Death and Meaning of Life in Upanishads
(Compilation for a discourse by N.R. Srinivasan, Nashville, USA, January 15, 2020)
Death is not the end of the world. Death is a way of taking birth in a new form and starting life again. Because death happens to the body and not the soul, so soul always moves on. Until you attain Nirvana or exhausted all papa and punya and become free from the cycle of life and death, till then you have to keep taking birth.
FOWAI FORUM (INDIA) AND STEP (USA) invited us to join the WEBINAR-215--Death and meaning of life in Upanishads to be presented by Dr. Pankaj Basotia, on Sunday, January 16, 2022. In this context it is advisable to go through the relevant slokas in MNU and a detailed rendering of this topic by Durga Prasada Rao, researching from various Indian scriptures, given below:
Gist of Presentation by FOWAI: Death and meaning of Life in Upanishads--Upanishads are famous for the spiritual knowledge and wisdom they offer to mankind in general, but this knowledge and wisdom is often considered as other worldly, abstruse and highly mystical. Therefore, out of reach for most of the common people. This presentation, in contrast to the above belief, tries to demonstrate how the Upanishadic quest is related to the fears, anxieties and other universal concern of human be.
Let us go through first what Mahanarayana Upanishad talks about death and its cycle:
Ye te sahasramayu pāśā mṛtyo martyāya hantave | tān yajñasya māyayā sarvānavayajāmahe
O Death, those thousand and ten
thousand snares which thou hast laid for slaying man, all of them we remove by
the power of our deeds of worship!
The word death is used
in different connected senses. It’s most concrete shape is the termination of
physical existence marked by stoppage of breath, consciousness and bodily
functions. The force that brings about this is personified as Death.
The duration of life on this
earth is determined by the merits and dements accruing from a man’s deeds. This
is the view of the scriptures.
The god of Death adjudges each
person according to his deserts and limits the duration of his life on the
earth. Evil thoughts and deeds, errors of passion and temperament, sickness and
suffering—all these are snares laid by Death to entrap unwary man.
Further, ignorance,
carelessness, remissness, insatiable craving and harmful propensities are also
listed among the army of Death.
Śiva, the auspicious God, is
described as the greatest yogin, for, he has overcome the army of Death.
Therefore He, the Auspicious Lord, is called Antakāntaka.
For the devotees of God, the way
to escape from the meshes of Death, said above, lies in the power of
worshipping Him—the performance of prescribed duties to God properly and in the
right spirit. This is perhaps what is implied by the phrase yajñasya māyayā or
by the power of worship.
Vedāntavijñānaviniścitārthāḥ saṁnyāsayogādyatayaḥ śuddhasattvāḥ te brahmaloke tu parāntakāle parāmṛtāḥ parimucyanti sarve ..
Having attained the Immortality
consisting of identity with the Supreme, all those aspirants who strive for
self-control, who have rigorously arrived at the conclusion taught by the
Vedanta through direct knowledge, and who have attained purity of mind through
the practice of the discipline of yoga and steadfastness in the knowledge of
Brahman preceded by renunciation, get themselves released into the region of
Brahman at the dissolution of their final body.
According to Śrī Śaṅkarācārya, the goal of Vedānta is Paramātma-vijñāna or Self-Realization. The
central theme of this verse is that this knowledge is attained through inner
purity gained by taking to sannyāsa
and yoga.
Sannyāsa implies renouncing worldly
and religious work and preferring to remain forever steadfastly in the
consciousness of Brahman. This is also yoga.
Those who perpetually strive to
keep this spiritual state are called Yatis.
The last moment of life is
called antakāla, end-time. Souls
fated to rebirth confront antakāla
repeatedly, but the soul that is illumined by the wisdom of Vedānta takes his
last birth, and consequently he meets with his para-antakāla, final end-time.
The same author explains brahmalokeṣu in the
plural from the view-point of many liberated souls who all merge into one
Brahman.
The word parāmṛtāḥ denotes
the attainment of Immortality while one is living on the earth, and the verb parimucyanti implies the
merging of the individual Self then and there, at the time of death, into the
Supreme Self, without leaving a trace of separate individuality—-just as the
birds flying across the sky do not leave any footprint there or the fish moving
in water leave no trail of a path.
With attainment of illumination
the aspirant becomes parāmṛtāḥ and at
the fall of the body he becomes paramukta, no
more to be born again.
How yoga (योग), adhyātma (अध्यात्म) and brahmavidyā (ब्रह्मविद्या) all three are concerned with the same issue of “how can man
overcome the anxiety and fear of death? How can one attain immortality?”
