Why everyone should have a deathbed song
Every life is worth to be lived. With passion.
When a person is born, from young we are shaped by many experiences that are additive which eventually forms our identity and sense of self. Our pain and reward centres stimulated through life experiences give rise to our unique personalities. Besides pain and reward, there is beauty in our experiences.
Along the journey, we come to define our own idea of beauty. Unfortunately, not many strive or seek out for the ultimate expression of beauty. The pinnacle of beauty - it is unique to each one of us individually. No Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), or AI can define for us what is our idea of beauty. You have to find it yourself. As the cliched adage goes, beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.
Once you've found it, how do we keep this ultimate expression and memory of beauty close to our hearts? My suggestion is that it should be encapsulated as a song, an image, scent, chant or verse, whatever that captures the mind in totality of the experience you have identified with.
Beautiful Experiences
What makes a great experience worth to remember on your deathbed?
- Makes one speechless in awe
- Mind goes blank at experiencing it, even when exposed repetitively
- Gestalt silence
- Makes one cry, in joy/awe, sometimes you're not sure why
- Goosebumps of joy/happiness/pride
You generally know you've got it right when these goosebumps (or piloerections) emerge out of nowhere. Scientist tells us that goosebumps are controlled by a part of your nervous system that we can't directly control, called the autonomic nervous system.
Anecdotes on Experiences of Beauty
Sometimes we may struggle to find that which is meaningful to us. That is great, do not despair. You have a whole life ahead of you to find the pinnacle of beauty. I have a few limited examples.
St Anne's Feast
Often times, I find some of these amazing experiences are rooted in some form of fire ritual, like the procession of candles done by Catholic devotees on St. Anne's Feast towards the church. More than 100,000 pilgrims and tourists attend the event.
Loy Krathong
Another beautiful experience, is the Loy Krathong festival in Thailand. One can experience lighting a lantern that floats away into the dark skies joining hundreds of thousands of other lanterns. Truly a sight to behold. There are more than 700,000 foreign tourists who come to celebrate the festivals with the locals.
Kartik month Ghee lamp offerings
In Radha Krishna temple, Mayapur India, it is a wondrous sight to behold of many devotees offering ghee lamps and ghee sticks to the deity, Krishna to the tune of devotional songs.
Ganga Arati
It is natural as inhabitants of earth to be drawn to fire, one of the five traditional elements, just like insects to a light source. In the Ganga arati ceremony conducted by the banks of Ganga River, it is a blend of adoration of the great water body of Ganga with fire. The daily ritual attracts 3000-30,000 people in Varanasi.
Larger than Life
Sometimes the earth element, can bask you in the sense of awe as well, like a train ride along the Switzerland mountain ranges. Or, simply staring into the Grand Canyon. That larger than life feel, stops your mind right there, soaking in its beauty.
Space Gift
What does space have to offer? A lot, according to space tourists and astronomers who have crossed earths threshold. The gestalt silence of being in space give rise to the overview effect. It is the sense of awe and being, with a self-transcending quality. The pastime is now called earth gazing.
Music
There is no doubt that music plays a fundamental role in our culture. We are drawn to the rhythm and chaos offered in music. Coupled with lyrics and self-identifying memories and narratives, it can be an explosive combination evoking immense emotions. Look at Memories song by Maroon 5, with relationship & longing as theme; with close to 300M views and 60k comments:
Another example, Damodarastakam a melodious song accompanied during Kartik month Ghee lamp offerings which we covered above. Sung by millions of Hindus globally, during the month of Kartik.
Look at some of the comments under this devotional song:
It is clear a song is an important element in connecting with our hidden memories and narratives that we hold close to our hearts. Some music are situational, but some can be holistic to an individual.
Encased Representation
Being certain that we found our pinnacle of beauty, is like being in love. Occasionally, we feel like we're in a dream, and even doubt that something else of more beauty exists. But, often we're wrong and we're helplessly drawn to the very same original memories. It is time to encase our memories on our pinnacle of beauty.
Tell your loved ones about the representation you chose either by a song, or picture, or some item that can be held. They should be trusted to immerse yourself in them should you be at your deathbed.
There is often a great deal of importance given to the last meal somebody had before passing on. I think allowing a person to be with their fondest memories is a greater service to the departing. I think it is a great fortune to depart with beautiful memory of one's own choice.
Concluding thought
A lot of the experiences quoted above are based on my experiences from childhood to later parts in life, except some like the Ganga arati is still in my bucket list. These examples are just a speck across the vast human experience across nations, culture, and religion. Let me know about yours in the comments. I think it is important to find your own pinnacle of beauty, do not let your friend or religious authority dictate to you. It is your search, you have to find out.
It could be a deeply moving play, a perfect recitation of music, a highly intricate product you built at work, awe and respect for a mentor, anything at all. And, it is yours.
What is your pinnacle of beauty experience like? Which is the best way to engage your senses to be absorbed in it, in life and at its threshold? A song, a scent, portable memorabilia, or, a picture perhaps?
I wish you good luck in your search.