Death changes who we are. But the strangest thing is, we do not know what happens to the person who is dying or who has died.
Maybe they have gone to a better world if there exists such a world. We don’t know that and for centuries, people have remained curious about it. But there have been many loved spirits who have come down after their death and communicated with their loved ones.
Some of the wise words that they say about their afterlife are truly unbelievable, but it is wisdom that only people who have died can hold:
1. Karmic Retribution
We have been fed this belief that somehow our karma is punishing or blessing us in this life. This karma is, of course, not the karma of our life now, but rather our previous life. It is that constant consolation or worry that somehow, we did something terrible in our past life and that is what’s making us miserable now. However, this is a terribly defeatist attitude. Karma doesn’t work that way – your past life has nothing to do with your current life. This kind of thinking will take away the spark from your present life too since you will be always be wary of what you are doing and end up losing all the fun. With Karma, it is not a simple eye-for-an-eye concept – it’s so much more.
2. Predetermined reason to live
It is supposed that when we come into this life, we already carry a purpose. This might be true but we spend way too much time trying to figure out the reason why we are here. In due time, it kind of becomes an obsession and the meaning of our lives starts centering on finding what its purpose is. It’s almost absurd how these things work – but if you think about it, we are not meant to know our purpose, at least, that easily. If you really get to know what your purpose is; life, as a search for purpose, would lose all meaning. Yes, you will be enlightened – but could you live that kind of life?
3. Nothing is permanent
This is a cliched idea but it remains one of the true facts in this world – everything keeps changing and there is nothing we can do about it. The best thing we can do is accept the change and try not to be disturbed by it. It’s just like that Hindu philosophy where the world is nothing more than an Illusion (‘Maya’) – fleeting.
4. Life is actually amazing
Life can be hard and sometimes we can mess it up. We regret it a lot and when the regret gets worse, then we might even call this life a curse. Some of us may have even wanted not to exist. But that is just the kind of thought that we can have because we don’t know anything about death. Life is beautiful – even the mistakes of it. We should try to appreciate it more rather than dub it as terrible.
5. Don’t be judgmental
Think with an open mind – don’t be judgmental as it can only lead to a terrible form of narrow-mindedness where you can’t even engage with all the things in the world. As humans, we are expected to be a part of this grand world and we are supposed to interact freely with all its elements. Don’t let your narrow-mindedness or judgments trap you in a sole cage of your own. Rather, think large and reach out – do whatever you think is right for you.
6. Things will not go as expected
We plan things in a certain way because we believe that it will go in a specific direction. But life is uncertain and you can’t get what you have always wanted. Plans may not turn out as planned and there might be some mess-ups along the way. But there is no right or wrong. There will be times when you feel like something resulted in a loss while there are other times when things just turn out to be so much better than you thought they would be. Accept both – all of it is a part of life and the roller coaster ride is beautiful that way.
