Death

The only thing no one can escape is death. From the day we are born, death is already waiting for us. It is certain. It is inevitable. So is there any reason to be afraid of it?

And yet we are afraid. Why?

Maybe because we feel we will lose everyone we love. Maybe because of the responsibilities we carry. If I go now, who will do all of this? A man with small children thinks about them. He thinks about his wife, about how they will manage without him. There are many such reasons.

Death comes at any time, without warning. Some die the moment they are born. Some die young. Some die in the middle of life, when the whole family depends on them — death does not care about those responsibilities. If it wants to take that person, it takes him. Others live more than a hundred years.

Death does not care about your position, your beauty, your talent. Whatever you are, whatever you have achieved, it treats every living being the same. When it decides to take you, it comes suddenly, and it takes you. It can come in any form — disease, an accident, old age, anything.

Every second, every minute, every day that passes, we move closer to it.

So should we normalize death? I think yes. When we think about death, we should not be afraid of it. When someone dies, should we be frightened by that event? I don't think so, because we already know the truth: death can come at any time.

Then why do we fear it — not only our own death, but the death of the people close to us? Perhaps because every death reminds us that one day the same thing will happen to us, and we will no longer exist in this world. That is what frightens us.

There is also another reason: we don't know what comes after death. Is there anything at all? We don't know, and that not-knowing creates fear.

Suppose we knew for certain that after death there is only happiness. No suffering. Only whatever we wish for. Would we still be afraid? No — we would be excited about death. Many of us would want to leave immediately, dropping every responsibility behind. Maybe that is exactly why the higher power kept it hidden from us.

Why does one person die immediately after birth, another in youth, another in the middle of life, and another only after a hundred years? Who decides this? Only death knows the answer, because only death knows whom to take and when. Or is there someone above death, giving the order — go to this person, bring him?

Maybe death is the bridge between this life and whatever comes after. After death, the body is buried or burned. It merges into the soil and becomes part of the earth again.

But is there something inside that body which represents this body in this life — something that leaves the body when death comes? The Bhagavad Gita calls it the soul.

Suppose death itself is guided by some higher power. Then where does that soul go? Does it return to the same higher power? Or does the soul's journey with this particular body simply end here, and it moves on into another body?

Is death the path to a new life? And if we are going to be given a new life anyway by ending this one, then is there any purpose in receiving that new life — or even in living this one? Maybe when death arrives, it will let us know the reason. Or maybe we are meant to find the truth ourselves.

What matters is finding that truth — the purpose of death, and whether it really leads us into another life, or somewhere else altogether. While walking on a path, if we know there is a big hole ahead, we avoid that path. In the same way, if we know the truth, maybe we can avoid this cycle — being born, dying, being born again, dying again — if that is really what happens. But how do we find that truth? We have to search for it. And how do we search? I don't know. Maybe the higher power itself will guide us, if we truly want to know.

Thinking this way, death starts to become interesting. What is there on the other side? What truth is waiting to be known? Will it show me the higher power, if such a power exists? Will it take me to some other place? Wherever it takes me, if there is any clue about the truth, I will try to catch it.

So when death comes to me, I will try to embrace it. I will hug it and say: lead me to the next path.

Death ends everything that belongs to you — your property, your anger, your greed, your happiness, the bad in you, the good in you, the name you earned. All of it ends, and then it takes you.

So do not be afraid. Accept the reality that death can come at any time. Death is not scary. It is only doing its duty, the way the sun and the moon do theirs.

Just as birth is a part of us, death is a part of us too. Do we hate our own eyes or our own hands? Do we fear them? No — because they are ours. Death is ours in the same way. So embrace it, and go wherever it takes you.

But before it comes, live the life that lies between birth and death. Try to be happy. Try to make others happy. Watch nature, explore it, and try to know yourself. Who knows — maybe the soul keeps a record of everything we do here, and maybe there is a chance that it is revealed after death, perhaps to the higher power itself. Maybe there is a chance.

Do good. Be good. Be happy.

"Death" — I love you.