Search for Meaning

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"The answer to the ultimate question,

of life, the universe and everything is...

42."

Deep Thought, in Douglas Adams'

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

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“What’s it all about? Why are we here? What’s the point of my life?”

The death of someone close leads us to question the meaning of life, and our own spiritual or religious beliefs. There is solace in faith, but there are also questions, and death can challenge our beliefs just as it reinforces them.

Church attendance has steadily declined in our lifetime, and personal religious affiliation has died with it. Wider access to alternative religions has given us a new view of spirituality.

With traditional religious worship becoming less and less popular, does spirituality still have value in the modern funeral service?

The traditional religious funeral followed a precise structure, and was heavy on ritual and symbolism. It was possible to get through it without hearing mention of the deceased in either name, or nature. There was little solace to be gained from such a service, unless it reinforced personal faith and reassured the mourner in their own belief that “dying is going home to God”.

Today’s funeral brings together a congregation with a myriad of different beliefs about life and death. But its theosophical value endures, as it encourages us to question the mystery and meaning of life and death. A funeral forces us to deal not only with the death of someone close, but to reflect on our own mortality.

To heal in grief we must explore the questions we are faced with – why did they die… why did they die at this time… why did they die the way they did… where are they now – to decide why we should go on living before we can get to how we will go on living. Though the funeral cannot provide the final answer to this question, it can place death within a context of meaning that is significant to those who mourn.

Value can also be found in retaining structure in the funeral service. Like a good story, a funeral must have a beginning, a middle, and an end. It is reassuring to mourners in an emotional state to find familiarity. If we reflect on our own times of crisis, it is evident that reassurance is found in familiarity and routine. When we are feeling vulnerable, we don’t like surprises. When we are trying to find our feet, we need the ground to be stable underneath us, and not shifting.

Ultimately, the search for meaning engages the heart. It helps us to understand emotionally this mystery that is death.