{"id":4185,"date":"2013-07-13T01:54:01","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:54:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4185"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:54:01","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:54:01","slug":"13-the-fear-of-death-vol-12-on-education-volume-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/02-works-of-the-mother\/01-cwmce\/12-on-education-volume-12\/13-the-fear-of-death-vol-12-on-education-volume-12","title":{"rendered":"-13_The-Fear-of-Death.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n

 <\/span>The Fear of Death and <\/span><\/font> <\/i><\/b><\/p>\n


\n
\nthe Four Methods of Conquering It <\/span><\/font><\/i><\/b>
\n <\/span><\/font><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\nG<\/font><\/span>enerally speaking, perhaps the greatest
\nobstacle in the way of man’s progress is fear, a fear that is many-sided,
\nmultiform, self-contradictory, illogical, unreasoning and often unreasonable.
\nOf all fears the most subtle and the most tenacious is the fear of death. It is
\ndeeply rooted in the subconscient and it is not easy to dislodge. It is
\nobviously made up of several interwoven elements: the spirit of conservatism
\nand the concern for self-preservation so as to ensure the continuity of
\nconsciousness, the recoil before the unknown, the uneasiness caused by the
\nunexpected and the unforeseeable, and perhaps, behind all that, hidden in the
\ndepths of the cells, the instinct that death is not inevitable and that, if
\ncertain conditions are fulfilled, it can be conquered; although, as a matter of
\nfact, fear in itself is one of the greatest obstacles to that conquest. For one
\ncannot conquer what one fears, and one who fears death has already been conquered
\nby it. <\/span><\/p>\n

How can one overcome this fear? Several methods can be used for
\nthis purpose. But first of all, a few fundamental notions are needed to help us
\nin our endeavour. The first and most important point is to know that life is
\none and immortal. The forms are countless, fleeting and brittle. This knowledge
\nmust be securely and permanently established in the mind and one must identify
\none’s consciousness as far as possible with the eternal life that is
\nindependent of every form, but which manifests in all forms. This gives the
\nindispensable psychological basis with which to confront the problem, for the
\nproblem remains. Even if the inner being is enlightened enough to be above all
\nfear, the fear still remains hidden in the cells of the body, obscure, spontaneous,
\nbeyond the reach of reason, usually almost unconscious. It is in these obscure
\ndepths that one must find it out, seize hold of it and cast upon it the light
\nof knowledge and certitude.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 82<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

Thus life does not die, but the form is dissolved, and it is this
\ndissolution that the physical consciousness dreads. And yet the form is
\nconstantly changing and in essence there is nothing to prevent this change from
\nbeing progressive. This progressive change could make death no longer
\ninevitable, but it is very difficult to achieve and demands conditions that
\nvery few people are able to fulfil. Thus the method to be followed in order to
\novercome the fear of death will differ according to the nature of the case and
\nthe state of the consciousness. These methods can be classified into four
\nprincipal kinds, although each one includes a large number of varieties; in
\nfact, each individual must develop his own system. <\/span><\/p>\n

The first method appeals to the reason. One can say that in the
\npresent state of the world, death is inevitable; a body that has taken birth
\nwill necessarily die one day or another, and in almost every case death comes
\nwhen it must: one can neither hasten nor delay its hour. Someone who craves for
\nit may have to wait very long to obtain it and someone who dreads it may
\nsuddenly be struck down in spite of all the precautions he has taken. The hour
\nof death seems therefore to be inexorably fixed, except for a very few
\nindividuals who possess powers that the human race in general does not command.
\nReason teaches us that it is absurd to fear something that one cannot avoid.
\nThe only thing to do is to accept the idea of death and quietly do the best one
\ncan from day to day, from hour to hour, without worrying about what is going to
\nhappen. This process is very effective when it is used by intellectuals who are
\naccustomed to act according to the laws of reason; but it would be less
\nsuccessful for emotional people who live in their feelings and let themselves
\nbe ruled by them. No doubt, these people should have recourse to the second
\nmethod, the method of inner seeking. Beyond all the emotions, in the silent and
\ntranquil depths of our being, there is a light shining constantly, the light of
\nthe psychic consciousness. Go in search of this light, concentrate on it; it is
\nwithin you. With a persevering will you are sure to find it<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 83<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

and as soon as you enter into it, you awake to the sense of
\nimmortality. You have always lived, you will always live; you become wholly
\nindependent of your body; your conscious existence does not depend on it; and
\nthis body is only one of the transient forms through which you have manifested.
\nDeath is no longer an extinction, it is only a transition. All fear instantly
\nvanishes and you walk through life with the calm certitude of a free man. <\/span><\/p>\n

