Words of Comfort: The Bhagavad Gita

The Bhagavad Gita, a revered text from the Hindu religion, was produced during the first millenium B.C.E. Originally written in Sanskrit, there are over 300 translations in English alone. I particularly like this translation of verse 2:28 from Juan Mascaró: "Invisible before birth are all beings and after death invisible again. They are seen between two unseens. Why in this truth find sorrow?"

Philosophy of Dying: Confucius and Zhuang Zhou

Alexus McLeod is an Associate Professor of Philosophy and Asian Studies at the University of Connecticut.  In 2017 he penned an article: "What Chinese Philosophers Can Teach Us About Dealing With Our Own Grief".  He references writings from Zhuang Zhou, the Daoist philosopher who lived during the 4th Century B.C.E.  One particular insightful incident occurred when a friend of his, Hui Shi, finds him joyfully beating on a drum following the death of his wife, and reprimands Zhuang Zhou for his behavior.  Zhuang's response?

"Zhuang Zhou replies that when his wife first died, he was as upset as anyone would be following such a loss. But then he reflected on the circumstances of her origins – how she came to be through changes in the elements that make up the cosmos. He was able to shift his vision from seeing things from the narrowly human perspective to seeing them from the larger perspective of the world itself. He realized that her death was just another of the changes of the myriad things constantly taking place in the world. Just as the seasons progress, human life generates and decays.  In reflecting on life in this way, Zhuang Zhou’s grief disappeared." 

Of course, grief doesn't go away so easily for so many of us, but Zhuang Zhou's perspective might be helpful to meditate on.  Dr. McLeod also mentions how the Chinese philosopher Confucius  (c. 551 B.C.E. - c. 479 B.C.E.) suggested a three-year mourning period after the death of one's parent -- quite extraordinary by modern standards.  But for Confucius, anything less would not be appropriate.  According to McLeod, there is also a communal and ancestral component to our grief that cannot be ignored:

"There is more to the Confucian response to death than grief. Our encounter with others inevitably changes us. Those closest to us, according to the early Confucians, particularly family members, play the greatest role in determining who we are. In that sense, we are representatives of particular communities than detached and autonomous individuals.

After all, many of our physical features and personalities originate from our ancestors. In addition, we learn many of our attitudes, preferences and characteristic ways of acting from our families, friends and neighbors – the creators of our culture. So, when we consider the question of what we are as individuals, the answer necessarily encompasses members of our closest community."

Words of Comfort: Interview with R. Craig Hogan, PhD

As I mentioned in a previous post, I've really enjoyed listening to Sandra Champlain's "We Don't Die" Radio.  One of her most recent interviews was with Dr. Craig Hogan.  Dr. Hogan is co-founder of the website Seekreality.com, along with author and attorney Roberta Grimes.  During the interview with Sandra, he claims that people who have died and crossed over to the afterlife take on the appearance of when they were in the prime of life (generally in their 20s to 30s), and that our deceased loved ones are much closer to us than we think they are (and that they want to engage with us!)  He also talks about how our purpose on Earth is to learn lessons, love others, and how using our lives to serve others less fortunate than ourselves can be one of the best things we can do to lessen our grief.  I personally found it a wonderfully reassuring and compassionate interview.  Again, my words don't do it justice.  I know I sound like a broken record, but again, watch the interview in its entirety -- I think it's well worth it!

Loss Through Music: George Harrison's "All Things Must Pass"

Former Beatles guitarist George Harrison wrote "All Things Must Pass" in January of 1969.  Originally planned to be on the Beatles' Let It Be album, the song didn't make the final cut.  There's debate over whether John Lennon and Paul McCartney didn't really like the song, or if George wasn't fully up to having his band mates perform with him on this particular track.  The song was later released in late 1970 over Harrison's highly-acclaimed album of the same name.

According to Wikipedia, author Elliot Huntley described the song as a "haunting hymn about the mortality of everything."  Some have speculated that Harrison was writing about the Beatles slow descent towards their break-up during that period, but others have noticed that Harrison's solo version of the song may have taken on an added dimension, after the death of his mother, Louise, in July 1970 at the age of 59.