Aditi Naval

Gods among Men

Since the dawn of human civilization, change has always been our constant companion. No other species on the planet has changed so much, and in so little time. From hunting, to farming; from caves to bricks; and from beasts to wheels. Change has been to our race what a caring mother is to a impish child, chastising and rebuking where necessary and giving a nudge in the right direction when needed. But for all the roles change has played in shaping our race, there is one thing that has always remained constant – Death.

Empires have risen, only to perish; lands have been conquered, only for the conquerors to meet their demise at the hands of conspirators; great deeds have been accomplished, only to fall into obscurity. No matter the respect that he commanded, or the power that he amassed, every man who has walked this earth has knelt before Death. This at least, is the notion believed by most. Perhaps, this is also what gave rise to the myriad of myths and legends regarding ‘The Fountain of Youth’ or the ‘Philosopher’s Stone’. What else are they, but the poetic creations of man seeking to defeat his greatest fear, if not in reality, than in fiction?

Why are gods depicted as immortal beings capable of great feats? In the Ramayana, the great gods and demons are said to have ridden into battle on great flying chariots, then surely the pilots and co-pilots of today must be gods, for they fly chariots carrying hundreds of passengers across distant shores.

Why are gods immortal? What is immortality? Does it merely involve living forever, doomed to wander the plains of Heaven and Earth? One thing that I do know for certain is that it involves besting man’s greatest foe, Death itself.

Immortality does not mean that one lives forever; it means that one is remembered forever. The gods are not undying because of some mystic power that they possess. They refuse to fade, because it is we mortals who refuse to let them fade. It is we men who remember them when we behold something wondrous. It is this faith, and remembrance that blesses a god with his immortality.

This leads me to believe that the ultimate harbinger can indeed be defeated. Not with a sip from the Fountain of Youth, for Death is sure to strip us of your physical husks. The power lies in our actions during life that strike the final blow in our battle with Death. Deeds so great, that they are recorded in tombs, retold in stories, and sung in poems. It is with our actions during life that we can achieve immortality in death. Plato, Aristotle, Archimedes, Isaac Newton, Leonardo Da Vinci, Babur, Akbar, Shivaji…these are all men whose actions have reverberated through the ages. If immortality is the right of the gods, then are these mere humans not gods among men?