Death, the inevitable

[Guest guest]

Dear Sai brothers and sisters:

Whatever is born must die Swami often tells us and I ponder over the days when

we shall all leave this body. However, does anyone have writings about the

topic of "death" specifically that Swami has eleborated about? I've only seen

pieces here and there; however, I would like to learn more about death as we

must prepare for the coming days when "Yaam" Maharaj will take us.

Aum Sri Sai Ram,

Ram Lakhan, Canada

 

 

[Guest guest]

Dear Ram Lakhan,

 

You may want to check out: "Deathing, An Intelligent Alternative for the Final

Moments of Life" by Anya Foos-Graber.

 

This book is inspired by Swami, dedicated to Swami and covers His relevant

Teaching. the author also received an Interview with Swami.

 

Om Sai Ram

 

Amma

-

Ram Lakhan

saibabanews

Tuesday, June 22, 2004 2:46 PM

[saibabanews] Death, the inevitable

Dear Sai brothers and sisters:

Whatever is born must die Swami often tells us and I ponder over the days when

we shall all leave this body. However, does anyone have writings about the

topic of "death" specifically that Swami has eleborated about? I've only seen

pieces here and there; however, I would like to learn more about death as we

must prepare for the coming days when "Yaam" Maharaj will take us.

Aum Sri Sai Ram,

Ram Lakhan, Canada

[Guest guest]

Sai Ram Brother Ram,

 

Below is a discourse given by Swami in 1968 and forms Chapter 34 in Sathya Sai

Speaks volume 8. Although it does not deal literally with the aspect of Death

that you have described (i.e. preparation for Death) it offers the the best

method of using ones entire life in preparation of death and more importantly,

living life with no fear or lack of faith in God. In this discourse Swami says

"Do not contemplate on Death; it is just an incident in life; contemplate on

God, who is the master of all life - God who is the Indweller in this physical

frame."

 

Hope this helps. The search engine in the discourses section of the

www.sathyasai.org website is extremely useful for finding information on all

topics that Swami has covered in discourses which is where this information was

retrieved.

 

With Sai Love and Light

Jai Sai Ram

 

34. Die into a new day

THIS is a conventional celebration, the twelfth Annual Day of the Sathya Sai

Hospital, with the

Principal of the Medical College, Goa, as president and this vast gathering of

devotees from all

parts of India as participants. The Medical Officer presents the report for the

year and gives

details of the in-patients and out-patients treated, as well as of other signs

of progress. But the

Report naturally is not concerned with the basic question: For what purpose

should health be

maintained? What is the best use to which the body has to be put? For, the body

with all its

equipment of senses, intellect, feeling and memory, is an instrument, an

implement, a chariot

which one uses for movement towards a goal. The owner of the chariot is any day

more

important than the chariot itself; it is for his sake that it has to be kept

trim and efficient and in

good repair.

The duration of life is under the control of Him who gave life, the Creator. It

does not depend on

the calories of food consumed or the quantity of drugs that are injected, or the

qualifications of

the physician who prescribes the medicines. The chief causes of ill-health and

death are fear and

loss of faith. If one concentrates on the aathma, which has no change or

characteristics, no

substraction or senility, no decline or damage, man can conquer death.

Therefore, the most

effective prescription is the injection of aathma-vidhya (knowledge of the Soul

as one's real

Self).

 

Death stalks its prey everywhere, at all times with relentless determination. It

pursues its victims

into hospitals, hill-stations, theaters, aeroplanes, submarines, in fact, no one

can escape it or take

refuge from its grasp. God alone is the giver of life, the guardian of life and

the goal of life. Do

not contemplate on Death; it is just an incident in life; contemplate on God,

who is the master of

all life---God who is the Indweller in this physical frame. Be aware of Him all

through life and

offer all your activity---breathing, talking, walking, earning and spending---to

Him, for it was by

Him and through Him that you were able to do all these things. To fall ill and

to call in a doctor--

-this is something unnatural, debasing. Once you have offered yourself to God,

it must be well

with you. There can be nothing ill.

