Life and
death are part of the divine plan. Since life is the most sacred gift of
God, we need to fulfill the obligation to save the life of our fellow
brothers and sisters. Whoever sustains a single person is one who
sustains the whole world. and whoever destroys a single person is one
who destroys the whole world for every person bears the divine image and
every person was created unique and irreplaceable.
In
its plan of creation, the physical body is the vehicle of providing
life's vital energy for all actions. The body also houses its soul which
plants the seed of thoughts, hopes and dreams. Behind all its actions,
there is also an active mind which creates thoughts endlessly. Life
activity is dependent on the ideal working of the body’s organs.
What
happens when these organs individually or collectively do not function?
Medical Science, has provided numerous solutions to improve the
functioning of individual human organs. Modern technology has made it
possible to transplant hearts, kidneys, pancreases, corneas, lungs and
livers from one human being to another. It is beyond dispute that organ
and tissue transplants save and extend the quality of lives.
The
ultimate act of altruism is for a living donor to make the gift of an
organ to someone in need. Rather than deepen our pain at the time of our
loved one's death, this ultimate act of generosity to donate organs may
actually soften our loss and uplift us.
The
organ donor has the opportunity to make the ultimate sacrifice and the
recipient of the organ gets a new life. Thus organ donation leads to a
win-win situation for all. Being willing to donate an organ from our own
bodies would be an example of selfless sacrifice for another. One of
the mosty compelling arguments for organ donation is the love, mercy and
compassion, such an act demonstrates toward others.
Saving
life is a fundamental imperative in all religions. In principle, we
must all support and encourage organ donation in order to save lives.
The ultimate respect for the dead is to enable them to save a life,
giving life is the highest form of respect of life.
However
there can be significant emotional, spiritual blocks and psychological
factors to fulfilling our obligation such as organ donation. Sometimes
leads family member to block their deceased love one's organ donation
out of emotional discomfort or misplaced devotion. But it is our
responsibility to honour God's name and to save lives by giving the gift
of life by donating organs.
All
religious and spiritual leaders as well as all inter-faith
organisations and NGOs can unitedly come together and make Organ
Donation Day a grand success by creating awareness among their followers
at all religious places and educational institutes, by communicating
their willingness to donate organs . Let us draw inspiration from the
family of the three-year-old girl from Kerala who has become the
youngest donor by donating her liver, kidneys and corneas to save the
life of another five-year-old boy in the hospital as she was declared
brain dead.
Let
us say with one voice, "I would like to help someone to live after
death." Let us remember a fbumper sticker which reads, "Don't take your
organs to heaven because heaven knows we need them here.
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