed or ashamed to say that I was scared then. It is just that I love to live and I love life a lot!! "Is it wrong to love life?" is my question to those who call me a coward. Even though I know nothing happens in these amusement parks, for they would have taken the measures beforehand, I don't want to risk my life for a ride which I dont feel comfortable with.
Though people may say "I dont care for death. I am ready to face it", there will always be fear in their heart, which seems to be hidden beneath a layer of superficial bravery. Infact, it is only the soldiers who are the real bravehearts. Hats off to them!!
Even though I love life, I find myself sometimes being too philosophical and thinking that death is an inevitabilty; I am powerless; let me face it even if it consumes me right now. I know that is not me - for, as I have said, I love my life.
At this moment, I again feel philosophical. I find myself saying "Ah! It does'nt matter even if I die. I have seen India lifting the World Cup. What else does one require??!!" I deserve a tight slap off myself! I will give it!!
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