A Study of the Bhagavadgita :11.4 - Swami Krishnananda.

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Monday, May 09, 2022. 20:00.

Chapter 11: Beholding God as He Beholds Himself-4.

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Suppose you die in this condition with unfulfilled desires buried inside like a thick cloud. They will germinate into action under different conditions altogether, and that would be your future fate. As seeds in barren ground look dead because there is no water and manure but can suddenly come alive, become tendrils and plants when rain falls on them, so these karmas germinate into action. Not a single desire of yours will go unfulfilled – if not today, then tomorrow, or after any amount of time. Time is endless, space is vast; therefore, there is infinite possibility and opportunity for the individual potencies to fulfil themselves, so it is dangerous to entertain desires in a haphazard manner. They will bind you, like cocoons enclosing the silkworm, which is its own doom. Every desire is a cocoon that you spin for yourself, and then you die with that.


So the Gita tells us, whatever is your last thought at the time of passing from this physical body will decide your future. What is the last thought? Nobody knows when their last day will be. Even if the end is only a few minutes away, you will not have any indication that it will come. There are people who take their lunch or dinner normally, and five minutes afterwards they breathe their last, not knowing that this will happen. So how will you prepare yourself for this adventure of a new kind of life that you have to achieve? Can you wait for the last moment? "I will think of God at that time. Now I will think rubbish." Is it possible? Who knows when the last moment will be?


Therefore, the advice is that throughout the day you have to entertain noble thoughts. You do not know when the demand will come and an order will be issued to you. When the order to quit comes, you cannot say, "Please wait! Come tomorrow." It is not possible. There is no 'tomorrow' for that order. It is just now, immediately. And then you will repent: "I never knew this. I never expected this. I have so many commitments. I have unfulfilled wishes, and relatives." Who cares? Your cry will be in the wilderness. Nobody will bother about you.


So right from the beginning of your life, throughout the tenure of your existence in this world, entertain divine thoughts. Let unselfish motives be in your mind. Never be greedy. Never be possessive. Never harm others. Never talk ill of others, and cause not any kind of inconvenience to other people, as far as it is possible. As the Gita will tell you, sarvabhūtahite ratāḥ (Gita 12.4): Be a well-wisher of all people. Treat others as you would treat yourself. Be a good person. What is goodness? Are you not good to your own self? Are you harsh and hard upon your own self at any time? How kindly you treat your own self! Why not be kind to others, because what is the difference between you and another person? The embodiment, the desires, the structure of personality, and the aspiration are the same; birth and death are the same.


Therefore, throughout life one should live as if the last day is today. And many saints have said that when you go to bed at night, do not expect to get up tomorrow morning. Consider today to be the last. It may be. Then if you really get up in the morning, it is a tenure that is further granted by God. Be grateful to Him that this tenure, this lease of life has come to you. But it may not come, as there is no guarantee of it coming to you. So whenever you go to bed, think "Okay, this is the last day. Tomorrow morning I may not get up. Even if I don't get up, I lose nothing because I have cleared all my debts." All your material debts, psychological debts, emotional debts and also debts you owe to your own desires must be completed. As it is not possible to pay off every kind of debt in one instant, it is better not to have debts at all. Neither a lender nor a borrower be. Do not be a borrower or a lender. Have no transaction of this kind in your life. Be a simple, contented person. Be contented with whatever you have.


To be continued ....




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