Death – for everyone, right?

It seemed to be a very dark topic to take up when I initially thought of it last week. But it seemed like a very prevalent theme throughout the week. If the Mayans were right and the world actually ends in about fourteen days, then it’s pretty much a hot-topic of discussion.

Oh there is so much I want to say but I am not sure where to start (rubs hands gleefully). Death is something everyone and every religion on the face of earth focuses on, whether it is the fear of death, after-death promises or the circle of life and death. It is very interesting to see the effects of such threats and promises. I always imagine one of those Walt Disney cartoon-like groups of mice. They have this one tyrant that rules over thousands of mice, and once the tyrant is done with his (it is usually a male) speech about the consequences of not obeying his orders, he claps his hands and the thousand poor mice scurry about to meet the requirements more out of fear than anything else.

I do not wish to disrespect anyone by comparing them to rats (if it is any help, I’m one too), but I feel that the tyrant would be the contemporary religious leaders who force their ideology on the masses through force. The major religions – Christianity and Islam promise us a wonderful heaven (or jannat) of riches and comforts if we follow their principles. Other religions promise us a better re-incarnation, a better life, or a break from the cycle of birth-and-death – nirvana, the state of ultimate bliss. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with believing in any particular religion. It is what we do with that belief that I wish to talk about.

Our approach to these promises is rather interesting. Most of the time, we scurry about in our lives, going about our lives to achieve something. Till the age of 18, we’re in school. Then we begin to worry about our future (some begin to worry a little earlier than that), go to university and secure a job to get some experience and then go on with our search for our dream job. Somewhere along the way, or right after getting a job, we get married, have kids, work hard to settle them, and then get them married, fight with their partners in life and so on. If anywhere along the way, one were to ask them what they have earned in their life that wasn’t material, they would look at you funny and say, “We’re still young. Why should we worry about that? Or “It’s better to earn money now when we can so we have a comfortable retirement and then we can worry about what immaterial earnings we need to have”.  These answers, these very prevalent ideologies never fail to amaze me.

Ever since I was a kid, I could see myself between the age of 25 and 30, teaching students in a school or university (depending on my age as a kid). I never saw myself beyond that age. Many people have already made their retirement plans, their marriage plans and plans for their kids’ marriages by the time they are 20. And then this is what they work towards in their life. My conversation with my classmates yesterday made me stop and realize that even now, at 22, I do not see myself beyond 30. I have nothing that I would be striving towards after that. In a way, I plan to achieve everything I wish to by 30. Maybe that is why I take up a thousand things at a time. Almost as though time is too precious to waste not doing anything.

Does that mean I have some sort of Mayan premonition that I don’t have that many more years to live? Or is it my short-sightedness that has affected my mind? Either way, it makes me realize the futility (if I may call it that) of a lot of things that others my age indulge in. In many ways, it works as an impetus to do something worthwhile with my time. I find myself identifying very strongly with this video (a big step-up from a rat) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Wf8yEb1cwY. We may not see the clock ticking on our heads but there most certainly is one that is ticking.

How do we know if we have thirty years more to live or three or maybe not even that? Is that a morose outlook to have? But why is it that talking of death is treated with such disdain and mistrust? Why does talking about death have to be gloomy? Why is it that we do our best to forget that inevitable end of life? It IS the truth. Wouldn't it be better if we accepted it and lived our lives like we were going to die tomorrow? It is easy to say, I know. Well, if you want, live your life as though you only have one year to live. That’s not as bad, is it? And the fact of the matter is that most of the things we strive to achieve in life - wealth, fame and friends, are not going to be able to help us when the time comes.

Is it really that better to have your dead body taken in a limousine than on a flat bed of wood? How does it matter when you wouldn’t have your senses to feel the comfort or the lack of it? All I know is that I don’t want my last conscious thought to be one of regret and that if the world were to indeed end on the 23^rd, I would die without any.