CONQUERING THE FEAR OF DEATH
1 Verse 4.2.1: Brahadarahnyaka upanishad
जनको ह वैदेहः कूर्चादुपावसर्पन्नुवाच, नमस्तेऽस्तु याज्ञवल्क्य, अनु मा शाधीति;
स होवाच, यथा वै सम्राण्महान्तमध्वानमेष्यन् रथं वा नावं वा समाददीत,
एवमेवैताभिरुपनिषद्भिः समाहितात्मासि; एवं वृन्दारक आढ्यः सन्नधीतवेद
उक्तोपनिषत्क इतो विमुच्यमानः क्व गमिष्यसीति; नाहं तद् भगवन् वेद यत्र
गमिष्यामीति; अथ वै तेऽहं तद्वक्श्यामि यत्र गमिष्यसीति; ब्रवीतु भगवानिति ॥ १
॥
janako ha vaidehaḥ kūrcādupāvasarpannuvāca, namaste'stu yājñavalkya, anu mā
śādhīti; sa hovāca, yathā vai samrāṇmahāntamadhvānameṣyan rathaṃ vā nāvaṃ
vā samādadīta, evamevaitābhirupaniṣadbhiḥ samāhitātmāsi; evaṃ vṛndāraka
āḍhyaḥ sannadhītaveda uktopaniṣatka ito vimucyamānaḥ kva gamiṣyasīti; nāhaṃ
tad bhagavan veda yatra gamiṣyāmīti; atha vai te'haṃ tadvakśyāmi yatra
gamiṣyasīti; bravītu bhagavāniti || 1 ||
1. Janaka, Emperor of Videha, rose from his lounge and approaching
Yājñavalkya said, ‘Salutations to you, Yājñavalkya, please instruct me.’
Yājñavalkya replied, ‘As one wishing to go a long distance, O Emperor,
should secure a chariot or a boat, so have you fully equipped your mind
with so many secret names (of Brahman). You are likewise respected and
wealthy, and you have studied the Vedas and heard the Upaniṣads; (but)
where will you go when you are separated from this body?’ ‘I do not know,
sir, where I shall go.’ ‘Then I will tell you where you will go.’ ‘Tell me,
sir.’
Verse 4.4.1: स यत्रायमात्माबल्यं न्येत्य संमोहमिव न्येति, अथैनमेते प्राणा
अभिसमायन्ति; स एतास्तेजोमात्राः समभ्याददानो हृदयमेवान्ववक्रामति; स यत्रैष
चाक्शुषः पुरुषः पराङ् पर्यावर्ततेऽथारूपज्ञो भवति ॥ १ ॥ sa
yatrāyamātmābalyaṃ nyetya saṃmohamiva nyeti, athainamete prāṇā
abhisamāyanti; sa etāstejomātrāḥ samabhyādadāno hṛdayamevānvavakrāmati; sa
yatraiṣa cākśuṣaḥ puruṣaḥ parāṅ paryāvartate'thārūpajño bhavati || 1 || 1.
When this self becomes weak and senseless, as it were, the organs come to
it. Completely withdrawing these particles of light, it comes to the heart.
When the presiding deity of the eye turns back from all sides, the man
fails to notice colour.
