[Advaita-l] Life is wonder & wondering about an advaitin's thought at the time of his/her death !!??

[Bhaskar YR]

praNAms Sri Sada prabhuji and all Advaita prabhuji-s
Hare Krishna


Ø   After reading Sri Sadananda prabhuji’s experience, I am getting somany doubts in my mind as usual.  Yes, we donot know when we are knocking at the door of our ultimate destination.  Yes, we donot know what would be the status of our body, mind and intellect at the time of our death, yes, we donot know whether we will have the absolute control over our thought process at the time of our death and yes, we do not know when all of a sudden our beloved mrutyu devata would snatch away our lives without any prior intimations and symptoms.  Under these circumstances, my question is, if at all we are having the control over our thoughts at the time of our death and if at all we know that death is fast approaching us,  being an advaitin, what type of thoughts forcefully we should entertain at that point of time ??  I think this is very important as Krishna says in geeta yaM yaM vApi smaran bhAvazm tyajatyante kalevaraM taM tameveti arjuna sadA tadbhAva bhAvitaH.  Jada bharata thought about deer and he got the same janma in the next birth, ajamiLa accidentally called his son nArAyaNa at the time of his  death and as a result, as a bumper got the vaikunTa vAsa instantly ☺ So, our forcefully entertained thoughts with full of conviction at the time of our death,  would decide the fate of our next destination or next place of our existence.

Ø   If we read Sri sadananda prabhuji’s experience and his thoughts (kindly pardon me Sri Sada prabhuji for taking your example to share my thoughts but my doubts are more generic in nature without any personal experience in my mind ) as mentioned by him, though he is a hard core advaitin in his mind, the ‘vaishNava’ in him araised and saw the divine intervention in this incident and wanted to talk more about sharaNAgati.  An advaitin mind of Sri Sada did not think, OK it is only my body which is falling, I am not falling, it is only my body  which is subject to hurt or unhurt but I cannot be hurt at any point of time, I am not going to die as I have never been born either.  If at all there is a death, it is only to my stUla shareera which is anyway not ME. I am ajaM, nirvikalpam, nirAkAraM, ekaM, nirAnandaM, advaitaM, pUrNAm and I am shivOham.   Like these advaitic thoughts have not come to his mind  he only thought of divine intervention and wondered about the handiwork of some unseen power, the power of Ishwara who is according to the strict stand of vedAnta can act only in avidyA kshetra and his Shakti is again a result of his upAdhi-s which have been created by ‘avidyA’ !!??


Ø   So, what should be the thoughts of advaitin at the time of his / her death??  Whether he has to entertain thoughts like ahaM brahmAsmi, tattvamasi, I am neither born nor I have death, there is no janma or punar janma for me as I am as Atman ‘unborn’ shAshvata, nitya or should he / she entertain thoughts by remembering the god’s name ( or his /her ishtadevata name) praying for his grace, requesting him for the place in his abode.   Which type of thought one should entertain being an advaitin and how to cultivate that thought and forcefully remember and entertain that thought at the time of his / her death.  One may easily say, whatever saMskAra you have, in whatever environment you born and brought up and depending upon the purity and maturity you have in your mind at the time of your death  would decide your thoughts.  But my question is, again,  if at all we are concerned about the ‘quality’ of our thoughts at the time of our death, what should be an ideal thought according to vedAnta??  Whether it is sAkAra, saguNatmaka bhagavannaama smaraNa ( like as advised in bhaja govindaM, bhaja gOvindaM) or deathlessness of our svarUpa??



Ø   Prabhuji-s are requested to share their thoughts.

Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!
bhaskar._,___