Death is primarily a tragic reality - ask anybody who has lost a loved one, probably we have all had this experience of loss that come in suddenly in our lives.
Apart from the tragedy, death and what comes after, is also fascinating, if not more, for several reasons. The first that comes to mind is how man has tried to make sense of it all, and this depends upon on his or her beliefs and social attitudes.
The three great Abrahamic religions, that is Christianit, Judaism and Islam, all believe more or less in a spiritual place where the soul of man resides after death, and also in resurrection. Hindus believe that all living things have a soul, not only man, and that after death, the soul reincarnates into another being, and therefore life and death form a continuous cycle. Buddhists also have the same idea of a continuous cycle of life and death that however ends when man is in an enlightened state of nirvana, however this cycle relates to an energy, not a soul in which they do not believe.
In my life’s formation, as that of so many other Maltese and Christians, the resurrection or rising from the dead was always a subject at the forefront of religious and social life. The feast of Easter is based on the death and resurrection of Jesus in the third day, with resurrection is considered as a great miracle, that that of Jesus considered to be the crux of faith, as with it he won over death and gave life to the dead.
In daily life, it is considered a curious fact when news is heard, not so common but then again not so rare, of someone starting to move again while being taken to burial or cremation, you can imagine the shock felt by those present, one minute becrying their lot in losing a loved one, and the next seeing what for them is a miracle occurring right before their eyes. Naturally, it would quickly occur to one that perhaps the declaration of death itself hadn’t been made with due care.
Traditionally, a person was considered to have died when the pulse could not longer be felt (heartbeat) and no breathing is felt either. These are not precise methods, especially if the person might have weakened functions, and therefore it is easy for a mistake to be made. Apart from this, today with procedures of CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) - chest compressions followed by forced ventilation of the lungs from the mouth, as well as defibrillation can restart these processes if carried out within a short time (a few minutes) after they would have stopped.
Today, death is considered to have occurred when there is no longer any activity in the brain permanently, which is taken to mean that the person is no longer conscious, and therefore it is said that the brain died (brain dead). The permanence of this state is important, as a person may be in such a state during a coma which can be reversible, when under the temporary influence of some drugs and some other medical conditions.
A really interesting state related to this is hypothermia, where the body’s temperature is under 35C. In severe cases, the heart starts beating more slowly, and can even stop, but this state is reversible, even after several hours.
This is the result of a reflex that humans and some other animals have (although somewhat weaker) in common with aquatic mammals, such as dolphins and seals, where the veins narrow, heart rate decreases and oxygen becomes prioritised towards the brain and heart. This happens when the body feels the cold and nostrils become wet, permitting diving for long durations.
Indeed the definition of death still has to evolve!
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Il-mewt hija realtà primarjament traġika – staqsi lil kull min tilef xi ħadd għażiż, probabbilment ilkoll kellna din l-esperjenza ta’ dan in-nuqqas li jidħol ħabta u sabta f’ħajjitna.
Apparti t-traġedja, il-mewt kif ukoll x’jiġri warajha, hija ukoll affaxxinanti, jekk mhux iktar, għal diversi raġunijiet. L-ewwel ħaġa li tiġini f’rasi hi kif il-bniedem jipprova jagħmel sens minnha, u dan jiddependi fuq it-twemminijiet u attitudnijiet soċjali tiegħu.
It-tliet reliġjonijiet il-kbar Abramiċi, jiġifieri l-Kristjaneżmu, il-Ġudaiżmu u l-Islam, it-tlieta jemmnu xi ftit jew wisq f’post spirtwali fejn ir-ruħ tal-bniedem tmur tgħammar wara l-mewt, u wkoll fir-resurrezzjoni. Il-Ħindu jemmnu kull ħlejqa għandha ruħ, mhux biss il-bnedmin, u li wara l-mewt, ir-ruħ terġa’ tiġi rrinkarnata f’xi ħlejqa oħra, u allura l-ħajja u l-mewt jagħmlu parti minn ċiklu kontinwu. Il-Buddisti wkoll għandhom l-istess idea taċ-ċiklu kontinwu tal-ħajja u l-mewt li tintemm meta l-bniedem ikun fi stat imdawwal ta’ nirvana, imma dan iċ-ċiklu jseħħ permezz ta’ enerġija u mhux ruħ li ma jemmnux fiha.
