Death & Rebirth: What It Means To Me

Dear Beloved Self, for the first time, I am going to take a wild leap of courage and write about my own feelings of what death means to me independent of what the saints and sages tell us it is. I am listening to my Heart as I write this.

In 1997 when I first started a journey of Self exploration, I stepped into the 'spiritual world' via Buddhism.I  practiced Buddhism for seven years and the first thing I read about Buddhism is that if one wants to know about Life, then one must first learn about death.At the time I thought it was a morbid idea!!  Today I am convinced and sure it is the most radical thinking and direct path to Self Awareness.

The Bhagavad Gita says "Even as man  discards old clothes for the new ones, so the dweller in the body, the soul, leaving aside the worn out bodies, enters into new bodies. The soul migrates from body to body.  Weapons cannot cleave it, nor fire consume it, nor water drench it, nor wind dry it."  

Any one who is living completely from the heart knows that death is really the mercy of God. If we had no death, we would have had no respite from our sufferings and bondage to this world of illusion that we have created.  Death is a Gift. It is Grace. It is a resting place till Life takes us back into Itself.  A soul needs death to resurrect into its Higher Self.  Each incarnation brings us back more and more ready to drop our ignorance and illusion.

And yet, as I now walk the path of Self Inquiry and Non-Duality I am learning that in truth there is no death, no reincarnation, no rebirth. All is a play of mind. But if someone asks me to prove this, I will be unable to do so because to begin to know the mind, one must begin to deeply explore the mind. Thank God for scientists!  They have their answers that makes sense to the world.  So, if someone wants proof, one can just dive straight into the world of science. 

Deep Self understanding is an intimate, personal and solo discovery which everyone is called to take at one time or another. I have only just scratched the surface, and the surface alone is full of potentials for deep exploration.  I cannot even imagine what I will be walking into as I take the trek within.  For this I need complete Trust.  Trust in the power of Love and Life.  This Life is emanating from somewhere, some source.  Where is the Source and what IS the Source? Inquire.

To know about Life, one must first know about death.  Within me lies the potentials to tap into becoming a sage, a warrior, or the sinner. Most people I know are terrified about death simply because they are so steeped in fear, they are unable to inquire. There are others who have all kinds of ideas about death.  Who is right and who is wrong is not the question ultimately. Deep Self Inquiry is.

My Beloved Friend and Soul Sister, Aimee just lost her precious Dad.  When she discovered her father was seriously ill, she delved into the meaning of death.  She became so confident about the Love and Life of Spirit and the 'eternality' of a soul's life, that she felt herself now being challenged to walk a new path of understanding. She took that step unflinchingly and at the risk of upsetting sensibilities of the human nature. I know because I had the privilege of walking with her throughout her father's illness.  She cried, she prayed, she meditated, she contemplated, she suffered, she hurt, she glorified the Higher Self within her, and most of all, she SAW that her father was SPIRIT - all embracing, all loving and eternally ALIVE.  She did not move from her home to her father's which was in another geographical location, because she SAW that it did'nt need to be a physical journey.  She journeyed in her soul, cherishing her father deeply, loving him, loving every moment she had with him and now she KNOWS her father has merged with The Light.  What's not to be  ecstatic about?? The suffering part is the human part of us.  The pain breaks open our hearts and creates a vast space for Love and Light to enter in its fullness. 

Nothing is happening outside.  What we see in the physical world has already happened and is a delayed reaction to what has already happened within.  Our benediction has already been done within.  What we are seeing are its effects.  

Let me conclude with my  favorite  sage, Nisargadatta Maharaj's quote:

"There is no such thing as a person. There are only restrictions and limitations. The sum total of these defines the person. (...) The person merely appears to be, like the space within the pot appears to have the shape and volume and smell of the pot."

May you see the Light that shines in the highest heavens shining in your heart too.

Aum.