Regulate food habits; restrain the greed of the tongue. Eat only Saathwik

(conducive to

equanimity) or pure food; engage yourselves only in Saathwik recreations. Then

you can be free

from physical and mental ill-health. Bear calumny, loss, disappointment, defeat,

boldly and with

equanimity; then, no mental depression can over- whelm you. I must tell you that

I am happy

when some one among you is subjected to suffering, for that is a chance given to

you to

demonstrate your intelligence and sense of values.

Harischandhra (the Emperor who stuck to Truth in spite of agonising travail,

which he could

have avoided by the utterance of a single lie), had a series of terrible

disasters---poverty, exile,

persecution by his creditor, the sale into slavery of his queen, his son, and

his own self and the

demeaning job that was allotted to him by his master in charge of the cremation

ghat in Benares-

--the toll collector. He never bent or broke but stuck to his determination not

to yield to the cal of

unrighteousness.

 

The Name of God is the most effective tonic; it will keep off all illness. Do

not indulge in

Naamasmarana as a pastime or a fashion or a passing phase, or as the unpleasant

part of an

imposed time- table, or as a bitter quota to be fulfilled each day. Think of it

as a saadhana, to be

seriously taken up for the purpose of reducing your attachments to fleeting

objects, purifying and

strengthening you, and liberating you from the cycle of birth and death. Hold

fast to it as the

means of rescuing yourself in every way, from the bonds of time and change. It

looks a frail cure

for such a fearful malady; but, it is a penancea, nevertheless.

The common excuse for escaping from this urgent duty to oneself is that one has

no time for

Naamasmarana in the hectic schedule of activity that has become the lot of man

at the present

time! If the burden of a hundred odd jobs can be borne because they are

unavoidable, can the

extra job of Naamasmarana be such an undesirable addition? He who carries a

hundred, can

surely carry one more. Moreover, this is a continuing basic activity, not part

of a schedule of

events. It has to become as much a must as breathing; as welcome to the tongue

as sugar; as

essential for happy living as sleep or food or water. This one ever-present job

will alleviate the

burden of all the hundred jobs, make them all lighter and more worth-while. Rise

every day with

the thought of God' spend every day with the Name of God; go back to bed! with

the thought of

His Glory as enshrined in His Name.

 

You go to bed on a certain date and day; you awake to find that the date and the

day have

changed! You have grown a day older; death has come a step nearer. Much water

has flowed

under the bridge. Similarly, when you go into sleep (death), great changes

happen; you awake to

a new date and a new day, with old tendencies and traits still affecting the new

embodiment. Life

is one long ordeal; know this even when things seem to be quite exhilarating.

Any moment the

road may turn into a morass, the sky may darken, fortune may turn away.

Earn the sword of jnaana to cut as under the veil of Maayaa. Discriminate

between the real and

the un-real early enough, during the journey towards the Goal. If the eye is not

helping you to

derive the unending joy of visualising God in everything it brings before your

mind, then it is far

better to be blind; if your ear drags you into the realm of filthy cacophony, it

is far better to be

deaf. The senses must not plunge you into the sensual; they must serve your real

interests and

sublimate your desires and appetites. That is the only way to ensure health and

happiness.

Prashaanthi Nilayam, 23-9-1968

 

 

 

--- Ram Lakhan <ram_lakhan108 wrote:

Dear Sai brothers and sisters:

 

Whatever is born must die Swami often tells us and I ponder over the days when

we shall all leave this body. However, does anyone have writings about the topic

of "death" specifically that Swami has eleborated about? I've only seen pieces

here and there; however, I would like to learn more about death as we must

prepare for the coming days when "Yaam" Maharaj will take us.

 

Aum Sri Sai Ram,

 

Ram Lakhan, Canada

[Guest guest]

Sai Ram, this is further to brother's inquiry.

Sai Ram!

Savita

WHAT IS DEATH?

The word ‘death’ creates a fear psychosis, in the mind of human beings. You tell

a person that such and such person has died; it will produce a wave of shock, in

the mind of the listener. When death occurs in the family, it is announced in

the papers ‘SAD DEMISE’. According to Author’s own understanding, he explains

death as follows:

Death is re-union with God

Death is like changing clothes and wearing new clothes

Death is getting merged in God

Death is to achieve Eternity

Death is a realisation, that one is not the body, but the Atma (soul).

