Learning to prepare for death

3 years, 1 month ago by mittalga in Hot Topics

My dear Maharaja,

Namaste! Jai SriRam!


I am struggling to convince my kids about creating regular meditation habit. So these days I have been contemplating a lot on “why one should meditate?”. 


As soon as we are born, it is guaranteed that we will die. But we don’t prepare ourselves on how to die. At the time of death, there won’t be any person or object outside with the person who is dying. Death is totally inner experience. Death means that body and senses have shut down i.e. no outside experience. 


One needs to be comfortable with one's own being at the time of death. For criminals, solitary confinement is the worst punishment. It is because most people are not at peace within their own being. We don't know for how long but we are sure to be without outside world at the time of death. For some, senses and body may weaken for months or weeks or for some it may be hours or minutes. But we will have to rest in one's our being in the end.


Meditation is method by which one rests in one's inner being. Meditation is being comfortable with our own being. It is preparation for death. 


After I was coming with this answer, I was reminded of the purpose of Bhagavatam and the questions of Parikshit. Parikshit asked the same question to Sukadeva about how one should die. Bhagavatam is answer to that question of how to die in right way.


Srimad Bhagavatam chapter 12/5 is the final conclusion of Parishit's question about how to die.


Regards,

Gaurav Mittal


HpS - ASA - Thank you. AGTSP! I read the chapter summary on vedabase.io. Was very nice, but Sukadeva Goswami's first answer is also very nice: https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/2/1/11/


The verses before it highlight the comment.

"Hare Krsna". Hope the Kapi Dhvaja and our Blog posts can help you in this endeavor!!!