Michael Jackson

Last night we heard the sad news of the death of Michael Jackson, who was only fifty years old. Understandably, because of the unexpectedness of the news, people are shocked and equally, because of his fame and talent as a musician and entertainer, the number of people who are feeling shock is enormous. The last similar occurrence to this was the death of Princess Diana in Paris.

The death of the Princess was followed by a huge and very public outpouring of grief all over the world and I expect something similar to happen in the case of Michael Jackson. It is quite astonishing to me, as a member of the older generation, to see such public demonstrations of grief from people who only knew those who died through their fame and all the publicity surrounding that. It seems to me quite natural to register shock at the tragic and unexpected death of anyone famous. Especially one who’s every move has been reported avidly by the media and in the case of Michael Jackson, whose music has thrilled millions. However, to move from being shocked into grieving publicly and laying millions of flowers in memory of the person concerned as though they were close family members, is to me strange and says much about the way society has changed in the last fifty years.

I believe it is a measure of the sheer terror of dying that so many people hide deep inside. It demonstrates how far we have moved away from a general acceptance that life does not end with physical death, even though to most, the form that life after death takes is a complete mystery. The paradox here is that although the grief is driven by the inner terror, it also reflects the shock of realising the idol concerned is not immortal!

The problem highlighted by this new phenomena is the inner conflict growing daily more pronounced, between Science, with its materialistic convictions and the inner knowledge of each individual. This conflict is undermining the natural balance that should exist in each individual, between physical and spiritual awareness. The soul knows life is eternal and that to accept as truth only what can be measured with our five senses is madness. However, the inner knowledge of the soul has been progressively hidden under thicker and thicker layers of materialism. I see this previously unthinkable public outpouring of grief in such circumstances as a cry for help. It is the soul saying, I know there is more to life than can be contained in the short span of earthly existence: LET ME PROVE IT TO YOU!

Let those who have the knowledge of eternal life, ask for guidance from the Spiritual Centre as to how best they can use their knowledge to help the millions who walk the earth in spiritual darkness due to conscious ignorance of their own immortality. It is the greatest challenge that faces humanity. If we can restore inner balance in every individual, all the other challenges we face will be simple to resolve.