The third method is for those who have faith in a God, their God,
\nand who have given themselves to him. They belong to him integrally; all the
\nevents of their lives are an expression of the divine will and they accept them
\nnot merely with calm submission but with gratitude, for they are convinced that
\nwhatever happens to them is always for their own good. They have a mystic trust
\nin their God and in their personal relationship with him. They have made an
\nabsolute surrender of their will to his and feel his unvarying love and
\nprotection, wholly independent of the accidents of life and death. They have
\nthe constant experience of lying at the feet of their Beloved in an absolute
\nself-surrender or of being cradled in his arms and enjoying a perfect security.
\nThere is no longer any room in their consciousness for fear, anxiety or
\ntorment; all that has been replaced by a calm and delightful bliss. <\/span><\/p>\n

But not everyone has the good fortune of being a mystic. <\/span><\/p>\n

Finally there are those who are born warriors. They cannot accept
\nlife as it is and they feel pulsating within them their right to immortality,
\nan integral and earthly immortality. They possess a kind of intuitive knowledge
\nthat death is nothing but a bad habit; they seem to be born with the resolution
\nto conquer it. But this conquest entails a desperate combat against an army of
\nfierce and subtle assailants, a combat that has to be fought constantly, almost
\nat every minute. Only one who has an indomitable spirit should attempt it. The
\nbattle has many fronts; it is waged on several planes that intermingle and
\ncomplement each other. <\/span><\/p>\n

The first battle to be fought is already formidable: it is the<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 84<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span>mental battle against a
\ncollective suggestion that is massive, overwhelming, compelling, a suggestion
\nbased on thousands of years of experience, on a law of Nature that does not yet
\nseem to have had any exception. It translates itself into this stubborn
\nassertion: it has always been so, it cannot be any different; death is
\ninevitable and it is madness to hope that it can be anything else. The concert
\nis unanimous and till now even the most advanced scientist has hardly dared to
\nsound a discordant note, a hope for the future. As for the religions, most of
\nthem have based their power of action on the fact of death and they assert that
\nGod wanted man to die since he created him mortal. Many of them make death a
\ndeliverance, a liberation, sometimes even a reward. Their injunction is: submit
\nto the will of the Highest, accept without revolt the idea of death and you
\nshall have peace and happiness. In spite of all this, the mind must remain
\nunshakable in its conviction and sustain an unbending will. But for one who has
\nresolved to conquer death, all these suggestions have no effect and cannot affect
\nhis certitude which is based on a profound revelation. <\/span><\/p>\n

The second battle is the battle of the feelings, the fight against
\nattachment to everything one has created, everything one has loved. By
\nassiduous labour, sometimes at the cost of great efforts, you have built up a
\nhome, a career, a social, literary, artistic, scientific or political work, you
\nhave formed an environment with yourself at the centre and you depend on it at
\nleast as much as it depends on you. You are surrounded by a group of people,
\nrelatives, friends, helpers, and when you think of your life, they occupy
\nalmost as great a place as yourself in your thought, so much so that if they
\nwere to be suddenly taken away from you, you would feel lost, as if a very
\nimportant part of your being had disappeared. <\/span><\/p>\n

It is not a matter of giving up all these things, since they make
\nup, at least to a great extent, the aim and purpose of your existence. But you
\nmust give up all attachment to these things, so that you may feel capable of
\nliving without them, or rather  <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 85<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

so that you may be ready, if they leave you, to rebuild a new life
\nfor yourself, in new circumstances, and to do this indefinitely, for such is
\nthe consequence of immortality. This state may be defined in this way: to be
\nable to organise and carry out everything with utmost care and attention and
\nyet remain free from all desire and attachment, for if you wish to escape
\ndeath, you must not be bound by anything that will perish. <\/span><\/p>\n

After the feelings come the sensations. Here the fight is pitiless
\nand the adversaries formidable. They can sense the slightest weakness and
\nstrike where you are defenceless. The victories you win are only fleeting and
\nthe same battles are repeated indefinitely. The enemy whom you thought you had
\ndefeated rises up again and again to strike you. You must have a strongly
\ntempered character, an untiring endurance to be able to withstand every defeat,
\nevery rebuff, every denial, every discouragement and the immense weariness of
\nfinding yourself always in contradiction with daily experience and earthly
\nevents. <\/span><\/p>\n