Death is attaining a Blissful state (Sat-Chit-Ananda)

Death is to break all the ties that bind, and be permanently released

Death is the only certainty

Death is understanding and experiencing the difference between the transient and the permanent

Anybody and everybody, who is born in this world, in any form, has to meet with

death sooner or later. Hence, death should be accepted as boldly and cheerfully

as we accept life. That will help us in eliminating the fear of death, which has

held most of us so tightly in its grip that we can hardly breathe. In fact, any

human being who has taken a birth in this world may not be re-born again, if he

attains Moksha (Liberation) in this present life. But on the other hand, each

and every human being, who is born in this world, is bound to die. So death is

the only certainty.

Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, has taken this human form, to explain to the

people and make them understand the secret of life and death, by proclaiming

that each and every human being, irrespective of any caste, creed or colour, is

the Atma (the Eternal soul) and not the body, He further explains that the Atma

does not die. It is the body which decays, and is declared dead, when the Atma

leaves it. The Atma is neither born, nor does it die, it ever remains. On the

other hand, the body which is changeable perishes and dies. Anything which is

changeable is not real. Anything which is permanent is the truth. The Atma is

permanent and eternal.

Baba further explains the reason, why a person is reborn and the Atma in his

present body takes a new body. He says that Karma and desire are the cause of

the rebirth of man. The Atma takes a new body for the sake of unfulfilled

desires and in order to sort out the balance of one’s Karmic effects or the

deeds done in many previous lives. Until and unless man has sorted out all his

Karmic effects, he cannot be liberated and be free from the cycle of birth and

death. Baba says, “Man - Desire = God”. Baba teaches us in many ways, how to

control our desires and be desireless. He says, “The only desire one should

have, is the desire to know himself - that is who am I? Where have I come from?

Where have I to go? This will give one the self-realisation”.

Baba says that mind is the cause of all the desires, and the cause of the

downfall of man. If one can learn the art of controlling the mind properly,

rather than taming the mind, one has won half the battle. Unfulfilled desires

give rise to anger, and anger boosts the ego in man, and then man loses

himself. Many times, Baba calls the mind as ‘monkey-mind’. Baba says, “If you

can make your mind a die-mind, you can also shine like a diamond. He even gives

a therapy, how to make your mind a die-mind. He says, “If a person is really

dead, does it bother him, if he is being garlanded, or is being beaten by

chappals (Foot wear). He is not affected either way. Similarly, while you are

alive, let your mind not get agitated or disturbed under any circumstances. Be

calm and serene. Act like a ‘sooka Patta’ (a dried leaf), which is being pushed

this way or that way with

every movement of the wind. This will enable you to be the master of your mind

and the mind will stop dictating to you, instead it will start obeying you”.

Baba says, “Man’s ego, desires, attachments and sense perception to the worldly

objects, are the cause of man’s bondage to the cycle of birth and death”.

A scientist created a scientific luxurious cage, with all the modern amenities,

and put a number of mice, male and female inside the cage, but deliberately

kept the door of the cage open. He also installed, two electrical gadgets, one

of red colour and the other of green. The mice while playing, if they touched

the green colour gadget, they got a piece of cheese, and if they touched the

red gadget, they got a shock. The mice were very happy in the cage, dancing and

playing and making merry, sometimes getting the cheese and other times getting

the shock. Surprisingly in spite the door of the cage being open, none of the

mice would attempt to get out of the cage, to freedom!

The same is the fate of we human beings. We are so engrossed in our day-to-day

routine involvements, that we accept both happiness and misery, but would not

like to get out of this body prison to free ourselves in spite of the fact that

Baba is here and He has kept the door open for us, to be liberated, yet we are

clinging to our bodies, love life immensely and are afraid of death. How

foolish of us!

