Miscellaneous - Religion   

Essence of living

CHENNAI: Fear of death looms large in the lives of people. It is the fear of losing what we possess and also the fear of the unknown that makes death fearful to most of us. It seems sensible to seek the cover of security that life seems to offer and get involved in the attainments, agendas and desires relevant in this context rather than even think of death.

Swami Mitrananda pointed out in a lecture that the philosophy of the Bhagavad Gita emphasises the essence of intelligent living as a well designed plan for a rewarding exit from this world. Lord Krishna makes it clear that death is inevitable to one who is born and it is necessary to remove any sense of fear towards the reality of death. Since the Lord assures that those who remember Him at the time of death surely will attain Him, the path for the spiritual seeker is clear — to constantly have thoughts of Him even while engaged in one’s daily duties. When a person dies, the soul attains that state which the mind had been contemplating at the time of death. Our past thoughts and actions determine our present birth and our future is determined by our present way of life. Our desires direct the mind and the body goes in pursuit of those thoughts. If our life is directed towards God, our mind directs us towards thoughts of God. One has to pay attention to these matters while living.

Since Vedanta is difficult to comprehend even when one’s intellectual and physical faculties are intact, it will be well nigh impossible to be grasped at the time of death. So the mind has to be trained to be in contemplation mode during one’s life time through sincere practice. If the lifetime is spent in the pursuit of wealth, one loses the chance to gain the higher knowledge of Vedanta that can win liberation. We get tossed in the finite world.

To get out of this endless cycle one has to let go of attachments to people, places, possessions, etc. Practising detachment can help one to conquer fear of death, enabling one to face death with peace and no regrets. When desires are transcended, one gains the courage to lose what one has been attached to, even it be a mere pen or a coveted post that had been gained through tremendous effort.

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