The sudden passing of a dear friend and colleague a few days ago in an automobile accident brought to the forefront the debate of the afterlife. An 'enlightened' fella i happen to work with seemed to think that his soul may already be in another body and may have been re-born. For someone who doesn't believe in religion and the after life this sounded like absolute Hog-wash to me. I remember a conversation with the colleague a couple of days prior to his passing where he was telling me about a book by a German author, it was called 'Siddartha' i think. It had been a long day and i only remember parts of the story. Two boys (one of the them being Siddartha) set out in search of enlightenment and after wandering the streets of northern India for a few months they come across Buddha. The story goes that Buddha offers them both the knowledge to attain enlightenment. To cut a long story short, Siddartha trudges on with his journey because he believes that enlightenment gained by Buddha is not the enlightenment he is after.
I dont quite get the concept of religion. How can millions of people swear by something just for the simple reason that millions of people before them have done the same? Isn't there an iota of doubt in your mind about the things you've been conditioned to believe from times you were not old enough to think for yourself? Im not the one who believes in spells and chants and poojas and the Gazillion other things religion- related. I may not believe in religion but i do believe in a higher power. I believe in the Siddartha way.. Go out and discover for yourself what life is. When friends or family visit a picturesque location, no matter how much or how well they describe it to you you would only fathom the beauty of it if you actually visited the place yourself. Why must it be any different when we talk about religion and spirituality?
Coming back to where we started. The afterlife. The obscurity of it is that there isn't a single person who can explain it to anyone. People having near death experiences are many. The stories about your life flashing through eyes are also many. Im not discrediting any of the people who claim to have had these near death experiences. I have had no such experiences and i wouldn't know. That being said, near death experiences has nothing to do with the afterlife. There is absolutely no way to explain the afterlife. Each person unto his own. Either you show faith and believe what has been said over the years or you find a way to either prove or disprove it.
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2 comments:
well... a gud topic to plurge on.. a neva ending debate it wud go on to b :)... u've made a gud start.. u'd neva b able to xplain nethin until u experience it urself.. absolutely rite.. hey try reading dis book 'LIFE AFTER DEATH' by MARY T BROWN...may b dis wud help u out to understan more bout after lyf... evnthou u don belive in it... :)
Thanks shruthi.. Im a bit behind the times when it comes to books... im still reading "The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy". Once im done with that im surely going after the book you suggested.
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