Hari Aum.
So far we have heard Lord Krishna tell Arjuna about the existence of the soul and the obstacles (desire, anger, attachment and aversion) that prevent one from recognising one's identity as the immortal soul. We have also heard Him tell Arjuna of some paths to overcome these obstacles of the mind, namely selfless service (karma yoga) and meditation (dhyana). We have heard Him tell Arjuna to become a yogi of balanced mind ("Yogi bhava Arjuna").
Now in this chapter, Krishna discusses the mysteries of life, death, rebirth and moksha (liberation). He particularly discusses the importance of the thoughts that occur at the time of death and how these determine the destination of the soul in the afterlife. This is the key message of this chapter.
Krishna declares to Arjuna that one goes to whatever being that one thinks of at the time of death. One who thinks of Krishna goes to Krishna.
He says:
"Anta-kale cha mameva, smaran-muktva kalevaram,
Yah prayati sa madbhavam, yati nastyatra samshayah"
Meaning (as per my Guru Sivananda):
"And whosoever, leaving the body, goes forth remembering Me alone, at the time of death, he attains my Being; there is no doubt about this."
He then says:
"Yam yam vapi smaran-bhavam, tyajaty-ante kalevaram,
Tam tamevaiti Kautenya, sada tad-bhava-bhavitah"
Meaning:
"Whosoever at the end leaves the body, thinking of any being, to that being only does he go, O son of Kunti (Arjuna), because of his constant thoughts of that being"
My Guru Sivananda says whatever we spend most of our life thinking about, that is what will come into our mind at the time of our death. In other words, the thoughts at the time of death will be those which predominated in one's mind for the majority of one's lifetime.
There are some people who say we will live our life thinking about worldly things and then think of God at the time of death and thus attain Him. Sadly this technique will not work, according to the yogis. The reason is that the mind is very difficult to control in normal circumstances, and this is even more so, at the time of death. Therefore the thoughts that spontaneously occur in the mind at the time of death will only be those that predominated in the mind during one's lifetime.
Therefore one should be careful about where one directs one's attention and thoughts during one's lifetime. There are some famous stories in the Puranas regarding this-- how one man was lucky (Ajamila) and another man was unlucky (Jada Bharata) in the thoughts at the time of death.
Let me remind you of the story of Ajamila (I've told it elsewhere on this blog but it's such an inspiring story that I'd like to tell it again!).
Ajamila was a good man who turned bad during his lifetime and did many evil actions. He had named his youngest son 'Narayana' (as per the usual tradition of naming one's children after the names of the Divine dwelling within). He had no interest in God, and spent all his time thinking about his wife and especially his beloved child Narayana.
The time of Ajamila's death arrived and suddenly, he saw the messengers of the demi-god of death, Yama, approaching to carry him away to Yama-loka (the realm of Yama where beings are allocated rewards and punishments for their good and bad deeds on Earth).
These beings had a frightful appearance and seeing them, Ajamila was terrified, realising that he was about to die. The thought of being separated from his beloved son was especially painful and he called out to him saying "Narayana!".
As soon as he said 'Narayana', some divine beings of handsome appearance appeared! They introduced themselves to the messengers of Yama (called Yama-dootas in Sanskrit) as Narayana-dootas (messengers of Narayana).
The Narayana-dootas told the Yama-dootas that they would not allow Ajamila to be taken away to the realm of Yama. The Yama-dootas were astounded at the audacity of someone trying to stop them. They asked the Narayana-dootas if they knew who they were and explained that Ajamila was a very bad man who required suitable punishment which their master, Yama, knew very well how to give.
The Narayana-dootas smiled upon hearing this and told the Yama-dootas that Ajamila had taken the holy name of their master, Narayana. They explained that the name of their master, the Supreme Being Narayana, was extremely powerful and auspicious. One utterance of this holy name had wiped out all the sins of Ajamila and therefore he was not to be punished by Yama. The Yama-dootas and Ajamila were both extremely surprised to hear this!
