Nothing lasts forever, and that is such a boon. On a lighter note, can you imagine a great grandmother who never ages nor dies, and has her great grandson’s friends all courting her? Nothing lasts forever, and that is such a boon.
There is a Greek myth of Eos, the goddess of Dawn and Tithonus a young handsome mortal with whom she falls in love. Eos then pleaded with Zeus the king of the Gods and Time to grant immortality to Tithonus so that she may marry him. That was granted, but she forgot to ask for everlasting youth for him. So Tithonus grew old by the year, wrinkled, bent, disease ridden, unable to walk, unable to digest food, but lived on, and is believed to still be there, longing for “peaceful death”.
Lord Tennyson in his poem on Tithonus writes “Of happy men that have the power to die”. He describes Tithonus as suffering a “cruel immortality”. Death is a release from an ageing body and ill health.
On a serious note, the world would be full of old and sick people, the population would swell till there was no house or land left for them. No land to till and so no food to eat or clothes to wear. No jobs to fill, no hospitals or schools available. Women and men never ageing or dying, the young ones waiting their turn to inherit. There would be hunger, violence and rampant lawlessness. One can’t imagine such a world. Seriously, death is a great boon and immortality would be a great curse upon mankind. So let’s be thankful for the death of the Old Year that heralds the New Year. New things to do new people to meet, new adventures to unfold and new births and new beginnings. Happy New Year.
Prarthna Saran, President Chinmaya Mission Delhi.