THE UPANISHADS ON DEATH AND BEYOND
Dr. Durga Prasada Rao,Center for Consciousness Studies, Dayalbagh Educational
Institute, India.
The concept of death is a mysterious aspect, daunting humanity
from time immemorial. Even the mere mention of this word 'death' makes
one to tremble. It causes great anxiety, creates unbearable fear in the minds
of every one. Though man is aware of the unavoidable nature of
death, is still afraid of facing it for he thinks that it is the end of everything.
But all this is due to the wrong understanding of the concept. The fear,
caused by wrong understanding of a particular concept is removed when it is
properly understood. Death, according to general understanding, is
the permanent cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living
organism. And if we define death in terms of consciousness, the living organism
can be said to have died when consciousness ceases to exist. In the
absence of consciousness, the body is simply a lump of inert matter. So it is
very essential to understand the nature of death to overcome the
fear.
The role played by the Upanishads in analyzing the nature of death
is unique and appealing, only some of the important aspects are
however focused which give solace to the departed soul as well as
the relatives of the departed soul. . The Upanishads, also known as
Vedanta are the concluding portions of the Vedas. They are the essence, the
cream, the culmination of the Vedic Philosophy. Being esoteric in nature they
deal with the principles of creation nature of the ultimate reality relation
between individual soul and Supreme Soul, Dissolution of the world, goal of
life and so on. The word Upanishad is derived from the root 'shad' and
the two prefixes upa and ni which together
mean the guru's proximity. It is a curious fact that Upanishad is also derived
from the root 'shad' meaning gati, the movement, as it leads the
listener to the highest goal which is realization of Self. There is still another meaning for the
same root 'shad' – destruction of the innate ignorance of man
that causes fear of birth , old age and death and leading him to
enlightenment and the Upanishadic salvation. Upanishads being the
quintessence of Vedic knowledge and wisdom, combined philosophy with experience
and have been influencing human mind for the last several centuries by paving
the way for transcendence from humanity to divinity.- According to
them, death is not the complete cessation of one's existence.
Our Sastras, by suggesting a philosophical way
out, warn us not to be afraid of death. Oh fool! Why are you
afraid of death? Do you think that Yama, the God of death will spare you even
if you are afraid? But it is certain that he will not catch hold
of an unborn. Therefore, try not to be born again in this world.
मृत्यो: बिभॆषि किं मूढ! भीतं मुंचति वै यम: | अजातं नैव गृह्णाति कुरु यत्नमजन्मनि ||
Mrutyorbibheshi kim mudha nbhitam munchati vai Yamah
Ajatam naiva grhnati kuru yatnamajanmani
Here the word Ajanmani i.e., birthlessness
constitutes three aspects:
1.
The realization of the inevitable
nature of death
2.
Proper understanding of the nature of
death
3.
Belief in the permanent existence of
soul.
The word' Mrityu ' which means death is used
several times in the Upanishads. Isavasya Upanishads declares that those who
devote themselves both to the Knowledge of mundane (worldly) and supra- mundane
(knowledge of the ultimate reality); by the knowledge of world
they overcome death and by knowledge of ultimate Reality they attain
immortality.
विद्यां चाविद्यां च यस्तद्वेदोभयं तथा
For the proper understanding of the nature of death, both
worldly and other worldly knowledge is essential. Hence, it is said in the
Mundakopanishad that there are two kinds of Vidya para and apara.
Para is Supra-mundane while apara is mundane and both are
equally worthy of acquit ion as the supreme function of them bring relief from
the worldly entanglements and leads to the realization of Atman
while Aparavidya enables one to acquire knowledge of the
physical world.
द्वे विद्ये
वेदितव्ये इति ह स्म यद्वद्ब्रह्मविदो वदन्ति परा चैवापरा च | तत्रापरा ऋग्वेदो यजुर्वेद: सामवेदोSधर्ववेद: शिक्षा कल्पो व्याकरणं निरुक्तं छन्दो
ज्योतिषमिति | अथ परा यया तदक्षरमधिगम्यते| (५)
By this it is evident that the knowledge of both is necessary to
overcome the fear of death and to attain immortality. The discussion about
death, at length, is found in the Katha Upanishad. Nachiketa,
cursed by his father Vajasaneya reached the abode of Yama. He was bestowed with
three boons by Yama, and Nachiketa asked Yama to explain the nature of death as
the third boon.
