Facing death

MAR 06 -
Last year, Girija babu left our bright planet. And just days ago, we lost the great legend of the Nepali Congress (NC) and former prime minister, Krishna Prasad Bhattarai.

Kishunji was an inspirational leader—he wasn’t involved in any corruption scandals, was heartily followed by many and had a great sense of humour. Now that he is no more, it will be hard for his followers to cope-up with his peaceful demise. His contributions to the NC and Nepal in general will surely be extolled in golden words. As he was accepted as one of the great Nepali political legends, his death has sent shock waves across the entire nation. We have lost great charismatic leader.

However, the bitter truth of his demise has forced everyone to think about death. Sadly, no one escapes death. Death is a fact of life for everyone, and it often comes without displaying any traces, signs, symptoms, or predictability. The true beauty of death is that nobody knows much about it.

Everybody is fearful of something in their life, and many people fear death. But death is not something to be feared. Everybody is born and everybody has to die—there is no escape from this cycle of life. There are plenty of views on death. Some views and ideas emerge from religious beliefs and some from science—but no matter the theory, it is a part of life. Everybody is aware of biological causes of death—a certain disease or condition ranging from cancer to heart failure, or perhaps an accident.

According to Hindu doctrines, there are three fundamental stages of human life: birth, marriage and death. Undoubtedly, every human being must born, marry and die. Nevertheless, most of us find excitement in the first two stages but somehow remain terrified with the idea of death. We should appreciate each of these vital stages equally, no matter what.

The reasons based in religion and science are not satisfactory. The primary reason for this is that, despite their contributions, they don’t actually help us better understand death. The fundamental question of life—where do we come from, why are we here, and where will we go—is an unsolved mystery and will remain unsolved. But perhaps rather than trying to espouse the mysteries of death, it is better that we just accept its reality and live each moment to its limit.

Kishunji has inspired many generations of leaders in Nepali politics. I hope those inspired leaders will display their true talent and pass on his ideologies, philosophies and aspiration towards younger generation. Kishunji, we salute you for your outstanding contribution to Nepali politics. Rest in peace.

Posted on: 2011-03-07 07:58
Published: The Kathmandu Post