Extract of Die before Dying by HH Bhakti Tirtha Swami Maharaj(As

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"Giriraj Swami" <> View Contact Details

"Radhabhava Gaura dasa"

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Die Before Dying

Sat, 18 Jun 2005 14:05:53 -0700

 

 

My dear Devotees,

 

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to

Srila Prabhupada.

 

Below is a glimpse into His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha

Swami Maharaja's new

book

"Die Before Dying."

 

Thank you. Hare Krishna.

 

Yours in service to Srila Prabhupada,

Giriraj Swami

 

----------------------

 

"Die Before Dying"

 

 

Just as there is life, there is death. Someone or

something takes

birth,

grows, stays for some time, deteriorates, and then

dies. Another name

for

birth is death. You cannot have one without the other,

meaning that

when

someone is born, someone will soon die (because most

species do not

live

very long); and when someone dies, someone is soon

born. Everyone and

everything in its normal state wants to live as long

as

possible--eternally.

Eternality, however, is not associated with matter,

but is a spiritual

affair. Death to matter and to our material bodies is

inevitable, but

if we

master the science of dying before dying, we will

connect with that

which is

eternal--our soul and its home in the spiritual world.

After all, death

is

to remove everything false and secondary.

 

My mother, who is deceased, often used to say, "Give

me my flowers

while I

can still see them." As I child, I thought of it as

strange, but as an

adult, I thought of it as a sign of wisdom. My mother

understood the

body to

be transient and she celebrated life--"the

now"--realizing that one

must

show their love and affection for life at every

moment. Our life or the

lives of others will be taken away in the near future.

If one lives

with

proper preparation and detachment, one will master the

science of dying

before dying so as to connect with the soul and its

home--the spiritual

world. After all, death is to remove e verything false

and secondary.

 

When we die before dying, we put first things first.

The activities

that

nourish our souls and help us detach from the illusion

and confusion of

material culture are our priorities. Since we know

that life is meant

to

prepare for a glorious death, we can live each day as

if it is our

last.

Therefore, there is no time to waste on irrelevant,

superfluous

activities.

Even when we must give time to somewhat superficial

things, it must be

done

in a way that enhances or strengthens the primary,

significant

involvements.

If one lives with proper preparation and detachment,

one will master

the

science of dying before dying so as to connect with

the soul and its

home--

the spiritual world. After all, death is to remove

everything false and

secondary.

 

There are so many offenses that can be made in

devotional services. It

is

these offenses that are our greatest enemy. Devotional

service is

extremely

potent, but offenses can stagnate our spiritual growth

very seriously

and

can even destroy the devotional creeper. Offenses are

activities that

try to

redirect our consciousness back to previous sinful

life or that serve

as

barriers to our unfoldment. Offenses are like a town

courier who

delivers an

urgent message designed to distract the individual

from his or her

relevant

and important activities. When one stops making

offenses, one will live

with

proper preparation and detachment. One will master the

science of dying

before dying so as to connect with the soul and its

home--the spiritual

world. After all, death is to remove everything false

and secondary.

 

So many people have cheated, disappointed, lied,

manipulated, and even

abused us. When we reflect on the experience, it is as

if we relive it

again. Such experiences have definitely shaped us in

various ways. Many

of

these abusers and cheaters have traumatized us. In

some cases, they

have

scarred us for life. The normal position is for the

hurt or abused to

seek

revenge and severely punish the offender. It is easier

to do but will

not

fully resolve the problem. What is important is for

forgiveness to be

the

major means of addressing such problems. If one lives

with proper

preparation and detachment, one will master the

science of dying before

dying so as to connect with the soul and its home--the

spiritual world.

After all, death is to remove everything false and

secondary.

 

Most people have special friends they would like to

meet, places they

would

like to visit, and experiences they would like to

have. When we meet,

know,

or associate with important people, it makes us more

important, at

least in

the eyes of others. When we can travel to many

exciting places, life

seems

to be more adventurous. Most important, when we can

have many exciting

experiences, life seems more meaningful. We are all

pleasure seekers

and are

always eager to experience pleasure. But the true

spiritualist does not

get

overwhelmed by these concerns for he understands the

temporary and even

illusory nature of the world. If one lives with proper

preparation and

detachment, one will master the science of dying

before dying so as to

connect with the soul and its home--the spiritual

world. After all,

death is

to remove everything false and secondary.

 

Sometimes we are so busy doing things and even doing

things for those

we

love that we don’t have time to be with them, show

them, or tell them

how

much we love them. Sometimes others are so busy doing

things and doing

things for us that they also have no time to be with

us, show us, or

tell us

how much they love us. However, if we truly understand

how this life is

a

preparation for death, we will always have time to

give and receive

love.

 

When someone dies, much of the sadness usually comes

from a lack of

sufficient closure in the relationships. There is

something we wanted

to

tell them or do with them, and there is something they

wanted to tell

us or

do with us. Each party has a tendency to procrastinate

on or minimize

the

important opportunities and moments. Especially when a

person lives

solely

for eating, sleeping, mating, and defending, or when

he or she is

captured

by a very strong false ego, there is a tendency to

miss opportunities

to be

fully present. The person misses the chance to say or

do what will best

honor other people’s highest needs as well as blocks

the chance for

others

to honor his or her needs.

 

Quality association is most important. Where there is

quality

association,

one is always either learning something or teaching

something. Such

association is based on being with those who also are

determined to end

the

cycle of birth, disease, old age, and death. With

quality association,

one

understands that just as there is life, there is

death. So one acts

with the

knowledge that life is for self-realization, and that

death, which is

inevitable for matter and the material body, is not

associated with the

soul. We must die to live! That comes as we accept the

inevitability of

destruction and elimination of all matter. We can then

honor the deaths

that

have happened and those that are manifesting, knowing

that they can

prepare

the way for eternal life.

 

The true spiritualist profoundly appreciates my

mother’s statement,

"Give me

my flowers while I can see them." For, once the body

is gone, the soul

departs for its new encounter; therefore, it is

important to say and do

whatever is best for all now! Where we have made

offenses, we must stop

them

and ask for forgiveness now! While we have people to

meet, places to

visit,

and experiences to have, we must put first things

first, understanding

the

differences between what is temporary and what is

eternal now! We must

allow

every day of our lives to represent healthy closure

now! When we live

for

love, this is most natural, because all of our

associations will be

quality

associations in which we share our compassion,

determination, and

realizations, and receive the same from others.

 

This is the technology of how to celebrate life now

and live with

proper

preparation and detachment, so that one will master

the science of

dying

before dying so as to connect with the soul and its

home--the spiritual

world. After all, death is to remove everything false

and secondary.

 

I am that lowly beggar who is desperately trying to

die before dying.

 

--His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami Maharaja

 

 

 

 

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