Some thoughts on the Ultimate Reality

A couple of days back someone I know stated that he will possibly die the next day. The person had had a minor accident which was the provocation to such a thought. This conversation set me thinking.?

My mother often used to tell me that she may die very soon. Most of the time this was a kind of threat to make me behave, when I was being disobedient.? Since that was a time when I was a child it used to create a panic in me. My mother lived till a ripe old age of 93. Unfortunately she was completely bedridden in the last few years of her life and her son had to take care of all her bodily needs. On the other hand my father never talked about death. He left his body in the most divine manner fully aware of his last moments.

Death is one aspect of our life in this universe which is seldom spoken about. In most communities it’s almost a taboo. However, if there is one certainty in our journey, it is the arrival at a destination which is visible in the act of separation from the body.?

In the scriptures there is a prayer which goes as follows:

Anyasena Maranam

(May I have a painless death)

Vina Dynyena Jeevanam

(May I never become a burden on anyone)

Dehaanthe’ Tava Saanidhyam

(May I die in your presence)

Dehime’ Parameswaram?

(Grant me this prayer oh Sankara)

As I see the statistics on longevity, I realise that the length has gone up but the standard of living as per the prayer is going down. More and more people are keeping themselves alive through medication which is ensuring that the overmedicated body remains ill and possibly bedridden but alive till a ripe old age. The mind also remains frightened.

Then there are many who are extremely body conscious and take great care of the body. More often than not most of them forget to focus on keeping the mind healthy.?

Thrikarna Suddhi may ensure healthy longevity. However, longevity may not be important for a person of wisdom. Some of the wisest have lived short and highly meaningful lives.

Coming back to what I have seen and experienced through other people. There may be time in our lives when we need to contemplate on our lives and on our lives as we leave this costume. There is no perfect time or age for this. For each one of us this will be different and will depend on our stage in tour evolution. As I said earlier many a wise persons have left early and many wise ones like Mother Teresa lived a long life before departing from this physical world.?

Most of us tend to live life without any thought of the next phase. That is when we remain attached to the world and our worldly experiences. In such a situation, physical health becomes a cause of grave concern. The moment we have the slightest of a problem we run to the workshop expecting the mechanics called doctors to rejuvenate us back to our youth. Nature teaches us in every way possible that the cycle of birth and decay of the costume is natural. We are guided by the scriptures in all religions on this. Since the separation of the body from ourSelves is considered a loss we tend to ignore all such lessons till life teaches this with some hard examples and experiences.?

If we are most fortunate we are able to get guidance of a Guru who is verily GOD, having taken on a costume to help those who are ready for such help. This guidance will surely create the virakthi required for treading on this path. However even as such guidance is made available to all, very few are able to detach themselves to benefit from the Guru’s teaching. Many a times, we get impacted by the paraphernalia that apparently surrounds the Guru and get caught in it.?

Remaining in the awareness of this ultimate reality is in itself a blessing for it keeps us alert while living in this ephemeral world.

These words are just flowing through this mind.