Verse 4.4.2: एकीभवति, न पश्यतीत्याहुः; एकीभवति, न जिघ्रतीत्याहुः; एकीभवति,
न रसयतीत्याहुः; एकीभवति, न वदतीत्याहुः; एकीभवति, न शृणोतीत्याहुः; एकीभवति, न
मनुत इत्याहुः; एकीभवति, न स्पृशतीत्याहुः; एकीभवति, न विजानातीत्याहुः; तस्य
हैतस्य हृदयस्याग्रं प्रद्योतते; तेन प्रद्योतेनैष आत्मा
निष्क्रामति—चक्शुष्टो वा, मूर्ध्नो वा, अन्येभ्यो वा शरीरदेशेभ्यः;
तमुत्क्रामन्तं
प्राणोऽनूत्क्रामति; प्राणमनूत्क्रामन्तं सर्वे प्राणा अनूत्क्रामन्ति; सविज्ञानो
भवति, सविज्ञानमेवान्ववक्रामति । तं विद्याकर्मणी समन्वारभेते पूर्वप्रज्ञा च
॥ २ ॥ ekībhavati, na paśyatītyāhuḥ; ekībhavati, na jighratītyāhuḥ;
ekībhavati, na rasayatītyāhuḥ; ekībhavati, na vadatītyāhuḥ; ekībhavati, na
śṛṇotītyāhuḥ; ekībhavati, na manuta ityāhuḥ; ekībhavati, na spṛśatītyāhuḥ;
ekībhavati, na vijānātītyāhuḥ; tasya haitasya hṛdayasyāgraṃ pradyotate;
tena pradyotenaiṣa ātmā niṣkrāmati—cakśuṣṭo vā, mūrdhno vā, anyebhyo vā
śarīradeśebhyaḥ; tamutkrāmantaṃ prāṇo'nūtkrāmati; prāṇamanūtkrāmantaṃ sarve
prāṇā anūtkrāmanti; savijñāno bhavati, savijñānamevānvavakrāmati । taṃ
vidyākarmaṇī samanvārabhete pūrvaprajñā ca || 2 || 2. (The eye) becomes
united (with the subtle body); then people say, ‘He does not see.’ (The
nose) becomes united; then they say, ‘He does not smell.’ (The tongue)
becomes united; then they say, ‘He does not taste.’ (The vocal organ)
becomes united; then they say, ‘He does not speak.’ (The ear) becomes
united; then they say, ‘He does not hear.’ (The Manas) becomes united; then
they say, ‘He does not think.’ (The skin) becomes united; then they say,
‘He does not touch.’ (The intellect) becomes united; then they say, ‘He
does not know.’ The top of the heart brightens. Through that brightened top
the self-departs, ‘either through the eye, or through the head, or through
any other part of the body. When it departs, the vital force follows; when
the vital force departs, all the organs follow. Then the self has
particular consciousness, and goes to the body which is related to that
consciousness. It is followed by knowledge, work and past experience.
Death is so simple in Upanishads; Yagnavalkya revealed it through Janaka .
2 “To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, Creeps in this petty pace
from day to day, To the last syllable of recorded time; And all our
yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief
candle! Life’s but a walking shadow
//William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act V, Sc. V.
A distinction is to be made between dying and death. Death is the cessation
of life, as we have understood, while dying is the process that leads to
death, often referred to in the context of terminal illness or old age.
However, the whole life is a journey towards death, a certain state, beyond
which lies the unknown realm. The fear of death is not due to death itself,
but because of the process of dying that involves excruciating pain, mental
suffering, and anxiety of the unknown. It is also due to our total
ignorance of what lies beyond death. This fear is fundamentally caused by
our awareness of the certainty of mortality in our life, to which we have
clung dearly and firmly throughout our existence on this earth. The concept
of abhiniveśa in Yoga Sutra of Patanjali appropriately suggests this
clinging to mortal mundane life. Patanjali says: ‘Svarasa-vāhī viduṣaḥ-api
samārūḍhaḥ-abhiniveśaḥ; the firmly established inborn fear of annihilation
found even among the learned is the affliction called abhiniveśa.’2 Vyasa,
in his commentary on this aphorism, explains that every creature has this
craving: ‘Let me never be non-existent; let me be alive.’ He also argues
that the fear of death cannot arise in a person unless one has felt this
earlier. This indicates the experience of death in previous births.
