Death

It is so easy to die.  The human body may well be one of the most efficient mechanism in creation but it takes a small metal projectile to enter and cut through it at a certain speed and that’s. 

Death according to the dictionary is the end of a life (although life also needs to be properly defined), the permanent paralysis of the body’s vital functions, like brain activity, breathing, blood flow to and from the heart.  Only two things resist the permanent paralysis- the hair and the nails which continue to grow for a few days or week.

The definition changes when it comes to religion; for some, death means moving to a higher state while others believe that it’s merely a temporary condition and that the soul inhabiting the body will return later on, either to pay for its sins or to enjoy in the next life the blessing denied it during the previous incarnation.

Comment of Mr Bramha Prakash Gaur on my view

First, there is the "waking" state, we are so familiar with. Here, we are guided by two search engines - the senses and the mind. Through the day, our awareness is always flowing out. So, our senses too are always flowing out to our surroundings. They explore the surroundings and bring back to us inputs of sights, sounds, tastes and touch. These inputs are interpreted by our mind, according to its preferences (intelligence and ego). This is how we experience the outer world and form an impression. 

No wonder, each day, we spend, is an exercise in pursuing activities that bring satisfaction to our senses and the mind. However, no matter how gratifying a day might have been, at the end of the day the senses get tired and do not want any gratification any more. This is the time for each one of us to dive within our own consciousness. The awareness, which has been flowing out through the day, reverses its direction and starts flowing in wards.

As a result, we are induced to lie down in bed, pull the covers up, close our eyes and go within. One by one, all the senses drop their activities. Sights and sounds and sensations of the outer world disappear. We do not know where we are in the physical world. Still for some time, the mind is active. Now, we become aware of what is contained in the mind.

This is the "dream" state, in which we are inhabiting the dream world. A creation of the mind, the dreams get shattered and are lost completely when we exit this state. Only we leave the dream state, do we realize that we were watching a dream.

Yet, dreams seem very real, when we are watching them. We may recall a  time, when you had a nightmare. It was so dreadful that we were jerked out of sleep. The terrifying situation, we found ourselves in, disappeared as we touched the waking state. Still, we had the heart, pounding in our chest; and the body covered with sweat. As long as we were in the dream state, the nightmare was absolutely real and affected us deeply at the emotional-physical level.

Every night, we travel still deeper within our consciousness. As we travel deeper within, even the mind falls asleep (becomes inactive). Now, we have lost all consciousness. This is the state of "deep sleep". It is also a state of no experience (akin to watching a movie,e every frame of which is black). In this world, we are used to seeking some or the experience all the time. So, the state of no-experience may seem like boring. Yet, if we stay in this state for some time, we come out of it back to "waking" state fully charged in the body and the mind.

Remember a night when one did not sleep well and kept watching dreams. When one got up the next morning how did his body and mind feel? Aching joints. Sluggish body. A mind that was tired and was just not ready to function.

This is why it is important to have good sleep and those who do have it are great performers. Also, they are healthy and happy.

When one is in deep sleep, one has no control over his body and mind. Yet, there is a power inside us that keeps the heart beating and the breath moving. This power is also very intelligent. Without any alarm, it knows when to wake us up. It also remembers our dreams for us and reminds us of those dreams when we wake up in the morning. So, deep sleep holds many secrets of good physical and mental health and well-being.

In deep sleep the breath becomes long, relaxed and rhythmic. These qualities are lost the moment one gets back to the waking state and the mind starts thinking.

Now sleep is quite close the death. In sleep and death both, the awareness of body and its surroundings is lost and the mind stops functioning.

In sleep, the awareness of the outer world returns back after the duration of sleep and we wake up in the same body in the same environment. In death, we do not know.

Therefore, if we investigate how we transit into sleep and how we come out of it, we are investigating death. Those, who undertake this investigation, may find that it is a worthwhile and rewarding exercise.

The process is simple. Observation! Enhanced awareness is the key!!