Death, I Embrace

Death, be not proud ….death thou shalt die?

John Donne

One born shall die. One dead shall be born. Don’t grieve over what’s certain

Krishna, Bhagavad Gita?

Most of us would rather run as far as we can from death. Why embrace it? How strange? Is that even possible?

Nachiketa, a young boy, embraced death. When his wealthy father was giving away old cows, . Nachiketa, wise beyond his years, asks,’ why are you giving away these creatures which are useless to those who need help?’ As his father turns to him in anger, Nachiketa asks, ‘who will you donate me to?’ Father, now furious, says, ‘to death I offer you.’?Kathopanishad is Nachiketa’s tale. This Upanishad explores the meaning of life and death.

Nachiketa does not wait to be given away. He travels to the abode of Yama, deity of death. Yama is away and Nachiketa waits three days. Upon his return, Yama sees the young lad and is contrite. ‘I offer you 3 boons for the 3 days I made you wait’ Yama says. Nachiketa’s first request was that when he returns his father should receive him in love. ‘So be it’ says Yama. Nachiketa’s second request was to be trained in the fire sacrifice, yagna, which leads to heaven. Again, Yama says, ‘so be it, and this sacrifice from now shall be known in your name.’ ‘Now, what’s your third request?’ asks Yama.

‘Some say that we exist after death. Some say we don’t. Please tell me the truth,’ asks Nachiketa.?

‘The mystery of death is not known to even the gods’ says Yama ‘ask me anything else, not this.’ Yama offers Nachiketa multiple options of wealth, fame, progeny and fulfilment. Nachiketa stays firm, and in the end, Yama yields. Yama’s response is the theme of Kathopanishad, a boon which when understood, will dispel the fear of death forever. Here are some nuggets of wisdom from Kathopanishad.

You are not the body. You do not die when the body dies.

You are the energy of Self.

Realize that energy.?

Self is all knowing. It was never born. It will never die.?

The Self cannot be taught or learnt or achieved through rituals and prayers. It chooses to reveal itself to those who choose to realize it.?

It’s in your heart.?

Your heart must be pure.?

There is the self of your ego, of I, me and mine.?

There is the Self above, the Atman, of the individual Self, and Brahman, the collective.

Still your senses to mindlessness, renounce desires, open your heart.?

Of the multiple energy pathways from your heart, one rises to the crown. That leads you to immortality, all others to death.

This message of Yama from Kathopanishad was echoed by Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita in another context. Krishna’s advice to Arjuna, the warrior, on the battlefield where the Bhagavad Gita was delivered, is interpreted as instructions to Arjuna to follow his dharma. It’s more than that.

In the battlefield, Arjuna lays down his weapons, refusing to fight his kinsmen and elders. Krishna tells him, ‘I have created and destroyed these people in front of us many times before and will do so in future. I ask you in your duty as a warrior, fighting on the side of good against evil, to be brave and destroy them.’?

The Dharma of a warrior is to kill, if that’s unavoidable in the context of larger good. The Dharma of a business person to create wealth, which when unavoidable may erode someone else’s wealth. These are dilemmas of life, which one needs to resolve with one’s own freedom of action and svadharma. Sometimes, these actions violate principles of truth and non-violence.?

My belief is that with this example, Krishna was delivering a message of acceptance without guilt and fear. He was also delivering a message about the impermanence of life.?

In another verse of the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says, ’At death you exchange your clothes for another new set. The new set that you wear will reflect the essence of your last desires you left behind in the old ones.’??

When we leave this body with desires, and almost all of us do, we return to fulfil them. That is the result of past karma, with desires becoming part of one’s dharma and the prarabda karma, for the next birth. One who completely disengages and renounces all desires, including that of the next breath, leaves this body free of desires. Such people perform actions with no expectation of an outcome to benefit themselves. They accept whatever happens with gratitude. They do not return as matter, since they have already burnt the clothes they wore. They stay in the energy state. This is the Moksha every spiritual seeker aspires.??

A meaningful story from the Mahabharata, in which Krishna delivers the Bhagavad Gita. Karna, is the eldest brother of the 5 Pandava princes who Krishna supports, and was separated at birth. Duryodhana, eldest of the 100 Kaurava brothers and the King, who waged war with the Pandava, accepted Karna as a friend and anointed him as the king of one of his regions. Karna was known to be compassionate and giving, never thinking about his own needs, focused on serving his King. Towards the end of the war, Krishna guides Arjuna to kill Karna. The night before the battle, Krishna disguises himself as a poor brahmin and asks Karna to donate to him all his divine powers, as well as the good karma he had earned in life doing good. Karna obliges, perhaps knowing he will die. Krishna is asked later, why he plotted Karna’s death and took away all his protection and good karma. Krishna says, ’Karna’s good deeds stood in his way to Moksha. I had to take them away to grant him a birthless future his energy deserved.’?

Essence of another Mahabharata tale: Yudhishtra, the Pandava prince, is asked by Yama, his father appearing in disguise, ‘what is it that you find very strange in human behaviour?’. Yudhishtra responds, ‘We see people dying around us every day, yet each of us wishes to be immortal,’

I can go on. Death is my subject of passion. It’s the only constant amongst change. Get used to it. Embrace it. I leant it from Bhagavan Ramana.?

When we embrace death we start living , free of fear, in joy, gratitude and acceptance. Krishna in his Creator image on top reminds us that we were in existence, are in existence, and will always be in existence.

Please do write in, resonant or dissonant. Let’s have a conversation.?

Ram is co-founder and mentor at Coacharya?https://coacharya.com . Ram's focus is integration of Eastern wisdom with modern science, spiritually, systemically and sustainably.