3 A more detailed description of how a human dies and what exactly
happens after death is found in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, which is one
of the earliest of the Upanishads. The Upanishad gives a rational
explanation of the transmigration of the soul from one body to another. It
says that the recurring states of consciousness—namely waking state, dream
state, and deep sleep—act as testimony to the fact that Atman is different
from the conglomeration of body, senses, and the mind. Sri Shankaracharya
succinctly puts such an idea as deha-vyatirikta ātmā (Atman, which is
separate from the body). Hence, the Atman can move from one state of
consciousness to another—from waking state to dream state, from dream state
to deep sleep state and so on. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad says that this
logic also holds good in the case of the transmigration of the Atman from
one body to another. Then, what is death? It is but giving up one set of
body-senses-mind conglomeration and entering into another set of the same
nature. How will it be determined that the Atman enters into a particular
body? It is the accumulation of puṇya, merit, and pāpa, demerit, which one
acquires through the performance of good and bad actions in this life, that
guides a person to enter into a new body. What transmigrates and enters
into a new body is the subtle body composed of the impressions one has
gained in this birth and the past births. Atman, out of ignorance,
identifies with it and seems to think itself a transmigrating entity. A
graphic illustration is given in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad of how a
person leaves one’s body: ‘Just as a heavily loaded cart moves along,
creaking, even so, the self, identified with the body, being presided over
the Atman, which is all Consciousness (Supreme Self), moves along,
groaning, when breathing becomes difficult (at the approach of the death).’ The
Upanishad further says that when the body becomes emaciated through old age
or diseases, the Atman detaches itself from the parts of the body, and
moves on (in the same way as it has entered into this body) to another
body. It is just like a ripened mango or a fig or a fruit of the peepul
tree that gets detached from its stalk.
4 The sage, who has worshipped and meditated on the Sun-god all his
life, is now on his deathbed. He prays to Sun-god for the realisation of
his cherished ideal: ‘The door of the Truth is covered by a golden disc.
Open it, O Nourisher! Remove it so that I who have been worshipping the
Truth may behold it.’8 Then the sage comprehends he is dying and wishes it
to be a process of spiritual accomplishment. He says: वायुरनिलममृतमथेदं
भस्मान्तं शरीरम् । ओं । क्रतो स्मर कृतं स्मर क्रतो स्मर कृतं स्मर ॥ अग्ने नय
सुपथा राये अस्मान्विश्वानि व वयुनानि विद्वान् ।युयोध्यस्मज्जुहुराणमेनो
भूयिष्ठां ते नम उक्तिं विधेम ॥ Now may my breath return to the
all-pervading, immortal Prana! May this body be burnt to ashes! Om. O mind,
remember, remember all that I have done. O fire, lead us by the good path
for the enjoyment of the fruit of our action. You know, O god, all our
deeds. Destroy our sin of deceit. We offer, by words, our salutations to
you.
5 The Indian traditional wisdom of Vedanta takes a more pragmatic
view in this respect as echoed in the words of Sri Krishna in the
Bhagavadgita: जातस्य हि ध्रुवो मृत्युर्ध्रुवं जन्म मृतस्य च ।
तस्मादपरिहार्येऽर्थे न त्वं शोचितुमर्हसि ॥ For to that which is born, death
is certain, and to that which is dead, birth is certain. Therefore, you
should not grieve over the unavoidable. Also, Vedanta speaks of the
conquest of death through wisdom and realisation. It has been beautifully
expressed in the Kena Upanishad: ‘Ātmanā vindate vīryaṁ vidyayā
vindate’mṛtam; by Atman alone one obtains strength; by knowledge,
Immortality.’ Immortality, which is impossible in terms of physical
existence, is the very nature of the Atman. True immortality is attained
only when we realise the Truth that we are the Atman in essence. It
requires relinquishing all the ideas of ‘I am the body’, ‘I am the mind’,
and the like, which, Vedanta says are due to ahamkāra, the wrong
identification with body and the like. The Atman is defined in the
Taittiriya Upanishad as: ‘Satyaṃ jñānamanantaṁ brahma; Brahman which is
Reality, Knowledge, and Infinity.’ It means that the Atman is in no way
different from Brahman, the ultimate Reality which is pure existence, pure
knowledge which is akin to pure awareness or consciousness, and infinite.
