One of the biggest mysteries ever - would you not be curious to know what happens after you die? How would you feel now if you had that knowledge? How would your life change, how would you change the way you live, if you knew what happens after you die? The fear of death is one of the top five fears in the world, others being fear of public speaking, fear of loneliness, fear of open spaces, fear of spiders and the like.
Do you know the 'light-in-the-refrigerator' syndrome? How would you know if the light is switched off or on when the door is closed? Only by opening the door, by doing which it is no longer closed. Death is a light-in-the-refrigerator syndrome. The only way to know precisely what happens after you die is by dying, by doing which you are no longer alive. If you knew you were safe forever, would you live your life differently?
Well, there are dozens of theories of course, propounded by religions and philosophers, the veracity of which you can never ascertain, until you die. In the Nirmiti Nidra workshops, I often tell people who come up out of the blissful tranquil 'theta' state to explain how they felt to others in the class - almost everyone feels that words are insufficient to express that absolutely beautiful state of mind. However, once a person has experienced it, no one can take them away from it. No amount of words or arguments can replace a personal experience.
As with so many other facets and mysteries in our life, many are dismissed as hallucinations or abnormal behavior, because science has no way to prove it to be true or untrue. On the other hand, what science believes to be true today, becomes false as more evidence comes to the fore. The Indian and Oriental belief in Auras and Chakras (energy vortices) were also dismissed as fantasy until Kirlian photography proved it to be true. Now the whole world is gaga about chakras and auras. Likewise, there have been hundreds of documented episodes of near-death-experiences (NDEs) and also people who claim to have died and returned to life.
How on earth can science validate this? The only way that this could be possible is to intentionally have someone die and record their experiences, knowing they could be revived, which is beyond the scope of science today. The light-in-the-refrigerator syndrome. The Tibetan Book of the Dead purportedly contains one of the most elaborate and compelling descriptions of life after death, yet would you believe it if you read it? Dr. Eben Alexander was a man of science and an internationally acclaimed neurosurgeon with a firm belief only in evidence-based medicine. One day in the year 2008, he fell into a coma after suffering a rare form of bacterial meningitis; death was imminent and yet his brain went from complete inactivity to total awakening. He made a full recovery now 100% sure of a life beyond death and the infinite reach of the soul in his book, 'Proof of Heaven', which went on to sell millions of copies.
Do you realize that no amount of 'scientific lectures' can now make him believe anything other than his personal experience. Being a neurosurgeon himself, he is able to also explain why his brain was incapable of fabricating those experiences, which would otherwise be dismissed as hallucinations. At the same time, no other person can be convinced that this is precisely what happens after death until one experiences it for oneself - the light in the refrigerator syndrome. It is certain we are going to die; ironically we live each day as if we were never going to die and time in infinite and then we die having forgotten to live. We are often mistaken that keeping ourselves busy symbolizes accomplishment, which it is truly not, as I explained in my book.
There are only two things to do - treasure and live every moment and then when it comes to death, here is a little story....
There was a very sick man, ill from years of neglecting his own health, over-stressed with 'making a living' that he had forgotten 'how to live'. As he was leaving the examination room, he told his physician - "Doctor, I am afraid to die. Tell me what lies on the other side."
Quite naturally, the doctor's response was, "I do not know."
The sick man was taken aback, "You do not know? You a man of science, a man of medicine, a professional who has studied all about giving life and healing people?"
As he was saying this, there was scratching and whining sounds from the other side of the door. When the doctor opened the door, in sprang his beloved dog into the room, leaped on him with love and affection and smothered him with licks.
"You see," explained the doctor, "This dog has never been in this room before. He could not know what was inside, except that his Master was there. He knew that he loved his Master and his Creator and that was enough."