Life, Death and Thereafter

By Mesha Oh

It might sound strange but it is true—the only thing about my future that I can be really, utterly sure of is that, one day or the other, I will die. Yes, one day, I will depart from this world and go I don’t know where. There is nothing else about my future that I can know with such perfect confidence.

Death— departure from the physical body—is something that every being that has taken birth on this planet must necessarily experience.

When I was a child, if I remember rightly, in our home a veil shrouded the phenomenon of death. It was a sort of taboo subject. We would talk about many sorts of things, but this subject was a no-no. Strange, isn’t it? Something that is so universal, something that everybody must face one day or the other (and hence ought to know at least something about), something that is the most momentous event in our life (along with our birth), and yet there was this what might be called a conspiracy of silence about it?

As a young person, I fell in love with the charms of the world. Yielding to almost every unwholesome desire that tugged at my heart, I led a life of great indulgence. Death—my own, I mean—seemed the farthest thing from my mind.

But now, when many decades have passed and when numerous people I personally knew have moved on to a realm beyond this one, the reality of my own death moving closer to me is very real to me. There was a time when my eyesight was excellent, but now I need spectacles to read. My hair is now probably much more white than black. While once I was an avid traveler, these days I prefer spending long stretches of time in quiet in one place. The pace of my walking has slowed, and of late maybe I’m finding it sometimes more comfortable to put two feet on a step while descending a flight of stairs rather than one. And so on—all signs of what is in store for the body.

Yes, my body is growing old, decaying. And one day, it shall give in.

It is good for me to be aware of the reality that I must drop this body and leave this world one day or the other. That way, I can prepare for the inevitable—not just in terms of taking better care of ‘my’ body but also in terms of how I think, speak and act. Knowing that my time here is limited and is depleting with every passing second can inspire me to try to spend the rest of my moments in a more truly meaningful manner.

In recent years, I have been fortunate to be able to meet some inspiring people and read some spiritually nurturing books that provide valuable guidance about life and death. I have learnt, for instance, that:

1. Life continues even after the death of the body.

2. We are the Soul that is eternal, not the body that is perishable. Hence, we do not actually die. When we drop the body, we go elsewhere, like a bird flying out of a cage.

3. Our state in the post-death phase is shaped by the deeds we did while on earth. We will reap what we have sowed. Hence, while on earth, we should live mindfully, doing as much good as we can and restraining ourselves from evil.

I have learnt to look at this life of ours differently. I see it now as a sort of examination that starts at the moment we take birth here and ends with the death of the body that we presently inhabit, after which a new phase of our life begins. Death is thus not something to be dreaded but a fact to be accepted. It is not the final end, but a turning-point to transcend. It is a gateway to a new stretch of life that begins after the examination of this current phase of life gets over.

The way we perform in this ongoing examination—the spiritual quality of our life—determines our life in the stage that follows death. Hence, we must value every moment of life and avail of it in the best possible manner, on the lines taught by the great spiritual Masters. They have all taught the importance of a life of virtue based on God-centricity.

Our life after death crucially depends on how we have lived this phase of our life, our short stay on planet Earth. Every moment we have now is immensely precious, because it can play a huge role in shaping our eternal life. We simply cannot afford to be frivolous about it, because it has such enormous consequences for ourselves.