Swaroop King

Swaroop King
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Thursday 14 February 2013

DEATH AND ITS REVELATIONS

The most certain thing in this world is death. And the most uncertain is life.- Swaroop

Two days back, I received a call from my home that my Granny is struggling with life and the doctors are not giving any assurance. She is around 90 years old, and now a days where crossing 70s has become quite a miracle for a man, her death cannot be termed as untimely. I didn't even switch off the TV and am certain that she would recover, as it happened many times to her. In the next five minutes I got another call that she has passed away.My mother was crying over the phone and strangely I could sense a gloom surrounding me. As far as I know, I am the psychologically strongest person I ever know. Ever since I have decided to prefer looking at things from a pure logical perspective to an emotionally attached manner, I have found death and life quite alike in the manner they amuse me. Infact death is a bigger joke than life. I have read a story somewhere where a son asks father whether he would cry if he dies, the father replies "Death is a liberation. Why cry?" I cant argue against that statement, not because I am a pessimist but because I believe that death is what makes life complete. Having such an ideology, I found it strange finding myself being stricken with grief over the news of death of an old woman. My mind began to ponder over the innumerable questions popping up. We all know that death is certain. But why do we term it as a tragedy?

Imagine that a doctor has told you that you have cancer. That very second, the whole world surrounding you begins to look different. Your definitions of life and happiness will change, the way you talk and treat will change, the way you enjoy things change. The way you enjoy life will undergo a complete reformation. We all enjoy the luxury of not knowing when we die, and thats what makes us free from the fear of death. Lets say, you know the date of your death. Even if it is 120 years away from today, you cant help but begin to count days. Even if you drink a glass of water, you will begin to enjoy every drop of it, as you feel that you cannot drink even a single drop once your life ends. But in our every day life, we do never value the little pleasures of life as we take them for granted. We unconsciously think that we live forever, and are blinded to the pleasures that accompany by "savoring" each minute of life.  So what is it that has made your glass of water enjoyable? Is it your life that you assume as unending or the death that makes you value the little things of life? That is the reason I say death is what makes life complete. Death is the boon that we all are given to enjoy the greater boon of life. because only when death comes into picture, you begin to value your life. The fact that it has an end, creates the inevitable feelings associated with it.

While there are people who are on bed for years, longing to die but cannot, people who are struggling with their health but couldn't eat a single piece of idli, people who are going through pain each and every second of their life, for whom even watching the sun set is a luxury, we normal people in our everyday life are passing hundreds of sunsets without realizing the beauty of it, eating quintals of food, without the awareness of what a blessing it is, spending days and years of life without acknowledging the value of it. Because we look at death like a distant stranger always far away. But the truth is that death sits right beside you every second of your life. Death travels on every vehicle on the road, death is dancing on every top floor, in every electric device, in every chemical and in every atom of the universe. Such delicate is life. The fragile web of happiness surrounds you, and you dont kow when it collapses. "Life is short" is a statement often heard. but no. Life is long. Death is short. it would not give you the time to rewind all the pleasant moments of your life before passing away. It would come simply like a whirlwind.

Living long enough doesnt make it a good life. You would not be there after you die to count how many years you have lived. Once you die its all the same whether you have lived for 10 days or 100 years. The people you leave behind , may inherit your wealth or curse you for the sebts you have passed to them but they are of no meaning to you because that "you" caeses to exist once your chapter completes. What difference does it make to you? You wont be there to see or feel it. Its unimaginable to imagine that you dont exist. The world after you or the world before you fade into utter insignificance in the light of the fact that its only the present that is in your control, atleast partially.

Now I am understanding the gloom surrounding me. Death is inevitable for everyone. It is something you cant escape, whatever you do. Thats why we all can relate to it. Let me savor each moment of my life. Let me enjoy every glass of water, every drop of dew, every word I hear, every place I visit. The world has nothing in it to be termed as beautiful. But "it all can vanish and never return" is what makes you look at it with reverence.

Enjoy each moment to its fullest. Life is temporary

--Swaroop