” ‘Mrityu’ jivan ka antim ‘satya’ hai…”

Swamiji says …

” There is no denying that ‘death’ – ‘mrityu’ is the ultimate truth of life. If there is anything constant about life ; about being alive – it is only that sooner or later ‘it’ will come to an end. And, that end is death; ‘mrityu’! ‘Har insaan ki ‘mrityu’ nishchit hai ! Yeh hona hi hai!’ “

” Yet, we live in an era where man is constantly seeking numerous fleeting pleasures of life ; and, is almost wilfully entangling himself in the ‘ ‘Mayajaal’ jo humara jeevan hai, aur iss sansaar ko, joh ki asal mein ek ‘mithya’ hai, issey ‘vaastavik satya’ samajhta hai, jiss mein woh sada jeeta hi rahega !’ Thus, the very thought that the life of comfort and luxuries that is being enjoyed by him today, no matter how meaningless or destructive it could be, will have to come to an end one day, brings dread, fear and trepidation in his heart. It should come as no surprise, then, that man associates death with darkness and grief; sorrow and pain; which is why any mention of death is shunned by most of us,and, we shy away from discussing it – be it at our dinner tables or in a larger narrative. Each one of us fervently nurses a silent, but, strong sense of false surety, that death can never ever touch us, and, we will continue to live for ever with those we love.”

” Why does man refuse to accept the inevitability of death ? Is man not trying to fool himself by staying distant from the idea of death; averting his eyes from the shadow of the finality of death that looms larger than life? He tries to outsmart death by setting one goal after another, planning and preparing for the future that he feels will never be cut short by death; certain that death could give him an extension by giving his unfinished goal due consideration!”

” Look at the farmer who toils in the fields.Doesn’t he also plan the sowing of seeds and watering of his crops according to the particular time period when he will reap his harvest ? Does he shed tears when he harvests his crops ? Is he filled with fear on the day he harvests his fields? No. In fact, the day of harvesting is a day of celebration for him. We do not find a farmer lamenting the ‘cutting’ of a crop that no longer stands tall in his field.Thus, like the farmer who acts in accordance with the lifecycle of his crops, we too, must live and act in accordance with the cycle of life and death.”

“We must thus, imbibe in our thoughts and actions, the eventuality of death. Because, when we do so, we will truly begin to appreciate all that really matters and pay attention to the outcome of our ‘actions’, our ‘karm’. Death highlights the transient nature of the world around us ; the positions that we hold in society and organizations; the relationships that we cherish ; even the goodwill of others – everything around us is temporary. ‘Jo kuch bhi hum dekhte hain, woh sab mithya hai !’ Acknowledging the reality of death early on in life, helps us in keeping a check on ourselves; to reflect when we overexert or spend ourselves on objectives that are not in line with our personal and spiritual development as only then do we realize that the short life that we have been blessed with has to worthy and meaningful.”

” Life appears to be a perennial source of treasures till the time we confront death.There are numerous examples of this. Men and women waste time chasing money when they already have enough,and, repent when impending death comes their way, for not having spent enough time with their family.
Then, there are those who spend so much time involved in family matters and relationships, that the chapter of their life closes, without them having achieved anything on any front – neither personal nor spiritual.”

” The most relevant teaching that the certainty of death teaches us is to value ‘time’ – and to appreciate every moment and opportunity that life presents us with during our journey from birth to death. It gives us the perspective that even though achievements, relationships and milestones are important, they will eventually fade away, but, what is of greater significance is ‘what’ we did with our lives; ‘how’ we lived our lives ? Death, too, should be filled with admiration on seeing us welcome it, well prepared to exit the world with grace and dignity, with His name on our lips, looking forward to merging with our Creator.”

20 thoughts on “” ‘Mrityu’ jivan ka antim ‘satya’ hai…”

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  1. Truly a divine message.
    This one message is enough for the entire life we do not forget it.

