When death comes knocking at your door, you'll feel no regrets if you've kept your soul in check.
That's the wisdom of Indian businessman-turned-novelist Satish Modi. His book In Love With Death, whose Thai translation will be released tomorrow, paves the way for us to analyse the subject of death in a broad manner, employing introspection as we examine the direction our life is taking as our body continues to deteriorate each day.
On the first page, In Love With Death begins by asking the reader to fill in "Your name" and then, more unconventionally, "Your date of death".
"This is not a misprint," Modi writes. "It's very important. Try to figure out the approximate date of your death, or at least hazard a guess. Take into account the lives of your parents, your relatives. Don't feel discouraged."
The book, a collection of contemplation and true stories, sheds light on a number of questions. As death is the inevitable fate of each person, how does one accept the inevitability of one's own death? How do we live our lives with meaning on the borrowed time we have on Earth? His book also makes a clear stand on whether money leads to happiness?
"People need not fear death because, for one, it's a great equaliser,'' said Modi, a successful businessman and philanthropist, both in India and the UK. He was recently in Bangkok to prepare for the release of the Thai translation.
"This book is designed to make people happy, be honest with themselves, create a life that allows you to live in harmony with people and nature. I say death is a great equaliser because at a cemetery we have the billionaire, beggar and beauty queen buried under the same ground.
"The reality is that when we die, all of our life's positive and negative experiences, including the money and material goods we sought, will be left behind. Here we are, 3kg of dust. It is sobering to reflect that in the end the greatest, cruellest and best-looking among us will be reduced to small piles of dust."
Each chapter of In Love With Death is titled according to different aspects and sentiments relating to death, such as "On Time", "On Trust," "On Grief," "On Faith," "On Surviving", and so on.
Modi said his message is not rocket science. His book, which was first published in 2014, deals with learning to depart this world with a pure soul, keep death in mind at all times, and, lastly, remember you are at the departure lounge of life. "It is not the length of our stay on Earth that counts, but the quality of it.''
He encourages people to pay attention to the manner in which they lead their lives. As an example, he said, it was important for us to keep to our work and not break promises. In India, he said, there is a popular saying that goes: "Lose your life but not your word."
He also deals with grief, which he describes as a gateway to enlightenment, adding that it brings detachment, a prerequisite to the evolution of our soul.
He also addresses the contentious issue of materialism and money by saying that despite the latter being required for our existence, an excess of it can lead to numerous problems and go on to malign our inner being.
Wealth can contribute to false happiness when one gets caught up with the possession of material goods, said Modi, distracting humans from the more meaningful things in life that nourish the soul.
For people who have been dealt a bad hand in life, and have become bitter as a result, he said there is hope: "Live in gratitude, not in bitterness, for a thankful heart opens the door to a multitude of blessings."
Quoting the Buddha, he goes into the benefits of detachment and it being the key to a happy existence. "The root of suffering is attachment,' the Buddha taught his followers, because the life we have today is given to us on lease," said Modi. "For continued peace and happiness we must let go our false sense of me and mine. We are required to detach ourselves from people and things. Keeping death in mind will assist us in achieving this detachment."
As a philanthropist, his desire is to encourage people to offer their time and resources to the needy, which, hands down, makes life all the more meaningful. Modi said this practice makes sense because what one accumulates in this life is left behind, but one's good deeds will go along with them into the next.
So just why should we keep our souls pure? The chairman of Modi Global Enterprises explains that because our soul -- the only permanent element that we have -- is immortal, it's extremely important to keep it uncontaminated.
The biggest inspiration behind Modi's book was Naganishi, a 95-year-old Japanese spiritual leader of Inner Trip of Reiukai International (ITRI), whom he met by chance in 2005 at a government function.
"[Naganishi] began to cry when she first saw me," Modi remembered. "Through an interpreter, she told everyone that she had known me in a previous life. This was the first time I was meeting the Japanese delegation and her at a state function.
"Naganishi then went into a trance and began praying for me. Soon after she invited me to visit. While in Japan, she offered me royal treatment, which I accepted with gratitude. On the day I was supposed to leave, I asked her how we could keep in touch. To that she answered through dreams. Ever since that encounter, I have been having vivid dreams. Penning the book was one such inspiration I received from my dream."
A translated version in Thai of In Love With Death can be purchased at Se-Ed bookstore and Sathira-Dhammasathan starting tomorrow.
Philanthropist at heart
Satish Modi, chairman of Modi Global Enterprises, comes from a family of philanthropists.
His family businesses have played a leading role in India and abroad, accumulating a massive turnover of about US$2.8 billion (91.45 billion baht).
Besides managing a flourishing global enterprise, the mild-mannered entrepreneur has also maintained the legacy of his philanthropist parents by supporting countless range of charities, educational institutions and the arts.
His foundation manages the programme, "Right to Education", which offers subsidised/free education to 4,000 underprivileged Indian children. Another philanthropic project, "A Stitch In Time" is an initiative to empower women. This has enabled thousands of women from all walks of life to earn a respectful livelihood.
Modi has also received numerous awards and honours, both at home and abroad. He was appointed "Ambassador for Philanthropy" by UK's founding Ambassador for Philanthropy, Dame Stephanie Shirley, in recognition for his philanthropy work in India.
He is best quoted for saying: "I feel that real philanthropy is to enable the disadvantaged to earn a decent living."