He asks: When a man dies, there is this doubt; some say that this
Atman continues after death; some say that it ceases to be. I would like to
know the truth taught by you.. This is the third of my boons. Then, Yama to divert
his attention, told him that it was very difficult to understand even to gods.
Since the truth regarding death is subtle, Yama asked Nachiketa
to choose some other boon instead. But Nachiketa insisted to explain
that knowledge as it was very difficult to understand, and there was no
better teacher than him to expound of it and nothing
else was equal to that knowledge. Yama again tried his
best to divert the attention of the boy by granting a number of worldly
pleasures such as long life, wealth and worldly comforts, but all his attempts
were in vain. Ultimately, Nachiketa's inquisitiveness and firm
determination that ' No other boon this Nachiketa will ask made
Yama pleased at heart and he explained the secret
of death. The knowledge of the secret of death constitutes three aspects.
I.
WHAT IS BORN MUST DIE:
The general dictum Jatasya maranam dhruvam explains
that death is inevitable to a person who is born. An allegorical expression
about death depicts the same thing very interestingly.
There is a cage like body of which all the nine doors
are open. There is dwelling an air like bird. It is
surprising how it is still surviving and nothing to surprise if it goes off.
उद्घाटितनवद्वारे
पंजरे विहगो sनिल: यत्तिष्ठति तदाश्चर्यं प्रयाणे विस्मय: कुत: (Udbhatacharya's poem)
Nachiketa has already an idea about the transitory nature of
life. He, without any fear, responded to the curse of his father by
requesting not to repent over it and also added that like corn, a man ripens
and falls to the ground; like corn, he springs up again in his season.
अनुपश्य यथा
पूर्वे प्रतिपश्य तथा परे सस्यमिव मर्त्य: पच्यते सस्यमिवाजायते पुन:( कठ उपनिषद्१/६)
The unavoidability of death is stressed in the Bhagavadgita also
which is also considered to be the quintessence of the Upanishads. Lord krishna
speaks to Arjuna.
He says: one that is born death is certain and certain is birth
for the one that has died. Therefore for what is unavoidable, thou should not
grieve.
जातस्य हि
धृवो मृत्यु: धृवं जन्म
मृतस्य च तस्मादपरिहार्यॆsर्थे न त्वं शोचितुमर्हसि (II-27)
On some other occasion also Krishna
consoles Arjuna by explaining the nature of death. Arjuna! Everything in
this world is created for a purpose. The movement the pus pose is
served it is not needed any more. . It is even so with men. Each man is
set on this strange eventful journey called life. He has been sent
into this world with a purpose. Once that purpose is served, the earth has
no more need of him. It is the case with all of us, even me. I have
created myself on this earth for a purpose. It is not yet over. Something still
remains. The moment it is finished, I will die too, and so will you and your
dear brothers. Do not grieve.
In Dhammapada it is said “Not in the sky nor in the depths of
ocean nor having entered caverns of the mountains, nay such a place is not to
be found in the world where a man may dwell without being overpowered by death.
Many parables are also there in our literature to explain this truth.
Mahabharata went to the extent of ridiculing the peculiar mind
set of the people who thinks that life is permanent even though the witness
the death of every living in every movement. Yudhisthira, being asked by
Yaksha whether there is any amazing thing in the world replies that
every moment , some body somewhere is breathing his last ; yet the wonder
of wonders is that who are alive for the moment feel as though they are
assured of their lives.
अहन्यहनि
भूतानि गच्छन्ति यममन्दिर | मन्ये शाश्वतमिच्छन्ति
किमाश्चर्यमत:परम्
So it is necessary to realize the
certainty of death.
II DEATH IS LIFE AND
LIFE IS DEATH:
As rightly pointed out by the
French Philosopher Pierre Chandain “ we are not physical beings having
spiritual experiences but spiritual beings having physical experiences”.
But man, being attached to mundane objects, ignores one's own
divine nature and confines himself to the physical domain. It is our bounden
duty to realize our true nature to uplift the humanity. The idea of life in
this world actually being a death is no means new.
The Greek Philosopher and mystic,
Heraclitus (c.535-475 BCE) , clearly fond of the word play
Suggested by the idea, wrote: Our life is death and
our death life.
(Heraclitus, in golden verses of Pythagoras, 52-53,
HVPp 105)
He went to the extent of saying
that life in this world, though it is called life, is in fact spiritual death.
The metaphorical expression of him sounds this ide
The name of the bow (bios) is
life (bios), but its work is death.
