Is death a boon to humans?

Death is indeed very great because it is something fearful, but before it is the culmination of life's journey, the doorway to something beyond what our eyes and senses can grasp.  We spend our whole life building relationships, wealth, reputations, and attachments.  Death dissolves all of them in a single moment.  No power, position, or possession can stop it.It humbles the ego, liberates us from worldly limitations, pushes us to seek higher truth, equalises all beings, and opens the doorway to eternity. It teaches us detachment and humility. When we realise that everything here is perishable, our hearts naturally seek what is eternal...God, Truth, or the Self.

Biologically, death gives way to renewal.  Old generations pass, new ones come. Without death, there would be no growth, no evolution, no space for fresh life. So, it is not a

 punishment but a part of nature's law as essential as birth. 

LORD Sri Krishna in Bhagath Githa Chapteer-2 Verse 22 teaches us:

              'Vasansi jirnani yatha vihaya 

                   tatha sharirani vihaya jirnanya 

                                                            Nayani sanyati navani dehi'

Just as a person sheds worn-out garments and wears new ones, so too, at the time of death, the soul casts off its worn-out body and enters a new one. 

Lord Krishna, in the Bhagavad Gita, further teaches that the soul stands apart from the body in many ways. The soul never takes birth or dies. Nothing can destroy it. Physical sensations cannot limit it. It surpasses the cycle of birth and death. The wise know that crying over physical death shows we don't understand spiritual truth. Lord Krishna's words ring true: "The wise lament neither for the living nor for the dead." They understand the nature of the soul beyond our physical existence. 

Swami Mukundananda emphasises that 'The Nyaya Darshan' gives the following argument to prove the existence of rebirth.

                            'jatasya harsha bhaya shoka samdpratipatteh' 

It states that if you observe a little baby, you will find that the baby sometimes becomes happy, sometimes sad, and sometimes fearful without any apparent reason.  According to Nyaya Darshan, the little baby is remembering the events in its past life and hence experiencing these emotions. However, as it grows up, the impressions of the present life are imprinted so strongly upon its mind that they erase most or all past memories.

Everyone fears death. But birth and death are the laws of creation, and it is essential for the balance of the Universe. If there were no death, there would be so much misery. Do you want to know why?

Long ago, in a kingdom surrounded by mountains and forests, there lived a mighty king. Though he had wealth, power, and wisdom, one question troubled his heart — “How can I escape death?”

One day, while riding through the forest, he came upon a serene monk sitting beneath a banyan tree, lost in meditation. The king dismounted, folded his hands, and humbly said, 

“O Holy Sage, please tell me — is there any herb or secret by which I may attain immortality?” The monk opened his eyes slowly, his face calm like the morning sun, and replied, “O King, cross the two mountains before you. Beyond them lies a lake. Drink the water of that lake, and you shall become immortal.” Hearing this, the king’s heart filled with hope. He journeyed across the mountains and reached the lake, whose waters sparkled like liquid silver under the sun. As he bent down to drink, a faint groan caught his ear. He followed the sound and saw an old man lying under a tree, frail and trembling in pain.

The king knelt beside him and asked gently, “Who are you, and what has brought you to such misery?”

With great effort, the man whispered, “I am one who once drank the water of this lake. I became immortal. But when I turned a hundred years old, my son cast me away. My family forgot me. For the past twenty years, I have wandered alone, hungry and helpless. My son is long dead. My grandchildren are old. I have stopped eating, but still, I cannot die. ”Tears welled up in the king’s eyes. He thought deeply —“What is the worth of immortality without love, without peace, without rest?”

Yet, another desire arose in him: “If only I could remain forever young, then immortality might not be so painful.”

He returned to the monk and said, “Revered one, tell me the way not only to be immortal but also eternally young.” The monk smiled knowingly and replied, “After crossing the lake, climb the mountain beyond it. There you will find a tree bearing golden-yellow fruits. Eat one, and you will gain both immortality and eternal youth.”

The king set forth once again, filled with hope. After a long journey, he found the wondrous tree shining in divine radiance, laden with golden fruits. As he reached for one, loud voices of quarrel echoed from a nearby valley. Curious, he went closer and saw four strong men fighting fiercely. The king called out, “Why do you quarrel in this sacred place?”

One man shouted, “I am 250 years old, and this man, who is 300, refuses to share the property with me!” The second said angrily, “Why should I give it to him when my father, who is 350 years old, never gave it to me?” Then the eldest, a man of 400 years, said bitterly, “These are my descendants. We have lived for centuries, but greed has only grown. The people of our village, tired of our endless disputes, cast us all out.”

The king stood silent, his heart heavy with realization. He turned away from the tree without touching its fruit and went back to the monk. Falling at his feet, he said, “O Master, now I understand the greatness of death. It is a boon for humanity, and not an enemy but a divine law of balance.”

The monk smiled and said softly, “O King, there is love in the world because there is death. If life never ended, there would be no meaning in affection, sacrifice, or compassion. Instead of escaping death, learn to live joyfully — every day, every moment. Transform yourself — then the whole world will transform with you.”

Sri Ramchandraji, founder of the Sahaj Marg system, enlightens us that death is not viewed with fear or sorrow, but as a natural and divine transition, a continuation of life in another form. The body perishes, but the soul never dies. It merely leaves one form and takes another as required by Nature. Death is a release, a liberation from the physical bondage that limits the soul. When the spiritual journey is complete, death is no more-- because the soul merges with the Ultimate Reality. For a true abhyasi(practitioner), death loses its sting because the consciousness has already learned to transcend body identification through meditation and remembrance. In Sahaj Marg, death is seen as a stage in evolution, not an end, but a passage. Meditation prepares one to pass through that stage consciously and peacefully. If a man is living in remembrance of God, death cannot touch him with fear. For him, it is only an entry into another region of light. 

For one who is dead while living, that is detached from the body and the world, physical death is only a change in the mode of existence.  It is no more a terror but a homecoming. If we live each day with simplicity, remembrance, and love for the Master, death will come not as a thief, but as a gentle friend leading us Home. 

Death is not the end — it is the silent teacher that gives value to every breath, every relationship, and every act of love. To live with awareness of death is to live fully in the present LIFE. “Life gains its fragrance only because it is fleeting.”

                                                                              --oOo--