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The Meaning of Death

Prerna Salla
It is hard to understand the concept called death. Many people have varying views on it, and some believe it is nothing but an extension of life.
"What do you mean by death Mom?", asked a six-year old boy to his mom. All his mother could say was that, everyone in this world lives and dies, and it is the end of a mortal soul. But is it really an end to life? It is difficult to make the children understand its significance.
Most of us consider it to be the deep dark dungeon, where your deeds make arrangements of your further stay in the other world. Most of us also believe that, it is associated with the fear of unknown.

A Generation of Answers

But what is it? Many of us in this world are so busy trying to live life beyond its existence, that truly living life to its fullest is a rather difficult affair.
When you try making children understand a profound concept like death, it's difficult to penetrate through their innocent minds, that there is going to be a vacuum created post death and that life moves on.
For kids, it's probably a notion that, God sent me here for a certain period, and now that he's so lonely after having created so many things around him, he needs me back there!
For the older people who have seen all in their life, it's only a matter of time when they shall understand death in all its proximity. Amidst the pain and the truthful experiences in life that make us wiser by the day, it still leaves many questions unanswered.
For youngsters, it's easy to die for each other, as emotions take the better of us and dying for the other is a natural feeling, though momentarily so. Many people assume life to be unending, only to find that all this time spent was really to better equip yourself with the reality called death.
This perhaps explains the reason, why as we get older, most of us tend to become closer and closer to God. Perhaps it's the final reckoning with the Almighty that makes us do so.

Understanding the Concept

Many philosophies and religions propagate that, death is but an extension of life itself. Though this life is more spiritual and less physical. Moreover, life being depicted as fulfilling all your dreams, all along its passage, makes this notion slightly difficult to accept. From a child's perspective, it only hinders around giving and receiving love.
For children to understand this concept, it purely means that the Almighty father who created us, allowed us to live our lives. And since he created so many of us, so that we aren't loners on this planet; he gave us various examples of human existence like friends, parents, and people whom we relate to everyday.
When the mother made her six-year old understand the truth, although confused, the child still had the sparkle of curiosity for death.