Phenomenon of Death
Death, is not normally thought of while one is engaged in life. Why is it important for a spiritual aspirant to reflect upon and inquire into the phenomenon of death? Here’s what Swami says:
Keep always before the eye of memory, death, which is inevitable, and engage yourself in the journey of life with good wishes for all, with strict adherence to truth, seeking always the company of the good and with the mind always fixed on the Lord. If you live thus, your last moment will be pure, sweet and blessed. Disciplined striving throughout life is necessary to insure this consummation. The mind has to be turned over to good samskaras(purification acts).
Digest, p. 101
Those who have the inner urge to achieve the higher wisdom, which 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.
Digest, p. 146
Our Vedas and Shastras have given us the answers to questions such as how a man should live, how a man should conduct himself and how he should die. Birth is not the important thing for man. He should promote a good mind and good thoughts throughout his life and should have it at the time of death. To man, death is more important than birth. Your rebirth is determined by the type of death you get. If you want a good rebirth and a good life in the next birth, you must also desire a good death. We should not die an uncared for death like the death of a dog. We should not devote our life to fulfilling meaningless and sensory desires. Our sensory organs should become our slaves but we should not become slaves to our sensory organs. The day we become slaves to our own sensory organs, we will become slaves to the whole world. If we become slaves to our own sensory organs, what kind of strength can we claim? We should be masters to our servants but should not become servants to our servants.
Digest, p. 243
Man commits the greatest fault by identifying himself with the body. He has accumulated a variety of things for the upkeep and comfort of the body. Even when the body becomes weak and decrepit with age, he attempts to bolster it up, by some means or other. But how long can death be postponed? When Yama’s (the god of death) warrant comes, each has to depart. Before death, position, pride and power all vanish.
Realizing this, strive day and night with purity of body and mind and spirit to realize the Higher Self by service. But remember, you are not this body; this body cannot be you. “Tat Twam Asi.” (“Thou are That.”)
Digest, p. 54
