The bhutan observer
September 2018
Death is a cosmic joke
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Birth is unknown while death is known as we all know from our experience. Our senses open as soon as we are born and all along the way we know we are heading for our death. Is death really as scary as we think? I remember Anup Jalota singing in his hymn that when you are born the world laughs and you cry. But at death the world cries and you laugh. Does this truth hold some water in it? It appears that death is a time for celebration because you are leaving the tattered body for a new one. Yogis say that there is no death as such but life, life and life. It is said that the tendencies of the karma go with you when you obtain a new life. One needs to pursue knowing this truth through contemplation and yogic practices.
You cannot imagine the limit of the limitless. The infinite cannot come within the purview of that which is finite. That is exactly why our sense organs cannot grab anything beyond the realms of physicality. It is like trying to go to the moon on a bullock cart. You would need the right kind of instruments to embark on anything new if you are to succeed. For a spiritual enthusiast, it is required that he practices certain methods of perception that would elevate him to the doorway of the supreme. It may be surprising to know this that what is in the doorway is also what is inside. It might sound absurd as to what is that supreme reality and may only confuse us about what we already know. It must be borne in mind that nothing remains unknown once you grasp the real. Once one of my Gurus told me that once you know the truth you will know the world. It is like if you want to know what an ocean is you just need to taste a single drop of the ocean water. Everything becomes distinctly clear to you.
There is a famous line from Ananda Prabhu which says – If you move from the understanding that God is not outside but inside, you are moving from one half truth to the other. The source of creation is both inside and outside equally. However, you need to explore the inside to know the outside. During the sadhana program in Magurmari, Nepal, the Guru asked what was in the doorway. I replied that there was nothing in it. The Guru expressed his surprise because usually people said there is wood or frames in it. He summed up saying what you see on the doorway is what is there inside. We know the entire creation is the manifestation of His will. Sadhguru says if you say up, down or out you are invariably wrong because you cannot identify such a geographical location seeing the cosmos. We can only be sure of inside or inward. All yogis say that the self is the indivisible part of the cosmos. If we know the self, we know the cosmos.
This world is truly beautiful with fantastic creation. There no comparison to our planet with any that we know so far. You need to admire it from the fathoms of your heart to experience happiness and joy. We know life is only here not in some mundane planets or even heaven which some like to believe. The source of creation is throbbing in you and it is important that you access that dimension. One needs to change the way of looking into the world. Not just change, it demands our complete transformation. It is said that individual transformation is the basis for the world to transform. You cannot transform yourself by just changing your dress in saffron robes or splashing colorful tika on your forehead. We do revere the attire itself as Godly because we say,Bheshai Bhagwan. It would be great if you could come across such exalted saints who give vision for our society and the world for hundreds of years. They could also be yogis or holy men spreading the knowledge of truth. However, we also do not have the dearth of pseudo saints in our society who leave your life miserable.
I had heard a hymn in Nepali from jasmani saints. They said,'Chaturai ley chinnay chaina Atma bodha hunay chaina' They asserted that you do not know the truth through deceitful means. However there have been so many ways to achieve the truth. Adhi Yogi, Shiva spelled out that there are as many number of paths to know the truth as the number of atoms in the universe. It is always natural to be happy in the journey for truth because your mind and intellect are in harmony with each other also because you distance yourself from your sufferings. It is also important that the happiness is free from pretension and it is sustained. If we act to be happy we would only be inviting sufferings for ourselves. We become happy leaving our emotions relaxed and just experience life as it is.
Psychologically, most of the time, peacelessness happens because we worry about things that will never happen. We should be able to make distinction between the thoughts that go inside us. We need to see the immensity of being human because being human is super. Worry about death kills us many times before actually dying. Death is an auspicious time. The one leaving must be given a good farewell which directs him to that abode of peace and joy. It may sound absurd but there is no death. The life in us is never going to die and all that remains behind is the body. Sadhguru rightly says, 'Death is a cosmic joke. You need to get the joke'.
There is a famous line from Ananda Prabhu which says – If you move from the understanding that God is not outside but inside, you are moving from one half truth to the other. The source of creation is both inside and outside equally. However, you need to explore the inside to know the outside. During the sadhana program in Magurmari, Nepal, the Guru asked what was in the doorway. I replied that there was nothing in it. The Guru expressed his surprise because usually people said there is wood or frames in it. He summed up saying what you see on the doorway is what is there inside. We know the entire creation is the manifestation of His will. Sadhguru says if you say up, down or out you are invariably wrong because you cannot identify such a geographical location seeing the cosmos. We can only be sure of inside or inward. All yogis say that the self is the indivisible part of the cosmos. If we know the self, we know the cosmos.
This world is truly beautiful with fantastic creation. There no comparison to our planet with any that we know so far. You need to admire it from the fathoms of your heart to experience happiness and joy. We know life is only here not in some mundane planets or even heaven which some like to believe. The source of creation is throbbing in you and it is important that you access that dimension. One needs to change the way of looking into the world. Not just change, it demands our complete transformation. It is said that individual transformation is the basis for the world to transform. You cannot transform yourself by just changing your dress in saffron robes or splashing colorful tika on your forehead. We do revere the attire itself as Godly because we say,Bheshai Bhagwan. It would be great if you could come across such exalted saints who give vision for our society and the world for hundreds of years. They could also be yogis or holy men spreading the knowledge of truth. However, we also do not have the dearth of pseudo saints in our society who leave your life miserable.
I had heard a hymn in Nepali from jasmani saints. They said,'Chaturai ley chinnay chaina Atma bodha hunay chaina' They asserted that you do not know the truth through deceitful means. However there have been so many ways to achieve the truth. Adhi Yogi, Shiva spelled out that there are as many number of paths to know the truth as the number of atoms in the universe. It is always natural to be happy in the journey for truth because your mind and intellect are in harmony with each other also because you distance yourself from your sufferings. It is also important that the happiness is free from pretension and it is sustained. If we act to be happy we would only be inviting sufferings for ourselves. We become happy leaving our emotions relaxed and just experience life as it is.
Psychologically, most of the time, peacelessness happens because we worry about things that will never happen. We should be able to make distinction between the thoughts that go inside us. We need to see the immensity of being human because being human is super. Worry about death kills us many times before actually dying. Death is an auspicious time. The one leaving must be given a good farewell which directs him to that abode of peace and joy. It may sound absurd but there is no death. The life in us is never going to die and all that remains behind is the body. Sadhguru rightly says, 'Death is a cosmic joke. You need to get the joke'.
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- DILIP BISHWO, Iowa, USA
Contact the writer at: bishwod@bhutaniowa.org
Contact the writer at: bishwod@bhutaniowa.org
The article presented in this column is the personal opinion of the writer and doesn't represent the opinion of BCI or any other organizations what so ever. The BCI has only offered the medium to the writer for expressing his opinion through this website.
