DEATH IS AN ILLUSION

Subtitled 'A Logical Explanation Based on Martinus's Worldview', this book is about much more than death. It is a comprehensive overview of Martinus's 'world picture' that includes his understanding of death in the overall scheme of things. It is likely that many readers will not have heard of the Danish mystic Martinus (1890-1981) so it is helpful that Else gives a short account of his life. Given the universal scope and insight of his writings, his background is an unlikely one. He was born illegitimate and received only the most basic education, becoming a dairyman aged 18 and studying a little book-keeping. When he was 30, he borrowed a book on meditation from a friend and had a major initiatic vision at his first sitting. This happened again on the second day; Martinus's spiritual eyes were opened through an experience of cosmic consciousness, which remained with him afterwards. He then devoted the rest of his life to writing what came to be called The Third Testament, which he illustrated with an important series of symbols that conveyed his message in another medium. As people gathered around him he began to give public talks and the Martinus Institute was founded.

The work of Martinus constitutes one of the vital spiritual resources of our time that can only become more influential in the future as thinking people seek to understand the mysteries of life in ways that transcend both traditional religious understandings and the aridity of scientific rationalism. Else herself travelled this path, giving up on religion and becoming an atheist until a series of events brought her into contact with the work of Martinus. As she rightly says, science will eventually expand into a metaphysical understanding, and it is here that Martinus can provide a rational account of the inner workings of life.

The book reflects the scope of Martinus' Third Testament, dealing with all the essential principles: God, the structure of living being, the principle of life units, the evolution of consciousness, the cyclic principle (incorporating karma and reincarnation), the sexual poles, death and the afterlife, and the power of prayer. The universe is understood as the body of God (who is light, love and creative power), so that all living beings live within God and God lives within them. This already affirms the unity of creation, which forms the basis for a fundamental connectedness of consciousness that makes sense of karma and reincarnation. This is beautifully illustrated in the First Symbol. The primary consciousness of God corresponds with the cosmic consciousness experienced by advanced beings while most human beings on the earth manifest 'secondary' consciousness, which is not aware of its rootedness in the Cosmic Mind. The passage from one to the other is initiated by 'cosmic glimpses' where one sees into the underlying reality of the universe and feels its basic tone as love.

The idea of progressive revelation is a familiar one, but so is the statement made by Else that the Third Testament will be the last to be revealed on this planet because no more will be needed. It is risky to suppose that any revelation is infallible or ultimate, even though it may seem this way to the followers of a particular teacher (for instance Jesus, Mohammed, or, in our time, Rudolf Steiner or Peter Deunov). Only the esoteric essence is absolute, while the exoteric form is relative – so when relative forms claim to be the absolute essence, a red flag appears to indicate a danger of dogmatism, exclusiveness and even intolerance of other views. In my view, the principles (love, wisdom, truth, freedom and so on) are eternal, but they need to be expressed anew in the language of the times. Another difficulty comes from the advance of science, which means that concepts used fifty years ago need to be updated. For example, Else equates the electromagnetic energy field with the soul, when both soul and field need multiple levels of analysis.

Cycles and polarities are clearly explained along with the dynamics of enfolding and unfolding as well as the six 'basic energies' with their corresponding colours. These can then be illustrated to show where humanity has reached in the evolutionary unfolding process of manifestation. It is the contrast of polarities that enables the basic experience of life, within which suffering acquires a meaning as the means by which we learn to embody compassion. This process also corresponds to a gradual emergence of unity in humankind, although the day forecast by Martinus when everyone will speak Esperanto in the one world-kingdom is still a distant prospect. It is interesting that the highest kingdom is that of memory or bliss, at which point people will have access to cosmic consciousness and an understanding of the whole cosmic cycle. At present the process is unfinished, as are we ourselves. However, we can progress by practising love and compassion.

The account of karma and reincarnation is very thorough, even covering the implications of abortion, deep freezing of bodies, possession, addiction and the consequences of meat eating. Here Martinus is categorical that negative karma is acquired through killing animals and eating their meat. Some of the discussion here seemed to me over-simplistic, for instance the connection made (p. 220) between fatal car accidents and karma for eating meat. However, the health consequences are, as Else points out, a different level of analysis. Alcohol is also thought to be harmful to intuition, and diseases are interpreted in a karmic fashion. The chapter on the transformation of the sexual poles is one of the most thought-provoking. Martinus contends that we are collectively moving away from polarisation towards an inner balancing of masculine and feminine energies. This, he argues, is currently causing problems within marriages and is responsible for the increased incidence of homosexuality – an unusual but nevertheless logical argument given Martinus's overall understanding.

Only towards the end of the book do we arrive at the material of its title, namely death and the afterlife. The philosophy here reflects our emerging understanding of NDEs and survival of consciousness. An interesting reflection concerns the disposal of the physical body: if we cremate it, then the cells still living inside the body are incinerated, which is much less desirable than a process of natural decay or desiccation.

The conclusion contains an inspiring lecture by Martinus himself about his life and work – cosmic analyses, as he calls them. He says that he does not want them to become a new religion to be taken on authority, but rather 'the spiritual scientist who takes an interest in the cosmic analyses must carefully test and study my work. He must confront it with his own experiences and perceptions. Only then can it be of value to him'. This is exactly the right spirit, otherwise such figures become infallible and their followers do not question anything. Else has performed a great service by making the key ideas of Martinus available to an English-speaking readership. Even for the seasoned metaphysical reader there is much to ponder and an incentive to read Martinus's own work in order to deepen one's understanding.