(Heraclitus, Fragment, 115, HPWp.91) A treasury of
Mystic Terms, 6.2 p 160-161.
Upanishads state that death is
the real state of one's own existence and it is the natural state while life is
artificial. According to Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj a yogi, Death is a
change in the living process of a particular body. Integration ends and
disintegration sets in. In the Mahabharata, when Arjuna was grieving over the
sad demise of his son Abhimanyu, Krishna sought to disabuse his mind
in the following way: Oh Arjuna! This boy, whom you are claiming as your son,
came down in to life from an unseen metaphysical realm. He has now gone back to
that realm. He does not belong to you, even as you don't belong to him. What is
the good of your wailing over a matter, over which you have no control?
अदृश्यात्स समुद्भूत: पुनश्चादृश्यतां गत:? | नाsसौ तव न
तस्य त्वं कुतो हि परिदॆवना?
Kalidasa also expressed the same
view when Aja, the son of Raghu was wailing over the death of his wife Indumati.
It is said that we are in an unnatural state while in life and death reinstates
us to our natural state. So man is expected to be satisfied with whatever span
of life he lives and he should not grieve over death, because it is
his natural state.
मरणं प्रकृति: शरीरिणां विकृतिर्जीवितमुच्यते बुधै: | क्षणमप्यतिष्ठते श्वसन्यदि जन्तुर्ननु
लाभवानसौ| (रघुवंश:/
Canto VIII/87.).
Johann Gottlieb Fitchte (
1762-1814), the German philosopher, who lived several centuries after Kalidasa
of the same view who opined that “ what we call life is perhaps death, and what
we call death takes us back to the realm from which we are shot down to this
life.
DEATH
IS FOR THE BODY NOT FOR SOUL
In the Katha Upanishad, Yama
explains Nachiketa, in a nutshell that the man who has the knowledge of Atman
neither takes birth nor dies. Because Atman has neither cause nor effect.
It is unborn, permanent and eternally remains the same
न जायते म्रियते वा विपश्चि न्नायं
कुतश्चिन्न बभूव कश्चित् |
अजो नित्य: शाश्वतोSयं
पुराणो न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे|| (२/१६)
SEEING
PLURALITY IS ALSO DEATH:
According to the Upanishads,
Consciousness which is one without a second, is the primary and
fundamental aspect of Reality. It is both empirical and
transcendental. The entire universe is cradled in consciousness which arises
where there is perfect order and harmony. It plays different roles in
different states of human life and beyond. The states such as
waking, dreaming, deep sleep are obvious and mundane and the
fourth state, also known as Turiya is
extra-ordinary hence it is supra- mundane. The conscious Self in
waking state is called Vishva, a
gross enjoyer of external objects; in dream
state, it is Taijasa, subtle enjoyer of internal
objects. The same consciousness in deep sleep, is prajna, is a mass
of cognition unified, consisting of bliss and enjoyment of bliss. The same
consciousness, devoid of these qualities, is said to be the fourth transcendental)
state, Turiya. Unlike the other three, it is supra
- normal, unseen, beyond empirical determination, beyond the grasp
of mind, unthinkable, indescribable, consciousness alone where all phenomena
cease, unchanging, peaceful, nondual, action less, incomprehensible, inferable
and in essence, it is the state of Pure Consciousness.
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad says
that Consciousness also known as Atman is here; the same is there; that which
is there ; the same is here (this world) he suffers death after death who
perceives Atman as many. Everything is only the manifestation of Atman.
There is nothing different from it. One who finds diversity is repeatedly
subject to birth and death.
By the mind i.e. initiation alone
it is to be perceived.
There is in fact no diversity. He
gets death after death, who perceives here seeming diversity? Br.Up. 4/4/222)
Katha Upanishad also expresses
the same view by using verbatim twice. मृत्यो: स: मृत्युमाप्नोति
य इह नानेव पश्यति| (2/4/10-11)
On the close perusal of the
Upanishads, we can realize that the underlying principle of them is
consciousness which is immortal and the realization of which keeps
one beyond death and makes him the enjoy er of Supreme
Bliss. Chandogya Upanishad also states that the nature of Atman
(soul) is Sat, Chit and Ananda; Ever-existent, Consciousness and Bliss. All
beings here are indeed, born from Bliss, having been born, they remain in
Bliss, and on departing, they enter into Bliss.
