gurur na sa syāt svajano na sa syāt
pitā na sa syāj jananī na sā syāt |
daivaṁ na tat syān na patiś ca sa syān
na mocayed yaḥ samupeta-mṛtyum ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 5.5.18)
“One who cannot save you [i.e., a dependent] from impending death [i.e., saṁsāra] should not be a guru, should not be a relative, should not be a father, should not be a mother, should not be a devatā, and should not be a husband.”
tasmāt sarvātmanā rājan hṛdi-sthaṁ kuru keśavam |
mriyamāṇo hy avahitas tato yāsi parāṁ gatim ||
mriyamāṇair abhidhyeyo bhagavān puruṣottamaḥ |
ātma-bhāvaṁ nayaty aṅga sarvātmā sarva-saṁśrayaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 12.3.49–50)
“Therefore, O King, with your whole being [i.e., with full endeavor], fix Keśava within the heart. By being [so] attentive while dying, you will attain the supreme destination. O King! Bhagavān, Puruṣottama, who is to be meditated upon by the dying, and is the Self of all and Shelter of all, leads [one] to bhāva of the ātmā [i.e., to the svarūpa (bhāva) of the jīva (ātmā), or, to prema (bhāva) for himself (Ātmā)].”
jīvana-maraṇa kṛṣṇa-icchāya se haya |
viṣa vā amṛta bhakṣileo kichu naya ||
(Caitanya-bhāgavata: 3.2.32)
“Life and death occur by Kṛṣṇa’s will. Even if one drinks poison or nectar, that is nothing [i.e., that cannot override Kṛṣṇa’s will].”
janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam |
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 13.9)
“Repeated [alt., recurrent] deliberation [alt., reflection] upon the predicament of suffering in the form of birth, death, infirmity, and disease [is an integral aspect of true knowledge].”
ahany ahani bhūtāni gacchantīha yamālayam |
śeṣāḥ sthāvaram icchanti kim āścaryam ataḥ param ||
(Mahābhārata: Vana-parva, 313.116)
“Day by day, living beings here [i.e., in this world of saṁsāra] go to the abode of Yama [i.e., they die]. Those who remain [living, however,] seek permanence [i.e., they hope for, expect, and pursue a permanent life within their so evidently impermanent surroundings]. What is more astonishing than this?”
jalāntaś candra-capalaṁ jīvitaṁ khalu dehinām |
tathā-vidham iti jñātvā śaśvat-kalyāṇam ācaret ||
(Hitopadeśa: Sandhi, 136)
“Knowing the life of embodied beings to be unsteady like the reflection of the moon upon water, endeavor for your eternal welfare.”
āyuḥ karma ca vittaṁ ca vidyā nidhanam eva ca |
pañcaitāni hi sṛjyante garbhasthasyaiva dehinaḥ ||
(Cāṇakya-nīti: 4.1; cited in Hitopadeśa: 1.27)
“Lifespan, karma, wealth, learning, and death—these five are created for the bearer of the body [i.e.,the jīvātmā) while situated in the womb [i.e., these five are set out for a living being from the time of their birth].”
yāvaj jano bhajati no bhuvi viṣṇu-bhakti-
vārttā-sudhā-rasa-viśeṣa-rasaika-sāram |
tāvaj jarā-maraṇa-janma-śatābhighāta-
duḥkhāni tāni labhate bahu-dehajāni ||
(Padma Purāṇa: Pātāla-khaṇḍa, 85.33; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.607; Bhakti Sandarbha: 115)
“As long as a human being on earth does not partake of [i.e., take shelter with bhakti in] the one essence—the rasa of the exceptional nectar of the tidings of Viṣṇu-bhakti—then one undergoes the sufferings of the lashings of hundreds of infirmities, deaths, and births begotten by numerous bodies [i.e., the severe suffering of saṁsāra is extinguished only when one attains Viṣṇu-bhakti, and thus attaining it is imperative].”
mana diyā bujha, deha chāḍiyā calile |
dhana vā pauruṣa saṅge keho nāhi cale ||
eteke mahānta saba sarva parihari |
karena īśvara-sevā dṛḍha-citta kari ||
eteke chāḍiyā vipra, sakala jañjāla |
śrī-kṛṣṇa-caraṇa giyā bhajaha sakāla ||
yāvat maraṇa nāhi upasanna haya |
tāvat sevaha kṛṣṇa kariyā niścaya ||
sei se vidyāra phala jāniha niścaya |
kṛṣṇa-pāda-padme yadi citta-vitta haya ||
mahā-upadeśa ei kahila tomāre |
sabe viṣṇu-bhakti satya ananta-saṁsāre ||
(Caitanya-bhāgavata 1.13.174–179; 9.174–179)
[Śrīman Mahāprabhu to the Digvijayī Paṇḍita:] “Mindfully understand: when leaving the body and departing, no one departs with wealth or prowess [alt., possessions]. Therefore, all the great ones forsake everything and engage in service to Īśvara with firm resolve. Therefore, O brāhmaṇa, leaving all this rubbish, go and worship Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s feet immediately. So long as death has not arrived, serve Kṛṣṇa resolutely. Know for certain that this is the fruit of learning: when your mind and wealth are fixed on Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet. I tell you this great teaching: ‘Amid everything in unending saṁsāra, Viṣṇu-bhakti [alone] is real.’”
tvaṁ tu rājan mariṣyeti paśu-buddhim imāṁ jahi |
na jātaḥ prāg abhūto’dya deha-vat tvaṁ na naṅkṣyasi ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 12.5.2)
[Śukadeva to Mahārāja Parīkṣit:] “O King, you should give up this animal mentality [of thinking], “I will die.” Like the body, you were not previously non-existent, are not [merely] presently manifest, and will not be destroyed [in the future].”
