Mahaprayaan (Death) – Celebration of life

मौत तू एक कविता है
मुझसे इक कविता का वादा हैं, मिलेगी मुझको
डूबती नब्ज़ो में जब दर्द को नींद आने लगे
झर्द सा चेहरा लिए चाँद उफक तक पहुँचे
दिन अभी पानी में हो, रात किनारे के करीब
ना अंधेरा ना उजाला हो
ना आधी रात ना दिन
जिस्म जब खत्म हो और रूह को जब साँस
मुझसे इक कविता का वादा है मिलेगी मुझको…

(Movie Anand – Poet Gulzarsahab)…

DEATH

Something we all afraid of as it is unknown what happens next?

Something we all philosophise about, but when it comes to someone close to us, unbearable and inconsolable!

Something which creates a vacuum in our lives!

The other side –

It helps us realise ourselves!

It helps us to be alone and spend time with self!

It helps us move one step ahead in our personal quests to find the unknown!

Shreemad Bhagwad Geeta describes Death in Chapter 2 Shlok 22 thus :
वासांसि जीर्णानि यथा विहाय
नवानि गृह्णाति नरोऽपराणि | तथा शरीराणि विहाय जीर्णा
न्यन्यानि संयाति नवानि देहि।।

(As a person sheds worn-out garments and wears new ones, likewise, at the time of death, the soul casts off its worn-out body and enters a new one.)

It is so simplistically described as changing of clothes. I fail to find such a simple example other than this.

We, the Vedic people, believe in the Soul. And also the development Or upliftment of soul. We believe that the Soul has come out from the Supreme consciousness and through this cycle of life and death, it develops itself and merges into the Supreme consciousness once again. And hence, death is celebrated here in India. It’s a step towards completion.

Can one escape Death?

1. Yes, we can by self realisation. By transforming oneself. It’s a journey from Humanely behaviour to Saintly behaviour and further to Godly behaviour.

2. No, the cycle of nature cannot be disturbed. So it cannot be escaped, but our understanding about it can be changed, as explained in the above Shlok of Geetaji.

Whatever one may agree with from the above two (And I too leave it to my reader to decide for himself), it is the Truth of our lives.

So, now we need to decide that we want to cry and accept it or we want to laugh and take it in our stride.

The poem of Gulzaarsahab at the beginning can be understood the way we want to. It’s all about our perspective. Through these words, I still see the smiling face of Anand calling out his Babu Moshaay.