E-Paper
Ways to face death
There is only one thing certain about life and that is death. There is only one thing uncertain, and that is when it will come.
There is only one thing certain about life and that is death. There is only one thing uncertain, and that is when it will come.
In the Bible, death is viewed in the form of an angel sent by God, a being deprived of all voluntary power. While in the Hindu scriptures, you have Yama or Yamaraja, the god of death. As per the scriptures, all the worlds except the earth are temporary places of stay.
Upon one's death on earth, the god of death tallies athe person's good and bad deeds while on earth and decides if the soul goes to heaven or hell, for how long, and in what capacity. It is considered that only from the earth, and only after a human life, can the soul reach supreme salvation, the state free from the cycle of birth and death and the place beyond the 14 worlds where the eternal god lives.
Similarly, Islam says it is our recognition of and preparation for eternity that must separate those who are smart from those who are not.
For those sacred of death, it is simply the fear of the unknown. If we have the courage to face death, then we can accomplish anything. After all, if we don't fear death, what remains to frighten us?
Norman Cousins wrote, "Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live." It is death that makes life a precious gift. We should be constantly aware of death. Because of it, life has value.
An awareness of death allows us to marvel at the miracle of life, understand its frailty. A person who remembers that he will have to stand before his Creator and be accountable for his actions simply cannot defy God. Let's remember, “It is not the soul that burns but the body/ It is not the end of life but the beginning of another phase. It is not a call from devil but from God.”
