Dying to Live

The German philosopher Hegel spoke very strongly of the principle "Die to live" which is very much in harmony with the essential knowledge of the Bhagavad-Gita and the Veda.

Die to live: if you want to live in truth, you will have to die-die to your present state of material consciousness. Material consciousness is one of exploitation, and spiritual consciousness, the true consciousness of the soul, is one of service-service to God and every living being. In order to make progress on the spiritual path, in order to properly die to live, there must be the elimination of our present material state of having deeply rooted desires to exploit, to accumulate, and to possess; and there must be the acceptance of our original spiritual state of having deeply rooted humility, purity, and a service attitude.

Now, we may theoretically understand what our true state of consciousness is. But as we try to practically apply this understanding in our life, as we try to lead a life of servitude, there will be many challenges and obstacles. With proper integrity and proper spiritual direction, however, we can not only pass through those obstacles, but those very obstacles will bring about realization; our theoretical knowledge will then develop into realization.

'Service' really means death to the ego, and death means transformation. On the gross physical level, when the body dies, what has really happened is just a transformation of material elements; it is not that the elements of the body cease to exist. They may be turned into ashes if put into fire, and they may be turned into dust if they are put into earth-they are just transformed. Similarly, death of the ego means transformation of our consciousness, and in that transformation there is real life.

Death to the ego is a process; it is the most important process and is the very basis of all spiritual paths. It is like the process of purifying gold. When you put gold in fire, the fire burns away all the gross coverings, and the longer the gold is in fire, the more its original, natural shine manifests. It becomes more and more and more beautiful. Sandalwood is another example: the more you press or rub sandalwood, the more its natural, beautiful fragrance is manifested. Similarly, the more we undergo the process of selfless service, the more our ego dies.

But it is not our desire to simply die. We want to die to live. Not only do we want to dismiss the ego or cause death to it, but we want to live according to our real ambition, to live in a state of complete fulfillment, divine life and divine love-and that is a life of real spiritual consciousness.

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