The Narayana-dootas told the Yama-dootas to go to Yama and check with him regarding the truth of their statement. The Yama-dootas reluctantly agreed and, once they had gone, the Narayana-dootas also left.
When Yama, a great devotee of Narayana and a spiritually wise being, heard the complaint of his messengers, he confirmed that what the Narayana-dootas had said was indeed true. He explained to his messengers that he had no power over those who took the holy names of the Supreme Being as it purified them of all sins.
Meanwhile, Ajamila who had silently witnessed all this was in complete shock. He fervently thanked God for giving him a second chance. His past good deeds had led to him taking the name of "Narayana" at his time of death. This had saved him. He now resolved to live a noble life of penance striving to attain Narayana and succeeded in doing so.
The above story is one of the most famous in the Puranas explaining both 1) the power of the name of God and 2) the impact of the thought at the time of one's death.
The other key statements that Krishna makes in this chapter are:
1. Think of Him and do one's duty (this will ensure that one thinks of Him at death and that one attains Him--if one has not already attained Him during one's lifetime)
2. All worlds including that of the demi-gods (Indra, Brahma etc) are perishable. Beings in them live and die. The Supreme Being alone is immortal and the source of the perishable creation.
3. Those who attain the Supreme Being attain moksha/liberation. They do not return again to the perishable existence filled with suffering.
4. The Supreme Being is attainable by devotion alone. Krishna says:
"Purusha sah parah Partha, bhaktya labhyastva-ananyaya,
Yasyantah sthani bhutani, yena sarvam-idam tatam"
Meaning:
"That highest Purusha (Supreme Being), O Arjuna, is attainable by unswerving devotion to Him alone, within Whom all beings dwell, and by Whom all this is pervaded".
In summary, the overall message of this chapter is:
Think of God in your lifetime to ensure that you think of God at your time of death. In this way, you will attain God (either while living or in the afterlife) and experience spiritual peace, bliss and wisdom. Think of God by cultivating devotion to God.
To be continued.....
Om Namo Narayanaya
Hari Aum Tat Sat
So far we have heard Lord Krishna tell Arjuna about the existence of the soul and the obstacles (desire, anger, attachment and aversion) that prevent one from recognising one's identity as the immortal soul. We have also heard Him tell Arjuna of some paths to overcome these obstacles of the mind, namely selfless service (karma yoga) and meditation (dhyana). We have heard Him tell Arjuna to become a yogi of balanced mind ("Yogi bhava Arjuna").
Now in this chapter, Krishna discusses the mysteries of life, death, rebirth and moksha (liberation). He particularly discusses the importance of the thoughts that occur at the time of death and how these determine the destination of the soul in the afterlife. This is the key message of this chapter.
Krishna declares to Arjuna that one goes to whatever being that one thinks of at the time of death. One who thinks of Krishna goes to Krishna.
He says:
"Anta-kale cha mameva, smaran-muktva kalevaram,
Yah prayati sa madbhavam, yati nastyatra samshayah"
Meaning (as per my Guru Sivananda):
"And whosoever, leaving the body, goes forth remembering Me alone, at the time of death, he attains my Being; there is no doubt about this."
He then says:
"Yam yam vapi smaran-bhavam, tyajaty-ante kalevaram,
Tam tamevaiti Kautenya, sada tad-bhava-bhavitah"
Meaning:
"Whosoever at the end leaves the body, thinking of any being, to that being only does he go, O son of Kunti (Arjuna), because of his constant thoughts of that being"
My Guru Sivananda says whatever we spend most of our life thinking about, that is what will come into our mind at the time of our death. In other words, the thoughts at the time of death will be those which predominated in one's mind for the majority of one's lifetime.
There are some people who say we will live our life thinking about worldly things and then think of God at the time of death and thus attain Him. Sadly this technique will not work, according to the yogis. The reason is that the mind is very difficult to control in normal circumstances, and this is even more so, at the time of death. Therefore the thoughts that spontaneously occur in the mind at the time of death will only be those that predominated in the mind during one's lifetime.
