Death As Gateway To Perfection

By Ashok Vohra
Death is a universal occurrence; yet it is the least understood phenomenon. According to early writings of Wittgenstein, this is because death is not an event in one’s life – we do not live to experience death. He upheld that “at death the world does not alter, but comes to an end”. However, he added, “our life has no end in just the same way in which our visual field has no limits”. After death, life becomes unmanifest.
Wittgenstein’s view is similar to that of the Bhagwad Gita’s verse 28 in the second chapter: “All beings remain unmanifest in the beginning; they become manifest in the middle. After death they certainly become unmanifest”. What is eternal, ever-existing and ever-unchanging is Atman, the soul.
The atman, like energy, can neither be created nor destroyed. It is infinite, formless, attribute-less, all-pervading, indivisible, timeless, and space-less. Atman only transmigrates. The Gita says, it cannot be cut by weapons, nor burnt by fire, moistened by water, and cannot be dried by air.
It is the soul that enlivens, galvanises, moves and directs the body, mind and senses. Every soul is a circle without circumference. The centre of the circle is body. Death means change of this centre from body to body.
Death is the separation of soul from body. Body is destructible and belongs to the indestructible atman. Swami Sivananda argues, “Death destroys the personality but it cannot annihilate individuality because individuality is separate and has distinct existence beyond body with no relation to personality”.
According to Hindu thought, life is one continuous, never-ending process, birth and death being two illusory scenes in the drama of world. The illusion is created by the jugglery of Maya. In truth, nobody comes and nobody goes. The atman leaves its former body and acquires a new body.
As proof of transmigration of soul, Swami Sivananda offers, “Man clings to this earthly life. This clinging proves that there is past experience and existence and that there is a future life. Man likes this life immensely and strongly yearns for a future life also”.
The change is illusory because as Swamiji says, all change is only change of environment and embodiment. In transmigration from its former body to the newly obtained body, the atman is accompanied by mukhya prana, the chief vital air, senses and mind. It carries within avidya, ignorance, good and evil actions, and impressions of its previous existence. Hence he says, “If you ask, does a man altogether die at death, I answer ‘No’, for what dies is what belongs to this world of form and illusion.”
The purpose of transmigration or reincarnation is not reward or punishment, but betterment and perfection. Death is only a passing and necessary phenomenon, which every soul has to go through to gain experience for its further evolution and perfection. It opens the door to a higher form of life. Death is the gateway to a fuller life. It is not possible to achieve perfection and absolute freedom without plurality of lives. So, one should face death fearlessly and joyfully.
The ideal attitude to death is best illustrated by the answer given to Buddha by his disciple Sariputta. When asked “Well, monk, does not life burden you and don’t you like to be released by death? Or, does living fascinate you, because there is a noble mission to fulfil?” Sariputta replied, “Venerable Teacher, I desire not life. I desire not death. I wait until my hour shall come, like a servant that waits for his wages.”
The author teaches philosophy at Delhi University