An article on Fear of Death

[Guest guest]

Fear of Death?

 

Dr. N.V. Koteswara Rao

nvkrao6

13.08.07

 

Hunger, Sleep, Fear and Intercourse are the commonalities in all

living beings in the creation. They are not special for human

beings. These appear to be bodily requirements under normal

conditions (under NTP - Normal Temperature and Pressure). If the

body is suffering from high fever (abnormal Temperature) the

consciousness will be different from the normal. Hunger, Sleep, Fear

and Intercourse will not interest the body any more. Same is the

case when one is under great mental pressure (abnormal Pressure).

 

Fear is that of likelihood of losing what is very dear to oneself.

If it is not very precious, one doesn't bother if it is lost; fear of

losing does not arise in such cases. What is dear to one is not so

dear to another. The value associated with a person/ relationship/

an object / social stature / public image/ or any other which is very

dear to oneself causes the fear of its likely loss; if it is lost

there is no fear there after! Perhaps such a loss may temporarily

upset the loser but it may provide him/her a better understanding or

awareness of his/her failure that caused the loss or may lead him/her

to have a philosophical outlook/ or awareness that it was beyond

one's capabilities and he/she was only incidental/instrumental.

 

It is the fear of likely loss of his kith and kin and the fear of

likely deterioration in the continuance of VarnAshrama Dharma that

caused Arjuna to get baffled in the battle field in the Mahabharata

war. What happened when he lost them? He had no fear thereafter. He

was also taught enough of Philosophy of life by Lord Krishna to over

come this fear. The clarifications given by Lord Krishna made Arjuna

fearless! Now it should be clear that fear is that of unknown! If

one is clear of the cause for either gain or loss, there can neither

be the pleasure of gaining nor the fear of losing. If a patient is

told of his incurable disease and helplessness of the doctors the

patient will reconcile to the inevitable. After a few days of the

patient's suffering, even his attendants will pray for his departure

from this body at the earliest. What happens to their fear of

death? Why and how do they invite Death?

 

The so called equanimity of a Sthita Prajna is experienced by every

individual in all circumstances wherein he is neither involved nor

attached emotionally. So long as one is duty minded these duals will

not affect him. What humanitarian consideration would be shown by a

warrior on the enemy's troop? Would the same warrior be unconcerned

to his own colleague/fellow warrior in his battalion? Why is this

disparity? Aren't both the parties human beings? It is the duty

mindedness that brought the courage to kill the enemy and love to his

fellow warrior, though neither of them is his blood relation or even

an acquaintance except by the colour of his dress!

 

Arjuna lost his Moha when he understood the value of his selfless

service through performing his duty as a warrior. Using Arjuna as a

common man Lord Krishna showed the path of peaceful living by taking

every act of life as a duty being performed by every individual under

the Divine Plan. It is worth noting that Lord Krishna telling Arjuna

that all the persons in the Kaurava's camp are already killed by Him

and that Arjuna was incidental. This should be true of every

individual at all times in all his actions as they are part and

parcel of the Divine Plan!

 

We do not seem to do any thing beyond what is predicted by an expert

foreteller.

 

Seers could say even prior to Ramayana thousands of years earlier

what was going to happen.

 

In KrutaYuga, it was told that one Dasaratha would be born and he

would perform PutrakAmeshTi Yaga with the help of Maharshi

RshyaSrNga.

 

The bird SampAti was told by a Maharshi ten thousand years prior to

SriRama's birth that a group of monkeys would come to Sampati one

day, inform him the death of his younger brother JatAyu and he was

then expected to inform those monkeys that Sita was alive and was in

Lanka at that time. As a pleasant surprise to Sampathi and to the

monkey troop, Sampathi got his lost wing soon after he got into the

sea to offer his tarpanam to his brother, as predicted/ seen by the

Seer/Maharshi ten thousand years prior to this event!

 

Even today we find a number of predictions of great Seers coming true

not only at the Global level but also at the individual levels.

 

Death is merely a sudden transition, from a known form to an unknown

form, fixed in time and space for each living being. One need not

work for it. Nor should one think of ways and means of avoiding it.

It is fixed for every one who is born. Its occurrence can neither be

preponed nor postponed even by a fraction of a second nor can the

place of its occurrence be changed for anyone's convenience.

 

Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that Death is like changing a torn out

dress to a new one. If we are given a new dress would there be any

one clinging to the torn out dress? Then why is the fear of Death?

 

 

Transition from a known form to another known form is a continuous

process and so it goes unnoticed even though it brings in noticeable

and long lasting changes.

 

A new born child is different after a few days, after a few weeks,

after a few months and after a few years. For one who is observing

him continuously, he is the same person. But for one who saw the

babe initially only but didn't see him for a few years, the

continuously transforming baby is totally a different one, different

from the babe he saw/knew initially.

