How to Achieve Total Enlightenment by Sam Martin

Author:Sam Martin [Martin, Sam]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-7407-8680-8
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing LLC
Published: 2011-06-15T16:00:00+00:00

Total Enlightenment Through Death

“There is no me after death.

Therefore, there is nothing to fear in death itself.

It is a returning to the non-me.”

—Arthur Dobrin, Spiritual Timber

The Greek philosopher Epicurus pointed out that we never really consider not having existed before we were born. It’s only the part about not existing after we die that keeps us up at night. Yet, why should one be so much more horrible than the other?

The great thing about dying is that it is a part of living and to live life to its fullest we must also die. Still, there’s something about death that most folks find a little daunting.

To certain degree, the prospect of death is why religions and the idea of God and God myths were created in the first place; they were a way to stave off panic and fright by explaining one of life’s great mysteries. In the Christian, Jewish, and Islamic religions, death is what happens before you go to heaven (or hell, for those who didn’t live “right”). Hindus and Buddhists think that death is just the beginning to a new life based on the karma you banked in the last one. Had religion not addressed the subject of death, the idea that when we die our souls would enter into a bottomless black meaningless void for eternity would have scared the pants off everyone and nothing would have gotten done. I mean, what’s the point of life if death is one big nothing?

But viewing death through the prism of a religion isn’t necessarily the best way to deal with dying and it may not be the best way to total enlightenment.

Consider the fact that being scared of death is a control issue. We don’t want to die or we deny death because that means we have to give up control of life. Then again, maybe we fear death because we’re egomaniacs and when we die we are robbed of ourselves, or, as Arthur Dobrin points out, we return to the “non-me.” Either way, if we’re so wrapped up in ourselves, then we’re not paying attention to the greater notion of how we belong to the universe. And that means neither can we know who we are nor can we meet the end of our journey with grace and meaning.

The fact is, most people don’t ever think about death until they get sick or almost die or a family member almost dies. And only then do they realize that death is real and they set out to savor every minute of life until they too must meet their end. Herein lies the key to enlightenment through death. If we think about our own deaths on a daily basis, then our lives will be that much richer. We will feel a larger connection to the universe and a greater commitment to discovering who we are. As Jean-Paul Sartre and the existentialists pointed out: Only when we are aroused by our own deaths will the potential of our lives become known to us.

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