Awareness And Conscious Death

*For seekers of Path of knowledge, Death is not to be feared but an illusion to look through. This article discusses about how transition to death in Awareness can lead to liberation, breaking the cycles of rebirth and death*

### Fear of Death
When we talk about death ordinarily, it can be quite an emotional and fearful issue. It could be about our own death or the death of people close to us. Death is perceived as something grim and to be avoided speaking about in general conversations. In society, Death itself is a taboo word and often replaced by so called cultured words when needed to referred to death. This fear of death stems from the ego. Ego attaches with false identities. It identifies itself with the body like..I am this body. All the possessions, relationships related with the body are also taken as mine. Thought of Death gives rise to fear that the body will perish and also all identities related to the body will also perish. Dissolution of identity is a great pain and discomfort for the Ego. Therefore all efforts in an ordinary persons life is directed towards preventing death of the body. It does not mean that the body is not important. Preservation of the body and keeping it in a good condition is very important. But it should not become an obsession. If most actions in life are directed towards trying to escape death, then it would be a futile life, because ultimately death is inevitable.

### Death is an Illusion
For a spiritual seeker on the Path of Knowledge, death is not a tragedy, it is just an illusion .Knowledge gives us the realisation that Death is not real. When we say not real, it does mean there is a denial that the physical body ceases. It does, but it means that the death of body is not the death of the Self. Your True nature is unaffected by birth, death or decay. The mind constructs memories into a lifespan making birth and death real. The body is a temporary appearance just like the bubble on water. Soon it disappears but water remains unaffected by its presence or absence. Similar is the death, disappearance of the bubble. Death is the dissolution of the temporary form not the extinction of the True self. As Raman Maharshi said.. Where is death? It is only the body that dies. You are not the body . Awareness of the True nature of the Self and illusory nature of body removes the fear of death. If a seeker is still fearful of death, it means this understanding is not proper.

### Aware Death
Aware death means Experiencing the dying process with awareness. For a spiritual seeker, awareness during death is consciously being as your True Self while death happens, without fear, resistance or attachment.
For most of the people, death happens in fear and attachment. This is the uncomfortable truth. There is no awareness in the moment of death. The person is in a sort of confused, semiconscious state. This absence of awareness at death is because life itself was spent in unawareness and if dying is due to serious illness in a hospital, all attempts are done to postpone death. The nervous system may not be responsive enough due to the illness itself or the medications. There is no possibility to maintain awareness in such states. This death is like the sleep. In sleep you wake up, in death you dont. There is no awareness as the transit to death happens.
So why should we be discussing about Conscious death ? Does it hold some importance ?
Yes, for a seeker this topic can have great spiritual importance. The moment of death is a rare chance to realise the self beyond form. Maintaining awareness as death occurs dissolves the ego permanently. There is not merely death of the physical body but also the I. This is an opportunity for liberation. In conscious death, the True self is realised as separate from the false Self. So the need for rebirth is gone. The unending cycle of births and deaths can end. Even if rebirth has to happen, it will happen in full awareness. There is freedom to take on the new form as per the purpose. The purpose of taking the body is to realise you are not the body. But because for most people life and deaths happens in ignorance, unaware of your True self. The purpose of life is defeated. And then innumerable cycles of birth and death keep happening. Conscious death can break this cycle of rebirths.

### How to prepare for awareness during death
The only way one can retain awareness at the time of death is by being in awareness in your whole life. So the preparation is not last minute, but lifelong awareness practice. If whole life is spent in awareness, there will be effortless awareness during death. For a seeker who abides in this knowledge all his life, the transition towards death will be a smooth one. It will be like dropping the old worn clothes consciously. There is nothing like some special technique or practice to prepare for a conscious death. There is no physical preparation. It is only a spiritual readiness to maintain the awareness that I am not this body that is dying, I am the witness to the experience of death. The first step towards this is to get the knowledge and then abide in the knowledge in daily living. This will stabilise the awareness so that it becomes effortless at death. If one thinks that he can remain conscious in the last minute, it is not possible. Fear and attachment will grip you. The ego will come into action trying to resist death and keep you bound in the same old cycles of bondage and suffering. 
Certain other practices like projected states or dream state work can help maintain awareness during dying easily. Death is like a projected state only, it is a permanent projection where you dont return back to your body. Dream is also like a temporary projected state. 
Also if death happens in the vicinity of the Guru, it is highly probable that it will be an aware death.
Other preparation can be done while alive to ensure there are no attachments around death time. When you find indications that death is near, arrange for the pending tasks and responsibilities. Handover your possessions, money etc to worthy people. Make arrangements for dependents. Clear your to do list so that there are no threads of attachment at death time.
If there fear, contemplate, who is having this fear, who is going to die? The fear of death dissolves in the space of awareness.

### How to retain awareness in dying

If you are more and more aware especially in last few days of life, then death happens in awareness. There will be no fear or resistance. As death comes, the awareness should be like..okay, this body is unable to move, it is giving up, now speech is not possible, Now senses are not working. I am not able see, breathing is not possible now. Be aware as the life processes that run the body cease slowly. This type of awareness should be there when death is happening.

Aware death is not some morbid task. It is a conscious dissolution of the individual into the existence. It is the ultimate death of the ego and not just the physical body. It is a sacred invitation to consciously dissolve the separation before the death of the body. 
Conscious death is not just about dying well but also about living fully. When you realise that there is no one to die, fear of death is gone and life becomes free. There is this Sufi proverb that says Die before you Die and You will never Die.
For a seeker on the path of knowledge, Death is the final test of Self realisation. Awareness at the time of death will indicate if ignorance is dropped or not. If you still have belief you are the body, death will seem like annihilation and if you are established in your True nature, Death will feel like returning home, like the wave merging back into the Ocean.

टेलीग्राम ब्राउज़र चेतावनी

ज्ञानाक्षर

Awareness And Conscious Death

Neelam Nimare