In cases of unnatural death things are somewhat different. By unnatural death must here be understood all kinds of death that are not caused by old age. And it cannot be denied that a very large percentage of terrestrial mankind's individuals are still so far in evolution from knowing, and thereby fulfilling, the eternal laws on which the experience of life is based that a shortened physical lifetime must inevitably be the result. As a shortened lifetime is an abnormality it will, just like all other unnatural or abnormal phenomena, involve a certain unpleasantness. But this unpleasantness will be the less the more spiritually developed the being is, and the greater the less spiritually developed the being is. The basic cause of this unpleasantness is precisely this: that in the case of a premature death the spiritual body that should sustain the consciousness of the individual after death has not had time to develop the necessary strength and stability for the purpose. Through a premature death or separation of the physical body the day-consciousness is suddenly transferred to the aforesaid spiritual body. As this body is not yet fully mature for this mission it will in a way be overburdened, which in turn, in the worst cases, can result in abnormal mental states in the first sphere of the spiritual plane of existence. In cases where death is the result of a prolonged prior illness, the maturing of this spiritual body is somewhat precipitated and the unpleasantness of this premature death will thus be correspondingly less.