Page 36 - All India Magazine Dec-2024

How to Conquer the Fear of Death

Generally speaking, perhaps the greatest obstacle in the way of
man’s progress is fear, a fear that is many sided, multiform, self-
contradictory, illogical, unreasoning and often unreasonable. Of all
fears the most subtle and the most tenacious is the fear of death. It
is deeply rooted in the subconscient and it is not easy to dislodge.
It is obviously made up of several interwoven elements: the spirit of
conservatism and the concern for self-preservation so as to ensure
the continuity of consciousness, the recoil before the unknown, the
uneasiness caused by the unexpected and the unforeseeable, and
perhaps, behind all that, hidden in the depths of the cells, the in-
stinct that death is not inevitable and that, if certain conditions are
fulfilled, it can be conquered; although, as a matter of fact, fear in
itself is one of the greatest obstacles to that conquest. For one can-
not conquer what one fears, and one who fears death has already
been conquered by it.
How can one overcome this fear? Several methods can be used
for this purpose. But first of all, a few fundamental notions are
needed to help us in our endeavour. The first and most important
point is to know that life is one and immortal. Only the forms are
countless, fleeting and brittle. This knowledge must be securely and
permanently established in the mind and one must identify one’s
consciousness as far as possible with the eternal life that is inde-
pendent of every form, but which manifests in all forms. This gives
the indispensable psychological basis with which to confront the
problem, for the problem remains. Even if the inner being is enlight-
ened enough to be above all fear, the fear still remains hidden in
the cells of the body, obscure, spontaneous, beyond the reach of
reason, usually almost unconscious. It is in these obscure depths
that one must find it out, seize hold of it and cast upon it the light
of knowledge and certitude.
Thus life does not die, but the form is dissolved, and it is this dis-

36 All India Magazine, December 2024