Hindu Bioethics for the Twenty-first Century

CHAPTER 14. THE ETHICS OF DEATH AND DYING

CHAPTER 14 THE ETHICS OF DEATH AND DYING Whence are we born? Whereby do we live, and whither do we go? — Ívet¯aśvatara UpaniÓsad VIEWS OF DEATH An Arabian proverb describes death as “a black camel, which kneels at the gates of all.” Though death is a human universal, how people think about it, and the manner in which they cope with the losses that come with death, varies markedly from culture to culture. Anthropologist Sylvia Vatuk observes that “there are real differences between Indian and American ways of aging and death.” In the 1970s she did research in a major Indian city, and reports her findings: Among these people I found attitudes toward aging and death that seemed much more positive than our own. There was a greater degree of acceptance of the inevitability of mortality, and more attention was given to preparing actively for the end of life. While the material circumstances of their lives were far less comfortable than our own, these people seemed better equipped, both cognitively and emotionally, to face the inevitability of aging, dying, and death.1 Vatuk acknowledges “it would be foolish to idealize or romanticize the situation of older people in India,” suggesting that somehow they are “free from stress or that their deaths are free from fear, suffering, and pain.” The terror of death is a universal human experience, and Indians are by no means exempt from its horrors; but differences in culture between Indians and Americans do make for differences in attitudes and methods of coping, as we shall see. Crawford: Hindu Bioethics page 188 Crawford 113-198-226 8/21/03 11:37 AM Page 188 IMPLICATIONS FOR BIOETHICS One aim of this chapter, and indeed the entire volume, is to highlight the need in American circles to consider the bioethics of death in crosscultural perspective. Anthropological research makes a strong case for the fact that in addition to differences in the ethics of the termination of life among world cultures, “these differences in values and practices surrounding death in any society can be understood only within the context of that society’s ecological and demographic situation, social system, and cultural beliefs.”2 HINDU VIEWS OF DEATH In his essay on Hindu perspectives of death, Anantanand Rambachan brings out with fine lucidity the diversity of views that have evolved over some 2,500 years, and are expressed in myths, rituals, religion, and philosophy.3 We shall add to this store by introducing views of death found in the medical saÓmhit¯as, generally overlooked by philosophers and theologians. First we must dismiss the stereotype that Hindus are a “spiritual” people , who do not take this world seriously, and therefore are not afraid of death. The truth is quite opposite. Like all mortals, Hindus want to live like immortals. It should be clearly understood that Åyurveda did not invent the notion of longevity, because this quest is embedded in the entire Hindu ethos. We have witnessed this theme surface in the Vedic period, where prayers and sacrifices are offered for a life of “hundred autumns,” the equivalent of immortality. The same goal of living to a hundred years is institutionalized in the later ¯aśramadharma tradition of orthodox Brahmanism , in which each of the four cycles is set at twenty-five years. In later Hinduism, mythologies abound, telling stories of how aging and death are transformed, and youth restored, by means of listening to a powerful scripture, living in a holy place, attending to a saint, performing rituals, and practicing devotion. So there is no question of the value placed on life in this world by Hindus. Parallel to the hope that old age and death can be reversed, the belief arises that humans are responsible for their own future existences, by virtue of their karma. This should not be construed as an attitude of fatalism , because ‘fate’ is not attributed to some external agency but is of one’s own making. Crawford: Hindu Bioethics page 189 The Ethics of Death and Dying 189 Crawford 113-198-226 8/21/03 11:37 AM Page 189 From earliest times, philosophers and religious thinkers have conceived the fate of the deceased in several imaginative ways. We outline the main trends. First, the Vedas introduce the śr̄addha ritual, which is perpetuated into later Brahmanic-Hindu tradition. As part of funerary ceremonies, it af- firms that...