Death is not in death as you think it to be, because death, in reality, renders death null and void! Death kills death! Through death you will know that there is no death! And that it indeed becomes the doorway to eternal life and growth.

If ‘death’ exists at all it is in stagnation, inertia and fear. The deeper implication of this understanding can be startling in your day-to-day terms. You will realize that the endings, losses and changes that you feared because they implied ‘death’ to you, are instead opportunities for growth. And that ironically it is your very resistance or fear of extending self that is the true ‘death’. Death is in your patterns, death is in your conditioning and death is in your reluctance or refusal to move on, accept change, expand or experiment! Death is paradoxically not in the endings& change we fear as death but in stagnation, inertia & fear!

Conquering death does not mean that there will be no so called ‘death’ -changes, losses, endings- but the understanding that enables you to embrace them as new life, opportunities , growth and expansion!

Use the power of association to become comfortable with so-called death so that you do not link death only with the horrific endings of life. Everything around you is constantly being re-born; you are literally surrounded by new life moment-to-moment! Become aware that you live in a field of energy, which is in a constant state of flux and you are literally surrounded by death, or new life, however you choose to view it.  See it in nature: the sun setting to rise, the flowers growing into fruit, the seasons changing. See it through biology: the cells within your body are constantly changing and ‘dying’ so that you may live! See it through quantum physics- the universe pulses in &out to eternally exist. See it through dance- how each step dies to the next so that the dance may be!

The physical orgasm is also known as the small death. Why? Because it the ‘death’ of the ego (implying a surrender of the resistance of ego) that enables the orgasm; but also because the energies being harnessed, collected and hoarded through the motion and experience of the creative act must be released to enjoy the bliss of orgasm. At a deeper level this has a very important message because you usually link fear and stagnation with ‘negative’ situations. However it is equally vital to move on from any pinnacles you may reach, from those phases when dreams have come true.

No personal self /ego = deathlessness! As we move beyond the personal self (and its cause and effect and life and death known as the wheel of samsara) we move into impersonal self and its deathlessness – there is no one or nothing to die. This is what Moksha really implies = the birthing into deathlessness… the birthing into eternal Self.

Understanding death helps us live a better life

Being born and dying: are like the ship 'disappearing 'from yr horizon and 'appearing' at another’s horizon; not two separate states for the ship...or anyone who can see the full picture/macrocosm....and only so for the two witnesses at either end/microcosm. And if we take this further, a ship goes to so many ports; each being a seeming birth and death!

Immortality implies eternity .Eternity, authentically, is not ever-stretching time, but timelessness. Thus immortality is to be found beyond, not within, time! And beyond time is only the present moment! Try it, try catch the Now and it becomes the past or remains the future!  Try it- if the Now is, you cannot be! If you are, the Now cannot be! In the now there is no mind, thus no self, thus no time, thus no past… change…death… only eternity

Immortality implies eternal life. Eternal life implies the negation of death. And yet, paradoxically, eternal life… immortality... exists only through death. Indeed through constant change…from microcosmic to macrocosmic levels! Through change is continuity instead of stagnation! Through death do you render ‘death’ null and void; do you become All That Always Is

Immortality implies the negation of mortality. Mortality implies the human physical body. Thus beyond the physical… beyond the body… is immortality ever present .Indeed the physical is merely a veil… move beyond it… not through ‘physical death’. But while living -through yoga- union with Higher Self- be it gyan, bhakti, kriya or karma; Expand your sense of self …to Self…and you are One with immortality>

Immortality ah! Not in some distant future but in the Now .Not for the Gods but for you and me as expanded consciousness. Not in changeless ness, not in undying ‘self’ but orgasm like -every tiny shift, every stage of letting go builds upon itself - till there is no you left to enjoy the Ah of immortality! A concept only… for preoccupation with immortality implies mortality

We often think its we who choose our after lives and rebirths, but more accurately it is not we the personality, but our energy field and its vibrations, that 'choose'/attract/create the experiences!

Viewing the year end/new year through breath: In meditation we experience breath slowing & receding and in that we touch consciousness/cosmic life force vaster than breath- thus even as our breath recedes we expand; even as breath (& thus sense of self)  decreases we increasingly become one with All That Is; even as it subsides (taking with it all that we have thus far known) we open to infinite cosmic potential; indeed as breath subsides, we die not but move into the experience of eternal life…....and that’s what comes to me as we are poised at the year end/beginning...the year ends, but we expand, the known goes but open are we to so much more...

Breath = prana = life force= mind/its personal identity/ups and downs= the cosmic play! Thus when we abide in the gap between the breaths, we step out of maya/separation/ ego self etc. Indeed when we abide here, though we are beyond 'breath' we are still alive, and we can become aware of another life force, far more subtle than breath- consciousness itself. We can indeed experience that as our breath slows/decreases/recedes. We expand , become one with All That Is... and fear of death starts to recede.

