Coronavirus has taught us one inevitable truth – death. While cross-sections of people and think-tankers are talking about conspiracy theory, probable vaccine and the aftermaths, we have almost forgotten the fact that this particular virus is creating its success story counting on the most obvious universal truth – death. As a consequence, people are dying in large numbers in almost all the countries owing to coronavirus.

It is for sure the number of deaths will experience a rising trend for the next few months whereas Bangladesh is yet to witness the real horror as the pandemic has not reached its peak in our country. However, if we take our overall preparations and the holistic approach adopted to contain the spread of this virus into account, one thing can be deduced without any doubt that so many people are going to embrace death in the next few weeks.

Excessive flow of news items declaring deaths of corona-infected people in almost every minute is making people from all walks of life all the more nervous and fearful of death. There is no denying that death has never been so certain, at least in the last couple of decades, that too because of an invisible force like coronavirus. Since the fear of death is pervading all around, people are actually segmented into two groups from the psychological point of view — the first group consist of people like me who are mentally prepared to die any time as they feel fulfilled while there are many others as well who are having nervous breakdown because the fear of death is gripping them tight. Multiplied by such breakdown such people are getting more susceptible to further health complications. The next few paragraphs are dedicated to those faint-hearted people.

The fact is that death is probably not such a terrible experience as it seems to be. None of us actually know what happens after death and this ignorance, further intensified by religious scriptures and warnings, is the reason why people are so afraid to die. This fear is comparable to the fear of children to go in the dark. Francis Bacon, widely regarded as the greatest essayist in the history of English literature, claims in his essay ‘Of Death’, “Men fear death, as children fear to go in the dark; and as that natural fear in children is increased with tales, so is the other.”

Another piece of soothing news for those scared to die is that death may not be an ugly thing considering the notion that death washes away all the misdeeds committed by that particular person. The moment someone dies, people get oblivious of all the sins committed by him/her and begin eulogizing the deceased person. Bacon says in the afore-mentioned essay, “Death hath this also; that it openth the gate to good fame, and extinguisheth envy. The same man that was envied while he lived, shall be loved when he is gone.” It sounds quite convincing, right?

(The writer is a columnist.)