Recognizing transit state

The sure way to recognize the transit state is to never assume that you are not in it at this moment.

-- E.J. Gold, The American Book of the Dead

U.G. on Death

Once a very old gentleman, ninety-five years old, who was considered to be a great spiritual man and who taught the great scriptures all the time to his followers, came to see me. He heard that I was there in that town. He came to me and asked me two questions. He asked me, "What is the meaning of life? I have written hundreds of books telling people all about the meaning and purpose of life, quoting all the scriptures and interpreting them. I haven't understood the meaning of life. You are the one who can give an answer to me." I told him, "Look, you are ninety-five years old and you haven't understood the meaning of life. When are you going to understand the meaning of life? There may not be any meaning to life at all." The next question he asked me was, "I have lived ninety-five years and I am going to die one of these days. I want to know what will happen after my death." I said, "You may not live long to know anything about death. You have to die now. Are you ready to die?" As long as you are asking the question, "What is death?" or "What is there after death?" you are already dead. These are all dead questions. A living man would never ask those questions.

-- U.G. Krishnamurti (7.9.18 - 3.22.07)

Death and Rebirth (Osho)

Have you observed that if you look inside, time exists not? If you look outside there is time, but if you look inside there is no time. Have you not felt it sometimes, sitting silently with closed eyes -- that inside you have not aged at all? Inside you remain the same as when you were a child, or as when you were young. Inside nothing has changed: the face is wrinkled by age, the hairs have gone gray, death is approaching -- this is all from the outside. If you look in the mirror then of course there are signs that much time has passed, that very little is left, that sooner or later you will be gone. But look within: there has never been any time there.

You are born, but not yet really born. A rebirth is needed; you have to be twice-born. The first birth is only the physical birth, the second birth is the real birth: the spiritual birth. You have to come to know yourself, who you are. You have to ask this question: Who am I? And while life is there, why not enquire into life itself? Why bother about death? When it comes, you can face it and you can know it. Don't miss this opportunity of knowing life while life surrounds you.

One birth has been given to you by your parents, the other birth is waiting. It has to be given to you by yourself. You have to father and mother yourself. Then your whole energy is turning in -- it becomes an inner circle.

Barrier to inner awakening

The greatest barrier to inner awakening is having an opinion about oneself.

If one could die completely to all attachments right now, then awakening would immediately be attained.

-- Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri, Elements of Sufism

Work ideas vs. sleep ideas

All ideas of the work begin with the idea of sleep and the possibility of waking. All other ideas may be clever or elaborate but they are all ideas of sleeping people produced for other sleeping people.

-- Ouspensky, from Conscience: The Search for Truth

Terms and Reality

It should be clear that if terms represent reality, the reality is independent of the terms. Since terminology usually goes along with a way of thinking, people who first get a glimpse of reality through a particular thought system and terminology often get into this confusion. They think a different system with a different terminology is representing a different reality. One of the reasons for reading widely is that it helps to distinguish between the terms and what the terms refer to.

-- Sri Madhava Ashish, qtd. in In Search of the Unitive Vision by Seymour Ginsburg