An elucidation of 

The Mahamritunjaya Mantra

 

OM TRYAMBAKKAM YAJAMAHE

SUGANDHIM PUSTIVARDHANAM

URVAROOKAMEVA BANDANAAN

MRITYORMOKSHEEYA MAAMRITAAT

by Jai Maha Dev 

The highest Death is the death that comes naturally and takes one to one’s Eternal Abode.

 

We know everything that is created will one day be dissolved, and that anyone who takes birth will also have to face death. Death is an integral part of living. How we face death will (in many ways) be decided by how we live our life.

 

Death forces us to let go of our mortality. We conquer Death when we let go of our mortality freely. To do that, we have to live our life free of all images. If we hold on to our self-image our entire life, it is very unlikely that we will drop that image at the time of death. If we are holding on to any image whatsoever, we will have to come back and resume our journey again.

 

Death is not the final abode. It is only a transmission from one form to another. To reach the Deathless State, we have to reach the Formless, and that Formless is One Without a Second. We are all drawn to that Supreme State (Moksha), because That is our Ultimate Abode. Only the nectar of Deathlessness (AMRITAM) can satisfy the thirst of our soul.

 

There is no substitute for Moksha, the Divine Bliss, the Supreme Happiness. There is no other Love, there is no other experience, and there is no other way to be fulfilled than to be free this moment and forever. The Past, the Present, the Future, must be dissolved into the NOW.

 

OM PURNAM ADAH PURNAM IDAM—That is full, this is full. There is no difference between This and That, and the one who sees any difference will have to die again and again until this state becomes that state. We do not have to wait for Death. Death will not wait for us. This does not mean we should force the hand of Death—that is not at all what I am saying—I am saying we should graciously relinquish our ego, our small self, and unite our spirit with the Supreme Spirit, now this moment, and especially at the time of death.

 

Do not think that the ‘natural death’ means to die of old age. That is only an ordinary death. Even wicked people, killers, thieves, and other evil-doers sometimes live to a ripe old age. The real meaning of ‘natural death’ is to leave this body after we have perfected our nature. The means of our dying, such as by accident, illness, or in the line of duty, does not define the nature of our death. The real nature of our death is defined only by the nature of our living. If we have lived our life in harmony with our true nature (Dharma) then we are naturally freed from all our past karmas at the time of death.

 

Our past karmas come to an end when we have paid all our debts. But there is one debt we can never repay, and that is our debt to the Creator who gave us the gift of Life. Ultimately, only He can release us from the endless cycle of birth, life, and death, and that He does naturally when we surrender completely to His Will.

 

There is no man who is the Perfect Man. Everyone has some flaw, some imperfection. The greatest height is reached only by way of the greatest humility. Old age and death humble even the mightiest. We can approach the Supreme Might only with supreme humility. For that, we need to give up our self-will.

 

Our self-will attracts us to the temporary pleasures of this world, and our attachment to these pleasures makes us hold on to this body and causes us to fear death. We fear death because we fear the loss of what we are attached to, and we also fear the unknown. At the moment of death, all those attachments will flirt before our mind’s eye in a split of a second, and we will see that our only attachment has been the attachment to our ego. In an instant we will see clearly the past, the present, and the future and realize that there is something beyond all of this. That something is the Unknown, which for a moment we will glimpse in our mind’s eye. We will know our destiny and realize that we alone are the author of it. But that moment of death is not the defining moment of our next life. The next birth is defined by our life, and not by our death. Our life is defined by our actions, and our death is determined by our fate (the cumulative effect of the actions of innumerable lives). Our birth, life, and death together will lead to our destiny.

 

Our true destiny is to reach our Ultimate Destination, and that is the state of Supreme Consciousness. The experience of that Supreme State is AMRITAM, the nectar of Divine Bliss.

 

From the moment the soul is embodied in human form, it is irresistibly drawn by the fragrance of that nectar to return to its Essence. If we follow the fragrance of divine Wisdom, we will find our way back (to our spiritual roots), and the way forward to our Eternity. From the moment Purush is joined with Prakriti, the Jiva (the living soul) seeks to return home to the Source. We can never rest until we return home to our Supreme Mother and Supreme Father.

 

In the metaphysical sense, our Mother is PRAKRITI and our Father is PURUSH. We have the qualities of both. When we reach our Eternal Abode, the Prakritic element returns to the Unmanifest, and the Purushic element merges with the divine Spirit (Purush), and we are liberated.

 

OM

 

Back to Table of Contents