WHY KRISHNA DOES NOT STOP THE DEATH OF DEAR ONES OF THE DEVOTEES? – PART-2

WHY KRISHNA DOES NOT STOP THE DEATH OF DEAR ONES OF THE DEVOTEES? – PART-2

In the previous post, you read the counselling for two such questions. Today, read two more similar counsellings. Similar questions, different answers:

(1) On the death of a friend:

“hare krishna prabuji. pls help..my frnd met with an accident a few months before and passed away after 2 months of treatment..but during his treatment both our families prayed only 4 his life..but stil it was of no use. now i know that there is fate n karma.but you yourself said that spiritual activities reduce karma of even ppl around you.then y didnt any of our prayers have any effect on his karma..it made me wonder about the millions of people who visit temples evryday to make wishes..does their prayers get answered..or is fate n karma unchangable.is prayers only a means of liberation..”

REPLY:

You yourself have understood that real prayers must be for liberation.  Today, let us read the details given by Srila Prabhupada in Bhagavad Gita As It is and then, I will write my condensing views at the end.

Remember: Our devotional activities fasten the karma clearing process and purify us within this birth or in a very few births. Only a guru accepts our karma and bears the heat of it.

There are four classes of devotees as said by Krishna Himself in Bhagavad Gita 7-16:

“O best among the Bharatas, four kinds of pious men begin to render devotional service unto Me — the distressed, the desirer of wealth, the inquisitive, and he who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute.”

PURPORT BY SRILA PRABHUPADA:

Unlike the miscreants, these are adherents of the regulative principles of the scriptures, and they are called sukritinah, or those who obey the rules and regulations of scriptures, the moral and social laws, and are, more or less, devoted to the Supreme Lord. Out of these there are four classes of men — those who are sometimes distressed, those who are in need of money, those who are sometimes inquisitive, and those who are sometimes searching after knowledge of the Absolute Truth. These persons come to the Supreme Lord for devotional service under different conditions. These are not pure devotees, because they have some aspiration to fulfill in exchange for devotional service. Pure devotional service is without aspiration and without desire for material profit. The Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu (1.1.11) defines pure devotion thus:

anyabhilashita-sunyam

jnana-karmady-anavritam

anukulyena krishnanu-

silanam bhaktir uttama  [Madhya 19.167]

“One should render transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord Krishna favorably and without desire for material profit or gain through fruitive activities or philosophical speculation. That is called pure devotional service.”

When these four kinds of persons come to the Supreme Lord for devotional service and are completely purified by the association of a pure devotee, they also become pure devotees. As far as the miscreants are concerned, for them devotional service is very difficult because their lives are selfish, irregular and without spiritual goals. But even some of them, by chance, when they come in contact with a pure devotee, also become pure devotees.

Those who are always busy with fruitive activities come to the Lord in material distress and at that time associate with pure devotees and become, in their distress, devotees of the Lord. Those who are simply frustrated also come sometimes to associate with the pure devotees and become inquisitive to know about God. Similarly, when the dry philosophers are frustrated in every field of knowledge, they sometimes want to learn of God, and they come to the Supreme Lord to render devotional service and thus transcend knowledge of the impersonal Brahman and the localized Paramatma and come to the personal conception of Godhead by the grace of the Supreme Lord or His pure devotee. On the whole, when the distressed, the inquisitive, the seekers of knowledge, and those who are in need of money are free from all material desires, and when they fully understand that material remuneration has nothing to do with spiritual improvement, they become pure devotees. As long as such a purified stage is not attained, devotees in transcendental service to the Lord are tainted with fruitive activities, the search for mundane knowledge, etc. So one has to transcend all this before one can come to the stage of pure devotional service.”

Now, let us see your friend’s case.  If you like to manually move a bus that weighs 10 tons, you need atleast 5 people to push the bus.  If there is a cycle, even a single person can push it.  So, more load, more powers are needed.

Similarly, if the karma is very severe, it needs serious devotional practices to get cleared.  For us, death is a bad incident.  But, for athma, death is a liberation from that body and for Lord, the death of the bodies is like a play and Lord knows the dead man’s past births and next births and hence Lord will not be surprised.

If that boy had been the cause for the death of many people in their young age, he has to die earlier in this birth.  So, his storage of karma is serious in this case.  So, if the Lord forgives this serious karma, the persons killed by this person in his last birth will not get justification.

So, Lord interferes in the karma of devotees ONLY IF THERE ARE GENUINE REASONS TO INTERFERE that will not do injustice to the deceased person.  What is the genuine reason?

(1) If your friend had involved seriously in devotional practices, chanted seriously and became detached with material affairs and attached to Lord only,  then, on seeing his devotion, the persons killed by him in his previous birth will not feel if the Lord forgives his karma because they know that this man is feeling for his past karma and is doing serious practices for Lord.  So, in this situation, lord will forgive his karma.

So, without doing any penances and without detaching from material affairs, we can not get immunity from karma.

