And yet another email, this one coincidental.
Dr. David Frawley wrote an article called “On Deathlessness“. It begins:
The greatest fear that all living beings have is the fear of death. The fear of death casts a shadow over all that we do and undermines all our peace and happiness. But what is death and who is it that dies?
Actually death is the greatest of all illusions. The fear of death is the root of all ignorance. The shadow of death is not a curse but a misunderstanding of the real nature of existence. Our true being never dies. Death is only the end of one body or another, but not of the being who is embodied.
Vedanta boldly teaches us that no one dies. No one has ever died and no one will ever die. That is to say, your real being, your true Self, soul or essence never dies. In your inner being, you are not subject to birth and death, time and space, coming or going. You are eternal, immutable, pure existence, awareness and bliss. It is only the body that dies, not you as the embodied soul. You are not a material object that is subject to the disintegrating influence of time. You are a spiritual being, a conscious subject that is the witness of all time, space and action.
The rest of the article:
http://www.vedanet.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=141&Itemid=2
As I’ve discussed in places like The Mirrors of Life, I don’t agree that death is our greatest fear. Certainly a very deep fear but one that can be lost while the core fear remains. The core fear rises from our illusion of being separated from source, disconnected from wholeness. That creates a sense of me that must hold on, an identity, and that me then fears death or ending.
I would also not describe death as the greatest of all illusions because even when all fear has ended, the dream of God remains. But yes, death is a profound illusion. And a wonderful thing to transcend.
And he closes:
Take refuge in your inner being beyond the body and mind and witness their play as a Divine sport. Observe the world and all its changes from the central point of your eternal essence. And you will find beauty and wonder at every moment.
Over time, you will find the Divine sport to be That. No longer beyond, body and mind will be found to be none other than that timeless being, expressing for That to know itself more fully.
Davidya
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