You all must have heard or read about NDEs. Wikipedia defines it as

“A near-death experience (NDE) is a personal experience associated with impending death, encompassing multiple possible sensations including detachment from the body, feelings of levitation, total serenity, security, warmth, the experience of absolute dissolution, and the presence of a light”

Frankly speaking, I was never interested in the topic until last year when I lost my father.. Though our religious beliefs tell us about Heaven and Hell and all that but the unexplained permanent departure of a loved one and that too to a place where there I have no access to (unless I die)  forced me to pick up the book “Proof of Heaven” by Dr. Eben Alexander (a promiment US neurosurgeon) on my flight back from Montreal to Doha ( after my dad’s funeral).

The book is about “A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife”, in which he describes his out of body and near-death experience (NDE) while in a meningitis-induced coma. The thing that was so interesting about this book was that it came from someone who always scientifically denied the existence of NDEs and here he was experiencing this himself. And he was forced to be believe in it, as there was no way he could see from his reports that there could be any activity in his brain whereas he clearly remembered the experience. He proves scientifically that consciousness is independent of the brain, that death is a transition, and that an eternity of perfect splendor awaits us beyond the grave. This experience changed his life and beliefs forever…  Its an interesting read.

However, I think this is not the only experience that could be classified as a NDE. I think there are more variations..

Scenario 1:

You are in a room full of people, where some gunmen have opened fired.. you see your friends being shot.. your stuff your tie/scarf in your own mouth so that you won’t scream and they would not find you and shoot you as well.. you hide in a cupboard and watch everything in horror..

You may be a school student attending a normal day of school at Army Public School in Peshawar, Pakistan on Dec, 16, 2014   OR

Enjoying a concert at the Bataclan concert hall in Paris on Nov. 13, 2015     OR

Enjoying a holiday party in the Inland Regional Center, a social services facility in San Bernardino, California on Dec, 03, 2015…

The friends and family who witnessed death of others and survived these attacks… they could have been one of the victims.. they saw death up close.. really close….their lives will never be the same again after this experience.. To me, this is a Near Death Experience.

Scenario 2:

When you are in a hospital room with your loved one terminally ill.. when you kiss him good night and leave, saying that you will see him tomorrow and then the nurse comes running after you saying that she thinks he is going.. its time.. When you see your loved one taking his last breaths.. When you see the machines he is connected to making abnormal sounds, When his blood pressure keeps dropping in front of your eyes…When his hand you are holding in yours is losing its warmth.. When his face turns paler and calmer, both at the same time.. When you feel so helpless that you cannot do anything except say your good byes and pray for him.. You know the Angel of Death is there in the same room with you, taking your loved one away……. Your life will never be the same again.. this encounter with death (though not your own) will change everything there onwards…to me this is a Near Death Experience.

Scenario 3:

What about if you are person who is suffering from severe depression… There is absolutely no one,you think you can tell what you feel…No one who can understand you, not even your own family. What emotional turmoil you must be in, not to be able to see anything good in your life.. I mean absolutely no hope in life! Though alive, you feel you are in a box, where the walls are getting tighter on you day by day… no body can hear you.. the more you scream.. the farther people go away..  You are all alone.. lonely.. in the dark.. cannot see anything good in your life.. you get suicidal thoughts.. You think death is your only escape…and try to take your own life… Isn’t this life a Near Death Experience, where your thoughts take you so close to death ?

Scenario 4:

You are driving the car, going on a trip with your family or friends. You are talking and laughing and enjoying the ride. A car comes in from no where and crashes right into your car.. In a split second everything changes…. You wake up in a hospital in pain, only to realize you have a broken limb but worse than that.. you have lost everyone else in the car.. The Angel of Death came so close to you, but left you and took everyone else. Your life has changed for ever.. this will haunt you for the rest of your life. This is a Near Death Experience too!

Death is inevitable. We are all mortals… yet such events have such a lasting impact on our lives. The realization of how precious our lives are to us and to others around us..  The fact that one day the Angel of Death will come for us…. Nobody can escape death ….but I wish no body has to go through these ‘Near Death Experiences’ EVER!

Have a good life!