We all know that death will come, yet few dare to think about it. Most people prefer to avoid the subject, as if ignoring it could make it go away. However, when death touches us closely, deep questions arise:
What are we beyond the body? Where do we go after the last breath?
Master Samael Aun Weor teaches that death is not the end, but a transition. Every human being crosses that threshold with the level of consciousness they have attained in their life.
This article is inspired by his work Beyond Death, in which the Master clearly explains what happens after we die and how to prepare for that decisive moment, so that we understand that death is not merely a cause for sorrow, but a transition.
Why do we fear death so much?
Perhaps because the mind cannot comprehend what it has never experienced. We cling to our body, our name, our memories, believing that is who we are. And when death approaches, we feel as if everything we know is collapsing. Fear is born from attachment, not from dying itself.
Master Samael Aun Weor teaches that death is not the end of consciousness. It simply brings one form of existence to a close to make way for another. The body perishes, but the essence continues its journey. Life does not end.
Comprehending this transforms the way we live. Dying ceases to be something scary and becomes a natural experience. Each day lived consciously is a preparation for that moment. When we learn to self-observe, we also learn to let go of attachments.
Death, seen with consciousness, invites us to reflection. Whoever awakens consciousness during life crosses that threshold without fear, knowing that nothing real can die.
What happens after death?
The body stops moving, but consciousness does not disappear. It continues to exist on other planes, though often without clarity or direction.
Master Samael Aun Weor says that the ego—those subjective expressions that form our personality—does not die with the body.
These psychic forms continue to live in the inner worlds. That is why, trapped within different psychological aggregates (egos), they stay close to the places they once knew.
They cannot move on because the ego still holds them with its passions and attachments. Where there was desire, there is now confusion and sleep. Clairvoyants often perceive what is called the ghost of the deceased—but this is not their true essence, only an energetic shadow.
This ghost is formed by the vital body and the atoms of the personality. It remains near the grave for a time before dissolving. It has neither consciousness nor will; it is merely a residue that death leaves behind.
Understanding this helps us face death with less fear. Nothing real is lost when the body completes its cycle. Only the transient forms created by the ego fade away. Consciousness, freed from those shadows, continues its path.
Thus, the greatest mystery is not what happens after we die, but how to learn to die while we are still alive.
Unveiling the Mystery
Master Samael Aun Weor teaches that death must take place within us. Learning to die while alive is the key to awakening. To die in life means to observe our psychological defects so they may be understood and then eliminated.
The ego, with its many forms of desire, pride, or resentment, keeps our consciousness asleep. Each time we comprehend a defect and stop feeding it, something within us dies—and in that dying, something pure is born.
What goes to the grave?
When someone dies, three things go to the grave:
- The physical body: the material vessel through which life expressed itself on the physical plane.
- The vital body: the subtle energy that gives life to the body. This energy dissipates as the physical body decomposes.
- The personality: the energetic entity developed during physical life, serving as a vehicle for the egos or the essence to express themselves.
What continues?
The essence—the conscious spark within the human being—continues its journey through more subtle planes of nature.
Dying in Defects to Awaken Consciousness
To die in defects is to prepare to die consciously. Whoever works upon themselves learns to eliminate the ego before the body’s cycle ends.
Thus, when the final hour arrives, consciousness will be free from the chains of the psychological “I”.
“Life is made with the hoofprints of the horse of death.” —Samael Aun Weor
Understanding this truth transforms our way of living. It teaches us that each day can be an opportunity to die within ourselves—by eliminating the ego. In this way, the words of the great Master Jesus the Christ are fulfilled: Deny thyself…
The Path of Consciousness After Death
Death is not the end but a transition. Master Samael Aun Weor explains that after the final breath, the consciousness enters another dimension. At first, many do not realise they have died.
They remain identified with their memories, surroundings, and the ego they failed to comprehend in life. This confusion is part of the dream in which we live. One who never learned to observe their thoughts in the physical world cannot do so beyond death either.
Those who lived trapped in thought and never learned to live moment by moment or perceive the world around them, will not realise when they have lost the physical body.
That is why inner work is urgent: only awakened consciousness is able to recognise the reality of that transition. In the inner worlds, each person sees what they are. The ego projects its own inner state, creating landscapes and situations according to its dominant emotions.
Death, then, becomes a mirror of life. No one escapes what they carry within.
Those who worked upon themselves in life will have greater lucidity. Those who did not will repeat the old habits of the ego, driven by the inertia of their psychology.
True preparation for death does not lie in external rituals but in inner awakening. To die psychologically each day is to learn to live without fear or psychological bondage.
Dying in Defects, Being Born in Virtues
Comprehending death is not an intellectual exercise but a profound experience. Physical death is inevitable; dying in defects is a conscious choice. The psychological defects of anger, pride, laziness, envy, gluttony, lust, or greed—when comprehended and eliminated—open the possibility of an awakening of consciousness that brings inner freedom.
Master Samael Aun Weor teaches that only one who dies psychologically can know life in its fullness. The ego, with all its masks, binds us to confusion and suffering. But when we observe ourselves sincerely and comprehend our errors, something new is born within.
To die in defects is to die to fear, to attachment, to the pain sustained by the “I”. And in that silent dying, consciousness awakens—luminous and free. By dying in defects, virtues are born. Then the true victory over death begins, in that very instant, within us.
Share and Continue Your Inner Quest
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