Newsletter Archives

Way to Die: The Central Message of the

Shrimad Bhagavatam

The material contained in this newsletter/article is owned by ExoticIndiaArt Pvt Ltd.

Reproduction of any part of the contents of this document, by any means, needs the prior permission of the owners.

Copyright © 2012, ExoticIndiaArt

 Way to Die: The Central Message of the
Shrimad Bhagavatam

Article of the Month - February 2012

It is well known in India that while the Ramayana teaches us how to

live, the Shrimad Bhagavatam instructs us on how to die. The text
itself is a blend of numerous inspiring stories intertwined together, the
outer core being formed by the story of king Parikshit. This king had
just been informed that he was destined to die within the next seven
days. This in a symbolic way explains our own existential position
since we too have to leave this world on any one of the seven days.
However, what was the king’s reaction on hearing the news? Did he
set out to protect his physical body in any way? No. On the contrary,
this is what he did:

‘King Parikshit regarded this as a blessing, since it gave him a reason

to detach himself from this world which had nothing more to offer him
now.’ (Shrimad Bhagavatam 1.19.4)

Then having decided that this world is worth rejecting, he renounced it

and realized that Bhakti towards Lord Krishna was the highest
objective of life. He thus sat down on
the banks of the River Ganga with a
vow to abstain from food till death.
Indeed, since this sacred river carries
the waters divine with the fragrance of
dust from the feet of Krishna, mixed as
it is with the pollen of the sacred plant Tulsi, which person about to
die will not resort to its holy banks? (1.19.5-6)

Thus King Parikshit was now sitting in a place of pilgrimage, with a

vow to fast till the inevitable came about. In the Garuda Purana, Lord
Krishna lauds such a gesture as follows:
"The man, who realizing his inevitable demise, dies by fasting, leaves
the human form and secures an effulgence equal to me. The person
who on realizing that he is suffering from an incurable disease
observes fast until death he never has to suffer again from disease,
and he reigns in heavens like a god. If a mortally sick man takes
Sannayasa he is relieved from the cycle of rebirth from this world full
of sorrows and afflictions. The one who during his last days forsakes
his sons, wealth etc, and takes recourse in a holy place, gains both
contentment and nourishment. In fact, if such a person, after
undertaking his vow, even dies before he has reached the holy place,
even then he gains a meritorious place amongst the great saints. If he
dies under the vow at his house, even then he goes straight to the
heavens. The person who during his last days, casts off food and
water, and drinks only the waters from my feet, he is not reborn on
this earth. The one who, on hearing of his imminent death, starts off
on pilgrimage, and does not indulge in any violence of any sort, with
each step gains a merit equal to the gift of a cow. What more is there
to say? The one who embraces his inevitable death by voluntarily
fasting, he gains an everlasting merit." (II.36.37)

What Happened Next?

Having decided to sit on the banks of Ganga and abstain from food (till
death), king Parikshit gave up all attachments, took the vows of a
Sannayasi and began to concentrate on the lotus feet of Lord Krishna.
At that very moment there arrived near king Parikshit a large number
of saints, along with their disciples. Actually the saints, under the
guise of going on a pilgrimage, purify the holy places themselves. All
of them approved and lauded the king’s action, who with folded hands
addressed them thus:

"Oh indeed I am the most blessed amongst all kings because I have
gained the favor of great saints like you. Alas, the race of kings is an
unworthy one since we have to neccessarily indulge in terrible actions
like inflicting punishment etc. It is Lord Krishna himself who has come
to me in the form of my imminent death, because the entire episode
has given rise to a complete detachment in a sinner like me, who
otherwise was extremely attached to his wife, house etc. This is
indeed a blessing because when confronted with such a situation, a
person becomes terrified leading to renunciation."

"May all the great Brahmins assembled here and also the river Ganga
know me as one who has taken refuge at the feet of the Lord. Let
death bite me to its satisfaction, you all please only go ahead and sing
to me the glories of Lord Krishna."

To this the saints replied:

"Oh the best amongst kings, since you belong to the race of Pandavas,
it is no surprise that in your desire to attain vicinity with Lord Krishna,
you have without a second thought vacated the mighty imperial
throne. We shall stay here now till you, the foremost devotee of Lord
Krishna, leave your mortal body and go the highest world which is free
from all suffering and afflictions."

The Appearance of the Guru

Even as this conversation was going on, there arrived at the spot, the
greatest amongst the great, the saint Shukadeva, son of Veda Vyasa.
The king venerated Shri Shukadeva, offered him a seat and himself
remained standing before him with bowed head, and said:

"Today we unworthy race of kings have been blessed by being

sanctified by your graceful presence. Please tell me what a person
should do when confronted with death?"

Shri Shukadeva replied:

"At the last stage of life, one should be bold enough not to be afraid of
death. But one must cut away all attachment to one’s body and
everything related to it (e.g. wife and children). With patience the
person should leave his house, bathe in the waters at a scared site,
and then sit on an asana as prescribed in the scriptures. He should
then start chanting mentally the sacred syllable OM, made up of the
three letters A, U, and M. He should regulate his breath and subdue
his mind. No even for a single moment should he forget OM. With the
help of his intelligence (buddhi), he should restrain his outgoing
senses and focus his distracting mind on the auspicious image of Lord
Krishna."