Fil-formazzjoni ta’ ħajti, bħal ta’ tant Maltin u Insara oħra, ir-resurrezzjoni jew il-qawmien mill-imwiet kienet suġġett dejjem fuq quddiem fil-ħajja reliġjuża u soċjali. Il-festa tal-Għid hija bbażata fuq il-mewt u l-qawmien ta’ Ġesù fit-tielet jum, u r-resurrezzjoni hija kkunsidrata bħala miraklu kbir, u dak ta’ Ġesù kkunsidrat bħala l-qofol tal-fidi għax biha rebaħ il-mewt u ta l-ħajja lill-mejtin.
Fil-ħajja ta’ kuljum, huwa meqjus fatt kurjuż meta tinstema aħbar, mhix komuni imma lanqas daqshekk rari, li xi ħadd reġa’ beda jferfer waqt li kien qed jittieħed lejn id-difna jew il-kremazzjoni, tista’ timmaġina x-xokk jinħass minn dawk li jkun preżenti, filli jibku xortihom li ntilef xi ħadd għażiż, u filli jaraw dak li għalihom huwa miraklu jseħħ quddiem għajnejhom. Naturalment, wieħed malajr jista’ jiġih il-ħsieb li forsi d-dikjarazzjoni tal-mewt innifisha ma kinetx magħmula bil-galbu.
Tradizzjonalment, il-bniedem kien ikkunsidrat li jkun miet meta ma jinħasslux iktar il-polz (it-taħbit tal-qalb) u ma jinħassx in-nifs. Dawn mhumiex metodi preċiżi, speċjalment jekk il-bniedem ikollu dawn il-funzjonijiet tiegħu dgħajfa, u għalhekk faċli li jsir żball. Apparti dan, illum proċeduri ta’ CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) – kumpressjoni tas-sider flimkien ma’ ventilazzjoni sfurzata tal-pulmuni mill-ħalq, kif ukoll id-defibrillazzjoni jistgħu jerġgħu jqajmu dawn il-proċessi jekk magħmulin f’qasir żmien (ftit minuti) wara li jkunu waqfu.
Illum, il-mewt tkun meqjusa li seħħet meta ma jkunx hemm iktar attività fil-moħħ b’mod permanenti, li jitqies li jfisser li l-bniedem ma jibqax konxju, u allura jingħad li l-moħħ miet (brain dead). Il-permanenza ta’ dan l-istat huwa importanti, għax bniedem jista’ jkun f’dan l-istat waqt koma li tista’ tkun reversibbli, meta jkun taħt l-influwenza temporanja ta’ xi drogi u xi kundizzjonijiet mediċi oħra.
Stat interessanti ħafna relatat ma’ dan huwa l-hypothermia, fejn it-temperatura tal-ġisem tkun taħt 35C. F’każijiet severi, il-qalb tibda tħabbat iktar bil-mod, u tista’ wkoll tieqaf, imma dan l-istat huwa reversibbli, anke wara ħafna sigħat.
Dan huwa r-riżultat ta’ rifless li l-bniedem u xi annimali oħra għandhom (għalkemm iktar dgħajjef) komuni mal-mammali akwatiċi, bħad-delfini u l-foki, fejn il-vini jidjiequ, ir-rata tal-qalb tonqos u l-ossiġenu jiġi pprioritizzat lejn il-moħħ u l-qalb. Dan iseħħ meta l-ġisem iħoss il-kesħa u l-imnifsejn ikunu mxarrba, u jippermetti l-għadis għal ħinijiet twal.
Tassew li d-definizzjoni tal-mewt għad baqagħlha tevolvi!
1John 11:17
2Mark 5: 35-43
3https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-50681489, retrieved 18/11/2020
4https://www.bbc.com/news/av/stories-50630441, retrieved 18/11/2020
1John 11:17
2Mark 5: 35-43
3https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-50681489, retrieved 18/11/2020
4https://www.bbc.com/news/av/stories-50630441, retrieved 18/11/2020
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