The realisation of this Truth alone will make one conquer death in real
sense and make one immortal. Thus, in Vedanta, true immortality is the very
nature of Atman, the spiritual nature of every human being. This is the
only way we can overcome the fear of death and attain everlasting peace and
blessedness in life. Hence, Yajnavalkya says to king Janaka: स वा एष महानज
आत्माजरोऽमरोऽमृतोऽभयो ब्रह्म; अभयं वै ब्रह्म; अभयं हि वै ब्रह्म भवति य एवं
वेद ॥ That great, birthless Self is undecaying, immortal, undying,
fearless, and Brahman (infinite). Brahman is indeed fearless. He who knows
It as such becomes the fearless Brahman.
6 According to Swami Vivekananda, life and death are the same thing
(looked at from different points). Hence, ‘the only way to get beyond death
is to give up the love of life’. There cannot be happiness without misery
or life without death. The wise men see this contradiction and give up
both. Swamiji also analyses what is meant by death. Death is but going back
to component parts, which can happen to only compound objects like the
body. Atman, being an uncompounded entity, can never get destroyed. Swamiji
remarks that ‘it is sheer nonsense to say It (Atman) dies’. What is the
difference between life and death? Self is beyond matter, force, and
thought. Being a simple entity, It cannot die. That which does not die
cannot live. For life and death are the obverse and reverse of the same
coin. Life is another name for death, and death for life. One particular
mode of manifestation is what we call life; another particular mode of
manifestation of the same thing is what we call death. When the wave rises
on the top it is life; and when it falls into the hollow it is death. If
anything is beyond death, we naturally see it must also be beyond life.
Following the same logic, Swamiji, in his poem ‘The Song of the Sannyasin’,
calls for renouncing our thirst for life to overcome death. This is, by all
means, the last word on how to conquer death.
Let darkness go; the will-o’-the-wisp that leads
With blinking light to pile
more gloom on gloom.
This thirst for life, for ever quench; it drags
>From birth to death, and
death to birth, the soul.
He conquers all who conquers self. Know this
And never yield, Sannyâsin bold! Say —
‘Om Tat Sat, Om!’
K Rajaram IRS 23 9 23
On Sat, 23 Sept 2023 at 11:49, venkat giri <[email protected]> wrote:
> Respected Sir/s,
>
> “The Fear in your mind is more dangerous than the Tiger in the
> Forest. ”Quote Jambunathan Iyer
>
> Fear of death may be the most *PRIMAL HUMAN FEAR,* one
> we all experience differently.
>
> *WE* are born and that we will die one day. In between these two
> certainties is a journey called *LIFE*, and all we have to do is
>
> *TIME PASS* and *ENJOY* the wonders of what surround us and all we end
> up doing is causing confusion and chaos in our own HELL, while we journey
> through life *on this amazing planet.*
>
> Life is magical. Nature is magical. The fact we are the only planet
> that *we know of* in the entire cosmos that has life and that too *an
> abundant diversity of so many millions of plants, animals, insects, trees,
> flowers, herbs, mammals, amphibians and more is incredibly magical.* But
> what do we do? Instead of letting all of this abundance inspire us to
> revel, to create and to contribute, we become blinkered and closeted and
> fill our hearts and mind with social diktats, pressures to conform, to earn
> and live a “certain way”, and to pretty much be the same.
>
> *PSYCHOLOGY has* long held that *the greatest unconscious fear*,
> hiding beneath the surface of everyday thoughts and feelings, is the *FEAR
> OF DEATH*. This is especially evident as our religious beliefs offer
> HEAVEN or HELL *as** the only alternatives after death.*
>
> In practical terms, the vast majority of people die with a
> sense of peace and acceptance.
