When Lord Yama knocks one's door!

[Ravisankar Mayavaram]

When the mind is troubled by mundane concerns like deadlines and
other worries, the verse that bring solace to the heart is

bhajagovindaM bhajagovindaM
govindaM bhajamuuDhamate |
saMpraapte sannihite kaale
nahi nahi rakshati DukR^iJNkaraNe || 1 ||

When one pauses for a moment and asks this question, "If I were
to die now what use of this is to me?" Be it an official deadline
or a Ph.D degree or memorizing a rule from grammar book! It will
not at all help, yet we all worry about them. In addition, as
shrI shankara says in subrahmaNya bhujangam:

-------------------------
ahaM sarvadaa dukhabhaaraavasanno
 bhavaandiinabandhustvadanyaM na yaache |
bhavadbhaktirodhaM sadaa kLR^iptabaadhaM
 mamaadhiM drutaM naashayomaasuta tvam.h ||  24||


Oh Son of Uma! I am always troubled by the mental worries . Thou
art the friend of helpless! I approach none but you for saving
me.  Quickly destroy my mental worries as they interfere with my
devotion towards Thee!
--------------------------

More than anything these worries and other ambitions come in the
way of fulfilling one's dharma. It may not be possible to drop
them off at one go, atleast one can try to do it with mind
immersed in God. That is possible only if there is detachment
Even that seems to be very difficult. Like the saundarya laharI
verse says "kathaM akR^ita puNyaH prabahavatI", one needs merrit
to worship God too.

But this question, "will this help if I were do die now" has
brought sanity to my mind many a times. Lord yama needs no
invitation. He is more than happy to be an uninvited guest. One
cannot blame him too, for who will invite him.  True to his
alacrity, death seems to be the only certain thing in this
uncertain world.  Even at the event of death, mind worries only
what will happen to my wife? what will happen to my sons? who
will take care of my parents? and so on. But what will happen to
me after death? This question rarely arises. World will go on and
on, with or without us.

To me this one shloka (bhaja govindaM ...) is an antidote to all
the stresses human mind and heart suffers through. The day one
reaches the state, death or no death, success or failure, health
or sickness, pleasure or pain, I will think only of the glories
of God. That is the day of freedom.


O Lord govinda! Make this mind pure and be immersed in your
glories. No matter where I am and what I am, let the spotlight of
this mind be ever on you. Make me pure and impel me to fulfil the
dharma. For without your grace, I cannot even move a blade of
grass on my own.

Ravi

|| AUM namo bhagavate vAsudevAya ||

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