Why do great devotees die due to painful dieases or terrible accidents?

Answer Podcast:

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
The question is that, why do sometimes great devotees like Sivakirti Maharaj have to go through a painful cancer or Siddhamalakrishna Maharaj pass away in a tragic accident? There is this question which is an enduring question and in the Mahabharata when Abhimanyu is slaughtered, after that Yudhishthir is disconsolate and because Yudhishthir feels personally responsible. The whole Chakravyuh was arranged to trap Yudhishthir and to penetrate the Chakravyuh, Yudhishthir sent Abhimanyu. When Abhimanyu gets trapped and is killed, Yudhishthir feels as if I have caused his death and he becomes so disconsolate that he almost gets off his chariot and he says I will charge him and I will arrange his death or I will die myself.
He is completely blinded by grief and self-incrimination, castigating himself. So at that time Vyasadev comes and even though Yudhishthir is overcome by Vyasadev, he is a cultured person, so immediately gets on his chariot, offers obeisances to Vyasadev and then he starts expressing his heart that this has happened. So Vyasadev gives a very profound and uplifting message.
The first thing he says is no living being, no matter how great he may be, is exempt from the law of death. So everyone has to die. So his point is that he gives a list of a number of great kings who were far more virtuous than Abhimanyu and even they died.
If you look at their history, they all died in different ways. Some died on the battlefield, some died after announcing the world, different ways. So we should not consider, his conclusion over there is that we should not consider the death or the mood of a death of a person to be a reflection of the virtuousness or the lack of virtuousness of that person.
Whether a person is virtuous or not virtuous, everyone will have to die. And neither the event of death nor the mood of death reflect the virtuousness or the lack thereof. The second point he states is that this world is a arena of temptation.
No matter how virtuous a person may be, a person can be dragged down with the temptation any time. But now Abhimanyu by laying down his life in the call of duty has gone to an arena which is beyond temptation. So we on the other hand are still in this world of temptation and we have to battle.
So rather than grieving for one who has attained such an exalted destination, we should focus on striving to live in such a way that we can also attain our spiritual sustenance. The third point he says is, I am mainly focusing on the relevant point, he says that the inscrutable will of the Supreme Lord is for the good of all living beings. If you follow that will, you will understand it in due course.
He says the Supreme Lord’s will is inscrutable. Why Krishna does a particular thing, we can’t know that. But what we know is that Krishna’s intention is always benevolent.
The specific way he expresses an intent will vary. But if we follow his will, then we will understand it in due course. Now with this background, if we look at the incidents in some devotee’s life, we know that the moment of death and what we think of at the moment of death is important.
But in the Bhagavad Gita also, Krishna does not encourage excessive obsession with the moment of death. You can see it twice. In the 8th chapter, 8.4 and 8.5 we talk, 8.4 is antah kalecha mam yam.
You remember me, you will attain me. 8.5 is general principle. Or rather 8.5 and 8.6. 8.6 is general principle that yam yam mam bismam mam.
Whatever you remember, well you will attain that at the time of death. But then, what is the call for action after that? That is 8.7 is tasmat sarveshu kalechu mam Therefore, remember me right now. And then, not right now, throughout your life, remember me.
Cultivate remembrance of me. Then later in the last part of the 8th chapter, from 8.8, 23 to around 27, 28, then he talks about the exit time of departure. And Baldev Dev can explain that, he is talking about devyan and pitrayan, two different ways of departure.
And he says that, yatra prayata gacchanti, te brahma vidho janah. Those who die at a particular time, in a particular, say, uttarayana, day time and things like that, they will attain brahman. And those who die at another time, in the krishna paksha or dakshinayana, they will go to the moon and they will come back.
Relatively speaking, they are unsuccessful. So, Krishna describes all these, what you could say, mechanical factors that affect the post-mortem destination of the soul. But, his conclusion again is, naike sruti partha janam yogi muhit kashyana, tasmat sarveshu kalechu yoga yukto bhava arjuna.
He says, Arjuna, don’t get worried about the specifics. Don’t worry whether you will die at this time or you will die at this time. Focus on tasmat sarveshu kalechu yoga yukto bhava.
