Beginning of a New Stage of Life

Plants, animals and human beings—all of these have to face death, one day or the other. Every tree finally loses its greenery. Every lion finally loses its majestic mane. Similarly, every human being who takes birth here will die. Death is a universal law of this world, to which no one is an exception. But unlike other living beings, it is only a human being who knows that his life can be cut short at any moment and that even if he attains what is regarded as the expected human lifespan, his growth is bound to be followed by eventual decline, and, in due course, by death.

Among all creatures it is only a human being who has an understanding of death. This exception tells us that the matter of death is different for man than it is for other living beings. For the latter, death is an event of unawareness, while for man it is something that he can become fully aware of. This exceptional quality of human beings indicates that for man, along with death there is also consciousness of death.

For a person, it is desirable that well before the moment of his death arrives, he should deeply contemplate about death and be suitably prepared beforehand to face it. For other living beings, death is simply the end of life. That is why there was no need for them to have been given the consciousness of death. But for a human being, death is not the end of life. Rather, it is the beginning of a new stage of life. That is why it was necessary that he be made aware of death in advance so that he could make the necessary preparations for it.

A human being should die a conscious death, not an unconscious one like animals and plants.