>
> *FEAR *of or *ANXIETY *over death and dying is natural and pretty
> common. Everybody has feared death to a certain extent. *For some people,
> the fear can even push them towards living healthier or becoming more
> hygienic.* There are several psychological theories that place fear of
> dying as our greatest fear and a huge motivating force. For example, Ernest
> Becker suggests that fear of death is what motivates us to try leave a
> lasting legacy behind. According to Becker, much of mental illness involves
> issues related to dying
>
> *Fear of death only becomes a problem when it begins to interfere
> with your life and wellbeing.*
>
> *People who are older, in committed relationships, physically healthy, and
> either very religious or not religious at all tend to be less afraid of
> death.*
>
> * We live two lives: **we live life in our
> thoughts and we live life as our experience of the present moment.*
>
> *WE** developed the ability to think *
> *abstractly** only about **70,000 – 95,000 years ago***. Apparently the
> part of life we live **“in our head” today simply did not exist before
> that time, and instead human life was solely a series of immediate
> experiences, like the lives of other creatures.*
>
> * Abstract thinking has certainly improved the human condition but
> it has also created some serious problems. Stress accounts for over 60% of
> doctor visits and much of that stress results from people continually
> thinking and worrying about the past and the future. Often we literally
> “are not here” but instead are “in our head” thinking and worrying. It
> appears that meditation and other practices were originally developed as
> ways to help maintain a healthy balance of the life we live “**in our
> head”** and **the life we live as immediate experiences.*
>
> * The biggest problem that arose from our development of
> abstract thinking was worrying about death, which can trigger intense and
> sometimes debilitating fear. To manage that fear, we need to inculcate,
> more positive abstract thoughts such as eternal life, salvation,
> liberation, and reincarnation; and spiritualties to manage those ideas.*
>
> There is not a single
> person on earth who died and came back to life and can tell us what happens
> after death - it is something we each find out at the time of death. If one
> fears death all life, will fail to live fully and enjoy.
>
> Fear of death is a phobia, and like other
> phobias it does have a special name: *THANATOPHOBI.*
>
> *FEAR *becomes so invasive and oppressive that it keeps one from
> enjoying the time one has?
>
> *Fear of death may affect us at any time, but it tends to receive
> the most attention for the population of people at retirement age, or
> around 65, who are beginning to reflect on achievements, disappointments
> and their life trajectories.*
>
> *WHY FEAR DEATH?*
>
> People who are retired, elderly or terminally ill are
> common groups affected by the fear of death. For these groups, the fear
> of death may represent a more acute, immediate and quantifiable *“END”* than
> for those who don’t have an expectation that death is just around the
> corner.* But death anxiety also tends to affect some people more
> severely.* Death may more intensely affect people who are experiencing
> mental disorders or who may be dealing with the following:
>
> · Poor health
>
> · Low self-esteem
>
> · Lack of fighting spirit
>
> · Lack of religious beliefs
>
> · *LACK OF INTIMACY IN RELATIONSHIPS**.****
>
> · Lack of fulfilment
>
> ** **WE**, who live far away from our children & Grand Children &
> lacking intimacy; are more prone to this **PRIMAL FEAR**…..more so as we
> age, with all consequent age related ailments.*
>
> Interestingly, people adjacent to those who are
> elderly or terminally ill also can develop a fear of death more frequently.
>
> A 2010 report showed that death anxiety could not only impact
> patients suffering from terminal diseases like AIDS and advanced cancer,
> but it could also affect family caregivers. In fact, the caregivers showed
> symptoms of death anxiety similar to those dying from illness.
>
> All said & done, the symptoms of death anxiety felt by the
> terminally ill were measurably greater.
>
> *Ways to help manage fear of death*:
>
> 1. EXERCISE
>
> Studies show exercise can help in the management of
> anxiety. It may also help our body stay healthier for longer, which can
> increase life expectancy.
>
> 2. MEDITATION
>
> The inevitability of death has been a cornerstone topic for
> many religious and spiritual philosophies, and it’s no surprise that a
> search for peace has led in many cases to meditation practices.
>
> Meditation is a great way to employ breathing techniques and other tools
> to quiet those intrusive thoughts about death over time.
