Questioner
I am afraid of death. The thought of my own disappearance terrifies me. How can I overcome this fear?
Maharaj
Who is it that will die? Find out who you are. Are you the body? Were you born? When the body appeared, were you born then? Look deeply.
Questioner
I feel I am the body. When I think of the body dying, I feel fear.
Maharaj
That which you are cannot die. The body is born and will die—this is certain. But you were never born. How can that which is unborn die?
Before the body appeared, you were. After the body disappears, you will be. The body is like a garment that is put on and taken off. You are not the garment.
Questioner
But my experience is that I am the body. I feel its pain, its hunger, its fatigue.
Maharaj
Does the body say “I am the body”? No. You say “This is my body.” There is the body and there is the one who says “my body.” Who is that one?
When you sleep deeply, is there a body? Do you miss it? On waking, the body reappears. But even when the body was not in your awareness, you were. Otherwise, how would you know you slept?
Questioner
So you are saying I am not the body. But what am I then?
Maharaj
You are the timeless witness of all that appears and disappears. The body appears in you, exists in you, and disappears in you. You are the screen on which the entire movie of life is projected.
The screen is not affected by what appears on it. A fire on the screen does not burn the screen. Death on the screen does not kill the screen.
Questioner
How can I realize this?
Maharaj
By not running away from the question “Who am I?” Look within. When fear arises, ask “Who is afraid?” When you search for the one who is afraid, you will find only thoughts, sensations, mental images. These come and go. You are that in which they come and go.
The fear of death is the fear of losing what you think you are. When you know what you truly are—pure consciousness, unborn and undying—where is the question of death?
Questioner
Is it really that simple?
Maharaj
It is utterly simple, but you complicate it with the mind. The mind says “I will understand this tomorrow,” or “I need to practice for years.” But understanding is immediate. You ARE. Right now. This cannot be denied.
Stay with “I Am.” Don’t add anything to it. Don’t say “I am this” or “I will become that.” Just “I Am”—pure, simple being. In this, there is no death, no fear, no limitation.
What is born must die. What is created must be destroyed. But you are neither born nor created. You simply are—timeless, causeless, deathless.
Key Teaching
The fear of death stems from the false identification with the body-mind. When you realize your true nature as pure awareness, you see that you were never born and can never die. The body is a temporary appearance in you, but you are the eternal witness, untouched by birth and death.