Page 19 - Seniors Today - April Issue
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during his or her lifetime, is given the peace
of heaven or Jannat or the perdition of hell
or jahannum. The focus is on ‘afterlife’,
perhaps a refrain from the belief of rebirth.
Under the Sanatan Dharma, the central
belief is in the cycle of life and death or
punarjanma where rebirth or moksha (or
release from the cycle of life and birth) will
be a function of the balance sheet of punya
(dharmic deeds) and paapa (adharmic deeds)
– so long as the atonement of the paapa is
not complete in the same life or succeeding
lives, one will be reborn and if there is
an accumulated credit of punya from the
previous birth, it will pay off handsomely One of the typical dilemmas we all, as
in the current birth. Whichever way one friend or family, face is how to respond
sees it, the interpretation of a believer and when a close family or a friend is in the
the intellectual would be that these tenets final throes of life or has departed into
essentially were for ensuring a disciplined eternity. Given that any suffering of body
living in a spirit of comity and peace in the (or for that matter the mind) cannot be
larger interest of the society and the people. shared or taken over by anyone else, other
Some clarification would be in order than an expression of empathy and lending
here, lest the topic be seen as morbid. Our a shoulder or heart, very little can be done.
behavioural reality is that we see life as a And the concern is also that anything that
celebration and death as a mourning, in spite is said could be perceived as a platitude
of the immutable life and death. Life can be much avoidable at any given time. So, is it
and is both a joy and sorrow, depending on that our silence is the best support at such
our experiential journey. So is death – it is times? Silence can be more eloquent than
both a joy and a sorrow depending on the any voluble words and can communicate
situational reality and how one wishes to an energy that will reach the person or the
view it. family concerned.
Personally, I would support silence as an
expressive communication during such
difficult times. I vividly recall at times of
such situations involving near and dear
ones, well-meaning well-wishers are
either barely able to say anything or are
distinctly uncomfortable in expressing grief
or offering condolences. Even if anyone
manages to say something, it is best to
accept it gracefully through an eye contact
or a namaskar or salutation gesture.
I started writing this when a person, whom
SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #22 | APRIL 2021 19
