Remember Two Points for Success
ek to na bhulo hari govind radhe, dujo tanu kshana bhagura na bhula de
This couplet is from Kripalu Bhakti Dhara and the explanation of it follows:
The Bhagavatam 1.2.6 states that there is only one thing a human being must know; there is only one duty to fulfil, one decision to make and one action to perform. What is it? To practice devotion to God; to remember God. But there is something even more important than this. What is that? The human body, which is our means of practicing devotion, is temporary. It can be snatched away at any moment. A healthy baby is born and cries as babies do, but then falls silent. What happened? He died. Another baby survives the day and then dies. A bride and groom are circling the ceremonial fire for the last time when the groom suddenly feels faint, falls, and dies. Look at how strange this is!
Death does not look at what is going on in life; it comes whatever the time. It does not care whether you are a king or a pauper. It does not discriminate between a scholar and an illiterate. Death visits both the beautiful and the ugly. There is no concession for anyone, and everyone’s time is predestined. The exact number of seconds you have been granted in this body are fixed, and death is certain. But we forget this.
“Oh, I am only ten years old; I am only twenty-five years old; I am only fifty.” This is how we think. We never consider that we may not live to see the next moment. What if this body is snatched away from you right now? What you attain after death depends on your thoughts prior to it. Therefore, both these points must be kept in mind. God must always be remembered, and you must never procrastinate in your devotion. You must not wait for a moment to remember Him. If we genuinely reflected upon the transitory nature of this human life, our carelessness would cease, and our devotion would be constant.
Always keep death in mind, who knows when it will come. Everyone is equally powerless before death. No yogi, ascetic, meditator, or God-realised Saint can avoid it. Everyone must leave at the appointed time. Death is that powerful. Even God Himself does not interfere when it comes to death, and neither do His Saints. People may try to fool themselves and others by reciting the mrityunjaya japa, a mantra from the Vedas, to conquer death. Someone calls a pundit who recites it and assures the family that its ailing member will not die. Can you imagine!
No one has control over death and so we must always be cautious. What if I die the next moment? What will happen to me? Always remember God so that you may think of Him and reach His divine abode after your death. Let’s suppose you are remembering Him, but you forget about Him for a couple of minutes and start thinking about the world, and while doing so you die. What will happen? You will attain the one about whom you were thinking.
Therefore, reflect again and again on both these points. The only clever person, the only wise person, and the only intelligent person is the one who succeeds in doing this. Everyone else is foolish and careless. They may understand the philosophy, they may have met a genuine Saint who explained the philosophy to them, and they may have even understood it, and yet, they are careless. They chant or remember God for half an hour in the evening and that’s it! For the rest of the time, they are fully engrossed in the world, entertaining all kinds of nonsensical thoughts.
Therefore, always keep both these points in mind.
An English translation of a discourse delivered in Hindi by:
Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj
16 June 2007
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