The least accepted event in the life of human beings at large is the inevitable phenomenon of death. The land’s puranas and narratives in the epics are cited by scholars with a reference to fate (vidhi) mentioning that it doesn’t spare any living being, including divine characters. Whatever has been said, is being heard or written about death by whoever, generates both grim feelings and unbounded confusion. The news of death ending the life of persons of eminence as well as those in high posts in various regions across the land invites obituary details in glorifying terms. The news of death of others such as lay people and also of a number of people due to various factors such as epidemics, natural calamities, accidents, mishaps and so on, as promptly reported in the print and other media is read with awe but soon fades as the proverbial fleeting public memory. The wish of living to the ripe old age, free from stress of all kinds should remind us of the idiom “If wishes were horses, beggars would ride them.”
Living and dying are juxtaposed in a revealing manner by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr (1929-1968), American Baptist Minister, the most visible spokesman for civil rights, who is quoted as saying, “If you have nothing to die for, you have nothing to live for.” One wonders if any of those who voluntarily end their lives are fired up by what this evangelist has said in certain circumstances. We are talking of suicides making virtually daily news in the land’s media.
