Is death the end? Or a transition?

There was a time when our ancestors had designed death rituals to let the consciousness exit the body and move on to a different state. In this intermediate state, there is awareness (though not in the “living” sense) but the consciousness requires guidance.

In his new book, Does the moon exist?, Dr Abhijit Dam prefers to call dying as “transference of consciousness.” He regrets that today most deaths happen in hospitals, surrounded by “death-prolonging machinery.” This alien setting is very confusing and frightening to the transitioning consciousness. It is more comforting if this happens in the peaceful, familiar setting of home in the presence of loved ones.

When you read this book, you might find it difficult to believe that Dr Dam was once immersed in intensive care, busy trying to kill death. After a decade he realized that rather than saving lives, he was prolonging the process of dying.

It would be even more difficult to accept that he was a staunch atheist for long until a life event made him seek refuge in God. He also realized his “stuttering inadequacy in handling religious and spiritual issues” raised by his patients. He undertook a one-year course in Advanced Vedanta from Chinmaya Mission and then I completed a six-month course in Contemplative and End-of-life Care conducted by the Naropa University, USA. He went on to find the hospice Kosish in 2005.

More recently, Dr Dam has developed a “culturally appropriate death doula course for India”. Death doulas assist a person during the process of dying. “They help in restoring sacredness to the dying process in a culturally and religiously appropriate manner.” The course, named Farishtey marries the “modern principles of quantum physics and the ancient wisdom of Vedanta”. This book provides the rationale for that marriage.

The book (which Dr Dam often calls his “dissertation”) is a difficult read. Especially because most of us do not want to read about death! Unless one is facing it or has had to be (or is) responsible for looking after someone on the verge of departure. If you are brave enough to look life in the eye, this book will tell you why the end is not really the final end. Given that the bodily end is a certainty (just as the moon is surely there, whether you look at it or not) this book could well prepare one for a peaceful transfer.
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After all you are not just your body, are you?