Understanding the Fear of Death

Osho,
We are all going to die. Each day, each moment, brings us closer to death, yet it remains the single biggest fear in our lives. Isn’t it time we came to a deeper understanding of this major, and inevitable, event?

“Death is always close by. It is almost like your shadow. You may be aware, you may not be aware, but it follows you from the first moment of your life to the very last moment. Death is a process just as life is a process, and they are almost together, like two wheels of a bullock cart. Life cannot exist without death; nor can death exist without life.

“Our minds have an insane desire: we want only life and not death. We don’t look at the existential truth, we always cling to our own insane desire. Any desire that goes against nature is insane. And this desire is in almost every living creature, not only human beings. Even the trees are afraid of death, but trees can be forgiven. They are not conscious beings, they are only unconscious — fast asleep.

“But you are a little bit awake: you can sense the presence of death. Hence the possibility opens for a deeper understanding: life and death are both together, two extremes of one energy.

“Life is the active force and death is the inactive force. Life is the positive electricity and death is the negative electricity, but…