यतो वा इमानि भूतानि जायन्ते येन जातानि
जीवन्ति | त्प्रयन्त्यभिसंविशन्ति तद्विजिज्ञासस्व तद्ब्रह्मेति (तै.उ.३-४)
(yato va imani bhutani jayante
yena jatani jivanti yatprayantyabhisamvisanti
tadvijijnasasva tadbrahmeti)
Taittiriya Upanishad emphatically
declares that the enlightened man who realizes his own nature as
Bliss is never afraid of any thing
आनन्दं
ब्रह्मणो विद्वान्न बिभेति कुतश्चन Anandam brahmano vidvan na bibheti kutaschana) ( Taittiriya -2-9-1).
THREE BODIES AND FIVE SHEATHS
For the realization of one's own nature,
the knowledge of the metaphysical nature of human body is quite essential.
As analyzed in the Upanishads,
the human frame consist of three bodies and five sheaths. The bodies
are 1. Gross 2. Subtle 3. Causal and sheaths are Annamaya, Pranamaya, Manomaya,
Vijnana-maya and Anandamaya.
For example the shell of a
tamarind corresponds to the Gross body. The pulp represents the subtle body.
The seed corresponds to causal body. To explain the same in a scientific way,
ice represents the gross body, water represents the subtle body and H 2 O
represents the causal body. (Practice of Vedanta by Sivananda Saraswati- p.47)
GROSS BODY
The gross body, also known as
physical body, is made up of five elements. They are Earth, Water, Fire, Air
and Space. It constitutes the Annamayakosa, the food sheath. It
disintegrates into its component parts only after death. This body is the
resultant product of our karmas. We experience the existence of this body in
waking state. When the karmas are consumed up on the dawn of the knowledge of
the Supreme Self, we no longer take up any new body.
SUBTLE BODY:
This is composed of seventeen
elements and represents three sheaths viz., the sheath of
Vital force--Pranamaya kosa; mind --Manomaya
kosa, and intellect Vijnana-- maya kosa. The
elements constitute five sensory organs such as skin, eye, ear, tongue and nose
and five motor organs such as mouth, hand, leg, anus and genital
organ and five vital forces viz., Prana, Apana, Vyana, Udana and Samana and
mind and intellect. This body is very subtle and more expansive and
extensive than physical body. This subtle body, inside the physical body is compared
to be a bladder in a football. (Practice of Vedanta, by Sivananda
saraswati- p 48.)
It is the seat of desires and
emotions. It is this body that goes to the heaven and hell and comes back after
experiencing the fruits of its actions. Death means the separation of this
subtle body from the physical body. It is the subtle body that operates in
dream state. This body has the capacity to expand and contract. It contracts in
small creatures, and expands in big animals. This subtle body will get
dissolved only after Videhamukthi. Physical body cannot do anything
without the help of this subtle body.
CAUSAL BODY
The causal body is the cause for
the two other bodies. It is formed of the ultra-fine mental energies of causal
matter and contains the impressions in a seed form. This body
accommodates Anandamayakosa and functions
in deep sleep. Atman is distinct from these three bodies. So
it is neither physical body nor subtle body nor even causal body. It is beyond
these three. It is Pure Being, Pure Consciousness and Pure Bliss. But it
is misunderstood as the individual self or false self, due to the
identification of the body and senses which have no independent existence.
Atman, being different from all
these and beyond, has nothing to do with them. It never dies when the body
dies.
Since the happiness we get in
this world is inferior to that of eternal happiness, Death is said to be a door
way to eternal happiness (bliss). Aeschylus, a Greek poet and dramatist
(525-456B.C) also expressed the same opinion by saying that ' call no man happy
till he is dead'.
When man dies it means that soul
leaves the body but not otherwise, because, it is not soul that needs the body,
it is the body that needs soul. Here Swami Vivekananda distinguishes the Indian
view from that of Western by saying that Hindus believe that a man is a
soul and has a body, while Western people believe he is a body and
possesses a soul.( the complete works of swami Vivekananda, Vol:VIII, page236.)
So, death is the real state of our eternal existence.
This identification is really a
mistaken knowledge and this mistaken knowledge is not the outcome of an
indescribable matter. This misidentification of the Atman with the body-mind
complex is in the experience of every one. This false identification has no
beginning or end, but this can be eliminated by the right knowledge of the real
self/Atman. Mistaking one thing for the other is the result of not
knowing the real nature of that particular thing. Knowing the Atman as the
body-mind complex and the body-mind complex as the Atman is a mistaken/false
knowledge. We have conceived difference between ourselves and the Supreme Reality
owing to this mistaken knowledge only. If this mistaken knowledge is subjugated
as such by the right kind of inquiry it is stultified by the true knowledge
which results in self-realization. Then the Atman, which is the core of one's
being reveals Himself as Pure Being, Pure Consciousness and Pure
Bliss. The stultification of the mistaken knowledge and the birth of the new
knowledge of one's True Being, the all-pervading Atman, are
two events that happen simultaneously on approaching and receiving the
instructions from a Guru who is both a Jnani (man of wisdom) and a Tattvadarshi (Seer of the truth).
