BD 0974a 21.06.1939

Immortality ....
Eternity ....
Suicide ....

The question of immortality .... the concept of eternity .... cannot be solved by the human being because on one hand he cannot understand something that reaches beyond earthly concepts, but on the other hand he cannot be given a spiritual explanation which he could adequately understand either. Only on entering the regions of light can the being be given a partial explanation but even then it remains a problem which, like the eternal Deity, can never be completely solved and comprehended. This has to be said first in order to explain the following:

In times of great spiritual adversity people are inclined to believe that they can put an end to their lives at will, and thus an end to their existence, because they believe that they only exist for a limited period of time and hence feel entitled and qualified to shorten it. They simply lack understanding for immortality, for endlessness of time, for eternity .... That they will never cease to exist cannot be proven to them, but the thought of knowing that life will end one day is far more comforting to them .... And although from time to time the human being feels uneasy about the temporal ending he nevertheless rather accepts this thought than the thought of a continuation of life after death because he knows that everything on earth is temporary and therefore he cannot and will not believe in the immortality of his Self. To explain the concept of 'eternal' to such a person would simply be impossible .... The idea that something so intimately related to him should never cease to exist worries him and awakens his sense of responsibility because, understandably, life has to be viewed quite differently as soon as a permanent existence has to be taken into account.

(Break)

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