By Shevlin Sebastian
Some people get away with murder. The police are not able to solve the case. The murderer lives to a ripe old age and passes in his sleep.
When the victim, a soul in the next world, probably, a man, realises the murderer’s soul is arriving, what is his reaction? Will he appeal to God for justice?
Would he say, “This man must be punished. How about a thousand years in hell for snuffing out my life prematurely and against your will?”
What will God reply?
What about couples who have gone through a nasty divorce? Will the souls meet in the next life? If yes, will they glide past and ignore each other? Or will they kiss and make up? Or will they have a nasty argument once again?
What about the children of these couples? How will they react when they see their parents? Will they all hug and kiss each other and make up and be a happy family once again?
What about relatives and siblings who have fought with each other mostly over money and property? And employees who did not get along with their bosses? Would they reveal their suppressed anger at their superiors when they meet them?
What about the despot who has ordered a war? Thousands of young soldiers have died. The leader moves with a several-layer security detail. It is impossible for their relatives to approach him. But can the soldiers approach him when he dies and goes off to the other world?
Surely, on that side, he no longer has a security detail. Can they remonstrate with him? Maybe even give a slap or punch him in the face.
What happened when Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong went to the other side?
Would the millions of people the trio had killed through war, concentration camps, executions, and in prison have accosted them?
Could God have set up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission?
What about Stalin’s wife, Nadezhda Alliluyeva? Will she beat him up in anger? During a dinner party at the Kremlin in November 1932, she had an argument with him. Nadezhda was distressed to hear Stalin had been having affairs. She left the party early and went home. The next morning, November 9, Nadezhda killed herself using a Mauser pistol. The mother of two was only 31.
There are so many people who get away with so many misdemeanours. And nothing seems to happen to the perpetrators. Only the victims and their families suffer for the rest of their lives. You can see world leaders smiling happily at the cameras. Many of them have blood on their hands, and they also have billions in their bank accounts.
Till someone shot him dead like a dog, Muammar Gaddafi of Libya lived a life of luxury and untrammelled power. He jailed people at his whim and fancy and destroyed so many families. He was one of the rare leaders who faced retribution while he was alive. Another leader who faced retribution while he was alive was Romanian leader Nicolae Ceausescu (1918-1989) who faced a firing squad and died.
China’s Mao Zedong, responsible for between 40 and 80 million deaths, through prison labour, starvation, and mass executions, died in his bed on September 9, 1976 at the age of 82.
Can these millions of souls approach the soul of Chairman Mao and ask him to give an explanation? Will he suffer in the next world? Or will he escape retribution once again?
Scientists say there is no life after death. They say we merge into the mud and get wiped out. But close to his death, my father recounted he had seen his parents and a brother-in-law who had died in a motorbike accident at Kolkata when he was 24 years old.
Shahul, the nurse who looked after my father, said that he had been at the bedside of over 30 end-of-life patients. All of them reported seeing their relatives and ancestors. When death approaches, the souls arrive to provide reassurance regarding the journey to the other world.
A thought arises: will we carry our resentments, anger, hatred, and frustration to the next world?
Who can provide the answers to these questions?
Probably nobody.
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