Sathya Sai Vahini - Post 40

The person (Srotriya Brahma nishta) has no doubts to pester them, no diversion to distract, for the person has won steady faith in Atma. The person is unconcerned with the material world and sees all worlds as Brahma, as the manifestation of the Brahma Principle. 

 

The phenomenon of death

 

The Yoga Vasishta says that Sri Ramachandra asked sage Vasishta the question, “Divine Master! Is there a way to avoid death?” 

 

The same problem drove Gautama Buddha along the path of renunciation and forced him to give up all traces of attachment; it showered on him eternal fame, as supreme among people. 

 

Prahlada, foremost among the devotees of the Lord, addressed his fellow pupils, even as a boy, “Friends! Haven’t you observed that some boys of our own age fall dead and get burned or buried?” Thus, he drew their attention to the event of death and invited them to draw lessons from that inevitable fact. He taught them the higher wisdom.

 

Those who have the inner urge to achieve the higher wisdom that confers liberation have, therefore, to reflect upon and investigate the phenomenon of death. Death should arouse no fear. It should not be regarded as inauspicious. You should not run away from the problem, imagining that death happens only to others and that it will not happen to you. 

Neither should you postpone reflections on death, judging that they are inappropriate now, and profitless, for inquiry into death is really inquiry into one’s own reality. This truth has to be recognized.

 

Discrimination (viveka), the special gift to humanity, has to be employed to unravel the reality of the visible universe, its nature and validity. The fact of death is the prime cause that originates the problem “Who am I?” That fact ought not to be ignored as unworthy of attention. You should not flee from it in fear. For if you behave so, you land yourself on the first step toward stupidity (a-jnana) and plant in your mind the seedling of the tree of foolishness. You prop up the pillars of delusion (maya).

 

Dialogue with God of Death

 

Every mystery latent in human existence is entwined with inquiry into death. The glory and majesty of the Divine are fully revealed only when death is investigated. 

 

According to the Katha Upanishad, among the three boons requested by Nachiketa from Yama, the God of Death, the chief was the one relating to death. “Do people exist after death? Some declare that they do; others, that they don’t. Each argues as their fancy leads. Which of these opinions is true? Solve this problem for me,” pleaded Nachiketa. He insisted on an answer.

 

Yama tried to avoid his pleading. He said, “Son! Nachiketa. This is an insoluble mystery. The sacred texts treat it as subtler than the subtlest. I find it impossible to make even the gods understand this phenomenon. Nevertheless, you crave this boon. Why should you be troubled by this problem? You are an innocent little boy. You deserve to live long, enjoying many a happy event. I shall grant you, as a boon, enormous riches; accept them and lead a life of unexcelled happiness. Ask for any quantity of material pleasure; they are yours. Come! Ask and reach the height of joy.”

 

But Nachiketa replied, “However vast the riches, however pleasant the experiences they confer, don’t they have to receive your impact without a murmur? Nothing in creation can escape you, can it? Everything is immersed in death. Why then should I aspire for items that give only temporary relief? Grant me the boon on which my heart is set.”

 

In the Mahabharatha, Dharmaraja is asked to name the greatest marvel in the world. He replies, “Though every day we see people dying, we do not think we ourselves will die. What can be a greater marvel than this?”

 

Introspection

 

Excerpts from an article by a monk on “Choosing our death”

 

Death is certain. We all know that. What we do not know is when we will die and how our end is to come. That is one big source of anxiety in our lives. 

 

We generally try to keep away from the thought of death (or, more accurately, we try to prevent it from sticking around too long in the mind) by busying ourselves with life and its concerns. 

 

Life is full of inconsistencies. It is not surprising that most of our plans fail, what is amazing is that a few do manage to succeed. 

 

Just as we cannot be too sure about the how and when of anything in life, we are also not sure about the how and when of death. So in what way is death less uncertain than other events in life? 

 

One big difference however is that, while some anticipated events may never take place, or if they do, not in the way we thought they would, death always takes place and every time in the same way, namely, by the stopping of the breath. 

 

What is within our control is how we encounter death whenever it chooses to come. Our mental preparation and attitude are the key factors that decide how we’ll face our death. 

 

The only way to neutralize the terror of death is to “die” before dying. 

 

A story from the Bhāgavata, which Sri Ramakrishna narrated often, helps us understand what it is that prevents us from “dying” before our death:

“In a certain place the fishermen were catching fish. A kite swooped down and snatched a fish. At the sight of the fish, about a thousand crows chased the kite and made a great noise with their cawing. Whichever way the kite flew with the fish, the crows followed it. 

 

“The kite flew to the south and the crows followed it there. The kite flew to the north and still the crows followed after it. The kite went east and west, but with the same result. As the kite began to fly about in confusion, lo, the fish dropped from its mouth. The crows at once left the kite alone and flew after the fish. Thus, relieved of its worries, the kite sat on the branch of a tree and thought: ‘That wretched fish was at the root of all my troubles. I have now got rid of it and therefore I am at peace.’” (The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, p. 314)

 

Sri Ramakrishna then explained the moral of the story:

 

“The Avadhuta learnt this lesson from the kite, that as long as a man has the fish, that is, worldly desires, he must perform actions and consequently suffer from worry, anxiety, and restlessness. No sooner does he renounce these desires than his activities fall away and he enjoys peace of soul.”

 

 

To be able to live in God, the non-monastic spiritual seeker must also “die,” but only internally. 

 

Outwardly, the non-monastic seeker continues to live like all others, interacting with the world to the extent it is unavoidable, carrying out all the duties and shouldering all the responsibilities without any self-interest, and inwardly remaining totally focused on God. 

 

Death by choice cannot be separated from life by choice. At present most of us are dead to God because we have chosen to be alive to the world. If we want to be true seekers of God, our choice must now be reversed. We must now choose to die to the world in order to begin living in God, and we must choose to live in God in order to die to the world. We cannot have the one without the other.

 

As the author often says ands teaches to aspirants, “Let the Avidya/Ignorance that you are this Jiva - let this ignorance die for the soul within you to awaken and realize that it was never born and hence, it has no death either!!”

 

Love.