Happy New Year 2021

WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY, HEALTHY, PROSPEROUS AND PURPOSEFUL NEW YEAR 2020

Tuesday, December 24, 2024

MY JOURNAL-8: LIFE AND DEATH


As one grows old, it is only natural that one starts thinking about death and looks back at the life he has lived. 

More often than not, both could be unpleasant.  For most old people, their life could be more of disappointment.  For, almost no one gets the life he dreamt of in his youth.  Even for many successful people, there might be some grey areas where life had been unkind and unsatisfying.

Usually, when somebody says that he has no regrets in his life, I feel like kicking him, out of sheer jeslousy. For, my life has been full of regrets, of things done and not done. 

On the other side is the inevitable end,  which nobody can escape.  So what people do? They look for preferable options of death, dying in sleep peacefully with a smile on the face.  At least for the sake of people who visit him after death to say: "What a beautiful death! He must have done a lot of punyam, tapas!! Or, he was such a nice man and his peaceful death in sleep only confirms it".

Unfortunately, nobody has this option. Whatever comes to your lot, you will have to accept it. Grin and bear it! Oh sorry! you don't have that privilege also, after death. 

Good death and bad death. This belief is there almost in every culture.  If one dies an unpleasant or gruesome death, people could comment: "What sins and atrocities did he not commit!"

Off from these morose and murky topics.

There are some interesting quotes about life and death.  Let us peruse them and end this article with a positive, if not joyful outlook.

The English generally go to Shakespeare or Johnson for an interesting quote. My first choice is Shakespeare.

This quote I got from my beloved dad, who always enjoyed good English and good jokes.

"Life is as tedious as s twice-told tale, Vexing the dull ear of a drowsy man". 

Now I entreat you to visualize the quote, step by step or word by word, slowly and patiently. You will definitely enjoy it. If not, you will have to blame yourself only, sorry!

Next is also from Shakespeare. 

"Life is but an empty dream, full of sound and fury signifying nothing".

Learn to laugh at yourself and your own frailties and foibles. Then life could be a real joke, which you can enjoy. 

Now to turn to a profound and thought-provoking quote from Swami Vivekananda. 

He takes both life and death together and weaves a magic of tapestry, which never failed to make me happy. Further,  it is a three-dimensional quote. Here it goes:

Strength is Life,
Weakness us Death.

Wow! He exhorts us uo be strong and not yield to weaknesses,  feebleness, temptations and every other evil. To be more explicit: Be strong, my young friends; that is my advice to you. You will be nearer to Heaven through football than through the study of the Gita. These are bold words; but I have to say them, for I love you.

Now the second part:

Expansion is Life,
Contraction is Feath. 

We all started life as a tiny sperm, grew in our mother's womb and born as a tiny tot, beautiful baby (at least for the parents); then kept on growing; childhood, youth, adulthood, old age.

In other words, we began as a tiny dot, and kept on expanding. The circle kept on widening to embrace our beloved mother,  loving father, quarrelsome siblings,  argumentative friends, nosy relatives; our street, our town, our state, our country, world and finally, you try to become one with the Cosmos! That is real Expansion!! 

If you stagnate at any one level, sorry! You know when a stream keeps on flowing, you like it, use it, maybe bathe in it. Once it stagnates, it becomes a gutter and starts to stink to heaven. So also with life. Never stagnate, keep on flowing with life till you become one with the Cosmos.  That is fulfillment!

Now to the last part:

Love is Life,
Hatred is Death

What a beauty! Christ and Christians say: God is LOVE. Hindu sages say; ANBE SIVAM.

Henry Drummond, in his little booklet, establishes the fact beyond doubt by calling and proving it logically as THE GREATEST THING IN THE WORLD (a spiritual classic starting from the Corinthians of the Bible: free download available).

On the other hand, Hatred is a poison. It poisons and kills the hater.  Modern science has also confirmed it. (Hatred poisons the hater, damaging their mental and physical health, breeding anxiety, fear, and paranoia)

So love all! Be strong!! Keep on expanding and never stagnate at any level!!!

God bless you all,  bye !

😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀

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