Facing life’s battles stoically

If you read any newspaper, your eyes will not miss deaths of men, women and children of different age groups. Most of them do not die natural deaths. In most cases, they die at the hands of criminals, reckless drivers, contract killers, distraught lovers and frustrated husbands.

In most countries, criminals get away if they have the right connections with the law enforcement agencies. If they are charged in a court of law, eminent lawyers will appear for them to plead their innocence. If they are convicted and jailed, corrupt jailers are ready to provide them with all the comforts. If they are killed by a rival group, the society gives them a grand funeral.

Even if the death penalty is implemented, there won’t be a significant drop in crimes, say sociologists. Criminals will do what they want quite unmindful of punishment or repercussions. Then how can law-abiding citizens live in such a society? Are they destined to live in fear of death at the hands of a criminal? Many philosophers, sociologists and psychologists have addressed this issue for a long time.

Agony of life

Jiddu Krishnamurti in Total Freedom posits the question quite philosophically: “Why do human beings die so miserably, so unhappily, with a disease, old age, senility, the body shrunk, ugly? Why can’t they die naturally and as beautifully as this leaf? What is wrong with us? In spite of all the doctors, medicines and hospital operations and all the agony of life and the pleasures too, we don’t seem able to live with dignity, simplicity and with a smile.”

Sigmund Freud: Our behaviour is governed by the id, ego and superego

Krishnamurti does not deal with senseless killings directly. When a man is killed violently, he will die a natural death. His body will be in a shambles. His kith and kin will avenge his killing. However, the dead body is given all the honours imaginable. Money will be spent lavishly for his funeral where an oration will be made praising his services to society.

This is quite in contrast to funerals that take place on the banks of the Ganges in India. A small group of people would bring the body wrapped in clothes. After placing it on a makeshift pyre, they would set fire to it without much ado. When the flames go up the few people who had gathered there would disperse.

Funerals

A funeral in the so-called sophisticated societies is a costly affair. Undertakers, caskets, drummers, white clothes, hearses and the procession have come to stay whether we like them or not. Even the body is kept for several days waiting for the relatives’ arrival from far away places. At the end of the whole affair, most survivors try to make ends meet as they have run into debts.

On the other hand, aren’t we living in fear of death? We go to our workplaces early in the morning and return home quite exhausted. At the end of the month, we get some money for our survival. If you are a businessman, you will try to earn more money and acquire more comforts. At home we have our own family conflicts. Our lives are full of fears, anxiety and grief. However, we do not want to give up this pattern of living. When we reach the old age, we begin to fear the approaching death.

According to most religions, there is a next life after death. If there is a next life, there is no need to live in fear of death. On the other hand, we cannot afford to kill others or even ourselves. We should not steal what belongs to others. We should not commit adultery or other moral offences. If we lead an exemplary life, there is no need to fear death.

Human behaviour

According to the renowned psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, our behaviour is governed by three components. They are the id, ego and superego. The id is the primitive and instinctive component of personality that operates according to the pleasure principle. For a child, an ice-cream gives him pleasure.

For a youth, even the presence of a beautiful girl might give pleasure. An elderly man might want to have a little more comfort in life. All this shows that the id is usually illogical and fantasy-oriented.

As we mature in life, the ego begins to operate according to the reality principle. The ego keeps you out of trouble by taming the unbridled desires of the id. It is like a man on horseback holding in check the superior strength of the horse. The superego is the moral component of personality that incorporates social standards about what represents right and wrong. If not for the superego, most of us would have ruined our lives.

Most of the crimes can be the result of these three components. Those who have a well-developed superego are likely to face life’s battles and death stoically.