‘Someone has rightly said that ‘Don’t fear mortality because it is the very mortality that gives meaning & depth to all the days which are left with you’. When we talk about mortality, many people get petrified. But we need to understand that mortality is the best gift of our life. Only because we are mortal, there is a value of life. Imagine you living for thousands of years, you will be a burden and will become unbearable. So let’s understand what it means to be mortal and how it plays a significant role in shaping our life.

What is Mortality?: Literally, it means ‘the state of being subject to death’. When we talk about mortality, we are talking about realizing the fact that no one is ‘permanent’ in this universe. One who comes in this life has to go one day. No matter who you are, which religion you belong to, what status you have in the society. Everyone who comes into this life form has to die one day.  This is one thing which we can not change no matter how much technological advancements we achieve. We can surely control the birth, that medical science has already achieved, but we can not have living beings who will live forever. Everyone who is born comes with an expiry date. The dates for everyone may vary, some will live short, some will live longer, but one day they would die. So as it is said that in life nothing is sure, I think this sentence is incomplete. We should say that everything is unsure except death which will happen for sure.

Mortality makes life possible: It sounds weird, but this is the truth of life. As I mentioned above that only because we have an expiry date, we feel reverence for life. Let’s look at it from a medical science perspective. If you ask a medical doctor, he will tell you that in 3-4 months time, not only the cells of your body have changed, but your skeletal system also gets recycled. That means only because the old cells die, there is a possibility of producing new cells. So in our normal perception, we think that we have the same physical body. But as far as reality is concerned, it a totally different story altogether. The very notion that we have a physical body is a myth because every moment the old cells are dying and new cells are being born in your body all the time. So your body is always in a state of fluid or flux. The only thing is that your sense perceptions are not capable of observing these subtle changes which are happening within your system.

Why it’s important to be aware of your mortality: I would say this is the first thing which we need to realize and be aware of it. Being aware of it doesn’t mean that we need to think about it all the time. If you do that, you will go crazy. Being aware means, accepting the fact that we are mortal beings. The reason why people behave like fools is only this; somewhere unconsciously they think they are immortal. Somewhere in their mind, there exists this thought that they are going to be here forever. It doesn’t mean they don’t know they will not die, but they are not consciously aware of it. You all know that you have come into this world for a very brief period of time. Now if you are conscious of this fact, would you not do those things which really matter to you? Of course, you would!

If you realize that you are just a pop up in this planet and very soon you will pop out, would you have time to do all kinds of rubbish which most of the people do in their day to day life? The obvious answer is No. If you are conscious of your mortality, you will do those things which you think are the best possibilities for you & others around you. When you do what is best for you obviously you will emerge as a wonderful human being because you don’t have time to do anything else than what is required.

When we know that we are mortal, there is a desire to know what is beyond. Many people ask questions like, Is there life after death? What happens to people who die? Where do they go? What is the nature of our existence? What is the true nature of reality? Is what we perceive is real or there is something beyond that as well? These are the questions which become a living reality for you. Imagine yourself sitting here in this universe forever, this is the biggest disaster. You imagine if all the people who once lived on this planet earth become life again, then there will be no place left for life and all the life on the planet will simply vanish. So it’s good that that one who dies he never comes back. If you have observed, those people who lived their life to their fullest capability, they embrace mortality just like they will accept any other aspect of their life, but those people who have done nothing significant in their life, they are the ones who have the highest fear of death.

I know for many of you who are reading this article will be horrified by all this. But until you don’t realize this very simple fact that you are mortal, you will never feel a deep sense of gratitude towards life. You will live all your life unconsciously and you will totally miss the essence of life. You will miss all those moments which you could have consciously created for you and others. Mortality brings humility within ourselves. That day is not far when you will soon die and will become the topsoil. So make the best out of time which nature has allotted to you.

Happy Reading 🙂