Baba has given us two simple methods of getting Moksha (Liberation) in this age

of Kaliyuga. He says that Nama Smaran (reciting the name of the Lord) and doing

Seva (service) to the fellow beings (Manava Seva is Madhava Seva) will get us

the required liberation, in this present life itself. Let us take advantage of

Swami’s assurance, and act as per His Will and Commandments and earn His Grace,

to win our coveted goal, Moksha (Liberation) which is our sole purpose of being

born as human beings.

WHAT IS SOUL (ATMA)?

Many people are perplexed when they try to fathom the meaning of the word ‘Soul’

or ‘Atma’. They assure and presume the meaning, according to their own

intellectual wave length and remain contended and satisfied.

According to the author’s perception, the definition of the Soul or Atma is as follows:

Soul = Spiritually Oriented Universal Light

Atma = Automatic Timely Moving Aspect

In truth, the Atma is that supernatural power (The Inertia) created by God with

His Sankalpa (Will and Command), which always was, still remains, and will

always be present. The Atma never perishes, nor it ever dies. It always remains

because it is the Truth. It is God.

Electricity is supplied from the power house to all the inanimate objects, all

over the world, known as various gadgets, such as Ovens, Cookers,

Refrigerators, Air-conditioners, Washing machines, Televisions, Theaters,

Automobiles, Computers and many more such gadgets. Though the supply of the

electricity is the same, yet the functions of each and every individual gadget

are entirely different.

In a similar manner, the Atma is the supernatural power or the energy created by

God and supplied by God, not only to all the human beings all over the world but

even to the birds, bees, plants, inanimate objects, planets and to the entire

Universe. Without this Atmic power or energy, the entire Cosmos will come to a

standstill, just as in the case of electricity, when the supply is cut off,

nothing functions and there is chaos and turmoil all over.

Now the difference between the electrical supply from the power house and the

Atmic energy from the source of God is that the electricity is generated and

produced through the human intellect and resources, and can also be destroyed

through the human resources, like a sabotage operation or by waging a war. But

the Atmic energy cannot be destroyed, unless it is withdrawn by God Himself as

per His Will or Command. Because Atma is God.

Many people always quote and it is also firmly believed that, “Not even a leaf

moves without the Will of God”. This statement is also confirmed by Bhagawan

Sri Sathya Sai Baba, in His present human form. But people try to misinterpret

the above statement and put the blame on God for everything they do whether

good or the bad. God is only a witness to the circumstances. He is not the doer

of all the actions committed by the human beings. The fact of the above

statement is that the Atmic power which is God who resides in our hearts,

prompts us through His energy to act this way or that way. Without that energy,

we will not be able to perform any action but will be like a dead log. So, Atmic

energy is the Will of God, and not the actions deliberately done by the human

beings could be considered as the Will of God. This illusion is the cause of

the greatest error on

the part of the human beings. God is Love. God cannot hurt anybody or harm

anyone. God is Caring, Consoling and Healer of the all the wounds. How can He

ever be revengeful? It is a bad and vicious judgment on the part of the human

beings to hold God responsible for all their deeds and actions.

The most oft-used question of all the human beings today is, “Why God created

this Universe, with all the misery, agony, hatred and confusion?” The answer

is, “God never Willed it this way. It is we human beings, who are the cause of

all this turmoil in this beautiful creation of the Loving God, who is so

Compassionate and Perfect”.

As the story goes. God was all alone and He felt the urge of loving Himself. He

could not do it single-handed. If one wants to express love or experience love,

one needs at least two people. So God said, “Let Me become many”. This He did in

order to experience to love Himself. As per His Will He became many. Then He

thought of the pleasure and comfort of so many people created by Him. So He

created the entire Universe, with the intention to provide all the comforts and

happiness to them, because everybody was Him and Love was the Source. He then

implanted the secret knowledge in the mind of human beings, to enable them to

come back to Him, as and when they so desired. Along with this true knowledge

He also gave them a little of free will, to enable them to know and understand

the purpose of their creation and ultimately to go back to the final source

that is Him.

The human beings used this little free will for their own benefit and physical

comforts and got themselves so entangled in the graph, they themselves planted

around them that they forgot the way back to their true home land and are

wandering hither and thither aimlessly and are constantly blaming God for

taking their memory away as they are not able to find the way to their true

home land.