We come now to the most terrible battle of all, the physical
\nbattle which is fought in the body; for it goes on without respite or truce. It
\nbegins at birth and can end with the defeat of one of the two combatants: the
\nforce of transformation and the force of disintegration. I say at birth, for in
\nfact the two movements are in conflict from the very moment one comes into the
\nworld, although the conflict becomes conscious and deliberate only much later. For
\nevery indisposition, every illness, every malformation, even accidents, are the
\nresult of the action of the force of disintegration, just as growth, harmonious
\ndevelopment, resistance to attack, recovery from illness, every return to the
\nnormal functioning, every progressive improvement, are due to the action of the
\nforce of transformation. Later on, with the development of the consciousness,
\nwhen the fight becomes deliberate, it changes into a frantic race between the
\ntwo opposite and rival movements, a race to see which one will reach its goal
\nfirst, transformation or death. This means a ceaseless effort, a constant
\nconcentration to call down the regenerating<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 86<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

force and to increase the receptivity of the cells to this force,
\nto fight step by step, from point to point against the devastating action of
\nthe forces of destruction and decline, to tear out of its grasp everything that
\nis capable of responding to the ascending urge, to enlighten, purify and
\nstabilise. It is an obscure and obstinate struggle, most often without any
\napparent result or any external sign of the partial victories that have been
\nwon and are ever uncertain for the work that has been done always seems to need
\nto be redone; each step forward is most often made at the cost of a setback
\nelsewhere and what has been done one day can be undone the next. Indeed, the
\nvictory can be sure and lasting only when it is total. And all that takes time,
\nmuch time, and the years pass by inexorably, increasing the strength of the
\nadverse forces. <\/span><\/p>\n

All this time the consciousness stands like a sentinel in a
\ntrench: you must hold on, hold on at all costs, without a quiver of fear or a
\nslackening of vigilance, keeping an unshakable faith in the mission to be
\naccomplished and in the help from above which inspires and sustains you. For
\nthe victory will go to the most enduring. <\/span><\/p>\n

There is yet another way to conquer the fear of death, but it is
\nwithin the reach of so few that it is mentioned here only as a matter of
\ninformation. It is to enter into the domain of death deliberately and
\nconsciously while one is still alive, and then to return from this region and
\nre-enter the physical body, resuming the course of material existence with full
\nknowledge. But for that one must be an initiate.  <\/span><\/p>\n


\n\u00a0<\/font><\/span>Bulletin<\/span>,<\/font><\/span><\/i> February 1954<\/font><\/span> <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013
\n87<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n


\n
\nREPLY TO QUESTIONS<\/span><\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Raised by the last paragraph of \u201cThe Fear of Death <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>it and the Four Methods of
\nConquering It\u201d<\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\nA<\/font><\/span>ll
\nthese questions can be reduced to a single one: what is this knowledge or
\ndiscipline which gives the capacity to face death without fear? <\/span><\/p>\n

Until now, nothing has been said here
\nabout this method of knowledge, which is also a method of action, because the
\nstudy and practice of this science cannot be put into the hands of one and all.
\nTo talk about occult things is of little value; one must gain experience of
\nthem. And this experimentation demands not only special capacities that very
\nfew men possess but also a psychological development that very few people can
\nachieve. In the modern world, this knowledge is hardly recognised as
\nscientific, and yet it is so, for it fulfils the conditions usually required
\nfor a science. It is a system of knowledge organised according to certain
\nprinciples; it follows precise processes, and by reproducing exactly the same
\nconditions, one obtains the same results. It is also a progressive knowledge;
\none can devote oneself to studying it and develop it in a regular and logical
\nway, just like any other recognised science of today. But this study deals with
\nrealities which do not belong to the most material world. In order to take it
\nup, one must possess special senses, for the domain in which it moves lies
\nbeyond our ordinary senses. These special senses are latent in men. Just as we
\nhave a physical body, so too we have other more subtle bodies with their own
\nsenses; these senses are much more refined and precise, much more powerful than
\nour physical senses. But of course, as education does not usually deal with
\nthis domain, these senses are not normally developed and the worlds in which
\nthey function elude our ordinary knowledge. And yet children spontaneously live
\na great deal in this domain. They see all kinds of things that are as real for
\nthem as physical objects. When they speak <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 88<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

about them, most often they
\nare told that they are stupid or liars, because they mention phenomena of which
\nothers have no experience, but which for them are as true, as tangible, as real
\nas what everyone can see. The dreams that children so often have either in
\nsleep or while they are awake are extremely vivid and have a great importance
\nin their lives. With intensive mental development do these capacities fade away
\nin children and even sometimes disappear in the end. Yet there are people who
\nhave the good fortune to be born with spontaneously developed inner senses and
\nnothing can prevent these senses from remaining awake and even developing. If
\nthese people, before it is too late, meet someone who has the knowledge and can
\nhelp them in the methodical education of the subtle senses, they will become
\nvery interesting instruments of research and discovery in the occult worlds. <\/span><\/p>\n

