Yes. Even though death is the only thing in this world which
is a real truth, which cannot be stopped
from arriving in spite of closed gates and changed address, which you cannot
evade, which you cannot refuse to take delivery of, yet most of us are afraid
of and are not prepared to welcome death. We think that we have drunk a
bucketful of Amrita (the nectar), we
will not die so early and finish this and that item of household responsibility
within our life time. These are the things cooking inside of almost all of us.
(These lines are addressed to my age-group i.e. senior citizens.)
We have a long wish list for not only our
spouse and children but their spouses and children and so on. We are worried
for the assets and wealth which we are
physically unable to enjoy with, unaware of the five letter word which has
started its journey and may arrive any day any moment without ringing the door
bell, we welcome it or not.
As per our
ancient Indian tradition, human life was divided in four spans (Ashrams) of 25
years each. We are passing through one of the last two spans i.e. Vanprastha
and Sanyasa. My guru Swami Satyananda, (Munger/Rikhia) has very clearly defined
these Ashrams in the present context. Vanprastha & Sanyasa Ashrams do not
mean settlement in an isolated forest or total renunciation. Instead, keeping
with present times, at this juncture of life we should start gradual detachment
from our worldly responsibilities and start doing some Nishkam Seva (selfless
service).
If
you are lucky to get guidance of some Sadguru (not only guru), he can guide you
how to perform some Karma yoga, in the service of your vicinity and society.
You might have realised by now that as you gain age and lose income, emotional
bond of other family members with you, being practical, starts loosening. We
know very well that there is gap of at least one generation between our time
and this time, and we cannot change the things altogether to suit our views
about the life, but still we try to impose our wishes and values on our juniors
in family. We wish the same attitude and lifestyle of entire family as of our
own. This is the root cause of conflict. This conflict aggravates not due to
living together but due to our own dictatorial attitude.
Under these circumstances the best way to
pass the rest of the life peacefully is to develop “Sakshi Bhav” i.e. to see
the happenings around us just like a witness, without physical or mental
involvement. This is not as easy as to read or to listen but with a very simple
practice of meditation or awareness on breathing this can be achieved.
Sit comfortably in any sitting
posture with eyes closed for say, fifteen minutes. Let yourself breathe in a
very natural way without any extra effort. Just start counting inhalation and
exhalation as one unit. Try to see the passing in and passing out of your
breathe through your nostrils. Continue this practice as long as comfortable
every morning and evening. This practice, done regularly at a fixed time shall help developing Sakshi Bhav gradually.
This is also an indirect way of realising
and worshiping the Almighty, the Brahman. Breathing is confirmative test of existence
of life i.e. Jeevatma, which is integral part of Brahman. So if you meditate on breath, you meditate on
Brahman, the God. The Sakshi Bhav shall make you watch the unpleasant
happenings around you just like another episode of a TV serial which does not
affect your mind and soul so much.
In the Bhagwat Gita, Lord Krisna has said a
lot about continuity of soul through one body to the another. If we have faith
in Him, we should welcome death as an entry door to next birth and as an opportunity
to lead a much better life in future. However, to minimise the negative impact
of the vacuum likely to be created after your death, following points may be
considered by all of us.
(1)Write down your ‘will’ as early as possible, preferably with consensus
in the family and get it registered. If there are chances of dispute, do it
secretly as you deem fit and hand it over to some trusted person. If some of
your wards are not responsible by nature, you can form a Trust of your assets
to ensure welfare of their children. Try to transfer maximum assets during your
life time.
(2) Fill up the forms for donation of your eyes and other organs to govt.
agency and make sure that after your demise your family honours it.
(3)Recheck the nomination status of your bank accounts, lockers, D-mat
accounts etc. and if any ambiguity found, get it corrected.
(4)During journeys, always keep list of your relatives in the area you
are passing through, with their contact details handy with your baggage and in
the wallet.
(5)Always pray and thank God for giving such a nice human body for such a
long time and assure Him about your resolve to help His other creatures and
conservation of his creations in your next birth.
These actions may lead to reduce the pain of death considerably for you
and the family. This is in reality, conquering death! ------
B. L. Gupta
blguptaa@gmail.com
