Why does death create sorrow? What happens when somebody dies? We become sad; sorrow fills the air. We become miserable. Why do we become miserable when we know that everything that is born has to die? When we know that we come alone and we go alone and that death is a reality that nobody can escape, then why do we become sad when somebody dies?
We become sad when somebody dies because we are attached to that person. We start believing that, that is my mother, my father, my wife, my son and daughter. We start believing in these relationships which we create on earth, when in reality there are no such relationships. We are arrangements on planet earth as per God’s plan. We are born alone and we die alone and death is a reality that is part of God’s plan in this world, in this drama.
Therefore, instead of feeling sad at death, one must let death trigger the reality of who we are. Death is the best proof of neti neti - that we are not this body, this dead body. Death is the proof that makes us realize who we are; we are the divine spirit, the soul. We have God himself inside us, but because death creates sorrow and death creates pain and attachments, instead of death being a trigger for truth, death becomes a moment of sorrow and sadness.
This must change. We must understand the meaning of death and let it inspire us to live.
Death is sad because it entails loss of attachments. Without attachments we would not be human.
Death is only joyous for those who see something better than this life in an afterlife.
Death as freedom from pain and sorrow may mean that death is the door to oblivion.
I prefer oblivion over an afterlife of unknowing what I now know.
You are right that we do not own the people with whom we are related. The word “my” when we say my mother is not meant to denote ownership; but we still have mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters. These relationships are unavoidable, and unless we are living in the wild, we cannot live our lives without growing some attachments to those who are close to us.
Death is proof of life, of a significant difference between the state we’re in before and the state we enter into after. I don’t see it as proof of the eternal soul, but for sure something of an inner life.
Dear Ierrellus, I am not a monk. I am just an ordinary man who has climbed the peak of achievement, realized that making money is not everything, and moved on to the peak of fulfillment where I realized that there is much more joy in making a difference. But then later I found out that after pleasure and peace, still there is something missing, which is called purpose. In a quest for purpose, I became a seeker looking for answers to many questions. And since I have been fortunate enough to find some of the answers, I have started sharing my learning with my dear fellowmen with the objective of helping people realize the truth. So I am just an ordinary man and not a monk from any particular religious order or belief. I just believe that life is a journey, and we must live to discover and realize the truth and not just exist till we reach our grave.
Well, first of all, death will come at its own appointed time. None of us can control the time of our death; so let us accept the fact that we will live till we are meant to live. In the thread, what I have meant is that death should inspire us to live with meaning and with purpose. There is nothing negative in the thought shared here, and when we realize the truth, there is a lot more to live because once we realize the truth, then we live a life of unending bliss and joy because we are liberated from this body and from desires and disappointments. Therefore, amazing bliss awaits those who realize the truth.
Steve said something very similar to this after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. All the money in the world became meaningless, when he realized he cannot purchase his life back. His relationships meant everything.
I still, at my advanced age, have problems seeing death as a transition from the personal to the impersonal, from relationships known in life to the unknown “bliss” of some sterile afterlife. To wish for such a consummation smacks of as much ego as that involved in having attachments. Why should I strive for my perfection in an afterlife if it’s denied to any other person?