Essential Philosophy: Are You Afraid of Death?

By Raja Sharma

They take you away from the normal natural breathing and load you with a fear that your normal breathing is wrong. Now you have a fear in your mind and you begin to breathe as the guru has taught you. It has brought fear

In the Western world things are very important, the things which they are able to buy after their hard work. The same is in the Eastern world but there are many fake and misguiding gurus in countries like India and they tell you not to accumulate things, they tell you to earn virtues, knowledge, spirituality, and strengthen your character. They convince you that your cars, houses, money, etc. will not go with you after your death but they assure you that your virtues, your knowledge, and the spiritual experiences will go with you. Wrong! Absolutely Wrong! Don’t you see that you will still be accumulating in some other form? I tell you not to accumulate at all. I just tell you to lead a pure life, a life of goodness, a life of helpfulness, a life which is full of smiles.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Raja Sharma
• Release date: Dec 22, 2011
• ISBN: 9781466106543

Raja Sharma

Raja Sharma is a retired college lecturer.He has taught English Literature to University students for more than two decades.His students are scattered all over the world, and it is noticeable that he is in contact with more than ninety thousand of his students.

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Essential Philosophy: Are You Afraid of Death?

By Raja Sharma

Copyright@2011 Raja Sharma

Smashwords Edition

All Rights Reserved.

Chapter One

The mere mention of the word Death frightens you, doesn’t it? We are often so much lost in our own worlds of worldly affairs that we never think about it. When we hear about the death of someone close to us, we definitely pause for a moment to present our sympathies to the relatives of the departed soul, but that is all. We assume that this word Death belongs to other and we are immune.

Then follow, sooner or later, the sad incidents when we have to lose our parents, relatives, or friends, and their departure from this earth definitely makes us pause for a longer period to seriously think about it. We are suddenly scared, I mean, very scared because we begin to feel that it could well happen to us.

The other day, a friend of mine said to me, You are always happy. What is the secret of your permanent happiness?

I smiled and said, Why shouldn’t I be happy when death is somewhere waiting for me?

Aren’t you afraid of death? he said very gravely, constantly looking in my eyes.

I have never possessed anything in my life so why should I be worried if I have to leave everything one day?

But you have a very successful business, a beautiful wife, wonderful children, and your friends and all that you have earned in your lifetime. Won’t you be sorry to leave all this behind? he tried to explore.

Yes, I got rewarded in this life with material, children, friends, etc. but they are not mine. The same applies to everything in this world. I started dying the day I was born. In my youth, I never cared but now I have understood the cause of human misery. Everything is so deeply attached to material and relations but if you are ready to alienate yourself from this bondage, you are ready to die happily.

My friend did not ask further and he changed the topic. However, I realized or it clearly seemed that he had already begun to think seriously.

I have concluded that accumulation of anything is bad because it has to be left behind one day. You accumulate power, money, respect, virtues, knowledge, and spiritual experiences but everything is going to be left behind. If you are attached to the accumulations, you are definitely not going to die peacefully. I have used these accumulations and never really believed that they are mine so that the loss of them wouldn’t make me sad. If you don’t accumulate anything you are ready to die any moment because you have nothing to lose.

You are actually not afraid of death; on the contrary, you are afraid of losing your possessions. You want to cling to all that you have accumulated and you are not ready to part with them. How beautifully Lord Jesus had said, Blessed are the poor in spirit.

One day I met a very old beggar. He was laughing and dancing. He was really happy, extremely happy. I was surprised how a beggar could be so happy.

I rallied courage and said to