Although at every moment, someone is dieing, most people live their lives as if they will never die. Why ?

Question

This question was asked to the great Pandava king, Maharaja Yudhisthira in the epic , Mahabharata. " What is the most amazing thing ?" The answer was my question. Although no one wants to die, every axts as though there is no tomorrow, and that they wont die, until it is too late.

No one wants to grow old, get diseased, and die, yet the majority of us accept this as inevitable. If these conditions are not wanted, and even feared by us, should we not be asking THE BIG QUESTION, "How can we avoid dieing ?" Since no one wants to experience leaving their body , or death, this suggests that death is an artificial imposition on the soul, and necessitates we do something about this, as soon as possible. Are not all other questions actually superfluous compared to this one ???

Answer 1

This is due to misinformation only. People have very little information about the soul. Some are being taught that the purpose of life is to enjoy, because when they die, there is nothing. Others are being taught that, even when they die, there are two options only; heaven, or hell, and both, it seems, are very easily obtained. They are identifying the body as the self, and so are very attached to sense gratification, making plans, and ensuring comfort for themselves in this life only. They are maintaining the body only, because they do not know that there is a process for breaking free of the cycle of birth, death, disease, and old age.

In the Bhagavad-Gita (2.13) God says, "As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change".

We can understand by this verse that the soul is not the same as the impermanent material body, which changes even within the lifespan of the individual. Scientists agree that the body undergoes a complete cellular change every seven years, so even in one lifetime, a person can have 12 or 13 bodies, but the "self" is the same.

So, if the soul leaves the body, where does it go? Many people are bewildered by this. Just as our activities in this life determine whether we are successful or unsuccessful in our job, or family, and our personal lives, our activities determine the body we take, whether spiritual, or material, at the time of death. This is the law of Karma. This law is upheld by Christ when He says, "Whatever you sow, so shall you reap". God (speaking to His disciple Arjuna) says, "Whatever state of being one remembers )when he quits his body, O son of Kunti, that state he will attain without fail".Bhagavad-Gita (8.6)

Herein, God is explaining that our cumulative thoughts over a lifetime determines our qualifications for the next body we take. If we are absorbed in material life, attaching ourselves to all manner of sense gratification, we will receive a perfect body in which to enjoy those attachments. This is God's mercy. He is saying, "Whatever you want to do, you may do". Therefore, a person who is very much attached to eating flesh may obtain the body of a tiger, who has a body perfectly designed for eating flesh. Similarly, if a person trains their mind to think of God, they may obtain a spiritual body, and be liberated from the confines of material existence.

Krsna (God, Christ) says, "And whoever, at the end of his life, quits his body, remembering Me alone, at once attains My nature. Of this there is no doubt". (Bhagavad-Gita 8.5)

In this verse, the importance of Krsna Consciousness is stressed. One must take to the process of Krsna Consciousness in order to obtain Him. Once having obtained our original spiritual condition, we never again return to the miserable material body.

"After attaining Me, the great souls, who are yogis in devotion, never return to this temporary world, which is full of miseries, because they have attained the highest perfection". (BG 8.15)

This is the highest goal.

Answer 2

Death isn't an artifical imposition on the soul anymore than birth is. Birth is coincidence and death is natural. The point isn't to avoid dying, since it's impossible; the point is to enjoy while you're alive, after having made arrangements for death. It's not that everyone is acting like they're not going to die. It's that they're filling life while they can. And yes, all other questions feel superfluous, but this is the question that determines how you fill your life. It's been said that we are the only species who knows we're going to die, but then what about the elephants who know, and go ahead, to their burial ground? They certainly don't go until they know. So why should we?

Answer 3

Once we get born, we have to face Death. Death is definite, the time of death is uncertain. No matter what we do, how we are trying to escape, we cannot escape from death.
Personally, I feel that instead of ask such question like 'how we can avoid dieing?', instead why don't we spend more time to love people like we never love before, try our best to make this world become more gracious, to live life to the fullest every day, why want to wait until it too late.

There is one saying, when we were born, we were the only one who is crying but all people around us is smiling. To be a warmth and lovely person and offer help to people as much as we can, so when we are dieing, we are the one who is smiling and the world is crying.

May you be well and happy.

Answer 4

I would disagree that know one wants to die. The larger question is what would life be like if there were no death?

That pretty much wraps it up. We are born, we live and hopefully leave this world better for it and then we die. What lies beyond that is the greatest of all answers because it is the greatest of all questions.

Answer 5

Live today like if you will die tomorrow and live for tomorrow like if you will never die.
samir