Bhutan has continually been ranked as the happiest country in all of Asia, and the eighth Happiest Country in the world, according to Business Week. It is a nation that adopted Gross National Happiness (GNH) instead of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as their main development indicator. But the million dollar question is what makes them one of the happiest countries on earth?
According to this great article in BBC Travel ‘Bhutan’s dark secret to happiness’, “Death is a psychologically threatening fact, but when people contemplate it, apparently the automatic system begins to search for happy thoughts.”
A Bhutanese person is said to think at least 5 times a day about death. They are comfortable contemplating about death. They don’t just think of it, they reflect on it and accept it as an important cycle of life, which many people tend to avoid it at every cost. People think that talking about dying is morbid and a show of depression. We think that advances in medicine will do something to extend our life, but in the end, there is still this inescapable truth, we are still going to die. What makes a difference is how we lived that life that we were given.
The Bhutanese are not shielded from great losses, sadness, fear or other human emotions. They are not that different from others. They too experience death and grievances. They mourn and cry too. The only difference is that they accept death as an inseparable part of life and focus on living the life the best they can.
Thinking about death is so embedded in Buddhism, that Buddhist monks practise the so-called meditation on death. They do this by watching the photos of the corpses in various stages of decay and contemplate on the transitory nature of their own physical selves. This stimulates them to think, ‘Are they making the right use of their own scarce and precious lives?’
When we see the concept of remembering death from the Islamic point of view, we can learn that Islam has given high emphasis on remembering death. Allah says, “Every soul will taste death, and you will only be given your (full) compensation on the Day of Resurrection. So he who is drawn away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise has attained (his desire). And what is the life of this world except the enjoyment of delusion.” (Qur’an 3:185)
There are many places in the Qur’an where the Qur’an talks about death. The Qur’an discusses about death in 2:154, 2:234, 2:240, 3:107-108, 3:145, 3:157-158, 3:169, 3:185, 4:100,5:106, 6:93, 8:50, 16:28, 16:32, 22:5, 23:99, 31:34, 32:11, 39:30, 39:42,40:67-68, 44:56, 47:27, 50:19, 56:60, 56:83-87 and 67:2. The Qur’an also talks about inevitability of death in 3:154, 3:185, 4:78, 6:61, 21:35, 29:57, 33:16, 39:30, 62:8 and 63:11.
Death is followed by the Day of Resurrection or the Day of Judgement and believing in this is an article of faith for every Muslim. The Qur’an reminds its readers about the Day of Resurrection and Judgement in many places, such as, 2:48, 2:113, 2:123, 2:281, 3:9, 3:30, 3:185, 4:87, 4:141, 10:28-30,10:93, 14:44, 14:47-51, 16:111, 17:13-14, 19:37-40, 19:85-87, 19:94-95,20:102-109, 20:111-112, 21:47, 21:104, 22:1-2, 22:17, 22:55-56, 22:69,23:16, 24:24-25, 25:22-30, 27:87-90, 30:12-16, 30:56, 31:33, 32:5,32:29, 36:51-54, 39:31, 39:60-61, 39:67-75, 40:15-18, 42:47, 44:40-42,45:26, 50:20-23, 50:30-35, 50:41-44, 57:12-13, 68:42-43, 69:13-18,70:8-10, 75:7-15, 78:17-20, 78:38-40, 79:34-41, 79:42-46, 80:33-42,82:17-19, 89:21-30, 99:1-8, 100:9-11 and 101:1-11.
Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) said, “Remember frequently the thing that cuts off pleasures,” i.e. death” (Ibn Majah).Visiting the graves is recommended by the Prophet as a means to remind oneself of the passing away from this world and onto the hereafter. The Blessed Prophet said, “I forbade you to visit the graves then it appeared to me that they soften the heart, bring tears to the eyes, and remind one of the hereafter.” (Ahmad) The Prophet had also said, “Visit graves, as it reminds one of his death.” (Muslim)
Death is a reality and calamity that we will all face. When we remember death, we realise that this life is a temporary abode which is meant to please Allah by doing a lot of good deeds and by worshiping Him alone without associating any partners. On the other hand, neglecting the reality of death causes one to immerse themselves in the pleasures of this life.
Thinking about death is not going to make us feel depressed, but would make us more focused on the present. We need to remember that our life is short and tomorrow might not happen for us. Remembering death also helps soften the heart. One should always be cautious about death and work hard; this would make the person happier and be productive.
It is important for people to consider their mortality by thinking of and remembering death, because doing so allows one to distance them from this temporal existence and turn towards the hereafter. Thus, thinking about death will make a person conscious about Allah and will lead him to live a life of righteousness, so that he can be successful in this world and the hereafter. No matter how pleased with something of this world, one should immediately remember that he must at some point part ways with it.