One thing to note that whenever there is death of a big industrialist , businessman a lot of talk happens in newspapers, social media about their achievements, education, upbringing, schedules, net worth, will, home, adventures etc.
But the question remains. How many rupees, how much properties, how many connections, how much education will that person take with him after his/her death?
“Can you imagine how much pain, helplessness & agony a person experiences at the time of death?!”
Take example of Ratan Tata. He left Rs 350 crores just in fixed deposit. Lots more in terms of possessions. Just imagine – Even if some small possession such as a watch, a costly pen is lost, how much restless & pained we become! What to speak of leaving crores behind!
The sastras says that the pain at the time of death is equivalent to 40,000 scorpions biting at once. And for those who accumulate more than needed anyways cannot enjoy more than their physical or mental body supports (Srila Prabhupada used to say, “We can eat at max 4 – 5 chapatis & need a few feet space to sleep… not that we if earn and accumulate more so we can eat 100 chapatis!”) they have to leave more during the final hour … sometimes even earlier. (https://youtube.com/shorts/mvVonz4B-OE?feature=shared)
The more one accumulates, the more one suffers, because the more one’s possessions are striped off by the cruel hands of time.
This is a famous line in Srimad Bhagavatam. Pasyann api na pasyati.
dehāpatya-kalatrādiṣv
SB 2.1.4
ātma-sainyeṣv asatsv api
teṣāṁ pramatto nidhanaṁ
paśyann api na paśyati
Everyone is seeing how the big giants of this world are defeated & are put to the sword of death, leaving everything behind still we turn a blind eye.
THe Bhagavad Gita tells us that the real problems of life are janma, mrityu, jara & vyadhi. A person who sees this, is in true knowledge (Bhagavad Gita 13.8-12).
So the question is, should we just live in an apprehension of death? Should we just surrender to this harsh reality of this world?
Also is earning money bad? Should we leave behind our responsibilities and jump into a spiritual quest? All these and more in the next article
Reflections on life 