DEMYSTIFYING DEATH
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It is almost a catharsis. Here Arjuna
asks so many questions. However,
the main question to Kṛṣṇa is:
How does a person who is engaged
in practicing Your teachings know
You at the time of death? Here
starts the whole teaching of Kṛṣṇa.
He reveals the secrets of death.
One thing I want to tell you: The
West has spent all its energy to
understand life. The East has spent
all its energy to understand death.
Nobody has gone so deeply into,
or achieved such deep experiences
of death, as our ṛṣhis, sages have.
These masters have done a great
service by bringing the knowledge
of death to the people who are
living.
WHY SHOULD YOU
KNOW ABOUT DEATH?
People ask me, ‘Swamiji, why should I know about death? Knowing about life is enough; after all I am still young.’ The word ‘death’ creates fear in people. When it comes to death, they are not ready to listen.
They think, ‘Why should we know about death? If we know about life, it is enough. Please be very clear, our understanding about death impacts our understanding about life. Life and death are two sides of the same coin. Understand one thing: In the East, all religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, talk about many births or reincarnation. Most Western religions talk about a single birth.
This concept of reincarnation has influenced Indian society so deeply that nobody bothers about time! In India, people do not bother about time. They are so relaxed. Till 10 o’clock in the morning, people sit in teashops! If we ask for anything, they say, ‘Not today, tomorrow; if not tomorrow, next birth!’ They have eternity in front of them because somewhere they know they will come again. They are in no hurry and therefore do not run behind anything. Indian people are utterly and completely relaxed.
In the West, whatever they desire to achieve, they must finish achieving within 75 to 80 years. They do not have time. They either live now or never because there is only one birth according to them. That is the reason why people run and run! Please be very clear: Our understanding about death influences our whole social structure.
© 2020 Sri Nithyananda Paramashivam. All Rights Reserved
UNDERSTANDING
DEATH FROM THE RIGHT CONTEXT
Our whole thinking system, our
whole mentality can be transformed
with the right understanding about
death.I gave a single example about
how the idea of reincarnation
influences Eastern society and how
the idea of one birth influences
Western society. Thousands of such
examples can be given.
The idea and understanding of
death is much more important than
the understanding of life. Whether
we understand life or not, it
remains the same. But the moment
we understand death, the whole
quality of life changes and our
consciousness changes.
GOD OF DEATH,
YAMA DHARMA RAJA
The moment we realize the truth of death, if we experience even an intellectual understanding of death, it is enough to transform our whole way of thinking. That is why the moment we think of Yama Dhrama Raja, god of death, our whole life has yama, or discipline.
The Samskṛit word ‘yama’ means both
‘death’ and ‘discipline’. Understanding
of Death, Instills Discipline.
© 2020 Sri Nithyananda Paramashivam. All Rights Reserved
GOALS:
Impress upon the students that
understanding death is necessary
to realize that life is eternal. This
understanding gives freedom
from the need to accomplish
everything in one lifetime.
Understanding death instills
discipline.
© 2020 Sri Nithyananda Paramashivam. All Rights Reserved
ASSESSMENTS
- What are the limitations of the English Language in conveying the meaning of the sanskrit shlokas?
- What is the phonetic importance of sanskrit?
- Which language has the shortest gap between pada (the word) and padartha (the imagery associated with the word)?
- What is śabda tattva, the principle of sound?
- How can sanskrit chants energize the speaker?
