How to remember Krishna at the time of death?

Hare Krishna to all!

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

We learn from Srimad Bhagavatam and Bhagavad Gita that we should pray to Lord Krishna at the time of our death in order to be elevated to Vaikuntha Loka. The Lord Krishna clearly stated in Bhagavad Gita (B G 8.6) that whatever state of being one remembers at the time of death will decide his/her destination. 

yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran bhāvaṁ tyajaty ante kalevaram
taṁ tam evaiti kaunteya  sadā tad-bhāva-bhāvitaḥ (B G 8.6)

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

In Srimad Bhagavatam (S.B. 5.3.12) we read the prayer to Lord to bless us so that we can remember Him at the time of death:

 atha kathañcit skhalana-kṣut-patana-jṛmbhaṇa-duravasthānādiṣu vivaśānāṁ naḥ smaraṇāya jvara-maraṇa-daśāyām api sakala-kaśmala-nirasanāni tava guṇa-kṛta-nāmadheyāni vacana-gocarāṇi bhavantu. (S.B.5.3.12)

Dear Lord, we may not be able to remember Your name, form and qualities due to stumbling, hunger, falling down, yawning or being in a miserable diseased condition at the time of death when there is a high fever. We therefore pray unto You, O Lord, for You are very affectionate to Your devotees. Please help us remember You and utter Your holy names, attributes and activities, which can dispel all the reactions of our sinful lives.

In Bhagavad Gita Sri Krishna confirmed that whoever quits his/her body remembering Him will attain His nature i.e., will be elevated to Vaikuntha Loka: 

 anta-kāle ca mām eva smaran muktvā kalevaram

 yaḥ prayāti sa mad-bhāvaṁ yāti nāsty atra saṁśayaḥ (B G. 8.5 )

And whoever, at the end of his life, quits his body remembering Me alone at once attains My nature. Of this there is no doubt.

My question to all is:

How can I ensure that I will be able to remember Krishna at the time of my death?

I would appreciate your valuable input in this regard.

Please accept my pranam.

Hare Krishna!

Your servant,

Amal 

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Replies

  • Hare Krsna Prabhu,

    This is the Ultimate question one must ponder about during our lifetime in the human body. Krsna will not give entry into Goloka Vrndavana easily.

    We need to undergo the purificatory processes of Shraddha, Sadhu-sanga, Bhajana Kriya, Anartha Nivrtthi, Nishita, Asakthi, Ruchi, Bhava and Ultimately Prema(in some cases even beyond) to be eligible for entry into Goloka.

    Fortunately there are a plethora of scriptural references for answering this question:

    Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya Lila 8.204-205 states that:

    "Without the help of the gopīs, one cannot enter into these pastimes. Only one who worships the Lord in the ecstasy of the gopīs, following in their footsteps, can engage in the service of Sri Sri Radha-Krsna in the bushes of Vrndavana. Only then can one understand the conjugal love between Radha and Krsna. There is no other procedure for understanding.  

    And in the purport Srila Praphupada expounds on this topic even further. Kindly refer to http://vedabase.net/cc/madhya/8/204-205/en

    Also refer to the reply to the discussion:

    http://www.iskcondesiretree.net/forum/topics/question-about-swarup-...

    I hope this helps

    -HariBol

  • Hare Krishna Chirag Prabhu! Thank you for your wonderful response of my question. Your positive thought and advise make more sense to me. From my small fund of knowledge, I understand that Krishna is more loving and merciful that what we can even imagine. He is our seed giving father and it is easy to get his mercy if we are sincerely love him. So nice of you Prabhu!

    Your servant,

    Amal 

  • Volunteer

    Hare Krishna dear Devotees, please accept my humble obeisances! All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

    To desire to go to spiritual world is a nice desire.

    Very rare souls desire so.

    But at the same time we have to understand that Krishna is a person.

    He is Atmarama - He does not need us; He does not need our service.

    So we cannot force Him to fulfill our desires.

    He will help us only out of His free will and causeless compassion.

    We can chant 64 rounds daily, ready whole day Srimad Bhagavatam, fast...but that does not ensure that we will be taken back to Godhead.

    Main thing is we please Krishna by our service and He will shower His mercy at the time of our death.

    And since we do not know yet Krishna we even cannot please Him.

    So our condition is very bad.

    But there is solution:

    To please His Devotees. To please our Guru Maharaj.