Just practice yoga. The same point he told earlier, tasmat sarveshu kalechu, same point he says over here. So, the overall emphasis of the Gita is that, how we live is most important.
Yes, where we go will depend on what we remember at the time of our death. But, we don’t have to go into paranoia, what is going to happen to me at the time of death, what am I going to remember. We should focus on whether we are remembering Krishna right now.
So, the nature of material nature, the nature of material nature is that there will be disparities. So, for example, right now, we, say in America or India, we are practicing bhakti quite comfortably. But, there are devotees in China, they have to do everything underground.
There are devotees in Ukraine, because of geopolitical issues over there. Many of the devotees have had to leave their homes. And now, they are practically refugees.
They don’t even have their basic things and they are trying to practice bhakti. Now, why this disparity? Is it because of karma? Is it a reflection of our spiritual advancement and their lack of spiritual advancement? No, we shouldn’t go into this cause. The nature of material nature is that there will be disparities.
At one level, we can say it is because of karma. But, then we also understand that for a devotee, Krishna is not just ultimately in control, Krishna is personally in control. So, even something is happening by karma, Krishna orchestrates in such a way that the devotee draws closer to him.
So, in the purport of Dukhe Svanudhigna Manasukhe Sivagata Spruha, it’s 2.56. In that purport, Prabhupada says that, you know, if a devotee gets distressed, the devotee thinks, actually by my karma, I deserve more distress. But, Krishna has minimized it very kindly. And, if a devotee gets facilities, gets material comfort, the devotee thinks that Krishna is so merciful that Krishna has given me so much facilities, so let me serve him more now.
So, what Prabhupada is talking about with respect to the disparity that we will see in life, that principle applies to death also. So, sometimes some devotees may leave in very graceful, devotional settings. So, other devotees around me doing kirtans, they are also in prayerful consciousness, looking at a picture of Krishna.
And, that is something which we can see as Krishna’s mercy. Krishna is so kind that not only Krishna has given this devotee the facility to remember him, but also Krishna has given us an inspiring example from which we can draw faith, from which we can strengthen our faith and from which we can move onwards in our practice of bhakti. So, at the same time, in the material, because of the nature of our nature, the other side will also happen.
So, when we see that, at that time, we should also understand that the material reality is not the ultimate reality. So, even if a devotee sometimes departs in such painful or tragic ways, should know that the mode of departure is not, mode of dying is not as important as the mode of living. The mode of living has been auspicious.
Even if such a death occurs, still the destination is going to be auspicious. So, here the point which I am making is twofold. Krishna’s mercy can sometimes manifest at the material level and it may sometimes not manifest at the material level.
In both cases, the devotee perceives that, perceives both as an opportunity to intensify one’s bhakti. Like for example, Shri Prabhupada was preaching for so long in India and practically speaking, he did not get much result. After 40 years of preaching, he was just moving from Delhi on the streets from the house of one Vellavishar to another house, another Vellavishar’s house.
But even at that time, Prabhupada had faith that Krishna is there and Krishna is seen and Krishna is pleased with what I am trying to say. And in the last 10 years, Prabhupada got phenomenal success. Even at that time, he was focused on Krishna.
So now, is it that for the first 40 years, Krishna was not merciful to Prabhupada and in the last 10 years only he was merciful? No, he was throughout merciful. But the mode of the mercy may sometimes be perceived at the material level, sometimes it may not be perceived at the material level. When it is perceivable at the material level, because we are currently able to access on the material reality, so we can and should draw faith from that.
And we should say, yes, these are experiences when we do see Krishna’s mercy accessible to us. But at the same time, we should not rely only on that. Because the nature of material nature is things will change.
And sometimes at the material level, mercy is not visible. So our purpose is that when we see some demonstrations of the potency of bhakti at the material level, at the material level of perception, that should inspire us to practice the process of bhakti by which we raise our consciousness beyond the material level. So that eventually when the mercy is not perceived at the material level, still at that time we are able to internally connect with Krishna and we are able to experience his presence and grace in our heart, even when it’s not perceived at the material level.
Does that answer your question? Thank you.