Dance of birth and death

 The ongoing drama of life on this planet springs from the energy contained in the solar rays. Earth -which supports life- revolves around its parent body, the sun, so as to be in equilibrium. Life germinated here millions of years back and it has evolved to the present higher stages.  The smiles of birth, blues of death, fragrant breeze, passion’s bliss, blossoming blooms, sturdy steps and steep falls, all alternate in the ongoing burlesque. Thunder storms, quakes, pestilences, accidents, horrendous plaques, famine, floods and diseases take away his breath unabated. The baptism of new born, marriages and the tolling church bells signal this transient play.

A supernova will toll the death of the sun. The gas clouds released may coalesce and form another heavenly object which may circle the galactic nucleus. But the death of the new birth is certain too. The solar explosion will declare the death of earth. A death-pal would have already fallen on the ongoing transient play of life on the erath.  

The twinkling stars and galaxies move towards their programmed end. The expanding universe may retrace its steps and fall back with the pull of gravity to a tiny but immensely dense point. When the density tends towards infinity, there may be a Big Bang again. Just like the last Big Bang produced the clusters of galaxies, stars, their attendant planets and life, the new Big Bang will hurtle immense gas clouds and  another ‘universe will be getting birth. There can be sun-like stars and earth like planets and man like beings –all awaiting their entry and exit.  All march in unison to each one’s programmed death and birth. Big bangs and big crunches pulsate in eternity with the lullaby of time. Matter and energy alternate in their destiny.

  

How to keep youthful always?

There may be a clockwork mechanism that make us age. But with a proper life-style, one can extend one’s youthfulness by well beyond 100. All our limbs and organs can function well up to 120 years! It is our mental outlook which invites ageing.

Decaying is a universal phenomenon. But our mind can control the decay of our body tissues. It is not fully true that old age leads us to death. Death is brought about by diseases like BP, cancer, heart attack, TB, Pneumonia, AIDS, accidents, illnesses, and in rare cases by old age.  The thought that one will have to be senile and useless in old age is totally unfounded. There are people who enjoy youthfulness in old age with all their organs and limbs functioning well up to 110 and more.

It is not necessary that because one is decrepit at 90 another should also be decrepit. If you exercise your body and brain, control food, and live for certain aims, you can be as healthy at 95 as another one is at 60.

Eating less (take food equivalent to 1200 calories a day) can add up to 50% more to your life span! Studies have conclusively shown that taking a serving or two of broccoli each day, one can add 5 years to his life. Having a pet and spending time with it regularly can give you 3 more years. If you live in a rural setting amidst greeneries and with a lot of unpolluted fresh air you will get 7 years more! Having an understanding and loving partner will extend your life by about 5-7 years!

Leaving your memory and brain in a rut (doing routine things which give no challenge) make them rusted and they prepare to die earlier. Brain is a self programming mechanism and if there is no use staying alive it just goes.

If you exercise physically  and throw new challenges to brain (doing  puzzles, going to new places, studying a new language, doing your daily chores with the less proficient hand, writing memoirs, recalling names of people you met, doing memory games and living for a purpose) it will function like a youth’s brain.  

This is applicable to all our muscles and organs. Keep them exercised and let them be fit. Go for aerobic, muscle building and flexibility exercises. Nobody can stop  chronological ageing but your mind will behave like that of an youngster if you exercise your body and brain, move more, control your food and have something to live for.  

Does any help come from Above?

Not for the poor. They are in pain and poverty all the time. One in 3 in India get only Rs.11/- or less a day! When I write these words there are dozens of children who are dying without food and water. There are thousands of infants who die out of mal-nutrition and sickness each day.  When a tsunami occurred a few years back a few hundred thousand people -mostly poor ones living along the costs- perished in a moment. Earthquakes, floods and hurricanes kill millions every year. If there is a supernatural purpose for sending man down here why are they mercilessly killed? If the gods are sending their souls to heaven why should they send the poor, blind, mad and crippled ones to suffer here? Do those above enjoy the suffering and shrieks of agony?

             Of all the children born into this world a vast majority of them died before the age of 10 up to the twentieth century when man developed the medical science. There was no cure for any contagious disease until then and entire societies used to be wiped out in a plague or an epidemic. Where were the gods? Pain and suffering has been the reality ever since man’s appearance on this planet. It continues even today, at a lesser degree as man has developed medical science, agriculture and technology. There has been no help coming from above in any way. If man tries hard he can succeed or prolong his life or he can be in abject poverty and sickness until death.

Well there has been a lot of help for the kings who ruled in the name of gods, for the popes, cardinals and bishops who live in luxurious palaces amidst wealth and luxury (with the money collected from the faithful in the name of the gods) and for the religious heads who live like Maharajahs without doing any work.  There is no tangible benefit for ordinary people and any intangible benefit received is only a creation of their own brain.   
The religious guys have taught us that gods are responsible for every thing good in our lives and we are responsible for every thing bad! Even though we have to work hard to bring in a success,  the credit goes to gods. Even if a failure or misfortune happens, for no fault of ours, the blame is on us! 

Reflections of a child

As a child I was moved by the pain of others. I would watch blind people go along our village road with a stick groping for a safe step. They could not see anyone or do any work or study anything. Braille system and all were unheard of in our part of the world. There was a deaf youth who would come running at fixed intervals whistling; children ridiculed and made fun of him. There were many crippled guys like my brother who were suffering each day.

Many were sick with all sorts of diseases. I was sad that people, young and old were dying. Whenever someone died in our neighborhood, I would go, watch the dead body for some time and come home, lie on the cement floor and cry. I was simply sad and felt miserable at my inability to help the dead regain life.

I was hungry most of the time; there was not enough to eat as a rule (except on festivals) and I had to work as a child from morning till evening.

I used to be awestruck at the good houses in the village and would stand looking at their gates, paved courtyard and flower plants arranged in pots. One day I waited 10 minutes at the gate of a rich friend ( I was never invited in) to get one flower! I never knew why people were created differently by God, nor the reason for human suffering. I had not read a news paper until I was 15 and hence I never knew about poverty deaths, tsunamis, earthquakes, plagues or volcanic eruptions which killed thousands.

Everyone in our village endured suffering and pain in the hope of a prosperous after life. The nuns and priests used to describe heaven so colorfully to us children that we wished to die to get there. As I walked to the school up and down hungry, I used to chant continuously the names of Jesus, Mary and Joseph so that we would eneter heaven and not the fearsome hell.

I was not aware those days that God and religion were a means of livelihood like any other profession. As in any other job there were good and bad, believers and non-believers. More scientific evidence suggested to my mind later that things happen in this life as per the gravitational, physical and chemical laws which are immutable. If you fall from a height you die, if a virus attacks, one gets sick. A plague can kill the entire society. If one is born in a famine-prone area one will probably suffer badly throughout his life. If one’s inheritance (like intelligence, energy level and physique) is good he is lucky. Otherwise he will have to put in hard work thousands of times more to get a small achievement in life.

Many of the problems people face in their lives have their roots in popular beliefs. Different gods and faiths have caused a majority of all the wars and communal strife waged so far.   A lot of suffering is brought about by certain religious dogmas objecting birth control measures. If there are 7-9 children in a poor house they are bound to suffer all the way.  Children are to be produced only if the parents can feed, love and educate them!