Gentle Unto Death Poem by Aniruddha Pathak

He was alive if breathing be called life,
Peaceful and blissful with no surface strife,
To me, he was suffering for far long,
The man I knew— a man of self-esteem
Died long ere—awaiting to hear death gong,
In life's melting pot his dream had gone grim!

Alive, yea, all vegetables sure are,
Those that grow and ripen to reddish tinge,
Yet, to say they scarce feel is going far,
Softest of touch makes some shy creepers cringe,
And man's born with a head, and feeling heart,
In hierarchy of life he's way apart.

And man's body being a garment born,
Like any raiment gets worn out and old,
Yet breathes on unlike things far from born,
What would a soul do but seek a new mould?
The body's gone beyond a fair repair,
It is only alive on borrowed air.

The right to own things, be it west or east—
Be it a hut or house, or an estate,
Or hankering for none whatso the least,
If never be in doubt to hesitate,
We scarce should snatch away this divine right
Bestowed by heaven in fecund foresight!

Yet man, but a mere man, seats in judgment,
And thinking too hard with his hardened head,
Mundane logic, legal letters, and scant
Respect for feelings of what's in heart's stead,
Rules what he feels right be in his wisdom,
What if it goes against heaven's kingdom!

The right to life when heavenly right is,
Should we deny his right to die in peace?
It's not against heaven— wanting to die,
But sure it is his freedom to deny;
For, when a man seeks freedom from all strife,
A man he's in search of new life yon life!

And one day when he dies in agony,
We wise folk be at fault being unkind,
The docs and nurses, all and so many,
The legal lords clueless with tomes well-lined,
And heaven shall curse hallowed heads hell bent
To deny him dignity of garment!
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Bhagavad-Gita says death is like a change of garment. Man therefore should feel free to change it if he so wishes. The right to own things is a fundamental right, but is incomplete without the right to disown things if so desired. The right to life as the fundamental right is no different. To wish to die may be uncommon, but it is not unnatural. Survival is instinctive but hard; and as it is too easy to die, law should protect man. But we seem to be totally mixed up on this and have complicated things for the old and suffering wishing to die peacefully and in a dignified way. It is time we think of this, not with our too rational a mind, but with our heart that can empathise. Euthanasia is not mercy killing as is made out. It is about dying gently, is more about human right to live in dignity, and die too in dignity.
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Reflections | 02.10.08 |