Like conscious birth, conscious departure too is an important yet exceedingly rare phenomenon. Few come into the world consciously, and it is rather the compelling pull of karma that sets the place, the time and the circumstances of birth. Conscious begetting brings forth conscious offspring, who are born not by chance but with a calling. And the truly great souls come, or stay, of their own free will, only so that they may serve others.
As with conscious birth, conscious departure is of a different quality from ordinary death. The state of consciousness fixed at the moment of death is decisive for the next birth, and so preserving the purity of consciousness is of the utmost importance. Only the body suffers, the soul never. Happiest of all is the man who can prepare for his death, set everything around him in order, and depart at home, among his loved ones.
Part of the preparation is to seek out good friends, and enemies too, to ask their forgiveness, to pay off debts and close unsettled affairs, and to strive to meet every obligation. Having smoothed out the rough edges of human affairs, one can make ready for the inner confrontation. It is advisable to take up spiritual studies, to read sacred teachings, or to meditate, to become absorbed in personal spiritual practices and in devotion to God. It is well to turn from worldly occupations towards the spiritual. Ideally, one may even be the executor of his own last will, when he divides his wealth and goods among his heirs and makes known his wishes as to what they should carry forward, and how.
Others are caught unprepared by departure, an accident or an unnatural death leaving no time to settle the tasks still pending. At such times the departed may easily leave behind an unmet obligation, an unresolved affair, which may also mean that he has not managed to work off in full the share of karma allotted to him for this birth. In such a case an almost immediate new incarnation can be expected. That is why such a death – accidents, cases involving loss of consciousness – is not regarded as favourable from the point of view of spiritual development.
When death draws near, it is better to renounce attachments willingly, for what is let go is not lost. Detachment spares one the pain of loss. Man should be content with his life, and not do battle with his passing. If peace dwells in the heart of the dying, his death will be easy, like drifting into sleep. In sleep the subtle body separates from the physical body, but the famed silver cord still holds it bound. At death this silver cord too is severed, signalling to the soul: there is no way back. It is said that the soul leaves the body through its openings, or rather through the energy levels of the chakras, and comes into surroundings that match the state of consciousness in which it departs. The lower openings of the body lead to lower forms of existence, harder circumstances, while the upper openings allow a loftier step onward. Whoever dies in lovelessness will find himself among his own kind, while those who depart in contentment and love come into surroundings in harmony with their own state of consciousness. That is why it is advisable to depart with the most peaceful heart possible, in the purest, highest state of consciousness.
Mourning and funeral rites, in a certain sense, inform the deceased that death has come. A soul too strongly attached often fails to understand that it ought to leave its former surroundings, and so the rite helps it to become aware. At the same time, these observances help those who remain here as well. With a noble gesture they can take leave of the departed soul, who is given a place among the ancestors of the family. The family, one of the building blocks of human community, means not only the company of the living but the multitude of the ancestors, and even, in a certain sense, the generations to come. Such dynastic, generational thinking, spanning life and death, opens the channels of trans-communication and brings an integrity that ensures the family's unity and survival far into the future. It may be that the aim of life is death, but the reverse is also true, that the aim of death is life…