The Merciful God is now caught up, in His own plight of creating this wonderful

Universe which has now become a vicious circle. He even cannot undo now what He

has already Willed to do. But still out of His own Compassion, He has been kind

and generous enough to take this human body as Sri Sathya Sai Baba and is doing

His utmost to revive the memory of all the human beings after entire world and

is personally guiding them and showing them the way to reach their true

destinations, the aboard of Eternal Peace that is Bhagawan Baba Himself.

He says, “As you eat nourishing food to sustain your body and keep it healthy,

so that you can enjoy life, you must also give proper food to your Soul (Atma)

to remain fit and trim and that food for the Soul (Atma) is doing Namasmarana

(Singing the glory of the Lord through the Chanting of the Bhajans) every day.

This will sustain your Soul (Atma) and keep it healthy”. He further says that

it is only through the healthy body and the purified Soul (Atma) that you can

reach your destination - that is you can get Moksha (Liberation).

Let us all resolve today and put an effort to lead our lives and move to the

path as shown by Bhagawan Baba, so that we all the individual Atmas can get

merged with Paramatma (The Power House of all the Atmas).

I cannot refrain but to mention here a small story about the Love and Compassion

of the Lord which I read somewhere, and cannot get it erased from my memory.

There was a man who always believed in God. Since the very young age, he trusted

God, and was sure that God was all the time moving along with him walking,

talking and guiding him all the time. When he became old, he tried to recollect

all his past thoughts. He saw a vast forest and could always see the two pairs

of footsteps imprinted on the sand of the forest; only to find out that act the

fag end of his life, when he was passing through a desperate situation of his

life, he could notice only one pair of footsteps on the sand. He then cried and

prayed to God and said how He the all Merciful Lord can leave him alone when he

needed Him the most. There came the reply from the God, “Oh, my dear precious

child, when you see the one pair of footsteps on the sand they are my footsteps

because during that period of time, you were so exhausted that I was carrying

you in

my lap”. This consoled the man and tears came to his eyes.

Let us also learn to cry for the mercy of the Lord. We cry for so many things in

life; whenever desires are not satisfied, or when something we want, we do not

receive. But have we ever cried for the God Himself? Cry for the Love of

Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Tell Him that your eyes are yearning to see Him,

and to have His Darshan. Cry out to Him that you cannot live without Him. And

see the Miracle of all the Miracles to happen.

Amen!

ESSENCE OF SHRIMAD BHAGAVAD GITA

* Why are you unnecessarily worrying? Whom do you fear? Who can kill you? Soul

is not born, nor does it die.

* What has happened has happened for the best, what is happening is happening

for the best, what will happen will happen for the best. Do not brood over the

past. Do not worry about the future. The present is on.

* What have you lost that you are weeping? What have you brought, that you have

lost? What was it that you made that has been destroyed? You brought not

anything, what you have, you got from here. What was given, was given here.

What you took, you took from this Universe. What you gave, you gave unto this

Universe. You have come empty-handed and shall go empty-handed. What is your

today was somebody else’s in the past and will be somebody else’s in the

future. You think it is yours and are deeply engrossed in it. This attachment

is the cause of all your sorrows.

* Change is the law of life. What you call death is life itself. In a moment you

are a millionaire, in the very next you are a poor man. Mine and yours;

Small-Big; Ours-Theirs; Remove this from your mind, then everything is yours

and you are everybody’s.

* This body is not yours, nor are you of this body. Earth, Water, Air, Fire and

Ether comprise this body and into this shall it turn. But the Soul is Immortal,

and then what are you?

* Surrender unto the Lord, He is the Ultimate Support. He who experiences this

is completely free from Fear, Worry and Despair.

* Whatever you do, offer it unto Him. By this you shall forever experience Eternal Bliss.

AN APPEAL

My dear sisters, brothers, relatives, acquaintances and friends. If you have

known me personally and in whatever capacity you have judged me, and if you

have even a little confidence in me, please take my advice and go and have

Darshan of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba at Prashanthi Nilayam, Puttaparthi. No

matter what it costs you. Even if you have to walk, all the way to Puttaparthi,

the Darshan would be worth the trouble.

