In the previous episode, we’ve continued with the important discussion between Yudishtra and Sage Vyaasa wherein Sage Vyaasa is quoting a conversation that happened between Sage Naarada and King Akampana, who in turn quotes a conversation that took place between Bhagawan Brahma and Mrithyu Devata. Readers should understand the sequence clearly here – Two people, Sage Naarada and then Sage Vyaasa are talking about the same conversation between Bhagawan Brahma and Mrithyu Devata in different settings and in different time frames. But the story is the same. Mrithyu Devata feels extremely sad upon being given the duty to supervise the death of living beings in this world. However, Bhagawan Brahma consoles her that she will not be held responsible for any death that happens in the world, and that, she is only performing her duty towards the betterment of the world. Moreover, Bhagawan Brahma also assures her that she will not be touched by “Paapa Karma” in this pursuit. Also, Bhagawan Brahma assures her that there will be a time for her to attain “Moksha” too, and she shouldn’t worry too much about it at the moment.
Even though Bhagawan Brahma convinces her so much, Mrithyu Devata is not very happy. She goes to several “Punya Kshetras” to perform extreme “Tapas”, which helps her build herself physically and mentally to perform this daunting task of inducing death, seeing people cry profusely and to see them suffer. On the way, she meets Yama-Dharma-Raja, who explains a very important point to her regarding death. Yama-Dharma-Raja explains that death is a “temporary phenomenon” wherein people will cry for a day or two and then will move on with it. Nobody will give importance to the person who has passed away, after that brief period of grief. That grief will not be long lasting. As people start seeing death in front of them, slowly and steadily they will start understanding that death is very similar to birth. Just like how we take birth from a mother’s womb, death is also inevitable. In other words, all living beings who take birth in this world, have to die some day. This is the law of the world and as people start seeing death of their own near and dear ones, they will start understanding this point clearly. Hence, the more deaths we see in front of us as we progress in life, the more mature we will become.
Similarly we might have seen this in many people – They will be undergoing some suffering or the other for a long period of time. After a while, they will get used to the suffering and it will no longer be a pain for them! For instance, if we go and ask someone who has seen three or four consecutive deaths in the family, and if there’s a fifth or a sixth death, they would have learnt to take it lightly! They will never feel this fifth death as a great loss at all! Similarly, a mother who is giving birth to a child for the first time will feel a lot of pain during the process. However, if the same mother is giving birth to three or four children will slowly start getting used to the pain and will not feel it much. In similar lines, there are so many diseases in this world in today’s context which don’t have a cure straightaway. For instance, there are many people suffering from several types of cancer, isn’t there? Do all cancers have treatments to cure it completely? The answer is “No”! However, with medication, we can prolong the lifespan of the person and this is exactly what people are doing. However, even with medication, the pain that is caused by the cancerous growth in the body is not going to come down. But, we get used to the pain, since it is always there in our body!
As this is the case with diseases and us, similar is the case with death too. As time progresses, people will get used to the “new way of life” without their near and dear ones who might have passed away. Moreover, Yama-Dharma-Raja raises an important question, which is pertinent to our thought process too – If a person is going to live without death for more than a 100 years in this world, what will the other relatives around him / her feel about it? Firstly, will they like us to be alive for that long? Beyond a point, even if we are alive, people around us will start losing interest in us. We ourselves would have seen this in daily life – If a father is more than 90 years old and is still alive, at one point in time, the son / daughter will start talking thus – “Oh! He has finished all his duties! What is the purpose of him being alive now? It is better that he passes away quickly!” It was the same father whom the son and daughter were worshipping all these years. However, we should look at the change in mindset now – Irrespective of whether the father is 40 years old or 90 years old, does the relationship change? Any given day, the father is going to be a father and the son is going to be a son. However, what has changed now? The fact of the matter here is that, as we age, people will not be ready to take care of us anymore. People around us who are near and dear to us will slowly start deserting us. This is the fact of life and we’ve to understand this. If we’re able to grasp this reality of life, we will start welcoming death with ease. Whereas, if we fill our minds with attachments towards all our people around and on materials, we will get more and more scared to face death!
So for today, let us understand this point very clearly and we shall wait till the next episode to continue this discussion further! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 