    Jai swamiji. .
    Aap ki prem dhara hamesha hamin milti rahe

  2. ओम असतो मा सद्गमय, तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय, मृत्योर्मा अमृतम गमय
    Death is last truth.
    Jai Gurudev

  3. Beautiful thought.👌👌 It’s very difficult to accept this but we have to as this is the reality of life. Jai Gurudev 🙏🙏

  4. Remembering this truth will better our decision making process.
    The way crops grow , mature and then cut away ; same is with our lives.
    Let’s remember this and lead more meaningful lives.

    Pranam Swamiji

  5. Om Gurudevo Namaha. It’s a such a beautiful Sanfedh
    You have always been a source of enlightenment, encouragement, love and compassion. You have imparted ne best of knowledge. I would like to share my perspective about life and death.

    Our attitudes and beliefs regarding death have a great influence on our approach to life.

    There is perhaps no greater grief than being parted from a loved one by death. And though we know with the surest certainty that our time here is limited and that no one can escape the impermanence of life, this does little to prepare us for the shock of death or to help us approach our own inevitable separation from this world.
    My deep study about this real truth of life is ‐
    Why are we born? Why must we die?

    Buddhism teaches that we should not shrink from the fact of death but squarely confront it. Our contemporary culture has been described as one that seeks to avoid and deny the fundamental question of our mortality. It is the awareness of death, however, that compels us to examine our lives and to seek to live meaningfully. Death enables us to treasure life; it awakens us to the preciousness of each shared moment. In the struggle to navigate the sorrow of death, we can forge a radiant treasure of fortitude in the depths of our being. Through that struggle, we become more aware of the dignity of life and more readily able to empathize with the suffering of others.

    From the Buddhist perspective, life and death are two phases of a continuum. Life does not begin at birth nor end at death. Everything in the universe—from invisible microbes in the air we breathe to great swirling galaxies—passes through these phases. Our individual lives are part of this great cosmic rhythm.

    Everything in the universe, everything that happens, is part of a vast living web of interconnection. The vibrant energy we call life which flows throughout the universe has no beginning and no end. Life is a continuous, dynamic process of change.

    Early Buddhist teachings, however, saw this process as one of inevitable suffering and focused on the possibility of opting out of it.

    Shakyamuni perceived that desire is the fundamental impulse that drives life onward, tying us into the cycle of birth and death. At each moment, impulses of various desires prompt thought, speech and action, which comprise the latent force of our individual karma. Through these causes and effects, actions and reactions, we shape ourselves and our circumstances from instant to instant, perpetuating a fluid process that has continued over countless existences. Moreover, Shakyamuni taught there is no permanent soul or self that has existed throughout all this time but simply the continuity of karmic energy that generates the illusion of an unchanging essence or self.

    Eliminating desire, then, would cut off the energy that fuels the cycle of life and death, and at death, one’s life would be extinguished once and for all. This blissful state of annihilation—nirvana—was the final goal of early Buddhist teachings and continues to be regarded as such in many Buddhist traditions today. Life, in this perspective, is a cycle of suffering from which one can eventually escape.

    The Lotus Sutra, however, brings forth a completely revolutionary view of human beings, asserting that there is a profound purpose to our lives in this world.

    This Buddhist scripture, which Nichiren and a lineage of Buddhist scholars before him regarded as the most complete and perfect expression of Shakyamuni’s enlightenment, emphasizes that the essential nature of our lives at any moment is that of a Buddha. Awakening to the truth of one’s inherent Buddha nature, one discovers this fundamental sense of purpose, and life takes on a completely different and fundamentally joyful quality.

    But what is the Buddha nature and how does one awaken to it? In essence, the Buddha nature is the impulse inherent in life to relieve suffering and bring happiness to others. It is encapsulated in the Lotus Sutra by the statement: “At all times I think to myself: How can I cause living beings to gain entry into the unsurpassed way and quickly acquire the body of a buddha?”

