๐️ “Each Breath Is a Blessing: A Reflection After the Unthinkable”
By Dr. Sunil S Rana
Life is so wildly, achingly unpredictable.
One moment, you're laughing at a joke on a flight. The next, the world changes forever. That’s what happened to the passengers aboard the ill-fated Ahmedabad–London Air India flight. Innocent lives; children, parents, students, professionals; were lost in an instant. They were not at war, not in a conflict zone, not in danger by choice. They were simply… living.
They trusted the next moment would come.
Just like the jubilant fans who filled a stadium, only to be trampled in a stampede. Just like the students who headed to the hostel mess for lunch, only to face the crash of a falling aircraft. None of them had read their last page yet. They didn't know their goodbye was already written in fate’s ink.
This is the cruel, piercing truth about life:
Death doesn’t announce its arrival. It just… enters. Silently. Instantly. Without explanation.
My Close Encounters with Uncertainty...
As someone who has lived through intense moments in life; from surviving a major car accident in the early years of my life, to being at the edge of an outbreak zone during Covid-19, a zoonotic/pendamic disease episode; I’ve often felt the breath of mortality whispering closely. And in every such moment, when the heart pounds and time slows, I’ve understood one thing clearly: We are not in control; but we are responsible.
Responsible for how we live each moment.
For the gratitude we show.
For the kindness we give.
For the hearts we choose not to break.
For the souls we refuse to harm.
Faith. Hard Work. Consistency.
We often chase success like a distant star. But truthfully, success is not a destination; it’s a direction. In life, you are not always rewarded immediately. Yet faith, hard work, and consistency remain the only companions worth keeping on this path.
“Do your duty, but do not concern yourself with the results.”
This timeless wisdom from the Bhagavad Gita (Karma Yoga) reminds us:
“Karmanye vadhikaraste ma phaleshu kadachana.”
“You have a right to perform your prescribed duties, but you are not entitled to the fruits of your actions.”
Arjuna, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, stood frozen with fear and doubt. It was not the fear of death that crippled him, but the emotional turmoil of harming others; his own kin. But Krishna, in all his divine clarity, told him:
“This is your dharma. Fight, not out of hatred, but out of righteousness.”
This same philosophy applies even in our mundane lives. We must not allow fear to paralyze us, nor attachment to distract us. Instead, we must act with responsibility, anchored in morality, yet detached from outcome.
What This Crash Reminds Us Of...
We wake up every day with assumptions ; plans, routines, checklists. But rarely do we pause and say, “Thank you, God, for this breath. For this moment.”
The real luxury in life is not wealth or power; it is the ability to wake up and say: “I have another chance.”
“Kal kare so aaj kar, aaj kare so ab.”
(Do tomorrow’s work today, today’s work now- time lost is never found again.)
- Kabir Das
This isn't a call to fear life; it’s a call to treasure it.
Call your parents. Hug your children. Tell your spouse you love them. Forgive the friend who messed up. Say sorry when you mean it. Laugh often. Live deliberately. Love without caution. Speak the truth. Do the right thing, even when it’s hard.
Never Break a Heart. Never Harm a Soul.
One of the simplest truths I’ve learned over the decades is this:
You never lose anything by being kind - but you lose a part of your soul every time you are cruel.
Words have weight. Actions have echoes. Even silence can wound, and indifference can scar. So be mindful. No religion, no philosophy, no victory is worth more than the human heart.
In the Mahabharata, when Yudhishthira is asked by the Yaksha, “What is the greatest wonder?”, he replies:
“Every day countless people die, yet those who remain live as if they are immortal.”
This, to me, is the essence of human arrogance. We know death exists, yet we live as if we’ll never face it. That’s why humility is a virtue worth cultivating.
A Life of Meaning is the Only Real Success...
Great thinkers from Swami Vivekananda to Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam have reminded us time and again:
“Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached.” -Swami Vivekananda
“You have to dream before your dreams can come true.” -Dr. Kalam
But dreams are not just goals. Dreams are the way we live. The legacy we leave behind. The love we give.
If today was your last day, what would you wish you had said? Done? Fixed?
So today- pause.
Not out of fear.
But out of gratitude.
In Closing:
Let every ordinary moment be a sacred one. Let every breath be a prayer. Let every small act be a tribute to the life we’ve been gifted.
Because as I write this, somewhere, someone’s world has just changed forever.
But you and I still have this moment.
Let’s not waste it.
Let’s live; truly live; with heart, humility, hope, and honor.
๐ฟ
With folded hands and a grateful heart,
Dr. Sunil S Rana
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