Life and Death: The Way to Overcome Sorrow

By Simi Bajaj

It can happen to anyone. Destiny can strike suddenly, changing your life forever. God has plans for everyone.

The wisdom and kindness of God is beyond our minds' reach. We can only try to understand it if we surrender totally to God and have deep faith. The way to deal with crisis and life-threatening situations is to resolve to do our best and let God do the rest...

When there is birth, there will be death, too. It is the universal law of nature, yet the human mind does not want to accept this truth. When a loved one dies, our minds become numb. We want to cling on, we refuse to let go... because of our worldly attachments and relationships.

Krishna says in Gita: "For the soul, there is neither birth nor death. Nor, having once been, does he ever cease to be. He is unborn, eternal, ever existing, undying and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain." (2:20)

I sense with deep emotion, an age-old truth that crying, a human enters this world - and on leaving, leaves behind so many in tears. The way to remember your loved ones, who have quit the race of life, is to make their loss your strength, so that it transforms into the power that makes you strive.

Death is the unwelcome visitor, and often comes unannounced. For some it is painful; for others, too sudden. There are souls waiting for death, there are souls escaping from death.

Each one is bound up in their own cycle of karma, even from previous births. So it is as important to have a dream as it is to nurture it. Life reveals its moments of truth / Destiny unveils scene by scene/ Winners are those in the race of life/ Who have the faith to follow their dream.../ God has plans for everyone/ Karma reigns powerful and supreme/ Blessed are those who listen to their hearts/ And have the passion to follow their dream.../ Many a time, you will swim against the tide/ Many a time will relationships fail/ But do not stop pursuing your dream/ Strive ahead and etch your writing on the wall.

The death of a loved one can throw you into deep depression, and can wreck you emotionally, physically, mentally. But remember, there is not a single person out there, who has not suffered this pain.

Death is universal. Dealing with the loss of a loved one is not easy; you have to however face it by holding your wits together. For yesterday is history, tomorrow a mystery, today is the most important of all.

Live every moment to the full... who knows when God might call? When my little son died, I was devastated. I was tempted to give in to emotions of revenge, anger, resentment and burning fury. Could this turmoil in me bring back my son alive? No.

It was difficult, but I chose to follow the path of love, kindness and good karma. Why let the loss of a loved one go in vain? Why should deep despair increase the gnawing pain? It is better to illuminate your heart and soul with memories of your shining star - and you will realise the truth, that heaven is not really that far.

There comes a turning point in everybody's life. My little son's demise has made me treat this painful loss as a stepping stone to spiritual evolvement. Breaking the emotional tie, I have removed all the worldly pictures of the cute toddler, and instead, installed the idol of Balgopal Krishna, God Almighty, in the mandir at my home, who is the object of our devotion and affection.

I prefer to think of my son as the little angel who came to bless and touch our lives forever. In honour of his memory I shall enrich my life and that of others with faith, good karma and prayer.

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See also: Life and Death, Life and Beyond, Death and Dying, Body Mind and Soul)