My beloved ones, knowing is power and knowing is liberation too. Knowing itself is the victory march as well.

We become free from that which we have known. We also triumph over that which we have known. Our failure and defeat are only because of our ignorance, our not knowing. Defeat is because of darkness; when there is light, defeat is impossible – light itself becomes the triumph.

The first thing I would like to tell you about death is that there is no bigger lie than death. And yet, death appears to be true. It not only appears to be true but also seems like the cardinal truth of life – it appears as if the whole of life is surrounded by death. Whether we forget about it, or become oblivious to it, everywhere death remains close to us. Death is even closer to us than our own shadow.

Our lives have been structured on the foundations of our fear of death. The fear of death has created society, the nation, family and friends. The fear of death has caused us to run after money and has made us ambitious of higher positions. And most surprising of all is that our gods and our temples have also been raised out of the fear of death. Afraid of death, there are people who pray on their knees. Afraid of death, there are people who pray to God with folded hands raised toward the sky. And nothing is more false than death. That is why whatever systems of life we have created, through believing death to be true, have all become false.

But how to know the falsity of death? How can we know there is no death? Until we know that, our fear of death will not go either. Until we know the falsity of death, our lives will remain false. As long as there is fear of death, there cannot be authentic life. As long as we tremble with the fear of death, we cannot summon the capacity to live our lives. One can live only when the shadow of death has disappeared forever. How can a frightened and trembling mind live? And when death seems to be approaching every second, how is it possible to live? How can we live?

No matter to what extent we may remain oblivious to death, it is never really forgotten. It makes no difference if we put the cemetery outside the town – death still shows its face. Every day someone or other dies; every day death occurs somewhere, and it shakes the very foundation of our lives.