We have so much to learn from death. In fact a close scrutiny or investigation of death as an event, may in fact give the answer to who you really are or the Truth. There are lots of questions which arise when someone close to you dies. Once the process of grieving is over, it may be an opportunity to investigate further into this matter, if one is so inclined. Assuming that all those who read this blog are already well ingrained in the philosophy of Advaita, one does not have to wonder where this is leading to.
In all languages, when someone dies, it is common to say that so-and-so "is dead and gone". Which brings to the question as to WHO is it that is dead. And further, TO WHERE HAS THE DEAD PERSON GONE? In that case, is it not appropriate to ask as WHO is it that is born in the first place. Alternatively, where did the person come from? For, if one has to be gone, it is assumed that one has firstly got to come from somewhere. You cannot go anywhere unless you have come from somewhere.
Merely having a discussion on this subject is not at all enough. Most discussions would involve what you have heard or learnt from someone. Depending on your upbringing, you may come up with answers that were told to you by someone or the other. A dead person is certainly not going to be of much help either! So, the answer has to come from you itself.
So, where should one begin? It would be most appropriate to begin with birth since there cannot be death without birth. There cannot be life without death and death without life or birth. But, if that seems like too much and you want to stick to the topic of death, so be it. Since, so far you have associated yourself with being the body, it should be assumed that the body is the one that is dead. Well, the body does not go anywhere after death, does it? The body is still there in the coffin. The only thing is that it has stopped responding to its name being called out. The body does not say "I am dead". So, who is it that has died and gone if it is not the body? Keep your mind pondering over this question. Of course, you can accuse the author of not giving the answer since it would be so much easier. But, in that case, you can also accuse the author of providing the answer based on the author's viewpoint and therefore brush it off as yet another philosophical concept. More so, if the answer is given here then it would be similar to all other indirect knowledge that you have so far accumulated. But, don't feel abandoned. Keep pondering over this and the answer shall come to you from within your own self.
The next point to ponder over is "where did he/she come from?" if he/she has died and gone. Find out who or what is the personality that arrived in this world so spontaneously and left so spontaneously. If it is not the body, then why do you say that your birth day is the day the body came out your mother's womb? Can you deny the fact that the body was already there in the womb prior to its exit out of the womb? Also, is there not something fundamentally wrong in saying that birth is the appearance of the baby body from the mothers womb, but that death is not the disappearance of that same body. Or to put it more bluntly, if birth=appearance of body, then death should be =disappearance of the body. But you know that it is not how it is. The body remains right where it is after so called death. So, obviously, whoever it is that is born is certainly not the body. Then, who is it that is born and and who is it that dies, if it is not the body? In fact, is there anything like birth and death? Or is it yet another delusion that you have fallen for?
Ponder over this carefully till you get the answer from within. You will be amazed when you get the answer.
