Sometimes, I think about death. Of mine and of others. How would I die? Would it be painful? I hope not. How is it like to witness the death of a loved one? Is it better to die than be sick and suffer at old age? And, what happens after you die? Why are all people and animals scared of death?
I was raised as a Buddhist, so I was taught that the dead would be born again as another life unless they have achieved nirvana. The re-birth happens based on what karma we’ve done in this life and what thoughts we’d have in our last breath. Fascinating; a little scary too.
I’ve also heard of re-incarnation stories – of people speaking of their past lives and they being matched with true incidents; and then I’ve heard of ghost stories, of people who’ve died years ago and still haunt the living. Somehow; they don’t go together really well though... because, if someone dies and become a ghost, and that same someone also get re-born in another life; then the ghost seems pretty stuck being a ghost till the eternity...
I’ve heard some Buddhist monks explain ghosts as another life; not human, not animal but some super human life, that like any other, would end someday. I think I like the lives that end than something eternal. Personal choice though ;)
Anyways; what really happens? Religion aside; I really don’t know - I don’t remember of a previous life. I guess that not knowing what happens after death is what scares us all. And; may be; evolution has built it in to our genes, to fear death, so that all animals would strive to live; instead of just give in whenever death is on one’s way.
I’ve had an out of body experience in my childhood. I was sick and was in my mom’s arms. I was in pain and I wanted to move; and then, I passed out. Everything that happened thereafter until I woke up again are still in my memory in vivid detail. And; I was observing all that from outside of the body. And my parents say; I explain the events exactly the way they happened.
Looking back, I don’t think I died or was going to. I was in so much pain; my brain must have disconnected the consciousness. Because; all the while I was unconscious, I didn’t feel any pain at all. How did I see from outside of my body? I don’t know, but maybe my senses apart from eyesight were working quite sharply and my brain must have created the visual impressions through them.
I’ve read in some science journals that say; that’s exactly what people in near death experiences have experienced. The process of the body dying is a very painful process and that makes the brain - while it still lives - to disconnect the consciousness. Depending on the functionality of other senses and the amount of brain death happening; they might either see what’s going on around them or bright lights / their past / loved ones etc.
All this; doesn’t explain the phenomena of ghost stories and re-incarnation stories. But; just because science doesn’t explain that doesn’t mean religious explanations are correct. Most religions taught that the world is flat until they were proven otherwise. Buddhism, even with my biased opinion towards it, has had its share of myths associated with it.
So; when it comes to death I think I’ll take my chances with it and discover the unknowns myself; and that’s if my consciousness survives - which I think is highly unlikely. I think that would be the end of me and my consciousness would cease to exist. I hope to have a smile on my face when I die; so I hope I would realize the moment has come and have control over my facial muscles for that one last smile...
beautiful post :)
ReplyDeleteMahasen breaking the silence with a fascinating post...
ReplyDeleteWonderful! It is very rarely that one would be able to put such an "out of body experience" in perspective, and declare that you don't know what went on, going against our desire to attach it to an "answer" that is already taught to us.
One would argue that the scientific explanation you have attempted to give also somewhat falls in the line of our desire to have "answers" of some sorts, even if they are half-baked. I would counter argue and say that at any given day I would stick with partial and verifiable answers given by science, than full and unverifiable answers given by religions. Science is a result of our desire to model the experiences of our senses, and evolve a rational picture of the universe. It is a very humble knowledge system. It starts from the premise that we don't know. It continues with the premise that there is no magic formula of knowing, other than the human experiences. It tries to model what we experience in to a "verifiable" model. Science is the religion of the people with patience, and people who can live worry-free without full knowledge of our existence. Religion is the science of people without patience, who worry about the lack of knowledge of our existence. In their impatience, the worrisome people have created many fascinating but unverifiable models to explain our existence. Most of these models only take the imagination of a 15 year old. However, some of these models might require the imagination of a 35 year old, and might require some profound reflection upon the life, in a peaceful setting far away from mundane life, under a tree in wilderness...
You are asking:
ReplyDelete>> What happens after you die? Why are all people and animals scared of death?
We all can see what happens after living things die, right? Their body get decomposed, and their legacy lives on. Other than that, it seems to be a "dead-end" for the dying person. There is nothing in the physical word to suggest that anything to do with consciousness of the person survives the death. It seems that you have to just go! just like that. That would be the end, literally. This however could be very scary and disappointing to most people. Other than the evolutionary instinct of saving our asses and living on, which you have already explained, people fear death since it means the end of everything to them.
IMO, this fear of the end and the craving to hang on to this world, or some other world, is the reason for us to see so many religions around us.
BTW, there are so many "near death" experiences suggest that 'death' is not a painful experience at the very end. I have personally heard of an anecdote about of one my wife's friends who met with a fatal accident, and spent months in a coma. After waking up from the coma he says that the entire duration of the coma was a never ending series of pleasant dreams. If this person died in coma, last things his brain would have experienced would be good dreams. People meeting with near-fatal accidents and regain conciseness in the hospital bed often say that they have no recollection of the last few seconds before they lost consciousness. If they died in the accident, their brains would not know that they died.
This sounds like a good way to go and I am looking forward for nothing; absolutely nothing; after my death.
>>some Buddhist monks explain ghosts as another life; not human, not animal but some super human life, that like any other, would end someday.
ReplyDeleteOther than the anecdotal evidence, there is nothing in the physical world that suggests that ghosts -just like gods- are anything more than figments of human imagination.
Douglas Adams as always, has absolutely brilliant tongue-in-cheek answers to most of the life's difficult questions. His depicts of Ghosts as transient phenomena of consciousness of dying beings with "unfinished business" in "Dirk Gently's ..." is the best depictions of ghosts I have ever read in fiction.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirk_Gently's_Holistic_Detective_Agency
Being an Whateverist; I'd say whatever for the whole ghost thing... I just don't have an opinion.
ReplyDeleteAbout your wife's friend who had pleasant dreams during the coma; that's kind of worrying; if he had pleasant dreams; what stops anyone from having unpleasant dreams? I'd rather prefer not dreaming at all.. blank - nothing - void.. that's what I want to have in my consciousness too just before I die. Nothing - empty. I think that's a good way to go... Let the living have thoughts and dreams.. not me; when I'm dead :)
Not knowing whether I am a whateverist or not, all I can say is that I find humor as the best philosophy towards the unknown.
ReplyDeleteYes, dreaming is not necessarily a good thing in a coma. However, a coma is a very deep sleep. So I guess you cannot help dreaming. The point there is that brain has chosen good dreams instead of bad ones that we usually see when we are under lot of stress.
If I am to go by the 'partial' scientific answer that consciousness is a emergent phenomena of complex chemical life, then consciousness will also cease to exist when the doctor pronounces you dead. So I guess it is fair not to expect thoughts or dreams when you are dead :)