Sometimes I fear the idea of death or in general, non-existence.
Why do I have to cease to exist? Why can’t I live or exist indefinitely? Every
time I thought about it, I found myself stuck. So I decided to try thinking
other way round. What if I started living indefinitely?
Ok. Let’s stretch the imagination that I start living
indefinitely. Either I would be alone living indefinitely or everybody would be
living indefinitely.
If I am alone, it would be miracle of nature. Even if it
is a miracle, I still would be subjected to that weakening of body due to old
age. I wouldn’t expect reversal of age that happens in curious case of Benjamin
Button. So let’s imagine somehow my ageing stops. My body cells keep on
replacing each other periodically. But socially and personally I would be only
one of my kind; becoming envy of others. People would keep on dying around me; my
loved ones, my near ones and dear ones everyone will be gone. That would make
me very lonely in world that remains, irrelevant, unknown and sort of cast
away.
Moreover, I’ll be subject of intense investigation to
medical fraternity. They would want to know exactly what’s happening with me
that holds my age in time. That would take my privacy away from me. Doctors would appeal me to share and subject myself
to medical investigations in the larger interest of society. They would want to
know what makes me immune to ageing. Important assumption here is that I would
also be immune to other diseases as well. That pretty much means my life wouldn’t
be normal at all. I will be so famous that I wouldn’t be able to lead normal
life at all. I would be subject to constant curiosity, jealousy and may be
hatred.
On positive side, I might try to contribute to
humanity positively by doing something constructive like writing stories or making
films or by adopting newer ways of life one generation after another. Last part
of adopting newer ways of life seems bit difficult. How will I make myself
behave normally given so many changes around? If I want to behave normally, I
will have to disguise myself and try and act like whatever generation that
might be. Even if I manage that well enough wouldn’t that become a boring
routine? In the end, I might get frustrated with that act of getting myself
accustomed with changes around and I would want to retire in my own shell and
privacy. And there will be huge cost of my privacy given the medical interest
in my “condition”, which could be affordable only with sacrifice of some part
of privacy and normalcy itself. What a pity that would be?
If, on the other hand, due to advanced medical research,
everybody starts living indefinitely, there would be huge problems in the
world. World wouldn’t remain as it looks today. There would be population
explosion. Moreover, after some time, this immortality will be considered as costly
privilege given the increasing cost of living. Only few would be able to afford
it and that too only if they can earn it. That means one who chooses to live indefinitely
must have unlimited wealth that remain constant. And he will have to work
pretty hard to keep that wealth constant.
So, there would be huge competition in generating
wealth and using it to remain immortal. Assuming that immortality solution is
also unlimited (something like manufacturing that medicine from air and water),
there will be lot of companies or corporations providing that solution and cost
of solution will keep on increasing given the increasing demand for it.
Governments would impose huge taxes on immortality.
There would be abundant thieves who would steal or manufacture themselves that
immortality solution. And after some time society and government would be compelled
to make laws to terminate such people who illegally try to remain immortal.
Socially, relations between older and newer generation
would become defunct after some age. Every family will have 10 or 15 aged
people surviving with that immortality solution. Everyone would become selfish in
keeping himself or herself alive. Newer births would become lesser and lesser.
It is really difficult to imagine the world where
solution to immortality exists. World would be grand chaos, not at all fit to
live in.
So miraculous but tiresome life
of intense scrutiny devoid privacy versus a grand chaos are the only
possibilities of becoming immortal. There is really no point in living either
of the worlds. Nature has excellent mechanism of recycling. Point worth trying
is experience oneness with nature. Understanding nature… how hopeless that word
“understanding” seems. “Experiencing oneness” that’s the only phrase that I
feel is worth living or existing for. Only then I might find some freedom from
that fear of non-existence.