Of course, its all a process! and this abiding in the gap need not be only thru pranayam-breath awareness -though this can aid...it can also 'happen' thru gyan yoga (the real-ization we are all one and not the body) thru bhakti yoga ( in being one with the object/god of our devotion there is no self) thru karma yoga ( selfless action) ...thru all of these we can we move into abiding beyond the breath... and yes sure pranayam and medit helps, can help one start or sustain or go deeper!!!

At a more mundane level, breath= prana= life force, but as most of us don’t breathe properly we need to supplement this with 'food' which is only another form of prana! The finer the food the finer the prana we ingest!

From a deeper/spiritual point of view- briefly put- we are born to parents - to get their genes - based on what sanskars/dispositions we require for a particular life experience. As souls we also  choose the back drop of caretakers and our environments and the labels they will imbue us with... even those   challenging genes/latent tendencies/ dispositions/labels ... based on the self-limitations we  have chosen work out through any  current life; in the sense we need to have them... to experience them... to go beyond them!!

Ofcourse as souls we also choose our strengths - those that we need for a particular life experience! So we come with a pretty tailor made genetic/early environmental package.... geared towards optimizing each life experience and its learning! This is also why the first seven years are supposed to be important in shaping a Childs mind set- its really not about external conditioning only- but the external the required backdrop being present to shape the mind-set as desired by the soul . Then the game begins of expanding our strengths and disempowering our limitations.... it’s like dealing ourselves the cards to then play them out ...or how would we play the game of life

This is also why the first seven years are supposed to be important in shaping a child’s mind set- its not only about the external conditioning - but the required backdrop being present to shape the mind set as desired by the soul!

Sometimes we are our grandparents or ancestors 'reborn'- that is -the same soul and its different lives! Thus we find an uncanny connection or resemblance!

Let me tell you a beautiful story from Indian mythology to portray the deeper implications of ‘death’. One day, Brahma the creator was looking down upon his creation and feeling something wasn’t quite right! Life was choking instead of thriving… humanity was declining instead of evolving and He was wondering where he had gone wrong! Suddenly he feels a tap on his shoulders and there appears Saraswati the Goddess of Wisdom murmuring to him that the only flaw of creation was in omitting death; and when He asks her what ‘death’ is… she explains that death is what allows creation to forever be! She sagaciously points out that ‘death’ is the opportunity for new life! Death is what allows growth to be! Death is what ensures eternity!

Thus convinced does he create ‘mrityu’… the maiden… to confer death periodically to all on earth!  However when mrityu is informed of her role she refuses to accede to such a gruesome purpose to be, till once again Saraswati steps in to explain to her that as death she would indeed be bestower of infinite life…she would indeed be Mother to all of creation and to eternity!  And in this understanding does the maiden mrityu don the mantle of death…opportunity for eternal life …and become Ma Kali.  If you ponder on this a while, you will understand that ‘death’ was introduced, as opportunity for infinite growth and expansion! And it is through death that creation is! For if there was no ‘death’… no endings…how could new beginnings be? Growth be? Expansion be?

The symbolism of the death card in tarot which brings alive all of this! Most people are scared of the death card thinking it portends physical death or death of the issue asked; but in the true language of tarot the card comes up to show you that whatever you are  asking about is not working…decaying perhaps… due to fear, stagnation and resistance! Indeed it comes to point out this death! And to lead you out of it… into a new opportunity… or fresh phase! The Rider Waite card depicts this well with a figure in black to represent the all potential available! He rides a white horse… the horse depicting the need to move on and its color white representing the conscious awareness required to do so! The mystic rose emblazoned across the flag that ‘death’ carries represents the force of Love…for it is only Love of Creator for his Creation…Love to explore every facet of ‘That’ I Am… which  allows one to play this king size game of a seeming hundred deaths!

More interestingly: there are four miniature characters (often missed at cursory glance) in the way of the horse…incoming change. The emperor who symbolizes the ego and its rigidity … gets ‘trampled’ by death. For change must come! Then there is a priest with folded hands symbolizing those who give away their empowerment to a larger force in asking to be protected rather than looking within to change….he too is in line to be hurt as our horse would move forward if it were not a static card!  Then there is the young maiden symbolizing the young seeker who intellectually understands the need for death and is thus half on her knees to greet it… but there is a last moment turning away symbolizing subliminal resistance….and the card suggests that the horse…death… change… would graze her too. Last but not least, is the young child, wholly on his knees, arms open with flowers, embracing ‘death’….the need for change and all it brings… and we can see that our horse if it were not a static card would ride over him yes, but leave him completely unhurt and untouched…allowing the sun…new life force to pour over him instead! 

So death…where is thy sting? Only in resisting it!