The prayers done by you will not go waste and will give a good status for that friend after death and he will take birth in a very good family and become a devotee.

I have always stressed:

NEVER PRAY TO LORD ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR THE OPPORTUNITIES TO SERVE HIM.  BECAUSE, HE KNOWS ALL YOUR BIRTHS AND KARMA AND HENCE HE ONLY KNOWS WHICH IS GOOD FOR YOU AND WHICH IS NOT.  SO, JUST OFFER YOUR SERVICES TO HIM.  HE WILL TAKE CARE OF YOUR KARMA WITHOUT AFFECTING YOU MUCH.

And, never pray for the extension of life because unless there is a serious karma, persons will not die in young age.

So, accept his death as INEVITABlE and we too are going to die one day – today, or tomorrow or next week or next month or next year or next decade or in 30-40 years.

Death comes earlier or late according to our karma.  So, pray for him (soul) and cponcentrate in devotional practices seriously.

Hare Krishna.

(2) ON THE DEATH OF BROTHER-IN-LAW:

A girl devotee asked like this:

“Dear Prabhuji, I am not in good state of mind as of now. Though I am a very optimistic and positive person by nataure, I have a tendendy to chuck all odds and negetives and concentrate on the brighter part of life and this is what I’ve been doing so far and trust me when i say this coz there been really hard times and I have faced them with all my courage!

But this is something I am not able take well, my brother in law (my fiance’s brother) expired yesterday in an accident. And I want the lord to answer me for this. Why this happend to my in laws, WHY WHY WHY AND WHY?  My in laws are such good hearted people they treat me like their own daughter and its heart peircing to see them like this. And what is more painful that I am feeling so helpless at the moment.

Again and again my mind is asking jus one thing ,WHY DID THIS HAPPEND? I am really really disturbed at this moment, if at all somthing bad hav happend to me I would have not complaint but it happend to the people who matter the most to me and I feel so so helpless about it.

I am really upset and messed up and also angry about things happening around at the moment. And I am not able to take it well. I know, I cannot bring my brother in law back to life all I want is lord bless his soul. May his soul rest in peace. Hare krishna,hare krishna , krishna krishna, hare hare, hare hare rama , hare rama, rama rama,hare hare”

REPLY:

This is the time to read Garuda Purana.  You will understand the facts of this human life.  However, let me give some hints.

A good person need not live long, as LIFE TIME and CHARACTER is different.  Your in law has been a good hearted person in this birth.  So, he is going to face good fortunes in his next birth.  However, in his previous birth, he must have been a cause for the death of any person in his/ her young age.  So, in this birth, he has cleared that karma.

I assure you that he would have cleared his major karma in this birth because (i) he has lived as a good boy and (ii) he has died in his young age.  So, he will have a very long life in his next birth.

Generally, we do not like death. But, Birth and Death is the day to day affair of this material world.  Scriptures say that our body is made up of five natural elements:  Soil, water, fire, air, empty space (ether).

So, this body came from these five elements, and hence, it goes back to the soil again.  But, your brother in law is your in law for you in this birth.  This is body related identity.  But, he is an athma and he is still living and he will never die.  So, a person never dies, but, skips his bodies.  That’s all.

He came to this world for something.  He lived here for a certain years to clear his karma.  Now left. Many great people have died in their young age. Bhagat Singh, Veer Vanchi, Subramania Bharathi, Swami Vivekanandha, etc have died in their young age. They have lived a very innocent life.  But, God called them when He wanted them back.

Srila Prabhupada left his material body actually just 11 years after starting ISKCON.  If Krishna had allowed him for 10 more years, he would have written the purports for more scriptures and we would have got more literatures. Since he started it in his seventies, he did not get enough life time to work as he had to leave due to old age.

So, no one can die after settling everything in this world.   We can not be 100% perfect in our plans  in this world as we are in a position to leave one day.  That date and time has been kept secret for us.  Some rishis and great devotees predict that time.  But, ordinary people are bound by karma.

So, we have to dance according to the directions of the karma network.

The part of your in law is over now. He will take birth somewhere else.  You and me are also going to leave our bodies one day. So, Worry about whether we are improving in our devotion.  Try to forget the person who have already left.  His chapter is over.

Time is the natural healer of pains.  It will heal your pains within a few months.  These deep pains will be healed in due course of time.

So,  Be Patient till that.

Author: RAJAN

RAJAN from Tamil Nadu, India, a Life Patron and an Initiated Devotee being in ISKCON for nearly three decades, serves anonymously to avoid Prominence and crowd as an insignificant, Humble and Neutral Servant for all the devotees of Krishna! He promotes Social media forums and this blog-website as e-satsangha (e-forums) blessed with Lakhs of followers, to give Spiritual Solutions for all the Material Problems of the devotees since 2011! He writes friendly and practical tips to practice devotion (i) without hurting the followers of other paths, (ii) without affecting the personal and career life, and (iii) without the blind, superstitious and ritualistic approach! He dedicates all the glories and credits to his Guru and Krishna.

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