Does life end in death?

All living beings including animals fear death. Most of us think that life comes to an end with death. In a way, it seems to be so. When you die, you have to leave your kith and kin and other personal possessions. No sensible man would like to let go of everything. However, we are aware that one day or the other we have to make an exit from life’s theatre.

The average man knows that he lives or exists. He also knows that when he dies, he has to leave everything. But has he ever pondered whether life and death are so simple? Isn’t there anything more to life and death? Does life really come to an end with death? Buddhists believe in rebirth. However, rebirth is linked with Karmic forces. If you do good in this life, your next birth will be trouble free. If you do bad in this life, be ready to suffer for your sins in your next birth.

Rebirth coupled with Karmic theory is one way of looking at the problem of life and death. It shows that death does not put an end to life because there is the afterlife. If you want to be reborn as a rich man or beautiful woman, you have to perform good deeds without breaking the moral code.

Repercussions

Almost all Buddhists are aware of the repercussions of immoral deeds committed in this life. Unfortunately, they do not desist from committing sins. They kill animals for food. They eliminate their enemies without any compunction. They rob the State of public funds. They tell palpable lies and give bogus promises during elections. Adultery has become a way of life in society. The list of offences that come under the Penal Code can be endless. The rising trend in crimes shows only the tip of the iceberg. Man is paying only lip service to religion and doing things as he pleases.

Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi (1207-1273) had a different theory on life and death. According to him, everything in the universe including man is part of an endless flow of life. He emphasised that the past is closely linked to the present and the present to the future in one endless continuum. His theory came as a novel interpretation of life and death.

Rumi, born in Balkh, in a province of Persia was a master of a Sufi Order. He taught his mystical interpretations of the Qur’an and the importance of music and dance in religious ceremonies. After his death, his devoted followers founded the Mawlawi Order of Sufism. Although Sufism was a mystical and aesthetic interpretation of the Qur’an, it had not always been accepted by mainstream Islamic scholars.

Medium

Rumi believed that he was a medium between God and man. He placed much emphasis on ritual prayers and soon became popular for his ecstatic revelations. In a bid to communicate his visions to his followers he wrote them in verse. His central theory is the idea that the universe and everything in it is an endless flow of life. He said that God’s presence was eternal.

Ruimi’ theory of life and death is different from the Buddhist interpretation. He said a man is a link between the past and future in a continual process of life, death and rebirth. It was not as a cycle, but in a progression from one form to another. The process extends to eternity. Accordingly, when someone dies or ceases to exist, they are born in another form such as an animal or a tree. The point he made is that you should not grieve over death because what you lose will come back in another form.

Even Buddhists believe that there is no use of grieving over death. The reason is that everything decays; nothing is permanent. While the Buddhist view of rebirth is linked with Karmic forces, man has an opportunity to amass merit to lead a better life after death. Rumi also said that man should strive for spiritual growth. He emphasised the importance of human-divine relationship. For this he suggested an emotional approach backed by music, songs and dances. The Sufi dance represents the spiritual journey of man from ignorance to perfection.

Potent force

Sufism has enriched mainstream Islam to a great extent and it later became a potent force in the West. Muhammed Iqbal was perhaps his greatest admirer. He was the adviser to Muhammad Ali Jinnah who founded the Islamic State of Pakistan in the 1930s. Rumi is a stalwart in modern philosophy because he presented a novel view of life and death.

Whether you believe in Buddhism or Sufism, there is theoretical evidence to say that life does not end in death. Therefore, there is no purpose in grieving over death.