Therefore one should be careful about where one directs one's attention and thoughts during one's lifetime. There are some famous stories in the Puranas regarding this-- how one man was lucky (Ajamila) and another man was unlucky (Jada Bharata) in the thoughts at the time of death.
Let me remind you of the story of Ajamila (I've told it elsewhere on this blog but it's such an inspiring story that I'd like to tell it again!).
Ajamila was a good man who turned bad during his lifetime and did many evil actions. He had named his youngest son 'Narayana' (as per the usual tradition of naming one's children after the names of the Divine dwelling within). He had no interest in God, and spent all his time thinking about his wife and especially his beloved child Narayana.
The time of Ajamila's death arrived and suddenly, he saw the messengers of the demi-god of death, Yama, approaching to carry him away to Yama-loka (the realm of Yama where beings are allocated rewards and punishments for their good and bad deeds on Earth).
These beings had a frightful appearance and seeing them, Ajamila was terrified, realising that he was about to die. The thought of being separated from his beloved son was especially painful and he called out to him saying "Narayana!".
As soon as he said 'Narayana', some divine beings of handsome appearance appeared! They introduced themselves to the messengers of Yama (called Yama-dootas in Sanskrit) as Narayana-dootas (messengers of Narayana).
The Narayana-dootas told the Yama-dootas that they would not allow Ajamila to be taken away to the realm of Yama. The Yama-dootas were astounded at the audacity of someone trying to stop them. They asked the Narayana-dootas if they knew who they were and explained that Ajamila was a very bad man who required suitable punishment which their master, Yama, knew very well how to give.
The Narayana-dootas smiled upon hearing this and told the Yama-dootas that Ajamila had taken the holy name of their master, Narayana. They explained that the name of their master, the Supreme Being Narayana, was extremely powerful and auspicious. One utterance of this holy name had wiped out all the sins of Ajamila and therefore he was not to be punished by Yama. The Yama-dootas and Ajamila were both extremely surprised to hear this!
The Narayana-dootas told the Yama-dootas to go to Yama and check with him regarding the truth of their statement. The Yama-dootas reluctantly agreed and, once they had gone, the Narayana-dootas also left.
When Yama, a great devotee of Narayana and a spiritually wise being, heard the complaint of his messengers, he confirmed that what the Narayana-dootas had said was indeed true. He explained to his messengers that he had no power over those who took the holy names of the Supreme Being as it purified them of all sins.
Meanwhile, Ajamila who had silently witnessed all this was in complete shock. He fervently thanked God for giving him a second chance. His past good deeds had led to him taking the name of "Narayana" at his time of death. This had saved him. He now resolved to live a noble life of penance striving to attain Narayana and succeeded in doing so.
The above story is one of the most famous in the Puranas explaining both 1) the power of the name of God and 2) the impact of the thought at the time of one's death.
The other key statements that Krishna makes in this chapter are:
1. Think of Him and do one's duty (this will ensure that one thinks of Him at death and that one attains Him--if one has not already attained Him during one's lifetime)
2. All worlds including that of the demi-gods (Indra, Brahma etc) are perishable. Beings in them live and die. The Supreme Being alone is immortal and the source of the perishable creation.
3. Those who attain the Supreme Being attain moksha/liberation. They do not return again to the perishable existence filled with suffering.
4. The Supreme Being is attainable by devotion alone. Krishna says:
"Purusha sah parah Partha, bhaktya labhyastva-ananyaya,
Yasyantah sthani bhutani, yena sarvam-idam tatam"
Meaning:
"That highest Purusha (Supreme Being), O Arjuna, is attainable by unswerving devotion to Him alone, within Whom all beings dwell, and by Whom all this is pervaded".
In summary, the overall message of this chapter is:
Think of God in your lifetime to ensure that you think of God at your time of death. In this way, you will attain God (either while living or in the afterlife) and experience spiritual peace, bliss and wisdom. Think of God by cultivating devotion to God.
To be continued.....
Om Namo Narayanaya
Hari Aum Tat Sat
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