Preparing for Death
In a letter that he wrote in 1789, Ben Franklin, one of the leaders of the American Revolution, wrote: Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.
In spite of this, tax avoidance, tax deferral and tax evasion are common occurrences in today's world. However, there is no avoidance, deferral of evasion of death. Given this, how should we think about death and prepare?
In his famous commencement speech at Stanford University in 2005, Steve Jobs, the founder of innovative companies Apple and Pixar said:
When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.
Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.
Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
More than a century prior to this, the following conversation took place between Swami Vivekananda and a disciple in 1898:
One day, with some of my young friends belonging to different colleges, I went to the Belur Math to see Swamiji. We sat round him; talks on various subjects were going on. No sooner was any question put to him than he gave the most conclusive answer to it. Suddenly he exclaimed, pointing to us, "You are all studying different schools of European philosophy and metaphysics and learning new facts about nationalities and countries; can you tell me what is the grandest of all the truths in life?"
We began to think, but could not make out what he wanted us to say. As none put forth any reply, he exclaimed in his inspiring language:
"Look here—we shall all die! Bear this in mind always, and then the spirit within will wake up. Then only, meanness will vanish from you, practicality in work will come, you will get new vigor in mind and body, and those who come in contact with you will also feel that they have really got something uplifting from you."
Myself: But, Swamiji, will not the spirit break down at the thought of death and the heart be overpowered by despondency?
Swamiji: Quite so. At first, the heart will break down, and despondency and gloomy thoughts will occupy your mind. But persist; let days pass like that —and then? Then you will see that new strength has come into the heart, that the constant thought of death is giving you a new life and is making you more and more thoughtful by bringing every moment before your mind's eye the truth of the saying, "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity! " Wait! Let days, months, and years pass, and you will feel that the spirit within is waking up with the strength of a lion, that the little power within has transformed itself into a mighty power! Think of death always, and you will realize the truth of every word I say. What more shall I say in words!
And much prior to his, the Srimad Bhagavatam has this conversation between King Parikshith and the sage Suka. Parikshith had been cursed to die within seven days for a transgression he had committed and he asked the sage: O enlightened one, O teacher of teachers, what constitutes the most important duty of a man faced with imminent death? O great one! Tell me what such a person should hear about, repeat, do, remember and worship. Also tell me what he should not do in these respects.
Hari, the All-pervading Spirit and the omnipotent Lord of all, is to be heard about, praised, and remembered always by those who want to attain to the state of fearlessness. For all spiritual aspirants, whether they follow the method of intellectual self-analysis or the path of action consisting in the discharge of duties without attachment, the ultimate object is the attainment of a birth entirely devoted to Him and ending with full remembrance of Him.
You are dear to the Lord. Therefore I shall expound this Bhagavata to you. Those who have a strong faith in this text, will soon attain to enduring live of the Lord.
It is the settled view of the wise that the chanting of the Lord's name is the one common means for all spiritual aspirants - for Yogins, for men motivated by desires, as also for all-renouncing ones - to attain the state of fearlessness.
Vain is longevity for a man ignorant of the real value of life owing to his infatuation for sensuous indulgence. Far better is an extremely short life-be it even of a few moments lived with an understanding of its real value and purpose. For, with that know ledge, even that short period can be used for the attainment of the ultimate good (unlike the long life of a heedless man blindfolded by sensuous infatuation).
When death approaches, man should, with a fearless and unperturbed mind, cut off all his attachment for the body and all related entities with the sword of renunciation.
Abandoning hearth and home as a Sannyasin and after bathing in the sacred waters of several holy rivers, he should fix his seat according to the scriptural rules at a solitary spot with a pure environment. There he should contemplate on the holy Pranava, Om, the highest sound symbol of Brahman with its three elements. He should then steady the mind by establishing control over the vital energies through the continuous and concentrated repetition of the seed-mantra of Brahman, Om. With intellect as the driver of the chariot of embodied soul, one should control the senses travelling along the road of sense-objects, carrying the mind with them. The mind, which is further disturbed by the subtle impressions generated by various actions, should be controlled by the discriminating intellect and fixed on the Lord, who is the true bestower of the ultimate good. The mind that has till then been contemplating the total form of the Lord should afterwards be fixed on a single organ of the Lord with intense and pointed concentration. The mind should then be made objectless by merging it in the Existence Consciousness-Bliss that is the Lord. When the mind is merged in Bliss, that is the supreme state of Mahavishnu. When the mind is drawn out by the influence of Rajas or made dull by the dominance of Tamas, the aspirant should, with strong determination, bring it under control through concentration (Dharana). Repeated practice of concentration will remove these weaknesses of the mind. Repeated attempts at concentrating the mind on the Lord's form, the supreme seat of all that is good and glorious, will generate devotion in the mind of the Yogin.
The king questioned: How is Dharana (concentration) practiced? Where should one concentrate? How does it remove the weaknesses and impurities in the mind?
A person who has succeeded in practicing steady posture, in controlling the vital energies, in abandoning attachments and in subduing the senses, should fix his mind on the gross form of the Lord with the help of the understanding. This universe, which is the grossest of the gross entities, is the form of the Lord. In this Cosmic Form all the past, the present and the future subsist. Permeating this universal cosmic form, with its seven sheaths consisting of the five elements, egoism, and the universal intelligence-there is the Viratpurusha-the Cosmic Divinity. He is the real object of concentration.
Just as the single dream ego enjoys a variety of dream objects through the different dream figures projected by itself, so He, the one and only Lord, enjoys all objects of the world through the mental modifications of all beings. Worship that Lord, who is Truth and Bliss. Do not cultivate attachment for any other. For, from such attachments arises spiritual degradation.
In the Srimad Bhagavad Gita, Krisha advises Arjuna:
यं यं वापि स्मरन्भावं त्यजत्यन्ते कलेवरम्।
तं तमेवैति कौन्तेय सदा तद्भावभावितः।।
तस्मात्सर्वेषु कालेषु मामनुस्मर युध्य च।
मय्यर्पितमनोबुद्धिर्मामेवैष्यस्यसंशयम्।।
O son of Kunti! Whatever object a person thinks of at the time of death, having been absorbed in its thought all through - he attains to that object alone.
Therefore fight, remembering Me always. One who has dedicated his mind and understanding to Me, shall come to Me alone, undoubtedly.
Sri Ramakrishna refers to this in his conversaton (recorded in the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna), "Man becomes pure by repeating the name of God. Therefore one should practise the chanting of God's name. I said to Jadu Mallick's mother: 'In the hour of death you will think only of worldly things — of family, children, executing the will, and so forth. The thought of God will not come to your mind. The way to remember God in the hour of death is to practise, now, the repetition of His name and the chanting of His glories. If one keeps up this practice, then in the hour of death one will repeat the name of God. When the cat pounces upon the bird, the bird only squawks and does not say, 'Rama, Rama, Hare-Krishna'.
"It is good to prepare for death. One should constantly think of God and chant His name in solitude during the last years of one's life. If the elephant is put into the stable after its bath it is not soiled again by dirt and dust."
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