The Mystery of Death

The Mystery of Death As we approach the final adventure which will take us alone and uncertain into the unknown realm of death, each of us speculates upon what will lie beyond. As Socrates said when he faced his own execution, there are only two possible outcomes. Either death is complete oblivion, a final extinction, as in the Judaic view in which nothing but decay lies beyond the grave, or there is an afterlife. It is the nature of this possible afterlife that creates fear and speculation. If our understanding and expectation of the afterlife was an eternal, joyful life with the Creator of the universe, death would be welcomed. Francis Bacon wrote "Men fear death as children fear to go into the dark." Death is a great mystery. What happens to a creature or human at the time of death? How does this being full of animation and consciousness one moment suddenly become inanimate and vulnerable to the forces of putrefaction? What happens to the energy we call life and the persona that exemplifies it? Does it evaporate into nothingness? Does it pass into another dimension? Does it migrate or reincarnate to another life form? Western churches and Eastern mystics have postulated various destinies for this elusive energy which we call soul. Traditional Christianity has polarized this unknown realm of death into Heaven and Hell, a useful device for exerting moral order in the here and now. Those who have committed sins as defined by the church are told that they will be condemned to eternal torment in the bowels of Hell. Those who have led a good life and obeyed the "commands of God" will spend eternity in the presence of deity, joining the feathered and haloed choirs singing the praises of god depicted as an old bearded man. In the middle is Purgatory, the realm where redeemable sins are expiated. The eastern traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism suggest that our souls will pass through many incarnations suffering for all our misdeeds until finally they realize the pure state of Nirvana and ultimate non-existence or reabsorption into Brahma. Again, the belief in reincarnation enforces moral order. The form taken by each earthly sojourn depends upon our behaviour and moral character in a previous life. We are given many chances to "get it right". In either case, western or eastern culture, the fear is there. Have we led our lives well enough to avoid the pangs of Hell, the tedium and pain of living another life in a lesser form? I strive to abolish this fear of death. Death should be a joyful event, a returning home to the Creator who so lovingly placed us upon this earth. As Hegel said, death helps the soul to join the Creator. Death is eliminating a physical body which prevents the soul from joining the Creator who is pure energy and not matter. Death is very similar to birth. A fetus within the mother's womb enjoys all the protection and security until its time of birth arrives. Then the muted, dark, warm world it has known throughout its being changes catastrophically. Slowly and painfully it is squeezed out from the uterus and enters into an unfamiliar, alien environment of blinding light and noise. For the first time, it feels being suffocated and the need of air and oxygen. It howls in terror. It thinks this is a catastrophe. When it howls, air enters its lungs and the danger is eliminated.. It is a new beginning. The infant does not realize all these. It realizes only the deprivation of oxygen and suffocation which brings about the threat of death and the consequent howl. Though the infant howls for air out of agony and fear the howl is nature's device to let in the air necessary for life. Death is like that. We fear death and cry. But in a moment, we are in that other world and our predecessors who are in the spirit world awaiting our arrival come to meet us. Though we are afraid, they who were already there are happy that we are arriving to join them. Even the process of death as reported by those who recount near death experiences is somewhat similar to birth. The person senses passage through a long, dark tunnel towards a blinding light. To an observer of the phenomenon of death, the visible reality of change is confirmation that our carnal being is subject to decay and dissolution. The matter with which the physical body is constructed will be returned to the earth. It will dissolve and will be absorbed by the plants and worms. Death is the grand finale of the soul's existence in this physical body but it is not the grand finale of existence of the soul. At death, the soul discards the body and assumes its spiritual non- rnmaterial state. When it discards the material body it becomes free from the limitations of matter. It can travel at the speed of thought, much greater than the speed of light. Spiritual substances rnwhich were invisible before become visible and communication with other spirits becomes possible. It retains the power to stay at the earthly level or join the Creator along with the billions who have already joined Him/Her. We need not fear death. It is a returning home.