Clinging on deathbed vs no clinging?

[AstralProjectee]

Hi all, I have read about attaining liberation on your deathbed so this has got me thinking.

If someone on their death deathbed is not clinging at all to life, with no desire, no fighting, with minimal suffering will they go to higher realms vs someone that is really cling on, fighting, desiring and suffering? Even though both of them have the same karma.

Peace!

Keyword death bed

[sunyata07]

Namaste AstralProjectee,

I am no expect on the subject certainly, but I understand that the state of one's mind close to the time of death (bhava) is very important in determining what happens to the jiva after it departs the body. To my understanding, it is a mixture of karma and bhava that dictates where the soul will direct itself next. Sri Krishna explains to Arjuna that whatever the mental state of a soul, that is his fate in his next life:

yam yam vapi smaran bhavam
tyajaty ante kalevaram
tam tam evaiti kaunteya
sada tad-bhava-bhavitah

"Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, O son of Kunti, that state he will attain without fail."

Om namah Shivaya

[anirvan]

The most dominant desire developed over a long period of life will arise in the mind of a dying person,which will guide his next course of fate.
So his natural behaviour at time of death will be according to his samskar/swabhava.

[Eastern Mind]

Hi all, I have read about attaining liberation on your deathbed so this has got me thinking.

If someone on their death deathbed is not clinging at all to life, with no desire, no fighting, with minimal suffering will they go to higher realms vs someone that is really cling on, fighting, desiring and suffering? Even though both of them have the same karma.

Peace!

Keyword death bed

Vannakkam AP: It would seem to me that if the two individual souls are feeling differently about it, then that's also an indicator that they have different karmas. Less karma would lead to a less clingy feeling, no?

Aum Namasivaya

[Believer]

Namaste,

The most dominant desire developed over a long period of life will arise in the mind of a dying person,which will guide his next course of fate.

+1

Clinging or not clinging is the result of a lifetime of dedication/programming/conditioning. Not clinging and the resultant liberation (if indeed there is a co-relation between the two), is not a decision made at the last minute/second for best results. One prepares for it through a sustained effort over a long period of time per his/her karma.

Just to be the devil's advocate, if non-clinging gets you liberation, why not show your un-clinginess sooner by driving over a cliff, instead of waiting for a natural death? What is wrong with hanging on to life, as long as possible, if the object is spiritual advancement? So, to me clinginess and liberation do not seem to be co-related. I am sure others will reach different conclusions based on different reasoning.

BTW, there is a belief that your next incarnation or lack thereof (in case of liberation), depends on your thoughts, the last words on your lips (whether you are reciting the Lord's name, presuming that you are physically able, and aware enough to do so), is what decides the next station for your soul. Even under the best of circumstances, only the highly evolved souls may expect liberation, not us common souls on the bottom rungs of the spiritual ladder. So, don't plan on any last minute miracles.

Pranam.

[AstralProjectee]

Vannakkam AP: It would seem to me that if the two individual souls are feeling differently about it, then that's also an indicator that they have different karmas. Less karma would lead to a less clingy feeling, no?

Aum Namasivaya

OK maybe saying they had the same karma is not a good idea, but maybe saying they had the similar karma that all paned out to be an even good and bad in the end would be better to say.

Peace!

[AstralProjectee]

Vannakkam AP: It would seem to me that if the two individual souls are feeling differently about it, then that's also an indicator that they have different karmas. Less karma would lead to a less clingy feeling, no?

So lets say if someone dies in their sleep with no desire they will probably go to a higher plane, right?

Peace!

[Eastern Mind]

So lets say if someone dies in their sleep with no desire they will probably go to a higher plane, right?

Peace!

Vannakkam: Quite honestly, I really don't know. I haven't experienced it yet this lifetime, and from what I think my last death was (electric shock and a fall) I really think that there is a lot to do on your thoughts in the whole lifetime, not just in the last moment. But scriptures do say those last moments are indeed precious.

I think going to sleep might be an analogy. Surely most of us have learned that going to sleep (or not in this case) angry is not at all conducive to a restful sleep. But meditating, relaxing, fresh air half an hour before are all beneficial to decent sleep. I hope to be more or less fully aware the moments before I pass, mentally chanting a mantra, and at peace with others. But one never knows what karma brings us. Maybe my time will be tonight in a snow storm.

Why does this interest you, BTW?

Aum Namasivaya

[charitra]

I believe you are referring to the last 4 verses of Isa(ya) Upanishad which deal with the activity mind should ideally engage in at the time of death. But then to reap the rewards the said engagement can’t be implemented in isolation, without adhering to the rest of the teachings. As I see above already others have cautioned to this effect.

The last4 verses deal with the prayer of the aspirant on his death bed. He prays to the sun , a vivid symbol of Brahman, to withdraw the outer physical light so that the inner effulgence of Truth may be revealed. As the hour of death approaches, he fills his mind with the memories of his god deeds; this thought at the final moment determines the course of the soul hereafter. And lastly he prays to Fire, which will soon consume his physical body, to lead his soul through the way of the Gods to Brahmaloka, from which he will attain final liberation. ( swamiNikhilananda)

Namaste.

[AstralProjectee]

I am deciding what I am going to do on my deathbed. And how important it is to have a plan.

Peace!