Man’s Predicament: Healthy ageing & empty nest syndrome

Ageing is generally not taken as something to be looked forward to. Except strangely, in the case of wine, which ‘matures,’ with age and gains in what is called ‘body‘ and taste. The process of ageing is normally associated with deteriorating faculties, whether physical, mental, or emotional. It can, no doubt, be pointed out that with age, come wisdom, experience and the ability to share with younger persons the benefits gained therefrom

“Nothing is certain,” said Benjamin Franklin, one of the heroes of America’s struggle for independence and a great scientist, “except death and taxes.”

The ‘Suras’ or ‘Devtas’ led by Indra, the King of Heaven or Swarga, and, the ‘Asuras’ or demons led by their king Bali, join in churning the ‘Kabira Sagara’ or Ocean of Milk to obtain ‘Amrit’ or the nectar of immortality.

Still, the desire to achieve immortality, conquering death, is as old as the life of mankind. Immortality, according to the Holy Bible, is a state of endless life beyond the power of death, which is obtained following the Resurrection. All mortal souls will eventually become immortal through the power of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Many rulers of ancient China sought the fabled elixir to achieve eternal life. During the Qin dynasty, Qin Shi Huang sent Taoist alchemist Xu Fu to the eastern seas to find the elixir in the legendary Penglai Mountain, who returned without finding it; he embarked on a second voyage but never returned (legend has it that he found Japan instead).

The ancient Chinese believed that ingesting long-lasting mineral substances such as jade, cinnabar, or hematite would confer some kind of that longevity on the person who consumed them.

The elixir of life has been an inspiration, plot feature, or subject of artistic works including animation, comics, films, musical compositions, novels, and video games. The elixir of life, also known as elixir of immortality, is a potion that supposedly grants the drinker eternal life and/or eternal youth. This is also said to cure all diseases. Alchemists in various ages and cultures sought the means of formulating such an elixir.

An early mention of an elixir of life is found in the Epic of Gilgamesh (from the 2nd millennium BC) in which Gilgamesh comes to fear his own declining years following the death of his beloved companion Enkidu.

Einstein‘s Theory of General Relativity threw up interesting possibilities, as also a lot of fictional fantasy, in the shape of books and movies, about the possibilities of time travel. According to that theory, traveling in the dimension of space time slows down the ageing process. The famous limerick, on time travel, goes:

“There was a young lady named Bright

Whose speed was faster than light;

She set out one day

In a relative way

And returned on the previous night”.

There are many great books inspired by the concept of time travel. Some, which I have read, are ‘The Time Machine’ by H G Wells and ‘Timeline’ by Michel Crichton. Both were also the subjects of very popular English movies.

There is the story, among many others in the Hindu Scriptures, about King Kakudmi. Unable to find a suitable match for his daughter Revathi, he travels in time to meet Lord Brahma, the Creator of the Universe. While discussing with Lord Brahma the right choice among the possibilities shortlisted by him, he finds that thousands of years have passed since he left earth; his Kingdom, and all his earthly acquisitions, have vanished with the passage of time. It is on account of the effect of time dilation, a day in Brahm Lok, where Lord Brahma lives, is equivalent to 4.32 billion years on earth.

While the Holy Quran states, quite affirmatively, that time travel is not possible, the Holy Bible, while making no positive statement on the subject, does contain the instance, of Saint John observing the events of the apocalypse, indicating that he had an opportunity to travel in time, into the future.

Even in the Mahabharat, there is the story about the four younger Pandava brothers, while living incognito in the forest, going to a nearby lake in search of water and failing to return. Yudhisthira, the eldest, finally goes and finds all the brothers dead. He is then accosted by the voice of an invisible heavenly being (sareeravani), from the sky, which asks him what is the strangest thing in life. Unhesitatingly, Yudhishthir replies, that it is the fact that, while knowing fully well that death is inevitable, people continue to live as though it is not so.

The process of ageing is normally associated with deteriorating faculties, whether physical, mental, or emotional. It can, no doubt, be pointed out that with age, come wisdom, experience and the ability to share with younger persons the benefits gained therefrom.

Sudden and rapid ageing has been known to be caused in extraordinary circumstances, such as a person suddenly experiencing an extremely fearsome ordeal. Hair has been known to go white instantaneously and wrinkles to appear suddenly on the skin under such circumstances.

Valliappan, a greatly respected senior of mine in service, and, incidentally, the son-in-law of the legendary film producer AVM, light heartedly used to classify advancing age into his own personalised compartments. The stages identified by him were the early part of early middle age, the late part of early middle age, the early part of late middle age and the late part of late middle age. Old age was not recognised by him at all!

Ageing is generally not taken as something to be looked forward to. Except strangely, in the case of wine, which ‘matures,’ with age and gains in what is called ‘body‘ and taste. Old age need not necessarily mean a numbing of the faculties, whether physical, intellectual or emotional. There is this story about George Bernard Shaw being photographed on his 90th birthday. When the photographer expressed a desire, to be able to repeat the process on Shaw’s hundredth birthday, Shaw famously, said, “why not, young man. You look reasonably fit!”

(The writer is formerly Chief Secretary, Government of Andhra Pradesh)