Death is Certain
The death of the body is certain,
No 'body' can escape from it.
It's not the end but just a bend,
Not many bust this myth.
Death, in the true sense, is an illusion. It seems like somebody has died. But in reality, only some 'body' has died. Death happens only to the body, not to the one who was alive inside. Because we don't realize this truth, we suffer through life. Most of us never learn two major lessons about life and death.
First of all, the body is only an instrument of action. It acts at the behest of the ME – Mind and Ego. What I want to do, and what my mind thinks and feels, is enacted by the body. The body through its actions creates Karma. Based on these actions, our life unfolds day after day as per the Law of Karma.
Death is certain. One day, the body will die. The life in our body will escape, and the one who was alive, the person with a name and an identity, will not exist any more. But death is not ‘The End’. It only finishes one chapter for the ME – the Mind and Ego, who ‘passes on’, who ‘departs’, and who we believe is ‘no more’. The ME will start a new chapter in a new body. Because we don't realize this, we don't live life the way we should.
Those who understand the truth about death, try to live a life of good Karma. They know that there is life beyond death, and they realize that they are in charge of their destiny. They understand the Law of Karma. They accept and surrender to it. But there are others who view death very differently. They mourn and cry when they see a person die. They don't realize that nobody can escape from death. When we are born, nothing is certain, except death. Then why do people fear death? Why are people unable to face the final moment of life? It is because we have not understood Life. We have ignored some important facts about the truth of life and death which are covered in this Life Manual.
There are a few people who go beyond understanding life and death. They realize that there is a way to escape from rebirth after death. They learn how to overcome the triple suffering of the body, mind and ego. They realize the truth that will liberate them from returning again and again as the ME - Mind and Ego, birth after birth, based on its Karma.
Those who realize the ultimate truth about death, don't mourn death. In fact, they celebrate it because they realize that death is the doorway to our ultimate destination. Not only do they understand that nobody can escape from death, they also realize that death is the only way for a human being to be liberated from the cycle of death and rebirth and to ultimately unite with the Divine.
Why then does the whole world suffer from the fear of death? Why do we cry when we see somebody die? There is no way for anybody to escape from the reality of death. Moreover, aren't we clear about the fact that when we see the mortal remains of somebody, we know that the dead body is not the person who was alive? It is just the mortal remains of the one who was alive! Although it is absolutely clear to us, why are we gripped with fear at the moment of death?
Death teaches us many lessons. It shows us that the one who was alive leaves everything behind. It opens our eyes to the fact that all relationships are temporary and transitory. It reminds us that nothing belongs to us, and there is no sense in being attached to possessions and people. Death also reveals that all our problems and suffering will ultimately end one day. Most important of all, death teaches us that the end of life, is not 'The End', it's only a bend.
Still, although all this is crystal clear, we continue to live in ignorance, and we suffer. We suffer through life and we suffer death, although, life and death are both to be celebrated. The moment of death which is certain must be accepted in surrender and every death that crosses our path, as we traverse the journey of life, must remind us of the lessons about the reality of death and beyond.
The wise ones prepare for the ultimate moment of death as they live. They are ready to die, although they know that death is in the hands of the Divine. When and how we will die, seems predestined, not based on fate or serendipity, but on our own past actions, our Karma. While we have the free will to choose our actions, it seems that we do not have the liberty to choose our death.
Some people end their life by committing suicide. They think that by ending their life they can escape from all their problems and miseries. What they don't realize is that when we put an end to our life through a death which is not as per our destiny, we are interrupting the natural law. This act will inflict upon us an equal amount of suffering, if not more than what we were experiencing when we were alive. We may have ended the life of our body by committing suicide, but the ME, the Mind and Ego will take rebirth and suffer. We will have to face our carried forward Karmic account. There is no way to escape from it. Such is the law of life and death.
IN A NUTSHELL