Prophets and Saints are Always on Their Death Bed
Only few of us train for dying with “spiritual” philosophy
What separates those who are supposed to be spiritually elevated or existentially deep, such as prophets, saints, gurus, philosophers and the like, from the rest of us who confine our thinking to mundane matters?
Numerous doctrinaire answers have been given throughout history, but there’s one trait that seems crucial, and it doesn’t beg theological questions to highlight it. The key distinction is between those who live constantly with the dread recognition of death’s inevitability in the back of their mind, and those who are more adept at ignoring their mortality.
This is to say that “spiritual” is a euphemism. In English that word is applied to whatever’s related to incorporeal, moral, or sacred concerns rather than to their opposites. But death is supposed to be the gateway that releases the “spirit” or the conscious inner self from its material prison to the divine realm or “spirit world” where morality reigns, everything’s perfect, and the folly of our former worldly preoccupations is revealed.
What gives someone “spiritual” gravitas is this fascination with the ultimate test of our interests. Do our thoughts, goals, and behaviours measure up to the standard supplied by our…
