Thursday 20 October 2016

Death


            ‘Death is a lovely experience’, says Prafulla Deoskar whose article named Transcending time and space continuum appeared in the Speaking Tree, a Times of India Publication on August 7th, 2016. She says that when we are in a body we basically speak about a beginning and an end. All things in life have a starting point from where they begin. The second aspect of this is the ending point where things end. E.g. Death.

Talking about death, another fundamental change that occurs in this realm is the end of fear. Fear is associated with life, and hence when we die it is the end of fear. During the time of our birth and a little while later, we are all egoless. As we gradually proceed along life’s way, we begin to develop a self-image about ourselves based on our own judgments and those made by others. ‘Ego is always susceptible to judgment and it is afraid of losing its ground. While living with our egos, we resort to various defense mechanisms. As mentioned earlier, with death comes the end of fear because the situations where we can be scared don’t arise.


Elaborating a little more about fear, this is the feeling that kills joy. She says that after we pass away from this life we realize that pure joy is unconditional. I personally find it difficult to make sense of what she says. After we die we will not exist, then how would it be possible for us to know what true joy is. Though our souls will continue to exist, it wouldn’t have the brains and the heart to think and feel true joy. I totally agree with the following statement that she makes ‘The pure joy is without any cause or conditions and we are made up of it- it is our very essence’.

Being egoless will result in connectivity. Connectivity will come about because we will be without ego due to death. Separation and differences of opinion arise because of our separate egos. However after death the original substance, i. e. the Essence takes over. In this, a person feels a ‘love- like’ substance as Prafulla calls it. In that love like substance, everything appears to be one. She cites an example of those who have near death experiences, those people are full of love towards others and this love is unconditional. 

‘The realization is that there is no other place to go’. Because are perception is limited by the senses that we have, we forget our essence and magnificence.
To sum it all up in 4 points, it is:

1.      Time doesn’t exist in a linear sense.
2.      A fundamental change in the realm of reality is the end of fear.
3.      Our realization comes in the form of connectivity.
                  4.   The ultimate realization is that there is no other place to go to.

Friday 7 October 2016

The other

               Relationships have always been a source of love and strength for all human beings through all the ages. There is mutual love and sharing which takes place in relationships. The relationship is at its best when ‘the other’ comes before ‘me’. When the other takes a front seat in our lives then we notice a kind of selflessness within us. In this essay let us deal with the statement of the philosopher Jean Paul Sartre, ’The other is my hell.’

                I do not know much about his life; hence I will be slow in reaching a definite conclusion. I am sure that he has not simply come to the conclusion that the other is my hell. Placing him in context, I feel that maybe he must have been in situations where other persons were nasty, indifferent or cold towards him. This must have happened to him many times which finally led him to the conclusion that ‘the other is my hell.’



                According the concept of concern by Heidegger, we are human beings who are inter- related and not individual islands on this earth. We are called to exhibit our love and concern for the other in ways that make the other feel cared for (interpreted). Whenever another fellow human being goes astray, it is not s/ he alone who have gone astray but also a part of us. I say this precisely keeping in mind the evil activities going on in our society. I feel that those who are involved in such activities are directly responsible and those living in the society are indirectly responsible.


                Coming back to the topic, I feel that when Sartre said that ‘the other is my hell’ he  definitely knew that he too was ‘hell’ for someone else in the society. I totally disagree with Sartre and also feel a sense of empathy with him. I don’t think it is rational to blame him or his situations for the definition of the other that he gave. The only thing possible is to either accept or reject what he says.

                According to me, the other is not only what I perceive the other to be but much more and far beyond that. What we see is what we get and hence when I see the other as a human being who is full of goodness and possibilities, that is precisely what that person turns out to be. God created us in His own image and likeness; we can’t be hell for each other but can make hell very present for the other.


                All that we do is based on our choices. The choices to eat, drink, sleep, watch a movie, and hang out with friends and so on. We are destined for higher things and hence I think that we can make a heavenly experience for each other here on earth and the most appropriate to do it is now.