Death (Lecture Excerpt)
Death is a mystery for human beings. Man always tries his best to understand death. All religions, scriptures, and philosophers have struggled to understand death. The failure to understand death is the reason we fear it.
The man who believes in rebirth has a fear of death and the man who does not believe in rebirth also has a fear of death.
We have always viewed death with fear. We need to change that attitude. Once you change your attitude towards death, it will no longer be a feared subject. We fear death because it is not an experience of this life. In fact, it is the beginning of a new life.
The way you end your present life is very much connected to the way you begin your new life. If you end this life in fear, your next life will begin with that fear. For death and life are the two banks of the same river.
If we don’t understand why we have a fear of death, that fear will not cease. The topic of death is a very serious topic. Society stands upon the fear of death. Man is always trying to ignore death.
There are four pillars of philosophy: wonder, doubt, criticism, and death. Greek philosophers consider wonder as the primary source of philosophy. Decartes considered doubt to be the primary source. Philosophers like Kant consider criticism as the primary source of philosophy. Death is also considered the primary source of a vast number of philosophies.