DEATH

DEATH

Death has always been a subject of Taboo. People don't want to discuss or talk on death. Death is considered to be an inauspicious subject. A subject which is considered to be negative.

But in reality it is not so. Death is the ultimate climax of life. If you have enjoyed life then you will also enjoy the moment of death. Imagine a world without death. What a boring place it would be with billions and billions of people falling over each other. If there is no death then there cannot be any new life also, as there would be no place to live on this planet earth. The whole cosmos will also not be sufficient to keep all the living beings including trees, animals and humans alive. What a chaotic world it would be.

Because death is there, we are able to enjoy the life, because we know that our journey will come to an end at some point we can enjoy life. It is necessary that we enjoy every moment of our life.

I feel that Osho's thoughts on death are the best. Osho says death is the climax of life. Without death one cannot fully enjoy life. There are number of philosophers and saints who have commented on death.

Swami Ramdas the saint from Maharashtra has written a few shlokas on death in his immortal "Manache Shlok". Manache Shlok is advise given to the mind. In these Manache shlok, Ramdas swami writes:

"When someone dies we are filled with grief and pain, little realizing that we are all in the same queue of death and we are also moving towards death. In another shlok he says everyone feels that he is immortal little knowing that one day suddenly death will come and take him away. Still in another shlok Shri Ramdas swami says that we take great care of our bodies but death takes it away. All the big and powerful people of this world ultimately succumb to death." Countless people who achieved great heights were born and died. Whether Alexander, Napoleon, Ram, Krishna, Dhirubhai Ambani, Tata or Birla all pass away from this world."

If this is so then why do we fight over small issues, why is our ego so big, why do we get nervous, why do we lose sleep over small issues. Why do we criticize, get jealous, envy, hate, lose our peace of mind. Why not enjoy life to the fullest and always be happy and make all others around us happy. Some may say that what difference can one person make, But I say that if each of us decides to be happy, then the whole, family, the whole society, the whole world becomes happy. And a happy world will be a peaceful world, there will be no hatred and no war.

Death and life are the two sides of the same coin. With one you get the other. If you have lived life to the fullest then death should not be a problem. If you are afraid to live life then death will also be a burden. But if you have lived a full life death will be welcome. Death will be like a long rest, a rest without getting disturbed, a rest without having to get up in the morning, a rest to the body where there is no physical pain and absolutely no mental agonies and pain.

If one wants to experience what death will be like, just observe and be aware of the moments just when you are going to fall asleep, observe the deep relaxation that you feel, observe the total state of "let go".That is how we may will feel moments before we die.

O death I welcome you with open arms, as I have lived my life, fulfilled my duties, take me in your arms and let me get the pleasure of again being embraced by my mother without a care in the world. O death I wait for thee to free me from this world which I have enjoyed to the fullest and now I would also like to savor the moment of death, the finale, the climax, the orgasm to a fulfilled life. Death will be orgasmic.

Let us not be afraid to die and instead enjoy the life that GOD has given us.

ACCEPTENCE

ACCEPTENCE

As far as my memory takes me in the past, I remember that I have always been a very aggressive and a very reactive person. The slightest of provocation brought out my most aggressive behavior/reaction to the forefront.

I was always ready to fight and give back. In today's environment especially in our country it is very difficult not to react in organizations such as the nationalized banks, post offices or any government offices. The bureaucratic approach of such organizations always got the better of me making me aggressive and reactive. This used to lead to lots of tensions and mental disturbance.

Over the last couple of years things are changing. I have mellowed down. Perhaps age (now I am 58 years old) is one of the major factors. I have realized that making issues or fighting or reacting just does not help. What happens is that we lose our temper, get angry which affects the health and peace of mind leading to unnecessary turmoil within. Our reacting has no effect on the person at the other end. I have now accepted that I cannot change how these guys behave or act. Now whenever I visit the bank to say update the passbook, the person across invariably says "come tomorrow". I meekly accept give a big smile and go away. This way I avoid all arguments and tensions. This attitude of acceptance has helped me to be non reactive thus leading to internal peace.

What is true in dealing with external organizations is even truer in dealing with near and dear ones. Arguments and ego clashes have no meaning. Each person feels that he or she is right and no one is willing to back off. Thus it is almost impossible to convince the other of your point of view. Best is to leave such issues and arguments alone. Since arguments lead to unnecessary stresses and strains in the relationships. I now accept things as they are and have decided not to react and argue over things on which I may differ. This attitude has definitely helped me to remain peaceful and happy. Needless to say the family members are also very happy.

Let Go

"Let Go" are two very small and simple words having a very simple meaning, but are perhaps the most difficult to practice and implement in real life.

We hold on to so many things in life. Some of them are:

A very big ego which makes us arrogant and inflexible;

A very sensitive nature which results in hurting us over small issues;

Attachments to material things;

All types of desires and wants;

Attachments to loved ones and relatives and friends;

Holding out on our views and opinions and being adamant.

As human beings if we want to achieve a state of mental peace we must learn to "Let Go". Unless we let go we will not be happy and will not attain bliss and peace of mind.

We must "let go" of our big ego, which is the reason for all the turmoil in our lives. We feel as though the whole world is revolving around us, little realizing that the earth will not tilt over its axis on our death and it will go on as before. Hence let go of the ego, let the ego tend to zero and happiness will tend to infinity. Because no ego means no hurt, no insult and hence no mental turmoil.

Try to de sensitize yourself and accept things as they are. Sensitivity is because of expecting too much from others. Let go of your sensitivity and experience the peace of mind that results from the same. Too much sensitivity means too much hurt and too much pain due to non fulfillment of expectations.

Remove your attachments of material things. Too much attachment to material things results in pain in case of loss of those things. It also results in piling up of things which are never used and thus resulting a clutter of things which are rarely used or never used. Clutter creates lot of stress due to blockage of energies. As per the principle of Feng shui learn to throw away things not in use. Experience the peace of mind which results after you clear your desk of unwanted papers, your room of unwanted furniture, articles, your store rooms of all the unwanted and unused item. Let go of all the clutter and experience peace of mind.

Remove all desires and experience the feeling that you are the emperor of the world. As per Vivekananda "beware of the person with no desires for he shall rule the world". It is true because a person without desires does not have any hankering for material things, and like an emperor, all his wants of life (which are limited) are fulfilled and thus he lives like an emperor. Let go of all desires and experience the joy of life. Simple things give so much pleasure, because there are no desires for expensive things and items and hence there is no need to be in the rat race.

Being too attached to our loved ones. Attachment generally brings in a desire to control the others. Thus if expectations are not fulfilled then we get disturbed and upset. Our happiness depends on how the other behaves or how the other reacts to us or what the other feels about us. Thus let go and be free from all attachments. Does it mean we should not be attached to our loved means? No let go means don't expect anything out of the relationship and practice unconditional love. Unconditional loves is achieved when we let go of attachments.

Holding on to our views and opinions and being inflexible in life. Holding on to our views and opinions is like living life with a straight jacket. Just trying to force our opinions on others may give us momentary satisfaction but in the long run it creates lot of ill feelings between our relatives and friends. Let go of this urge to prove your point. Don't force your ideas and thoughts on others. This will lead to lot of peace amongst relatives and friends.

So the mantra for happiness and peace of mind is "LET GO, LET GO, LET GO".