Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Life and death- A new perspective

The science of death is known as thenatology. Not many are aware of it, but there is a whole branch of science dedicated to study of death, the ultimate anathema of all that scientific research is aimed at- maximising happiness. Anyway, the point is, death is such an interesting event that it demands explanation. What draws man towards the subject of death is mystique- why a man dies? what is death? what happens after death?

Medical dictionaries have defined death in various confusing terms. Laymen may think death as merely "absence of life". But it brings us to another question- what is life? Is a working brain, beating heart, respiring lungs a sign of life? Then we can replicate them all these days. A stopped can be restarted by cardiac defibrillator, or adrenaline injection, even a heart transplant is done these days. a stopped brain can sustain a body. respirators can start breathing if a person cant. So, with all these gadgets, a person can live forever. But he doesn't. Why?

Bing in the medical field, I have seen both life and death from close quarters. I have seen bodies being autopsied, and alive people being cut open under anesthesia. I was surprised when i saw that the internal organisation of organs was exactly the same in both. A dead man does not physically differ from an alive one. A dead body undergoes putrfaction or decomposition by the action of bacteria. But bacteria are present on us too! Why dont we putrefy then?

The quest for the answer leads to accept that there does exist an entity called "soul", which governs the body. It occupies minimal space and performs maximum work. Brain regulates the body. Who regulates the brain? who watcheth the watchman? I say its the soul.

Lets take an example. We use mobiles. If we just remove the batteries from our mobiles, will they work? No, they wont. They will still have the screen, the sim card, the keys. But it wont work because it has no power. Soul is the battery to our bodies, a driving force.