Acharya Prashant explains that observing a dead body or a cremation ground should not be a cause for sadness or aversion, but rather a moment of realization. He emphasizes that the physical body is destined to burn and return to the earth, and facing this fact is a stroke of good fortune that can awaken a person. Every person who dies leaves behind a gift for the living by demonstrating the ultimate end of the worldly existence. He cites the phrase 'Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee' to illustrate that every death is a reminder for the living to become conscious of their own mortality. He suggests that we should respect the dead not out of social obligation, but because they reveal the truth of our future and the futility of our physical attachments. The speaker argues that those who stop running from death actually begin to truly live. He notes that in India, there have been traditions of meditating upon corpses to understand the reality of life. He describes death as a mystery similar to a rising sun or a flowing river, which draws our attention toward a deeper truth. He criticizes the modern tendency to hide cremation grounds or treat death as a horrific accident, suggesting instead that death is an inseparable part of life. He proposes that children should be educated about death just as they are taught about planting seeds, so they can understand the complete cycle of existence. By accepting both ends of duality—birth and death—one can reach a state of non-duality. Finally, Acharya Prashant advises against taking death with excessive seriousness or forced gravity. He states that one's attitude toward death reflects their attitude toward life; if death is treated as a tragedy, life becomes a burden. He suggests that death should be viewed with the same silence or even humor as life itself. He concludes by pointing out the irony of mortals weeping for the dead, noting that only someone immortal could truly afford to weep, yet the immortal does not weep. Since everyone is in the same queue toward the end, there is no need for grief, only for awakening.