    The phrase Nam-myoho-renge-kyo that Nichiren advocated his followers chant could be described as the sound or expression of this primordial impulse—this vow—and the recitation of it as a practice that orients one’s life on this vow. Through the wondrous alchemy of this act, the incessant process of change that is life becomes a process of unending growth and transformation.

    Our existence itself then becomes an expression of this vow. From the enlightened perspective of Buddhahood, we are born freely into the world with a resolve to awaken others to their Buddha nature. When we are awake to this purpose, the causes and effects within our lives become the causes and effects of Buddhahood: the particular circumstances of our lives and character, our sufferings and triumphs, become the means to demonstrate the power of the Buddha nature and form bonds of empathy with others.

    This awakening to the Buddha nature is also sometimes described as an awakening to the “greater self.” Daisaku Ikeda comments, “The greater self always seeks to alleviate pain and to augment the happiness of others here amid the realities of everyday life. Furthermore, the dynamic, vital awakening of the greater self enables each individual to experience both life and death with equal delight.”

    Our lives in the world of Buddhahood are not directed by our karma but by our vow, our sense of mission. We are fundamentally free. Unawakened to this reality, or when our lives become disconnected from this vow, we lead lives of “common mortals,” governed by and subject to the vicissitudes of karma.

    The beauty of life derives from the great diversity of its expression. Likewise, in human society, the varied nature of our struggles and triumphs, the great variety of ways in which our lives take shape and come to an end, our short or long life spans—all of this, in the triumphant light of our Buddha nature, when we win over the sufferings of life, is revealed as meaningful and valuable.

    The ultimate questions of life and death are, in the end, a matter of theory and belief. What matters is how we live, our awareness of life’s preciousness and the value we are able to create during an experience that passes, in Nichiren’s words, “as quickly as a white colt glimpsed through a crack in the wall.” Most of us tend to imagine that there will always be another chance to meet and talk with our friends or relatives again, so it doesn’t matter if a few things go unsaid. But to live fully and without regret is to extend oneself to others to the utmost, bringing one’s full being to the moment, with the sense that it may be one’s last encounter.

    The Lotus Sutra’s view of life and death is one that continually opens our awareness to those with whom we share this life, urging us to develop rich and contributive lives. When we take action for the happiness of others, we feel a renewed energy and a sense of connection to our deepest essence. As we continue in these efforts over time, our lives acquire an increasing sense of expansiveness and strength. In this way we bring forth the most positive aspects of our humanity and create a treasured existence together.
    Jai Gurudev. Saab apka diya hua hai.Please keep showering your blessings on us.

  6. Paramahansa Yogananda said:
    Everyone of us is going to die someday, so there is no use in being afraid of death. You don’t feel miserable at the prospect of losing consciousness of your body in sleep;you accept sleep as a state of freedom to look forward to. So is death;it is a state of rest, a pension from this life. There is nothing to fear. When death comes, laugh at it. Death is only an experience through which you are meant to learn a great lesson: You can not die. Our real self, the soul, is immortal. We may sleep for a little while in that change called death, but we can never be destroyed.
    We exist and that existence is eternal. The wave comes to the shore, and then goes back to the sea., it is not lost. It becomes one with the ocean , or returns again in the form of another wave. This body has come, and it will vanish, but the soul essence within it will never cease to exist. Nothing can terminate that eternal consciousness.
    The great saint, our Swamiji himself has said the same thing. So, why worry. We should keep ourselves busy in taking HIS name always and follow the footsteps of our dear Swamiji.

  7. ज़िन्दगी तो बेवफ़ा है एक दिन ठुकराएगी
    मौत महबूबा है अपने साथ लेकर जाएगी।

    स्वामी जी के चरणों में नमन करता हूँ।

  8. Swamijee…. your messages over the years beautifully penned here will continue to guide us …. this Pearl though made lots of sense , when you are no more now .
    And how you use to say “ mritu aayi, amrit aaya “ and for that to happen how you spend your time in between is very critical.
    We miss you Prabhu!!
    🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

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