Namaskaram Everyone.
We have all heard that simple yet profound story: a Deva once asked a companion to find a house where no one had ever died. The companion went from home to home and eventually returned, saying that in every family, someone had passed away in one way or another. The Deva smiled gently, for this was the teaching itself – death is as natural as birth, and no house escapes it.
Recently, I received news of the sad and unexpected demise of one of my college mates. Aum Shanti.
All of us from our class shared our heartfelt condolences with his family and prayed for his onward journey. I offer mine again through this note. Aum Shanti.
When death draws near, it rarely comes without signposts. Subtle shifts occur -emotional, physical, and sometimes circumstantial — as if life itself prepares us gently for the transition. I have always admired how the film Uttama Villain (my fav film) portrayed this truth: the protagonist, knowing he has a few months left, strives to complete a dream project, reconcile relationships, and set things in order. In many ways, that is all any of us can do.
My teachers have always described death beautifully: it is like moving from one room of a house to another. That’s all. No drama, no fear — just a quiet crossing. Yet our materialistic and endlessly busy world often blinds us to these fundamental truths of human existence.
For some, the body feels like a temple; for others, it feels like a prison. Either way, it is simply a temporary home. We come here to experience, learn, evolve, and eventually return – whether to remain in the inner-world or to come back again, by choice.
This is one of the shortest blogs I’ve written, but perhaps the most essential.
Let us settle what needs settling — emotionally, financially, spiritually.
Let us speak what must be spoken, forgive what must be forgiven, and love while we still can.
Let death not surprise any of us. Let us meet it with clarity, readiness, and dignity.
Aum Shanti.
The Mahamrityunjaya Mantra reads (from Wikipedia):
ॐ त्र्यम्बकं यजामहे सुगन्धिं पुष्टिवर्धनम्। उर्वारुकमिव बन्धनान्मृत्योर्मुक्षीय मामृतात्।।[5]oṃ
tryàmbakaṃ yajāmahe sugándhiṃ puṣṭi-várdhanam ।
urvārukám iva bándhanān mṛtyór mukṣīya mā́ ‘mṛ́tāt ।।
which means:
We sacrifice to Tryambaka the fragrant, increaser of prosperity.
Like a cucumber from its stem, might I be freed from death, not from deathlessness.”