The entire sequence of Shri Shukadeva arriving to assist Parikshit in

his last days illustrates an important point: Everyone needs a Guru for
guidance. There is no hope of
deliverance without a Guru.
Therefore, one necessarily needs to
have a Guru. However, the search for
the Guru is not a physical one. It is
more of a preparation, and the day
you are prepared, the Guru suitable for you will appear. This is what
happened with king Parikshit. No sooner had he made the supreme
resolve, there arrived Shri Shukadeva to show him the way.

The Message behind King Parikshit’s Story

There is a remarkable consistency in the Shrimad Bhagavatam in as

much it reveals that our whole life should be an effort directed
towards improving our last moments. The first step in this is indeed
voluntarily giving up the home when the time is ripe and the children
have become responsible enough to take over the household. The
scriptures are clear that not for a moment should one then stay in the
house. Still, if the wife wants to stay with her children she can
continue to live with them, or if she wants she can accompany her
husband. However this may be, one thing is certain according to the
Shrimad Bhagavatam:

‘One should leave home, freed from all obligations of family etc, and
die at a time and place unknown to one’s relatives. Whether it be
through one’s own inner voice or through wisdom granted by others,
the wise person is one who becomes indifferent to material things and
leaves his home with Lord Krishna in his heart.’ (1.13.25)
This ideal is ideally exemplified in the conduct of Yudhishtra, the
eldest of the five Pandava brothers:

‘Having installed his grandson on the throne, Yudhishtra decided to go

away from material life. He gave up his silken garments and gold
ornaments, and became free of all possessions. He then internalized
his outward disposition, and clad himself in old, torn clothes. He
voluntarily became dumb, and with disheveled hair presented himself
as if he was a madman or a dullard. Then without waiting for anybody,
acting as if he was deaf, the once mighty king Yudhishtra set out from
his home towards the northern direction, traversing a path marked by
great men since time immemorial.’

‘His four younger brothers followed in the footsteps of Yudhishtra.

They too had resolved in their mind that it is the lotus-feet of Lord
Krishna which are the ultimate refuge for all, and therefore they
concentrated their hearts on the same. The resulting surge of devotion
totally cleansed their minds and they became established in the
Supreme State which can be gained only by those who have totally
washed away all their sins, and not by those still in the throes of
material attachments. Their beloved wife Draupadi too, having
realized that her husbands had lost interest in her, concentrated her
mind on Lord Krishna and attained to him.’ (1.15.37-50)

The Varnashrama Dharma

In the eternal Vedic social system, a man’s life is divided into four
stages:
1). Brahmacharya: This stage extends from the birth of a child to his
marriage after the completion of his studies. Brahmacharya means
complete celibacy, meaning that till one’s education is complete one
has to remain celibate.

2). Grihastha: Entering into the life of a householder. After completing

one’s education one has to get married and enjoy the material things
in life begetting children, so that the system of life as handed down to
us by our forefathers continues unbroken.
3). Vanaprastha: As soon as some young fellow from the family is
ready to take on the household affairs, one should at once retire from
family life to prepare oneself for spiritual upliftment. One is not
supposed to stumble in the dark alleys of household life till one is
forcefully dragged out by the will of death.

4). Sannayasa: Indeed, everyone’s life must be so arranged that in

the last stage of life, at least fifteen to twenty years prior to death,
one can be absolutely devoted to the contemplation of the
lotus feet of Lord Krishna. The first part of these last years
is formed by the Vanaprastha ashrama. The last part is
known as Sannayasa, where one has to give up absolutely
everything, except a small cloth to cover one’s private
parts. The final stage of Sannayasa is for exclusive and
concentrated meditation on the Supreme Essence illuminating
everything in this world.

Conclusion:

Even today in India we can see the first two ashramas, Brahmacharya
and Grihastha, being followed almost to the letter. However, we seem
to have forgotten the latter two stages of life, having got stuck in
extreme attachment to what we have acquired in these first two
stages. We must realize that while the first two are stages where we
acquire material things, the next two represent stages where we are
taught how to leave things. This is the crux of Vedic education. While
the modern system only teaches us how to ‘acquire’, our ancient
system instructs on also how to leave things in the right manner at
the correct time.
References & Further Reading:

Dogre, Shri Ramachandra Keshav. Shrimad Bhagavat Rahasya

(Collection of Discourses): Delhi.

G. P. Bhatt & J. L. Shastri (tr).The Bhagavata Purana (5 Volumes)

Delhi, 2002.

Saraswati, Swami Akhandananda (tr). Shrimad Bhagavata Purana (2

Volumes): Gorakhpur, 2004.

Shastri, J.L. (ed.).The Garuda Purana (3 Volumes) Delhi, 2007.

Swami Prabhupada, A.C. Bhaktivedanta. Srimad Bhagavatam: Mumbai.

This article by Nitin Kumar.

We hope you have enjoyed reading the article. Any comments you may have will be
greatly appreciated. Please send your feedback to feedback@exoticindia.com.

Copyright © 2012, ExoticIndiaArt