We have 9 months to prepare for birth, but there’s no preparation time when death comes knocking!
It is natural to grieve when a loved one dies. And the loss is exponential when that loved one is not an elderly person from the family but a young adult, or a mere child! Those are indeed difficult times and admittedly it will take time for anyone to recover from such shock and pain.
While it may be difficult to console ourself in such an hour of grief, we have to always keep in mind that “Whatever has a beginning will have an end”. The birth of a child today means that it will eventually die. Just like a new day turns into night. Of course we don’t want to be around when that event happens, but it is inevitable.
Samartha Ramdas has beautifully written in the short Marathi composition of 205 verses titled मनाचे श्लोक (Manache Shlok, or “Verses for the Mind”) the following verses on this topic:
जिवा कर्मयोगे जनीं जन्म जाला । परी शेवटी काळमूखी निमाला ॥ महाथोर ते मृत्युपंथेचि गेले । कितीएक ते जन्मले आणि मेले ॥ १४ ॥
मना पाहता सत्य हे मृत्युभूमी । जितां बोलती सर्वही जीव मी मी ॥ चिरंजीव हे सर्वही मानिताती । अकस्मात सांडूनियां सर्व जाती ॥ १५ ॥
मरे एक त्याचा दुजा शोक वाहे । अकस्मात तोही पुढे जात आहे ॥ पुरेना जनीं लोभ रे क्षोभ त्याते । म्हणोनी जनीं मागुता जन्म घेते ॥ १६ ॥
For the benefit of those who don’t understand Marathi, I’ve attempted to translate it to English:
We’ve been blessed with this life, just as all great people from history, who are all now dead || 14 ||
When we’re alive, we’re smitten by worldly pleasures, only to realize the ‘truth’ on our deathbed || 15 ||
We grieve others death, without realizing we’re next. Material desires keeps our soul bound in the cycle of life and death || 16 ||
So the message for today (and possibly every day to come!) for us is to remember the finite nature of our existence (in this life), and to try and utilize the time at our disposal wisely! The seers in India have been telling this all along, but we’re unfortunately not able to catch this in time.
Try to be grateful for this life that you have. I have a daily ritual to express gratitude once when I wake up (since I’m still alive) and once before bedtime (for being able to live one more day!) and it helps me immensely with my happiness.