The feeling
of being left alone by time and finally being dead is a ‘must-go’ end for
everyone and we supposed humans don’t have the time to ponder on death. Live as
if death wouldn't come onto us. This is what we mostly think when we are going
about one’s life chores. Death will come to everyone and it will someday. This
feeling rejuvenated just recently, when a colleague of mine lost one of his
dear one. We, just as it was in the past, went to witness the funeral at the
very crematorium here in Thimphu. This is the very first time I have ever been
to a funeral.
The feeling
of insecurity and the supposed gods/lords of death talks stirred a spine
chilling effect on me as we walked towards the place where corpses are burned.
There to my amazement, I saw nine corpses on fire and each big fire had people
breaking down and a colleague Rinzin had watery eyes already. I felt uneasy and
stepped back. We went to greet our friend and later sat down near the fire for
which we had gathered.
The Crematorium (Thimphu) |
There while
sitting Choney2 (there were two of them) told me simultaneously death is the ultimate equalizer and everyone
irrespective of any discrimination must go through the same ordeal. So
simple and realistic but yet very profound! I have known this inconvenient
truth that death is inevitable and this was the very first time I have come so
close to the actual death rituals. They further reiterated, “We must make a visit to the crematorium very
often, just to remind ourselves that we don’t have time to think bad and be
cruel to others”. “The ones who weep
and think about you will remember you only for months and sometimes years at
end. Then, even the one’s own kith and kin will forget as time gradually makes
it course” reiterated Rinzin. I listened to them with a deep sense of
acceptance that whatever they just said was profoundly true. This remark made me revisit Sogyal Rimpoche’s
The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. I
am currently re-reading it.
Two
Chony(ies) talked to me about how temporal and short a human life is. I have
had undergone unlimited brawls and quarrels, thought sinister(ly) about people
known and unknown, felt proud when my adversaries were hurt and doomed, and you can think about
all the emotional evil that I have had about people… my gosh! Did I have time
for all this?
Years back,
I wrote something on silence and while writing it, the word ‘brief’ matched so
well with what I was trying to pin down and I earned pretty good criticisms
from my write up. Now, at this point of time when I suddenly embarked on
writing something down on death, this word ‘brief’ makes me uneasy and thinking
about the word ‘brief’ stirs fear in me.
So the idea
underpinning this update is to let ourselves be reminded that, there is no time
to be bad… bad! I feel we do not have the time even to think bad about humans
let alone animals in this ‘brief’ called life. Just as a smile makes a day,
thinking positively and talking politely to others would make moments
cherish-able in this ‘brief’ called life. If I haven’t stirred anything in you,
please do make a visit to the crematorium just as I did because this is my only
deathly opinion in this ‘brief’ called life. So, dear folks don’t be bad and if
you have been one, just think of my tryst at the crematorium and be reminded
that we must all undergo this ‘Death’ ordeal.
Once again folks
don’t be bad and I know you won’t be!