Death - a Call to Listen

‘Man you are dust and unto dust you shall go’- the popular Christian phrase do tell us where does this human body belong to. If we closely analyze all the elements in our own body, we realize that we are made of elements that are very much present in the nature, stars and also in the rest of the universe. Let’s not forget that human is also known as star dust.

Birth and death are the two important phases of this human life. In this write up I am interested in discussing a few things regarding the mysterious reality of death and its deeper calling. I do find myself for the past few days reflecting on the subject, given an intense experience of losing one of my friends.

Human dies for the same reason that all things eventually fall back and degenerate into which they are made of. Matter has the final decomposition, built in it. My question here is the same age old question, possibly many of you may have asked; ‘whether this formation and disintegration of human – a mere passive process or an active conscious process by some mysterious being?

I now present before you 3 real life incidents.

Case 1: A few years ago a middle aged man from Kerala, who was quite healthy suddenly calls for his children and near and dear one’s. His move sounded quite strange to the family. After having met and spoken to them for some time, within hours he breathes his last. Did this man know about his death? How?

Case 2: I was in my 10 standard when one night suddenly, after supper, my father started speaking to my mother about some deeper things of life. For me it almost sounded like a farewell speech in a function. There were words of joy and also cautioning her to move ahead with life courageosely.He was quite healthy. Next morning, suddenly his health started deteriorating. And at around 7 in the morning he breathed his last. That was indeed his farewell speech.

Case 3: This is the incident, that affected me a lot recently. It’s about a catholic priest, in his early 50’s. He was happy and at the peak of his health. One night surprisingly he goes to one of his friends ( another priest) for a friendly chat. He seem to have said to his friend, that night, “These days I am very happy and feel overwhelmed. The reality around comes very lively and personally to me. Everything around calls for a deeper intimate communion. I go to the school to teach; I meet children and people and feel the same. I come home, attend mass and there too I hear this call for communion. I go around, look at the nature and there too I feel strongly for the deeper intimate communion. I am overwhelmed.” After this he lived only for a day. Suddenly the day after this sharing, we find him having met with an accident, early in the morning and later he breathed his last in the hospital.

As I reflect on these experiences and specially their last moves, I find it hard to call them all mere coincidenes. There seem to be some communication that they have received in their inner world. It looks like, near death is a state of life where the reality comes very powerfully to human where he is able to listen to the inner voice, even when the world around is very noisy.

I come back to my question again and I think, the making or formation of a human may not be a mere passive process, instead there seems to be some active mysterious reality/ being behind it. Some may call it God and some may not. But we can’t negate the existence of such a reality.

 In the third case, the inner voice or the message, clear says, it’s a call for communion or harmony. This voice here seems to be a voice of the nature and we do find this harmony in the nature.

But should this communion and harmony take place only in death? I believe, this happens and need to happen in everyday life of ours.

As I put things together, death is a call to listen to the deeper reality of life. When, amidst the busy lives of ours, we take time to listen, we do discover a unique and a mysterious inner world within us. When this happens there is a possibility of harmony between one’s inner world and the daily living. Don’t you think such a harmonious living is a beautiful state of life? For a harmonious world within us will indeed create a better humane world around us.

Let’s take time to listen…..