Death

Soul Never Dies.

The soul never dies. But when we look at it from our limited human standpoint, we think, "He was an old man; it was his time to go. But why did the young person have to die?” There is a great secret behind this. Though a person may appear to be a child to us, if we were able to look within them, we would see that his soul is not that of a child. He has already taken many births. He has left the world and returned many times.

Why Death is Difficult to Accept?

Dharam continually teaches us that there is no such thing as death, even though all things leave the world. So why is it so difficult for us to accept? Human nature is very loving. We humans never forget anything which leaves us. Even if the cup breaks from which we drank our tea everyday, we will remember it for many days. Why? Because we loved that cup. When the family dog dies, we don't eat for days. When our love for another person is so much greater, it is naturally very difficult to forget them. It is especially difficult to accept the death of a person whose heart was filled with kindness and love, who always thought about others, and was always concerned that others should not suffer. But people cannot fully understand God’s rules.

Time to Harvest

When a child dies, to us it is a tragic event. But God is like a farmer who decides when the time has come to harvest his crop. The Guru has said, "Sometimes He cuts His crop before it has ripened, sometimes He waits until it is half-grown, and sometimes He waits until it is ripe."

We say, "we want to see that form, we want to hear that voice." But the one we love is going to take birth again. Their innocence, their power, their karma will be reborn. We should never forget that all the Prophets called this world mirt lok—"the transient world"—for nothing here remains. The body will definitely leave some day. Lord Krishna said, "What is death? You simply exchange your old clothes for new ones. There is no death for us." But the nature of life, death, and karma is a subject for the Prophets. The average person has difficulty understanding it.

Why Death Happens?

No doubt, we are filled with sorrow when a loved one dies. But we should not be annoyed with God or ask "Why did this happen?", because the person was carrying his karma from previous lives. Remember also that even while people are crying here, somewhere else people are offering congratulations as he is reborn. They are rejoicing, "A good child has come to our house at last." He has gone on to be born in a home where he was greatly needed.

And although his body has gone from this life, his thoughts will never leave. If they were good thoughts, people will continue to benefit from them.

We should therefore pray that God will send our loved one to a good place, where he can continue his good work and continue to develop his or her thoughts. Dharam teaches us that progress does not occur in just one lifetime. For example, a person does not become a good doctor in one lifetime. She has studied the body many times, and after many births, she becomes familiar with each part of the body. A scientist has been pursuing his research for many lifetimes. At one point, he realizes the essence of his research and develops something. Some children at the age of three or five start creating buildings or taking photographs, because these are the things they were doing in their past lives. The child picks up from where he left off. We have been here many times before and left many times, but we do not know it. It is a secret that God has kept hidden from us.