Those who consider this world to be real, also consider themselves to be the mere body and remain ignorant of the Truth. Behind each and every act of such worldly beings, there is a selfish motive to gain wealth or health or fame for the body. Throughout their life they keep worrying about the future and resolving problems, one after other. And then ultimately, one day, leave the world in the same anxious state of mind. When such a worldly being encounter death, he cries and grieve over all the things and people that he is about to leave.
However, those who have realized themselves as the consciousness or the soul, remain unattached to the body and the belongings of the body. For them, this world is nothing more than an illusion or a dream. For such mystics, death is just a confirmation of their beliefs and their realization. Not only they smile and remain in the blissful state of mind while living, but they also leave the world with the same beauty and elegance. Just like we shed our clothes, or a snake leaves its skin, the Self realized ones leave their body just as a mere witness, in the blissful state of mind. They remain unperturbed and calm during the last moments of life.
One such elevated soul was Socrates, who didn’t show any signs of fear when he was forced to drink a cup of hemlock in the form of poison. He told his people that he would leave them and go to the joys of the blessed. Some of his last words were like this:- “those of you who think that death is an evil are in error . . . .Let us reflect in another way, and we shall see that there is great reason to hope that death is a good, for one of two things:--either death is a state of nothingness and utter unconsciousness, or, as men say, there is a change and migration of the soul from this world to another. Now if you suppose that there is no consciousness, but a sleep like the sleep of him who is undisturbed even by the sight of dreams, death will be an unspeakable gain. . . . Now if death is like this, I say that to die is gain; for eternity is then only a single night. But if death is a journey to another place, and there, as men say, all the dead are, what good, O my friends and judges, can be greater than this? . . . What would not a man give if he might converse with Orpheus and Musaeus and Hesiod and Homer? Nay, if this be true, let me die again and again. . . . Above all, I shall be able to continue my search into true and false knowledge; as in this world, so also in that; I shall find out who is wise, and who pretends to be wise, and is not. . . . The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways--I to die, and you to live. Which is better God only knows.”
For them death is a new beginning. They know themselves as a conscious being that is owner of the body, and not as mere body. And hence, they know that only this body, which is part of ever changing nature, will encounter death, while their conscious Self will remain unaffected.Saint Kabir was another such noble soul who expressed his joy in the form of poetry:
However, those who have realized themselves as the consciousness or the soul, remain unattached to the body and the belongings of the body. For them, this world is nothing more than an illusion or a dream. For such mystics, death is just a confirmation of their beliefs and their realization. Not only they smile and remain in the blissful state of mind while living, but they also leave the world with the same beauty and elegance. Just like we shed our clothes, or a snake leaves its skin, the Self realized ones leave their body just as a mere witness, in the blissful state of mind. They remain unperturbed and calm during the last moments of life.
One such elevated soul was Socrates, who didn’t show any signs of fear when he was forced to drink a cup of hemlock in the form of poison. He told his people that he would leave them and go to the joys of the blessed. Some of his last words were like this:- “those of you who think that death is an evil are in error . . . .Let us reflect in another way, and we shall see that there is great reason to hope that death is a good, for one of two things:--either death is a state of nothingness and utter unconsciousness, or, as men say, there is a change and migration of the soul from this world to another. Now if you suppose that there is no consciousness, but a sleep like the sleep of him who is undisturbed even by the sight of dreams, death will be an unspeakable gain. . . . Now if death is like this, I say that to die is gain; for eternity is then only a single night. But if death is a journey to another place, and there, as men say, all the dead are, what good, O my friends and judges, can be greater than this? . . . What would not a man give if he might converse with Orpheus and Musaeus and Hesiod and Homer? Nay, if this be true, let me die again and again. . . . Above all, I shall be able to continue my search into true and false knowledge; as in this world, so also in that; I shall find out who is wise, and who pretends to be wise, and is not. . . . The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways--I to die, and you to live. Which is better God only knows.”
For them death is a new beginning. They know themselves as a conscious being that is owner of the body, and not as mere body. And hence, they know that only this body, which is part of ever changing nature, will encounter death, while their conscious Self will remain unaffected.Saint Kabir was another such noble soul who expressed his joy in the form of poetry:
In Hindi: [jiss marney te jagg darrey,morey mann anand, kab mariye kab paayiey, pooran parmanand. ]
Translation:That death of which this world is scared, fills my heart with bliss;
when shall I die and become one with the perfect, supreme bliss.
There have been many saints and elevated souls, who left this body in the conscious and blissful state of mind. When such a saint leaves the body consciously, it is called Mahasamadhi. Recently, on December 5, 2009, Paramahamsa Satyananda Saraswati took Mahasamadhi in Bihar, India. He reportedly called Swami Satsangi at 11:30pm and said it was time for him to go. He sat in padmasana practicing japa and left his body at midnight with a smile on his face. He was Guru to thousands and the founder of the Bihar School of Yoga among other prominent and beneficial institutions.
There have been many wise men in the Indian subcontinent who gained the wisdom of life that enabled them to confront the death with vigor and blissfulness. Swami Lila Shah, who was my Guruji’s Guru, left his body in 1973. His few last words were:- “I never die. Only this body does. For me, this is just an end of a long, very long, 90 year long dream.”
The seekers of true happiness pay homage to the holy feet of such saints, who not only conquered the world with the help of their Self realization, but also conquered over death. They have taught us the true meaning of life.
Translation:That death of which this world is scared, fills my heart with bliss;
when shall I die and become one with the perfect, supreme bliss.
There have been many saints and elevated souls, who left this body in the conscious and blissful state of mind. When such a saint leaves the body consciously, it is called Mahasamadhi. Recently, on December 5, 2009, Paramahamsa Satyananda Saraswati took Mahasamadhi in Bihar, India. He reportedly called Swami Satsangi at 11:30pm and said it was time for him to go. He sat in padmasana practicing japa and left his body at midnight with a smile on his face. He was Guru to thousands and the founder of the Bihar School of Yoga among other prominent and beneficial institutions.
There have been many wise men in the Indian subcontinent who gained the wisdom of life that enabled them to confront the death with vigor and blissfulness. Swami Lila Shah, who was my Guruji’s Guru, left his body in 1973. His few last words were:- “I never die. Only this body does. For me, this is just an end of a long, very long, 90 year long dream.”
The seekers of true happiness pay homage to the holy feet of such saints, who not only conquered the world with the help of their Self realization, but also conquered over death. They have taught us the true meaning of life.
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