This is synopsis of Sadhguru’s book Death An Inside Story with Subject Clearing.
Death Blow: An Introduction
Today, death is looked as more as a medical condition than as a natural phenomenon. The success of medical science has only breathed a fresh lease of life to the historic quest for immortality.
In spiritual terms, even that which probably did not happen in life could happen in death. The highest form of death is the dissolution of the Self. One of the objectives is to help one achieve a ‘good’ death.
The most significant aspect of the book, however, is how the tools offered by Sadhguru and his presence in our midst can help us make our own death more graceful and spiritually significant.
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PART I: Life and Death in One Breath
Death
Life and death live in me at once
Never held one above the other
When one stands far, life I offer
In closeness, only death I deal
In death of the limited
Will the deathless be
How to tell the fools
Of my taintless evil
“Death is the most fundamental question. Yet, people can ignore it, avoid it and just live on in their ignorance simply because all kinds of idiotic stories have been spread in the world in the name of religion.” ~ Sadhguru
CHAPTER 2: The Process of Death
“What you are calling as life, right now, is like soap bubbles being blown. The entire Yogic process or the entire spiritual process is to wear this bubble thin, so that one day when it bursts, there is absolutely nothing left and it moves from the bondage of existence to the freedom of non-existence, or Nirvana.” ~ Sadhguru
CHAPTER 3: The Quality of Death
“No two people in the world live their lives the same way. Similarly, no two people die the same way. People may die in the same situation, of the same cause, but still they don’t die the same way.” ~ Sadhguru
CHAPTER 4: Can Death Be Hacked
“When the body is still strong, what is meant to be can always be transcended.” – Sadhguru
“Mahasamadhi is the end of the game. The cycle is over. There is no question of rebirth; it is complete dissolution. You can say this person is truly no more.” ~ Sadhguru
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PART II The Gracefulness of Death
Become Me
I was borne in my Mother’s womb
but she did not create me
I eat the salt of this Earth
but I do not belong to her
It is through this body that I walk
but I am not it
It is my mind through which I work
but it could not contain me
In the limitations of time and space I live
but it has not denied me unboundedness
I was born like you, I eat like you,
sleep like you and I will die like you
but the limited has not limited me
Life’s bondages have not bound me
As the dance of life progresses
this space, this unboundedness has become
unbearably sweet
Become love and reach out
Become me
CHAPTER 6: Preparing for a Good Death
“Most people in the world believe that if they die in their sleep, it is wonderful. What a horrible way to go!” ~ Sadhguru
CHAPTER 7: Assistance for the Dying
“A bodiless being is a completely defenseless life. That is why that aspect of life must be conducted with utmost responsibility. When someone gives this being a little bit of help at the last moment, it will go a long way. Most of their sadhana for the next time will be taken care of at that moment itself.” ~ Sadhguru
CHAPTER 8: Assistance for the Disembodied
“As we have responsibilities for the living, we have responsibilities for the dead. ~ Sadhguru
CHAPTER 9: Of Grief and Mourning
“I want you to understand that your grief is not because someone has died. One life going away does not mean anything to you. Thousands of people in the world die in a day. But it does not leave a vacuum in you. You are still partying. The problem is, this particular life going away leaves a hole in your life.” ~ Sadhguru
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PART III: Life after Death
The Dark One
When I first heard the sounds of
Darkness and silence meeting within me
The little mind argues for light
The virtue, the power, the beauty
Light a brief happening could hold me not
All encompassing darkness drew me in
Darkness the infinite eternity
Dwarfs the happened, the happening and yet to happen
Choosing the eternal
Darkness I became
The dark one that I am
The Divine and the devil are but a small part
The divine I dispense with ease
If you meet the devil you better cease
CHAPTER 10: The Life of a Ghost
“In a way, everyone is a ghost. Whether you are a ghost with the body or without a body is the only question.” ~ Sadhguru
CHAPTER 11: The Riddle of Reincarnation
“Right now, most people are not even able to handle what is happening in this life, so why do they want to dig into their previous lives? They don’t know how to handle the thoughts, emotions and relationships of this life. How will they handle the thoughts, emotions and relationships of many lives?” ~ Sadhguru
“We can make this life the last one for you but we cannot make this the most wonderful one. That only you have to do. For that, you must do sadhana. You must promise me that.” ~ Sadhguru
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Comments
At death, the body disintegrates into its particles, and the identity that was the body is dissolved. Similarly, the observing and thinking part of the person (the living soul) also disintegrates into its particles (considerations), and the identity that was the person is also dissolved. That is my current understanding.
However, the particles remain and they can recombine into another “body plus living soul” combination. There is infinity of such recombination.
What are the ultimate laws underlying this disintegration and reintegration, I don’t know the details at the moment. But this seems to be going on forever like complex cycles of some eternal wave according to Hinduism.
Nirvana is something different altogether. It happens to a live soul. In my opinion, nirvana is like exteriorization from CONSIDERATIONS. It is the separation of perception-point from all its considerations. This is called giving up of all attachment in Hinduism. One then sees things as they are without any filters as in Buddhism. There is no individuality in terms of considerations. A perception point is the same as any other perception point. It does not add anything to what is observed or experienced.
Nothing arrives at Nirvana. it is what remains after all attachments are dissolved. I call it a perception-point. But even the perception-point dissolves at parinirvana by merging into its own manifestation… something like electron merging into positron.
Parinirvana is probably what occurs at death, where the live soul, that was already reduced to a completely detached perception-point, merges back into its own manifestation, extinguishing both. The laws of disintegration and reintegration are thus bypassed. But this is only my speculation.
The basis of this speculation is removal of all inconsistencies that I am aware of at this level.
January 9, 2013
I visualize my death as moving through thought space at a tremendous speed and dissolving in it. It would be very liberating.