    In Nectar of Devotion it says when we do Vaishnava Seva we will get Nama Ruchi - taste for the Holy Names.

    Why we get taste? Because by serving to Devotees we pleased Krishna so Krishna comes to our heart and dances on our tongue.

    So spiritual world is dynamic. We cannot ensure anything. If we displease we will be disqualified and if please then we will be accepted in any moment.

    Insurance works in material - mechanical world. In the form of karma. What we do that we get.

    But spiritual world is based on relationships and love. So we have to be always conscious and care full of our actions.

    Your servant,

  • Dear Devotees, PAMHO, AGTSP

    We are eternal servants of Sri Krsna but due to so much contamination from non-ending birth & death cycles,we have forgotten our constitutional position. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (most vadanya avatar of Krsna) gave us Hare Krsna mahamantra to purify us & to unbundle us from maya for which we are ourselves are to blame as we wanted to become controller, enjoyer. It is absolute true as certified by our Shastras that whoever, at the end of his life, quits his body remembering Krsna alone at once goes back to Godhead as all his sins of all his past lives are burned simply by chanting names of Krsna.

    But a true devotee is not even interested in liberation from birth & death cycles. He just pray for causeless mercy of Lord & is happy in whatever situation being kept. He wants to serve Lord life after life. He just wants company of pure devotees because he is then busy in hearing pastimes of Lord & chanting of HIS names.

    So kindly just do your duty of chanting HIS names sincerely & honestly without worrying for any result including consequences at death. Let Sri Krishna to decide our fate.

    Hare Krsna,

    your servant

  • Hare Krishna! Thank you very much for your inspiring response; so nice of you. I understand that wholehearted deep faith and devotion are must to get Krishna's mercy. How would I know that my devotion is up to the mark to remember Krishna at the time of my death?
    I wish you have continuous Krishna's mercy.
  • हरे कृष्णा, PAMHO & AGTSP

    भगवान चैतन्य महाप्रभु कहते हैंकीर्तनीय: सदा हरि: अर्थात भगवान कृष्ण के नाम का सदा कीर्तन करो | हरे कृष्ण महामंत्र का यह स्वभाव है कि जो कोई भी इसका जप करता है, वह श्री कृष्ण के प्रीति अपनी प्रेमभावना का अति शीघ्र विकास कर लेता है (CC.आदि लीला 7.83)

    इस कलियुग में भगवान कृष्ण ने अपने नाम के रूप में अवतार लिया है, कलि-काले नाम-रुपे कृष्ण-अवतार (CC.आदि लीला 17.22) |  यदि हम निरन्तर कृष्ण के पवित्र नाम का कीर्तन तथा भगवान कृष्ण के दासो (भक्तों) की सेवा करें,तो मृत्यु के समय भी कृष्ण को याद कर पायेंगें तथा हमें श्री कृष्ण के चरणकमलों में शरण प्राप्त हो सकेगी |

    आपका सेवक

    • Hare Krishna Bhagwan Das Prabhu!

      Thank you for your valuable time and response to my question. I ma not a blessed one to understand Sanskrit language. So, I could not receive the nectar of your response. I tried to translate your response on Google translate and I understood that " I have to chant  Hare Krishna continually in order to be remembered at the time of death". If you kindly translate your posting for me that would be more helpful.

      Hare Krishna!

      • prabhu...........bhagwan das prabhu wanted to say that a/c to chaitanya mahaprabhu,one should be doing "hare krishna" chant in kaliyug regularly to develop quick and strong love for the lord and the lord is present in his chanting name in this age..............so regular chanting will make us develop love for krishna so that even at hardest times (death too)we won't forget our ultimate master!!!!!that's nature of this mahamantra.................I am a not a strictly vaishnavite but my belief in krishna and gita has got develped from experience more than anything ang this chanting is really very powerful!!!!!and easier too seen it myself.

        hare krishna!

        • Hare Krishna Umang Prabhu for clarifying Bhagwan Prabhu's response. I also like to thank you for sharing your valuable thoughts. Yes, prabhu I feel how chanting increases bhakti to Krishna and also reveals understanding of Bhagavad Gita and our constitutional position in respect to our relation to Krishna (yoga). Nice to hear that your continuous spiritual development. Hare Krishna!

  • Hare Krishna Mataji. Thank you very much for a wonderful response to my inquiry. I. Appreciate your valuable time and kind concern. After seeing responses from Krishna devotees, I feel that I belong to a spiritually related family.
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