Lets face it: the prospect of dying is not a pleasant one. Yet this is the single unchanging constant in our lives. How we deal with dying to a large extent determines how we live. But we do not want to talk about dying. We hope that by somehow keeping the prospect of dying out of our mind, we can avoid it. Unfortunately this is counterproductive. If our thinking about dying is muddled, so will be our actions. This post attempts to take the issue of dying from under the rug and bring it out in the open.
Dying is the ego’s problem. Our association with the ego turns dying into our problem. The more closely we associate with the ego, the more our attitude towards dying will be either evasive or heroic. In either case, our mistreatment of the prospect of dying can have adverse effect on our lives and the lives of our loved ones. It can make our lives miserable and so also the lives of our loved ones.
The key to cultivate the right attitude towards dying comes from decoupling ourselves from the ego. When this happens the terror associated with dying greatly diminishes. This in turn greatly reduces the amplitude of drama associated with dying. Those around us find us to be more approachable and our lives are filled with love till our last moment.
How does Yoga come into all this? The key is to understand that yoga is a process. It leads to a mind-body that slowly decouples itself from the ego. Yoga takes you away from your ego and introduces you to your soul.
As we allow the magic of Yoga to unfold in our lives, we find that the role of anger, bitterness, jealousy, and rigidity is greatly reduced. This is replaced by love, forgiveness, compassion, and flexibility. All this is the direct result of decoupling from our ego.
The decoupling from our ego also allows us to approach the process of dying in a more natural way. Instead of fear we have acceptance. Instead of anger we have generosity. Instead of bitterness we have love. And instead of remorse we have forgiveness. Our thinking is decoupled from false drama and becomes more mature. When the ego ceases to become our focal point, our decisions are based out of love. This fills our lives with happiness and so also the lives of our loved ones. We allow ourselves to die happily, peacefully, and naturally. But more important is that we learn to live fully with lives filled with love, peace, and gratitude.
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Credits:This has been written by Raj Shah and edited by Ketna Shah.