 

This is precisely what Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that He remembers

all the lives He and Arjuna went through and that it made all the

difference!

 

The one who had the remembrance of all the past lives (like the one

who closely noticed the changes that kept on occurring in the babe

could understand the babe's transition) could see the continuity – so

to say Life is a Continuum.

 

It may appear to be very tense and critical but the individual

survives. See a very interesting video clipping at

http://youtube.com/watch?v=LU8DDYz68kMtathat shows how a buffalo calf

survives from a herd of about eight lions and a crocodile!

 

It is interesting to note that no individual knows how and when the

death would occur to him. Even those who predict correctly either

through Astrology or through Palmistry (like Chairo) can not prevent

it ( as it is against Nature).

 

The cause of death appears to be an alibi but it appears to be a time

out from this world. We hear some one died after sneezing, some one

slept and didn't wake up at all, some one died in an accident, some

one died of reaction to a medicine etc.

 

One instance that showed the inevitability of its fatality was

narrated as follows:

 

This is an event that occurred a few years ago. There used to be a

cinema hall at Secunderabad till very recent years though only its

name exists still. The owner of that theatre one day asked his

manager to go to Madras to fetch a newly released film from the

distributors. He bought a first class railway ticket for his manager

and saw him off at Secunderabad railway station. After coming out of

the platform, he met one of his close friends who was his well

wisher. When he told the purpose of his sending his manager to

Madras, his friend suggested that he (owner of the theatre) should

have gone instead of sending his manager as one could make money by

selling the film to some one else. It appeared to be reasonable to

the owner and he immediately chased the train in his car and caught

it at Bhongir, the next stop for that express train. He told his

manager to get back to Secunderabad in the car and that he would go

to Madras in his place. The manager returned from Bhongir. Within a

few minutes after the train left Bhongir it got on to a bridge

crossing a rivlet which had a flash flood and the bridge was washed

away. The bogie containing the first class compartment wherein the

theatre owner was traveling fell into the rivlet. The owner was no

more. See how one went to catch his death and how the other is forced

to get out of the same death bogie!

 

There is an interesting story of Puranic origin. Once Lord Yama went

to see Lord Vishnu. Garuthman was standing near the door. Garutman

greeted Yama. Yama went inside to see Lord Vishnu. Garuthman saw a

parrot shuddering with fear of death, after Lord Yama went inside to

meet Lord Vishnu. The parrot told Garuthman that he was frightened

as Lord Yama smiled at him while going inside.

 

Garuthman reassured the parrot that he would put the parrot in a safe

place where no one else can reach. He placed the parrot in a hole

inside a tree in an island after crossing seven oceans. He quickly

returned to his Lord's place. Soon Lord Yama came out and saw

Garuthman gasping out of restlessness after a long fly. He asked

Garuthman why he was gasping. Garuthman told Yama the episode of the

parrot that occurred during Yama's meeting with Lord Vishnu and his

hurried flying to save the parrot from death was causing him a little

gasping. Garuthman asked Yama why he smiled at the parrot. Yama

replied that he was wondering at the impracticality of the Divine

Plan that this parrot, in next few minutes, should become the prey

for a snake in a hole in a lonely tree in an island seven oceans away

from there. Yama then told that the Divine Plan had worked well and

it can never be impractical!

 

Lord Krishna assures the life after death and says that He is aware

of the innumerable lives he had gone through. If this is what He

could see and say why should one be aftraid of Death? The fear of

unknown would be with us for ever. Even if we have to go to a new

place for the first time, however much we are assured of the safety

and the likely path we have to follow, the fear haunts us until we

reach the place safely! In spite of so many instances occurring in

our presence, Lord Krishna's assurances, and of many Puranic

evidences that confirm the inevitability of Death and continuance

there after why is any one afraid of Death except for the likely loss

of " his " kinsmen, " his " ownership and " his " body, the vehicle

through which he has been enjoying the whole Nature and the worldly

pleasures. If he is aware of what happens after Death, he would tune

his mind accordingly and there would be no fear of Death. He would

reconcile to his retirement from his duties on this earth and would

be willing to take up his assignments in a newer place as per the

Divine Plan like an employee on transfer by his employer to an

unknown place! One would hear only bad things about the new place

and would be afraid of that place. After reaching there he would

realise that it was not such a bad one any way. It is his confidence

in him and in the Divine Plan that gets him courage to face any

oddities whether he is in this world or when he leaves it to wear a

new dress as Lord Krishna said.

 

Thus the statement " MAA BHI BHIR NA MARISHYASI "

-ATHARVANA VEDA 5-30-8 (Ref: www.telugubhakti.com Digest Number 672ý,

VOICE OF THE RISHIS:75, posted by jajisarma jajisarma on

Sat Aug 11, 2007 9:11 am (PST) )

" Fear not of Death, You will not Die " is understandable and is

practical.