Course XXXVI - Teaching 1: Death

To a materialist, death is a black point, a burst of sensation, a void and nothing more.
To a religious person, death is the step toward a higher life, which is more perfect and happier. But none knows exactly how to answer the fundamental questions: Where are we from? Why are we here? Where do we go after death?
If one takes the universe as a wonderful harmonious whole that develops certain evolutionary plan in order to Become, a vaster horizon opens to the eyes of the researcher that then can glimpse the reason of this continuous becoming.
Death occurs in three ways; violent death, natural death and ecstatic death.
A violent death separates suddenly the astral body from the physical body; unfortunate people dying by accident or suicide come back continuously from the ethereal plane to the physical plane, because they did not establish a harmonious gravitation in their new body in order to be in tune with the state of vibration which they have entered. Since they neither have a physical body to manifest their gross sensations nor sufficient disposition to go away from there, they remain suspended on the air; they believe to be still alive and do not realize they are being a part of a new state of consciousness. Their suffering is horrible and they return continuously to the place where their death occurred, while his astral specters reflect and repeat constantly those events that preceded death. The Invisible Protectors are unable to help them because they refuse to be helped. As they are out of the general laws that rule over the subtle beings, these people suffer of a true hell; until a time when, being entirely worn out the material substance of their ethereal body, finally they can enter a quiet dream. All religions have written as first dogma and injunction: “You shall not kill”; and suicides and bloody actions have been disapproved, taking as divine punishment a violent death, even by accident.
If a being that dies like that is not too much spiritually advanced, he extends terribly this torment because passion attracts him to the grossest plane that charges him with materializing particles, and thus prolongs this life that is not life. Meanwhile, as the most advanced beings usually lead their thoughts toward a spiritual ideal, they can get rid of this incubus earlier.
Such is the case of those who die for an ideal, such as Christian martyrs and brave soldiers in the battlefield.
The Holy Book says, that death of a righteous man is quiet before the eyes of God; then, a natural death has to be desirable to all.
Who would not wish to die as those unbeaten saints who felt the coming of the Great Time and were ready to it with serenity, resignation and peace?
A long illness prepares the spirit of a dying person; he easily gets used to new vibrations, in a docile way he listens to the voice of invisible guides, and meekly lets to be carried away by the new world.
A being habituated to spiritual things, when the time of death is near, suddenly reveals astral senses, and there are noticeable cases of dying persons telling that they are surrounded by dead relatives, saints and protectors, hear mysterious voices inviting the hereafter and, sometimes, appear simultaneously to different persons in different places.
When the heart stops beating, the individual being is not entirely dead yet; his death just occurs after the astral cord is broken; this cord is a silver thread that ties the ethereal body to the physical body. As this cord is broken, a little burst with sparks occurs, like a short circuit in electric equipment. Many times the body is already cold but the astral body still is not apart from the former. Sometimes, this supreme operation continues for days.
In Gospels we have an excellent example of this. When Jesus arrived at Bethania to the house of Martha and Mary, he wept bitterly upon hearing of Lazarus’s death, occurred three days ago. Why did Jesus weep, knowing he had to resuscitate him? Because if Lazarus had been really dead, even Jesus would be unable to attract again his spirit to the abandoned abode; but, when Jesus reached the sepulcher and saw with his eyes of seer that the astral body was united with the physical body, then he could make the miracle.
Usually, the definitive separation of the two bodies occurs seven minutes after the heart stopped beating. The astral body floats like a vague fog over the room about three meters from the corpse; later, it slowly raises and becomes subtle in tune with its corresponding state.
There are, however, certain strong and advanced beings that leave their physical bodies when they feel it is their time and their mission is over. This death occurs by ecstasy. It is a concentration of the mind that lifts a surge of vital energy in the physical system until the latter cannot stand this high tension and, separated from the astral body, dies.
Of course, these rare and unusual cases will be the way of dying in future races. When a dress is old, one has to leave it and acquire other new.
As soon as the separation shock occurs, the individual quickly travels through every event of his past life; it is a big backward survey established by the Law of Evolution before following ahead on the progress path. The result of this survey –called by religions “Judgment of God”– will be to achieve subtler or thicker vibrations in the new state.
Weeping, sigh and cries from those who are with dying persons at the death time are always harmful. Absolute silence and absence of opposite thoughts should be the only company of the man.
Prayers, holy chants, candles and flowers are always helpful and positive if and when go with noble feelings.
Burial should not be at once but three days later, and those who order their own cremation should establish by a testament to be cremated eight days after their decease.
Whatever way death occurs, it is always a solemn time, perhaps the solemnest of all times because is the gateway to a new becoming and another step to Become.