In all ages, there have been isolated individuals or small groups
\non earth who were the guardians of a very ancient tradition, corroborated by
\ntheir own experiences, and who practised this type of science. They sought out
\nespecially gifted individuals and gave them the necessary training. Usually
\nthese groups lived more or less in secret or in hiding, because ordinary men
\nare very intolerant of this kind of capacity and activity, which is beyond them
\nand frightens them. But there have been great periods in human history when
\nrecognised schools of initiation were established and were highly esteemed and
\nrespected, as in ancient <\/span>Egypt<\/span>, ancient <\/span>Chaldea<\/span>, ancient <\/span>India<\/span>, and even to some extent in <\/span>Greece<\/span> and <\/span>Rome<\/span>. Even in <\/span>Europe<\/span>, in the Middle Ages, there were institutions that taught occult
\nscience, but they had to conceal themselves very carefully, for they were
\npursued and persecuted by the official Christian religion. And if by chance it
\nwas discovered that a man or a woman practised this occult science, they were
\nburnt alive at the stake as sorcerers. Now this knowledge is almost lost; very
\nfew people possess it. But with the knowledge, the intolerance has gone too. In
\nour times, it is true, most educated people prefer to deny the existence of <\/span>
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 89<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

this science or to dub it imagination or even fraud in order to
\nhide from themselves their own ignorance and the uneasiness they would feel if
\nthey had to recognise the reality of a power over which they have no control.
\nAnd even among those who do not deny it, most of them are not very fond of
\nthese things; they are disturbed and troubled by them. However, they are
\nobliged to admit that it is not a crime. And people who practise occultism are
\nno longer burnt at the stake or thrown into prison. Since it is no longer
\nnecessary to hide, many people claim to have the knowledge, but very few of
\nthem really know anything. Some unscrupulous and ambitious people take
\nadvantage of the mystery which formerly used to shroud occult science and use
\nit as a means of mystification and deceit. But it is not by these people that
\nwe should judge the knowledge which they wrongly claim to possess. In every
\ndomain of human activity, there are charlatans and impostors, but we should not
\nallow their tricks to throw discredit upon a true science which they falsely
\nclaim to possess. That is why, during the great periods when this science was
\nflourishing, when there were recognised schools where it could be practised,
\nbefore anyone was allowed to undertake this study, he had to undergo for a very
\nlong time, sometimes for many years, a very strict twofold discipline of
\nself-development and self-mastery. On one hand, the sincerity and
\ndisinterestedness of the aspirant’s intentions, the purity of his motives, of
\nhis capacity for self-forgetfulness and self-abnegation, his sense of sacrifice
\nand unselfishness were ascertained, as far as possible. In this way the
\nloftiness and nobility of the candidate’s aspiration were proved, while on the
\nother hand he was subjected to a series of ordeals intended to show that his
\ncapacities were adequate and that he could without danger practise the science
\nto which he wished to devote himself. These ordeals laid a special emphasis on
\nthe mastery of passions and desires, on the establishment of an unshakable
\ncalm, and above all on the absence of all fear, for in this endeavour an
\nunflinching fearlessness is an essential condition of safety. <\/span>
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 90<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

In one of its aspects, occult science is like a kind of chemistry
\napplied to the play of forces and the structure of the worlds and individual
\nforms of the inner dimensions. Just as in the chemistry of Matter the
\nmanipulation of certain substances is not without danger, so too in the occult
\nworlds the wielding of certain forces and contact with them involve risks which
\na great self-control and an unshakable calm can render innocuous.<\/span><\/p>\n

In another of its aspects, occult science is, for the individual
\nseeker, like the discovery and exploration of unknown countries whose laws and
\ncustoms one often learns at one’s own cost. Some of these realms are even
\nrather terrifying for the beginner, who finds himself surrounded by new and
\nunexpected perils. However, most of these dangers are more imaginary than real,
\nand if one faces them without fear they lose the greater part of their reality.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

In any case, at all times it has been recommended that one should
\ntake up these studies under a very reliable guide who can point out the paths
\nto follow, put you on guard against dangers, whether illusory or not, and give
\nprotection when needed. <\/span><\/p>\n

Thus it is difficult to give more details here about the science
\nitself, except to say that the indispensable basis of occult studies is a
\nrecognition of the concrete and objective reality of the many states of being
\nand the inner worlds, which is a psychological application of the theory of
\nfour-dimensional or multi-dimensional space. <\/span><\/p>\n

Occult science could thus be defined as a concrete
\nobjectification, in the world of forms, of what spiritual disciplines teach
\nfrom the purely psychological point of view. The two should complement each
\nother for the perfection of self-development and integral action. Occult
\nknowledge without spiritual discipline is a dangerous instrument, for the one
\nwho uses it as for others, if it falls into impure hands. Spiritual knowledge
\nwithout occult science lacks precision and certainty in its\u00a0 <\/span>objective<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 91<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span>results; it is all-powerful
\nonly in the subjective world. The two, when combined in inner or outer action,
\nare irresistible and are fit instruments for the manifestation of the
\nsupramental power.  <\/span><\/p>\n


\nBulletin<\/font><\/span><\/i>,<\/font><\/span><\/i> April 1954
\n<\/font> <\/span>
\n <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 92<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t<\/p>\n

\t<span<\/p>\n

\n

\t<\/span>
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