You never know, how and when, His single glimpse, a casual look, a word directly

spoken, a momentary touch or His granting you Pada Namaskar (touching His Lotus

Feet), can bring a drastic change in your life and can lift you up from

humanity to spirituality.

For earning His grace, all that you have to do, is create your faith in Him and

develop the yearning to see Him and meet Him. This will enhance His speed and

He will receive you quickly because He has already declared, “If you move one

step towards Me, I will move ten steps towards you”.

I wish that I was in such a position of authority, where I would have been able

to give all of you my visiting card, to enable you to meet Baba personally, to

experience Him and know Him. But this can never be done. He is Paramatma and we

all are individual Atmas, and each individual Atma has a personal rapport with

Him (Paramatma), and it is for Him to decide which individual Atma deserves to

receive His grace quickly, depending upon the accumulated merits of that

particular Atma in this present life, as well as many previous lives. But, rest

assured, He loves each and every individual Atma, because all the individual

Atmas (Jiva Atmas) are part of Him and He is the totality of the individual

Atmas (The Paramatma), just as all the trees put together are known as a

Forest.

So awake, arise and march, before it is too late to have His Darshan. He has

also declared that soon the crowds at Prashanthi Nilayam will multiply manifold

that His Darshan will be available only from a distant place. May be from the

top of the hill and that too only His orange robe may be sighted. May be, soon,

He may disappear to an unknown far away place. He is the living God, who can do

what He wills or Commands.

THINK

IS ATMA THE SAME IN EACH ONE OF US?

IS EGO THE CAUSE OF MAN’S DESTRUCTION?

IS DESIRE THE CAUSE OF MAN’S REBIRTH?

IS ANGER DEADLIER THAN FIRE?

IS GREED THE CAUSE OF MAN’S BONDAGE?

IS ATTACHMENT THE CAUSE OF SORROW?

IS BODY SUBJECT TO CHANGE AND PERISHABLE?

IS LOVE THE ONLY WAY TO REALISE GOD?

IS MAN GOD HIMSELF?

THINK YES AND YOU WILL NOT THINK AGAIN

YET IT IS THE BEGINNING OF THE AWARENESS OF EACH ONE OF US. SO PLEASE BEWARE,

AND BE AWARE, THAT LIFE IS FRAGILE, HANDLE IT WITH PRAYER.

OM SHANTHI SHANTHI SHANTHI

MORNING PRAYER

Oh Lord, I am born now from the womb of sleep. I am determined to carry out all

tasks this day as an offering to Thee, ever present before my mind’s eye. Make

my words, thoughts and deeds sacred and pure. Let me not inflict pain on anyone

and let no one inflict pain on me. Direct me, guide me this day.

EVENING PRAYER

Oh Lord, the tasks of this day, whose burden I placed on you, are over. It was

you, who made me walk, talk, think and act. I therefore place on Thy Lotus

Feet, all my words, thoughts and deeds. My task is done. Receive me. I am

coming back to you.

CONCLUDED

Source: www.geocities.com/priyasai108/cd/cd.htmM A HERZOG <mherzog3828 (AT) msn (DOT) com> wrote:

Dear Ram Lakhan,

 

You may want to check out: "Deathing, An Intelligent Alternative for the Final

Moments of Life" by Anya Foos-Graber.

 

This book is inspired by Swami, dedicated to Swami and covers His relevant

Teaching. the author also received an Interview with Swami.

 

Om Sai Ram

 

Amma

-

Ram Lakhan

saibabanews

Tuesday, June 22, 2004 2:46 PM

[saibabanews] Death, the inevitable

Dear Sai brothers and sisters:

Whatever is born must die Swami often tells us and I ponder over the days when

we shall all leave this body. However, does anyone have writings about the

topic of "death" specifically that Swami has eleborated about? I've only seen

pieces here and there; however, I would like to learn more about death as we

must prepare for the coming days when "Yaam" Maharaj will take us.

Aum Sri Sai Ram,

Ram Lakhan, CanadaPost your free ad now! Canada Personals