The biggest question of all

Isn’t it surprising? We spend millions on mundane things, we spend our lives dedicated to things which are as trivial as, say, improving the mileage of a SUV by 2 kms per litre, but do we really think of the biggest question of them all? Which according to me is what happens after death? The here after. The one only certain thing. Death. It will come to one and all. It will come no matter how healthy your life style, irrespective of how much you exercise, whether you smoke ten packs a day or none, whether you use olive oil or coconut. It is inevitable. One who is born has to die. So who am I really? Do I cease to exist after death? Can I feel anything? Where do our joys, our sorrows, our memories go after that? Is there an afterlife? A rebirth? No one knows. Even the religious texts have differing views on these. We don’t know whether life exists on other planets but we spend billions sending out space crafts in trying to locate it. Then isn’t it surprising that there is so little research on this? The only inevitable fact and we don’t know anything about it. How weird is that? There have been experiments on weighing the soul (21 gms) and papers on near death experiences but these are sporadic and unreliable. Are we scared of finding out? Or do we don’t like to think of the fact that we all are going to go away one day. Many think of death as something which happens to other people. But burying our heads in the sand won’t make this go away, will it?

Perplexed...

Why is life so confusing at times? Why cant things be clearer? Why can’t that moral compass, that our particular upbringing imbibes in us, guide us better? Why does life have to be made of swathes of grey with only streaks of black and white? Why do our eyes see what we see and why do we feel what we do? Why can’t the portions of happiness be larger than those of misery? I was so sure that life was meant to be a pleasant, if not joyful, experience, one of new sights, sounds, experiences, colours – each bringing newer sensations to the parched mind. Was I so off target? So far I was under the impression that not having anything to look forwards to was the worst possible thing that could befall one. So why do I feel now that not wanting to look forwards to anything else is actually worse. What is right and what is wrong? Can there be anything easier than that? Can there be anything tougher? Are the entities of affection, love and friendship just myths? Wisps of our frenzied imagination? Are these so shallow that at the hint of the slightest tremor, all else is forgotten? Why is everything so meaningless? A blur of pale and tepid colors which sometimes seems to whiz by before one begins to make any sense and at others, limps by at an agonizingly slow pace, robbing one of even that temporary feeling of relief that things would finally come to an end soon.

Absurd Things:

Switch of your mobile phones while flying: This is blatantly absurd. If mobile phones were really dangerous, they would be carried in the check in baggage and not cabin baggage. Terrorists would not have to hatch complicated plans to bring down aircrafts. All they had to do was to simply switch on the mobile and call the girlfriend…. And boom. Piece of cake !!!

Suicide is a punishable offence: You got to be kidding me. If a person successfully manages to end his or her miserable journey on this planet, the law is going to do what? Hang the dead body?? And if the person fails, then how do you prevent him from a repeat attempt? Put him in jail and get him sodomized by his cell mate?

Smoking a cigarette is OK but not wearing a helmet or a seat belt is not?? The worst thing that would happen without you wearing the helmet is that you pay for it with a broken head. Fair enough. You took a risk and you pay for it with your life or limb. It’s your limb and your loss. However you smoke and blow the toxic fumes and scores of innocent people, pregnant ladies and kids are at risk of developing bronchogenic carcinoma and what not.