(B. G. IV. 34)
THE
PROCESS OF DEATH:
Even though there is no
difference of opinion about the death as disintegration of body and soul the
process differs from individual to individual. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
explains the process of death in the following way. When the self becomes weak
and senseless, as it were the organs come to it .. it comes to the heart (
Br. Up.- 4/4/1); again the top of the heart brightens. Through that brightened
top the self departs, either through the eye or through the head or through any
other part of the body (Ibid 4-4-2). By this, it is evident that at the time of
departure the soul together with the organs comes to the heart. At that moment
the departing soul, on account of its past karmas, has a peculiar consciousness
picturing to it its next life, and goes to the body which is revealed by that
consciousness. It further explains the plan of
consciousness to its next life, the way of departure from the body, the nerves
which consciousness passes through. Various conditions of the soul at
death, the condition of soul of unreleased and soul of released after death.
DEATH
IS NOT THE END OF EVERY THING:
Then the self is endowed with
particular consciousness and afterwards passes on to the body that brought to
light by that consciousness. This consciousness is determined by one's past
karmas. So, everyone is expected to be careful of his actions. One should do
good deeds avoid the bad ones. It is not a sin, if he cannot do any good to
others but doing badly to others is severely condemned. Gita, the quintessence
of all the Upanishads, assured us that good karma will never go waste and
unnoticed. It will lead for the betterment of the individual in the next birth.
The saying goes like this:
नहि
कळ्याणकृत्कश्चिद्दुर्गतिं तात गच्छति (६/४०); शुचीनां
श्रीमतां गेहे योगभ्रष्टो Sभिजायते|
(६/४१)
The span in between death to
another birth is also discussed in the Brihadaranyaka. It states that just as a leech dwelling in grass, catches another support
and withdraws itself, so does this Self set aside the present body -make it
sense less, take up a new body and withdraw itself.
तद्यथा
तृणजलायुका तृणस्यान्तं गत्वा न्यमाक्रममाक्रम्यात्मानमुपसंहरति,एवमेवायमात्मेदं शरीरं निहत्य, अविद्यां गमयित्वा , अन्यमाक्रममाक्रम्यात्मानमुपसंहरति| (४/४/३)
BY
LOOSING BODY ONE LOOSES NOTHING:
Man loses nothing in death.
As soul passes in this body through childhood, youth and age, even so is its
taking on of another body. The sage is not perplexed by this.
देहिनोsस्मिन्यथा देहे कौमारं यौवनं जरा | तथा
देहान्तरप्राप्ति:धीरस्तत्र
न मुह्यति.१/१३
The statement of Jalaluddin
Rumi, a famous Sufi saint is also worth mentioning here in this context.
I
died as mineral and became a plant.
I
died as plant and rose to animal
I
died as animal and I was man
Why
should I fear when I was not less by dying?
Yet
once more I shall die as man
To
soar with angels blest
But
even from angelhood I must pass on Masnavi
It is quite evident that the study of the Upanishads dispels the fear of death. The Schönhage’s statement that 'the study of the Upanishads has been the solace of my life, it will be the solace of my death' is the real truth.
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. A history of Philosophy, Frank
Thill, central book depot, Allahabad.
2. A Treasure of Mystic Terms, John
Davidson, Science of soul research center, Radhasoami Satsang Beas, New Delhi,
India
3. Bhagavadgita with commentary by S. Radha
Krishna
4. Brahma-Sutras, with text, word for
word Translation Swami VIRESWARANANDA, Advaita Ashrama November 2008.
5. I am That,
Sri Nisarga Datta Maharaj, Chethana pvt Ltd.
6. Mahabharatam of Sri Vedavyasa.
7. Some gems from the ocean of
Sanskrit, by Dr. D. Arkasomayaji. TTD Religious Publication series.No.344.1989.
8. Sri Sankara's Advaita Siddhanta,
by S. Vitthala Sastri, Sri Sacchidananda Printers, Jambur House, D. No.211,
Kshetraiah Road, Mysore-1
9. The Principal Upanishads, S.
Radha Krishnan.
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