Memento Mori: A message all the wise men want you to remember

 

On June 12, 2005, Steve Jobs, the visionary co-founder of Apple Computer, addressed the graduating class at Stanford. In his highly acclaimed speech, Jobs shared a few anecdotes from his life, which had taught him the most valuable lessons. One of them revolved around the realization of his own mortality. But why would he bring up a taboo topic such as death, on a celebratory occasion? In this post, we will learn why wise men like Yudhistir, Marcus Aurelius, Sadhguru and Steve Jobs emphasized upon the continual reminder of “Memento Mori”.

 

 

 

Steve Jobs in the same commencement address, goes on to explain why constant reflection of one’s mortality, can be such a valuable practice. He says, “Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

“Memento Mori”– was the phrase the wise Romans had coined, to remind themselves of the fleeting nature of life. “Memento mori” is a Latin phrase that translates to, “remember that you must die” or “remember death.”

In ancient Rome, during grand victory parades which ensued after a triumph, an aide would accompany the victorious Roman general. His task was to whisper into the commander’s ear, “Remember, thou art mortal!”

Constantly remembering that you will die, can be a truly transformative and freeing experience. Right now, we treat death as something that should not be discussed and yet it is the only certainty.  In the Indian epic Mahabharat, Yudhishthira, the eldest and the wisest of all Pandav brothers was asked, what does he find truly amazing in this world? He replies, “The most amazing thing is, though humans are mortal, everybody goes about their life as if they are going to be here forever.”

Alas, nothing has changed about the human psyche since the times of Mahabharat. However, if we deliberately keep reminding ourselves of “Memento Mori”, it can have a profound impact in the quality of our life.

 

How remembering “Memento Mori” can transform our lives:

 

1. Our Relationship with our Loved Ones: On an average, 150,000 people die everyday. This means that tomorrow either we may not be here or they not be here. This fact can allow us to be truly present for our loved ones. This would mean more meaningful conversations and hence more healing.

2. Enhance your Focus: If you were to die soon, would you still let your focus fritter away by scrolling through social media or focus on doing something that is really meaningful to you?

3. Dealing with Suffering and Hardships: When going through hardships, we often start believing that the suffering would last on forever. We forget that the purpose of suffering is to cleanse us and make us wiser. Knowing that the curtains on our life will fall down soon, gives us the added impetus to fight our battles valiantly.

I hope that through this article, I have convinced you that  constant reflection on “Memento Mori” can truly transform your life in profound ways.

 

If you are going through suffering, here are the top 5 tips by enlightened masters to live a happy life.