>
> 3. THERAPY & SUPPORT
>
> If inevitable death is a source of anxiety, talk to someone about
> it. A therapist or close friends and family are great resources when one
> has having these feelings, and someone trusted can be a great person to
> air these thoughts to in a safe and healthy, supportive environment.
>
> 4. CHANGE HABITS
>
> Exploring what triggers thoughts about death and how-to end up having
> those thoughts can be a great way to notice patterns and avoid future
> anxious thoughts. It may not make sense to avoid these triggers altogether,
> but knowing they exist will give you more agency when they occur in the
> future.
>
> 5. LEARN TO SPOT ..When Getting Anxious
>
> Even if one can’t prevent triggers but being able to recognize the signs
> of anxiety in our own daily life can help to spot attacks earlier and
> learn to temper those feelings with coping strategies.
>
> 6. Exposure Therapy
>
> Take this for example*: Spending time with spiders is a great way to
> address ones fear of spiders. So when it comes to death, learning to be
> comfortable in the discomfort is the same thing.
>
> Exposure to death doesn’t have to look like a near-death experience.
> Whether it’s conversations about death or the afterlife, visualizing the
> aftermath of a funeral, or just talking about a terminal diagnosis,
> exposure might be the solution to quell anxious thoughts.
>
> 7. Seek Professional Support
>
> Getting help for anxiety may take one of many forms, but it all starts
> with a conversation with a healthcare professional about the symptoms. One
> can also find help online mental health services.
>
> 8. GET THERAPY
>
> Once professional support is sought, one may be directed to the path of
> psychotherapy. Therapy for anxiety is common these days, and *one popular
> form is cognitive behavioural therapy or **CBT**.*
>
> *CBT* is a system that teaches how to identify and ultimately begin
> regulating anxious patterns of thought, and it can work for death anxiety
> just like with any other kind of anxiety.
>
> 9. CONSIDER MEDICATION
>
> Generalized anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder,
> panic disorder and other forms of anxiety are effectively treated with the
> category of medications commonly referred to as antidepressant. These
> medications help the brain better to regulate one’s mood by affecting
> certain neurotransmitters, and they’re really effective at it, to the point
> that they’ve become a solution for anxiety.
>
> Regards
>
> V.Sridharan
>
> Trichy
>
> PS: What enthused me to pen this message is that we are all on the
> threshold of attaining death sooner or later like a Damocles sword hanging
> above our head. I browsed the internet to understand this before
> experiencing .Understanding this made me very bold to combat the same.
>
>
>
> *The Sword Of Damocles : **அரசவாழ்வின் நிலையாமை அறிவுறுத்த டஸ்னிசாஸினால்
> டமோக்ளிஸீக்கு அரச விருந்தளித்து விருந்தின்போது அதன் தலைமீது ஒற்றை மயிரில்
> தொங்கவிடப்பட்டவாள் இன்பத்திடைப் பேரிடர் நிலை.*
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Friday, 22 September, 2023 at 07:29:26 am IST, venkat giri <
> [email protected]> wrote:
>
>
> *The Three Types of Fear*
>
> - *Rational Fear*. *Rational fears occur where there is a real,
> imminent threat. ...*
> - . *Primal fear* *is defined as an innate fear that is programmed
> into our brains. ...*
> - *Irrational Fear*. *Irrational fears are the ones that don't make
> logical sense and can vary greatly from person to person.*
>
>
>
> On Friday, 22 September, 2023 at 05:13:50 am IST, Jambunathan Iyer <
> [email protected]> wrote:
>
>
> The Fear in your mind is more dangerous than the Tiger in the Forest.
>
> Keep your Fear aside, jump into action like a Tiger and catch success.
>
> *Have a Wonderful Day!!!!*
>
>
> N Jambunathan Rengarajapuram-Kodambakkam-Chennai-Mob:9176159004
>
> *" What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you
> become by achieving your goals. If you want to live a happy life, tie it to
> a goal, not to people or things "*
>
>
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