If you get rid of your desire for worldly attachments, you conquer the fear of death
In this otherwise uncertain world, the only certainty perhaps is death. We all know the inevitable that all life comes to an end and it is death which is that end. Yet, almost all human beings dread at the very thought of being dead and do all that is possible to avoid it. The realisation that death is only a part of life is the way to live a full life. It has to be understood that no one has been able to escape death, so the trick lies is living every moment to its fullest, till death strikes.
There is an interesting parable from the life of Gautam Buddha who encountered a woman shocked with the death of her son. The grief-stricken mother had come to Buddha asking for a boon to bring the young son alive. Buddha tried to explain the woman that death was the most glaring of the realities of life. But she would not listen. Seeing the insistence of the grieved woman, Buddha apparently seemed to relent and told her that he would bring her son to life. But in order to do that he needed some flour. As soon as the woman heard this, she got up to get the flour. But Buddha said that it was not any flour that would work. She needed to bring flour from that household where no one had died. Still not able to see reason, she set out to fetch flour from the household that had not faced death. She went on asking for the flour household after household, but was refused as there was no household which was free from death or which didn’t experience death. Desperation gave way to dejection as the woman came back to Buddha and said that she failed to find a household where no one had ever died. Then Buddha told her that how death could spare her household if it had spared none. Hearing this, the woman could understand mistake. Death is unavoidable. According to Sri Aurobindo, this world was built by death. If we abolish death, life too will perish. Death is the ultimate end of life.
Why does then the fear of death stalk every personIJ It is the attachment to the worldly things and the consequent desire to possess and keep the possessions till eternity that cause the fear of death. With age the craving for worldly possessions increases and so does the attachment to the possessions. Thus, human beings start fearing death. If one is not attached to his possessions, there will be no fear of death. All that one needs to realise is that this world is a temporary abode that has to be left one day. If one wishes to escape from the fear of death, then that person should not bind himself or herself to anything perishable. Fear of death is nothing but the fear of losing the connection with attachments. If you can conquer your desire for attachments, you can conquer the fear of death. One who fears death has already been vanquished by it. So, every moment has to be lived fearlessly, without worrying about how many moments one has to live.
The writer is professor, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad (Jharkhand). He can be reached at ppathak.ism@gmail.com