Death: Biology and Beyond?

 Life is a mysterious phenomenon, and so is death. Clini­-
cal death is now defined as the permanent and irreversible ces­-
sation of function of any one of the three interconnected vital sys­-
tems, viz. nervous system, circulatory system and respiratory sys­-
tem. Even after a person is no longer alive, individual cells and
tissues remain viable for variable periods of time, making their
transplantation possible. Physiologically, death represents fail­
ure of the homeostatic mechanisms. Cell death by necrosis as
well as apoptosis is a regular phenomenon, but the organism
continues to be alive due to replacement of cells. However, a point
is peached when replacement and physiological reserve are un­
able to compensate for deterioration due to aging. Impairment
of function beyond a point in one or more vital organs results in
the death of the whole organism. The Mother (of Sri Aurobindo 
Ashram) described death as the “decentralization and disper­-
sion of cells”. At the mental level, the replacement of the ‘will to 
live’ by a ‘wish to die’ is probably the beginning of decentraliza­-
tion. Decentralization is followed by ill-health, and finally death. 
Following death, dispersion of cells possibly transmits their con­-
sciousness to the new forms they assume. On the purely material
plane, the time of death is inexorably fixed. But on higher planes
of consciousness, a different type of determinism prevails. That is
why the will to live, or its absence, may have a role in determin­-
ing the time of death. Psychoneuroimmunology provides some 
partial but plausible explanations for the phenomenon. Death is
both a physiological and a spiritual necessity. Physiologically,
death is nature’s solution for the imperfection of the body. When
the body has exhausted its functional span, it is withdrawn, usu­-
ally only after it has renewed itself by reproduction. Thus the old
order keeps yielding to the new. Death is also a spiritual neces­-
sity because the true purpose of life is spiritual growth. When a
person reaches the upper limit of his spiritual growth, further pro­-
longation of life becomes meaningless.