The fear of death, anxiety or the fear of a close ones dying is a big one. More so after the pandemic and this has affected the relationship dynamics with self and others. We like it or not, birth and death are not in our control. And anything not in our control makes us anxious and fearful. Life is seen, experienced and felt but death is not, that is what makes it difficult to understand or completely misunderstood.

The objective of this piece is to warm up to the idea of death and that it will happen to everyone so why fear it? Awareness brings understanding to deal with situations in a more evolved way.  It is said the even biggest, strongest and mightiest conqueror cannot evade death. However, once we conquer the fear of death, we can live each day to the fullest.

In chapter 2, verse 27 of the most revered text, The Bhagavad Gita, Krishna talks about, “Death is certain for one who has been born, and rebirth is inevitable for one who has died. Therefore, you should not lament over the inevitable.”

We are not getting into the debatable alley of rebirth. The eternal truth is that death is inevitable, knowing the process can make the journey easier, less fearful and more enlightened. Of course, we can never be as prepared for death as Krishna or Christ albeit a little knowledge can make it familiar. According to some scriptures, writings, books and other material, dying is a detailed process, what we see is a quick exit.

The process of dying involves an appointed time, however we may be given at least three chances in a life time. This information is assuming the body that we posses is just a vehicle or a rented apartment. We are the soul. Soul is nothing but pure energy. Before the appointed time the body releases certain death hormone and the soul releases picture images in the bloodstream. This is akin to watching a movie based on the life review. It is considered to be the mercy of nature or universe to give time to the dying person to do a life review, feel happy and ask or give forgiveness if required.

Interestingly, we die every day. During sleep the soul leaves the physical body to go into the astral world registered in the brain through dreams. However, it is connected to the physical body through an energetic thread. The times when you felt a thud while asleep was when the soul returned to the body.  This is a gentle preparation towards eventual death of the physical body.

I am sure this information maybe a bit uncomfortable and hence I dug out some research on dying patients and here is what I found.  Neuroscientists have discovered rhythmic brain wave patterns around the time of death that are similar to those occurring during dreaming, memory recall, and meditation. Now, a study published to ‘Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience’ brings new insight into a possible organizational role of the brain during death and suggests an explanation for vivid life recall in near-death experiences. “Through generating oscillations involved in memory retrieval, the brain may be playing a last recall of important life events just before we die, similar to the ones reported in near-death experiences,” Dr Ajmal Zemmar, a neurosurgeon at the University of Louisville, US, who organized the study.

He further added “Something we may learn from this research is: although our loved ones have their eyes closed and are ready to leave us to rest, their brains may be replaying some of the nicest moments they experienced in their lives.”

This information assists us to help our dear ones in the last stage of this lifetime. The dying or the dead are in a state to review the life gone by hence should be given respect and the right environment. Prefer to keep the surroundings calm, serene and not too much of wailing or crying. The expression of crying is more for the people living to accept and deal with the loss. The body is lifeless and the soul is trying to find its journey beyond. The soul deserves a happier and seamless departure to its right place. 

Soothing music, mantras, lamp, flowers, incense, etc can help the soul to move forward. Unnecessary attachment, wailing, negative thoughts can hinder this process.

As we practice to die each day in our sleeping state, we can practice to live each moment to the fullest during the awake state.

There is light of love for life shining within us, always.