Death, Dying, and the Afterlife: Lessons from World Cultures
Series: The Great Courses
Lecturer: Mark Berkson
Length: 12 hrs and 29 mins
Distressing here, hopeful there; this is a journey you don’t want to miss
Mark Berkson has done something really stupendous in this Teaching Company Great Courses class. Death, Dying, and the Afterlife covers every major religion’s views on not only death, but on living life to its fullest as well.
There’s something for everybody here, no matter what your religious/spiritual belief system might be. Personally, I found many practices from other religions to be things that I could add to my life to make it easier, to make it richer. Forgive me but, with Islam getting such a bad rap these days, I must say that one of the things that has eased my chronic anxiety issues (yeh, yeh, yeh: I’m a spaz) comes from their tradition of: I wash myself of myself. I’ve taken to adding that to my bathing routine, washing all fears, anxieties, worries, all negativity from myself in order to embrace the fresh slate that we could really use in our lives.
Most every tradition believes in an afterlife of some sort (although it’s kind of iffy with the Jewish faith: NEVER say they DON’T, but it would appear, after listening to Berkson, that the most important thing in life is what one leaves behind, particularly a loving family). And this course covers it all, with tact, skill, with grace. I was supremely enlightened by pretty much every single lesson in this audio production.
Death in all its facets is discussed, whether it be rituals for the dying, the death penalty, even euthanasia and assisted suicide.
But the most stupendous lesson, I felt, the one you NEED to listen to, is the one on immortality. A short story by Jorge Luis Borges is related and it’s so harrowing and disturbing, yet thrilling at the same time. What it comes down to is: We need death to give our lives meaning. We find joy in the fact that we can seek happiness and embrace it, can truly, truly, appreciate it because we know it is fleeting and therefore special beyond measure.
I came away loving this “audiobook” and really looking at my life, my ultimate demise, in a whole new light. I know that sounds cliché, but I swear to you, it’s true. Berkson has done a marvelous and all-encompassing job, and his skills as a lecturer are immense. If you want to get a handle on your death (which nobody is going to dodge), if you want to live with more passion and compassion, invest in the 12+ hours of Death, Dying, and the Afterlife.
You’ll be happy, oh so happy you did…!
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