Death is a friend

[Dimmesdale]

One reason I am not a Christian is because I do not believe death is an enemy to be fought against at all cost. I believe death is a part of life, inseparable from the drama and substance of life. It gives meaning to what I regard as our soul's brief spatio-temporal sojourn, and is the condition (or terminus) at which we return to God. Death is a friend, not an enemy. This is not too say we should mindlessly kill each other or become despairingly suicidal. Not at all. We should befriend death and at the same time savor the meaning to be found here and now, just like a child building a sand castle knows that the waves will blithely wash it away. Death loses its sting most when we refuse to let ourselves be affected, and thus controlled, by it.

Should we mourn for those we have lost? Of course there is a season for that. But we should take cheer that they have passed from terrestrial life into everlasting, superabundant, infinite Life which is what really exists behind the curtain. This view of passing over may seem a bit too sanguine for some skeptics' taste, but it is nevertheless true. Nothing essential is lost in death, for death paves the way toward Christ beyond which is only the passage to the Father. And I am speaking as a Christian-inspired Advaitin, not an entrenched orthodox Christian.

Will we see those we love again in the hereafter? I believe so. Will they retain the same form and hue as here? I do not think so, but I'm "okay" with that. I'm perfectly "okay" with greater things.