Thursday, February 23, 2012

The last moments, the deciding moments


It is said that -  - one’s destination after death is decided as per one’s thoughts at the time of death. Death is a very complex phenomenon. Nobody knows what happens after death and this confusion becomes intense as the time of death nears. Scientists of soul or Self namely saints and sages say that after death what remains are the thoughts. The thoughts are invisible and consist of mainly the unfulfilled desires - bad and good. These thoughts along with the measures of punya (merit) and papa (sin) decide the next form. If the actions have been good and the mind is at peace chances are better that one may escape from the cycle of birth and death or may get human birth again for an opportunity to fulfill unfulfilled desires. However if the actions have not been good and the mind is not at peace then there are chances that one may get back into the cycle of birth and death through 84 lakhs of species before again getting human birth. Ultimately, everything is at disposal of God.

Indian culture is full of traditions that impact soul and help make soul’s journey filled with happiness here and hereafter. However to benefit from these traditions one should follow them with devotion.

When King Parikshit, the great devotee of Lord Krishna, grandson of the great Arjuna, son of the great Abhimanyu and the great king himself, came to know that his death was after seven days, in few minutes of knowing this, he called his young son Janamejaya, still a kid, in his presence and with the help of Brahmins enthroned Janamejaya as his heir and with just clothes on the body he set out to the bank of river Ganges to spend his last moments of his life in holy pursuits. He started chanting the name of god. The sages of his kingdom upon knowing the news that king has spontaneously renounced everything and has set out to the bank of Ganges river, they also arrived there to know what happened. King Parikshit was loved by all his subjects as he treated them as his own children. When the people of his kingdom came to know that King Parikshit was cursed by a sage that on the seventh day he will be bitten by serpent they started praying for nullification of the curse. However King Parikshit thought otherwise. He considered that curse as a boon and thanked the sage who cursed him. He thought that that curse made him realize that he had forgotten the higher goal of life and was engrossed in worldly affairs. So he considered this curse as an opportunity to shift his focus on higher goal of life i.e. liberation from the cycle of birth and death and achieving consummation with his beloved Lord Krishna. He asked the assembled sages what he was supposed to do so that he can spend his remaining time in most sublime thoughts. Everybody started suggesting him in their own ways about good actions to be performed when one comes to know that death is nearing. To his and the fortune of all assembled there Sage Shuka arrived at place. He arrived there as if sent by God to help King Parikshit find answers to all his questions and help him spend his last moments most auspiciously. Sage Shuka was not an ordinary human being. He was son of the great Sage Vyasa. He was born brahmadnyani. King Parikshit asked Sage Shuka the ways to spend his remaining time. Sage Shuka advised him to fix his mind on God and His stories and himself agreed to narrate the stories to king. For next seven days he narrated to King Parikshit the stories from the greatest of all puranas – Maha Bhagwat Purana - that consists of stories of all incarnations of Lord Vishnu. On the seventh day while listening to the stories of his beloved Lord Krishna, King Parikshit was bitten by a serpent and with his mind engrossed in Lord Krishna he left his earthly body and achieved consummation with Gopala.


Why, even Shri Saibaba, incarnation of God himself, followed the tradition of listening to scriptures when his end was near. He made his devotee Shri Vaze read in front of him the great epic Sri Ramayan. As such he didn’t require all this reading as his mind was totally engrossed in godly thoughts. However he did this to preserve the tradition.

The time of death is uncertain. Not everybody comes to know about the time of death in advance and moreover once the body gets affected by disease there are high chances that mind may not attain peace at all. So, one should be very careful in maintaining the mind’s balance. Performing spiritual practices prescribed by Guru help in long way to maintain the peace of mind.

1 comment:

  1. Liked it. I do look forward to these nuggets of wisdom every Thursday...

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