A Death that Liberates To begin working towards one’s spiritual welfare is rare. Pujya Gurudevshri urges us that we must pursue the path right away and attain freedom from body identification before leaving the body. Dying is an art. Most die to leave one body and enter another. A rare few leave the body, never to enter another womb. They become free from the cycle of birth and death. Therefore, the Enlightened Ones say, die in such a way that you do not have to be born again. The death of one who is awakened is called Samadhimaran. He embarks in the direction of liberation. The body is just a house. You are the Lord of this house-like body. You are not destroyed when the house is demolished. You do not become sick when the body is unwell, and you do not perish when the body dies. If you die thinking that you are merely the body, you will be born again in a body. Therefore, prepare yourself to die in full awareness that you are not the body. Death is Inevitable Leaving is certain. Nothing is permanent here. You have come alone, you will leave alone, and here too, you are alone. But because you are surrounded by people, you feel you are not alone. So many have died before you, yet, you do not realise that one day, you too shall die. Wake up from the delusion that death can occur only to others. Learn to see your death in others’ death. Become alert and don’t delude yourself that you as this body will live forever. The body is born and the body dies. You are separate from the body. You were never born and you shall never die. Therefore, annihilate the notion of I-ness and my-ness with the body. Firmly determine that ‘I am the eternal Self. I have no relation with the body other than that of the knower and the known’. You are not born to live as a body, but born to awaken from body identification. To die with wisdom, you will have to live with awareness. You will have to channelise all your energy in exploring the truth within. You have been seeking the Self for lives; do you wish to return from here without accomplishing this task? You have wandered endlessly, taking and giving up so many forms. Give up the drunkenness of being the body and endeavour to recognise your real Self. Recognise Your True Nature When you realise your true nature, you will be astonished to know who is seated within. The absolute essence you desire to attain has always been present within this body. You are filled with it and yet, like a beggar, you keep seeking it outside. You are miserable only because you believe that you are a beggar. As long as you continue to beg, you will be unable to sever your identification with the body. Your life is akin to starting to read a novel from the middle and leaving it halfway. Being completely oblivious of the beginning or the end, there appears no meaning to your life. Without knowing, ‘Who I am? What is my real nature? Whence have I come? Where am I going?’ you cannot progress towards the fulfilment of life. Think! Know that death is just an end of this life and not the end of your existence. If only you understand that you existed before this life and you will continue to exist after death, the real purpose of your life will dawn on you. But only the thoughtful ones can deliberate upon this. Others do not even want to understand. When death takes away everything that you have procured, you will realise that all your life you were playing in sand making sand castles; you were rowing in the flimsy paper boat, and wasted your precious life in worrying about your palace of cards, which is blown away by a waft of air. ‘Wherein lies your real good?’ you did not even think! Your knowledge is worth nothing if you have just parroted the scriptures, because anything that is not experienced during the lifetime will be forgotten at the time of death. When the heart does not come along after death, how can that which is learnt by heart come along? You may have stuffed yourself with the knowledge of the Wise but what is the use of carrying such a load of information if it does not come to your rescue at the time of death? Remembering God at the Time of Death People believe that remembering God just at the time of death certainly leads to liberation. If it were so, there would be no need for monks to live under strict discipline and practice severe penance for years. Bhagwan Mahavir would not have spent twelve and a half years in silence and meditation. It is indeed said in the scriptures that one Samadhimaran averts infinite deaths in a state of ignorance. But people don’t understand its intent. Last moment of life is indeed crucial, for the seed of your next life is sown in it. If you have thought of God at the time of death, you will begin a new life with the name of God. But who can get the thought of God at the time of death? Only he who has remembered God all his life. At the time of death, you will remember whatever you have valued most in life. If you have only valued money, status, family, etc., how can you think of remembering God at the time of death? You may say, ‘what if you have people around you to remind you of God?’ Understand that remembering God by oneself and being reminded by others are two different things. If you take God’s name when forced by others, you will not experience the state of Samadhi. You would still want to save yourself from death or you will still be anxious about the relatives because of your attachment to them. Live in Samadhi to Die in Samadhi Only if you have sown the seed of love for God, given the manure of constant connection with God, watered with continuous repetition of the name of God, protected it from animal instincts, childish desires, stormy moods etc. you will eventually bear the fruit of remembrance of God at the time of death. Just as a fruit tied with a string from a branch is not the fruit of that tree, people around your deathbed can help you remember God but they cannot make you die in the state of Samadhi. The remembrance should arise from within. Do not depend on external activities. Mere wishful thinking is not enough. To die in Samadhi, live a life of Samadhi – equanimity due to oneness with the divine. Do not wait for the last moment; begin your journey now. You do not have a lifespan of a million years. Even those who have a long life do not find time for it, while those who have felt the need and the urgency find time for spiritual pursuits. Spiritual welfare is linked with your understanding and not time. Right Pursuit Do not be deceived that if you have just taken God’s name all your life; you will be able to remember God at the time of death. It depends on ‘how’ you have remembered God, and not just ‘how much’. Mechanically chanting God’s name without love or right understanding cannot lead to Samadhimaran. You must experience the existence of the pure Self, get attuned to the divine within, increase your connection with God. When you have intense love for the Self; when you experience divine presence in each action and every event, then how can you remember anything other than the divine at the time of death? Remaining absorbed in the divine, when you leave the body, your death will certainly be a Samadhimaran. Leaving the body in blissful oneness with the Divine, you will depart from this world, creating a saga of spirituality. Topicsawakeningdetachmentliberationlifepurpose of life Quotes With hearts filled with gratitude, let us bid farewell to the passing year and be ready to welcome the new year with love and hope. Worship of the form is to realise the formless Self. See that day by day, the graph of your inner peace and happiness rises higher and higher. Listening to the glorious virtues of the Sadguru is more spiritually beneficial than any form of penance or austerity. View All #SadguruWhispers See that day by day, the graph of your inner peace and happiness rises higher and higher. Select category for which you wish you receive updates via email - SRMD Updates Wisdom Updates Subscribe for updates
