Sadhguru. why do they offer food on the third day after death?

Sadhguru : On the third day after death, there is a tradition or ritual to offer milk and water to the grave. One thing is that there is a psychological need in you to still feed them, still take care of them, though they are dead, though you can't do anything. All the milk or water or food, whatever you can offer, only a body can consume. One who is bodiless has nothing to do with all this. It has a very deep psychological implication for the living. The other aspect of it is that the one who has left the body, the dead - this is not true with everybody who dies, but with certain people - when he dies in a certain unfulfilled way, or if he dies without running the course of his prarabhada karma or the allotted karma for this life, such person could be quenched by making certain offerings. This is not always true. In some cases its true, so they just made that a general ritual so that in case the dead in your house has such a requirement, it is taken care of.

Above all, it quenches the psychological thirst in you, wanting to do something for somebody that you care for; and generally, when they were living maybe you were not in the talking terms. Maybe when they asked for a glass of water you did not bring it, but now you want to do it. All this knowledge has come out of people's awareness of experiencing those dimensions which are beyond the body very clearly. They have been established in the indian culture, but over a period of time, they get distorted and people start doing very silly things, not realizing exactly why certain things were said.

Source : Mystic's Musings by Sadhguru.

At the moment of death. You are neither the decaying body. You are neither the psychological healthy body. You are the pure freedom, pure consiousness. Osho

Dying gracefully - Sadhguru.

Death is inevitable, but only a few people have the fortune of a graceful death. Sadhguru tells us about how to ensure a graceful exit for a dying person, and the importance of taking away the “choppiness” of death.

Questioner: I have a parent who is nearing her death. What is the best way to prepare her for this?

Sadhguru: Everywhere in the world, people talk about dying peacefully. All they are talking about is they do not want to die in a choppy manner; they want to recede gently. To take away the choppiness of death, one simple thing you can do is to have a lamp – preferably with ghee but you can also use butter – burning constantly, 24 hours of the day next to that person. This creates a certain aura so that the choppy nature of withdrawal can be regulated to some extent. Another thing you can do is to set up some kind of a universal chant – something like Brahmananda Swarupa on a CD – at a very mild volume. A consecrated sound like this in the background will also make sure that choppy withdrawal can be avoided.

Having a lamp and a simple chant going should continue up to 14 days after one has been certified dead, because he may be medically dead but not existentially dead; he is not completely dead. Death happens slowly. The withdrawal of the life process from this lump of earth – the body – happens step-by-step. For all practical purposes, the activity of the lungs, heart and brain has stopped so they are declared dead, but it is not yet so. Even if the person’s body is burnt, he is still not dead because his movement into the other realm has not started.

It is based on this that there are various kinds of rituals in India up to 14 days after somebody dies. Unfortunately, the knowledge and power behind these rituals have mostly been lost and people are just doing things for their livelihood. Very few people truly understand the significance of what it is. Unless one leaves absolutely consciously that he is instantly off, for such a person we do not do anything, but for all others, these things are done because you have to show them the way.

So the first thing that is done when somebody dies is, anything that has been intimately in touch with their body, such as underclothes, is burnt. Other clothes, jewelry, everything is distributed – not just to one person – but among many people within three days. Everything is distributed as quickly as possible so that they get confused. They will not know where to hang around anymore. If you were to give a bundle of their belongings to someone, they would go there because the energy of their own body still exists in the clothes. These things were done not only to settle the dead but also to settle the family and relatives, so that they understand that it is over. It doesn’t matter how involved and attached you were to somebody, when it is done, it is done – the game is up.

Even if it is your enemy who is dying right now, you must create a peaceful atmosphere for him

Generally, everywhere in the world irrespective of which culture, it is said, “even if it is your enemy who is dying right now, you must create a peaceful atmosphere for him, you don’t do ugly things.” Maybe you shot him in battle, but you take off your hat when he is leaving or you say, “Ram Ram,” or whatever you know. When somebody is dying, at that moment the whistle has already been blown and the game is over. There is no point kicking now.

That is the reason why, when you see that even the dead are not treated with respect, something within you shakes. Not because you have to treat a body with respect but because he is exiting slowly. It doesn’t matter how he lived, at least that must happen well. Every human being must have that much intention.
Editor’s note: If you have had any experiences about the passing of a loved one, let us know about it by sharing in the comments section.

For more information & a free download of the chant, visit the Brahmananda Swarupa blogpost. You can also find more information on lamps at the blogpost about the significance of lighting lamps.
If you would like to delve deeper into the process of life & death, purchase Sadhguru’s ebook, Life & Death In One Breath. Please note that the ebook is available on Amazon. Amazon ebooks can be read directly on your web browser, PCs, tablets and smartphones. Click here for details.

Please comment on the source link :  http://blog.ishafoundation.org/yoga-meditation/peaceful-death-dying-peacefully/

A Graceful Transition - An Isha meditator shares about his daughter’s death. Many Many Thanks to Sadhguru, for coming in our life.

I had a daughter named Aarthipriya. She was born with a congenital myopathy . She could neither walk nor perform daily chores.


I first met Sadhguru 20 years ago. When I told him about my daughter who was four or five years of age at that time, he said that “because of good karma, she has chosen to be born to you. That life has chosen you to dissolve its karma. Take care of her with love.”

Later, when Sadhguru went to the US, he enquired about a treatment for this disorder. He called me to say that there was no known treatment and advised us to just shower her with love and to take care of her well. There was some sense of calmness within ourselves after he told us that. She was very active, sang Carnatic music and did lots of craft work. Everybody who met her liked her. She never worried about the disorder or showed her incapability. She would never create a situation where we would have to worry about her.

Each time she met Sadhguru, she would sing songs for him. And he blessed her and gave her a flower that she would preserve in her book. When he gave her a fruit, she would ask her mother to give her a little every day and savored it over two to three days. She had so much trust in Sadhguru.

Once, when she was 15, she complained about body aches, and a family friend suggested Reiki . She was given Reiki for two days, and the pain reduced a little. When we had an opportunity to meet Sadhguru and I told him about the treatment, he said, “Stop that treatment immediately. All her karma should dissolve in this body; in this lifetime. Let her not take anything with her. If she can bear the pain, stop the treatment.” The next day, I told Aarthi what Sadhguru said and when I asked if she would bear the pain, she said, “If Sadhguru had said so, then I don’t need this treatment. Please ask them not to come anymore.”

Whenever I went for Sadhguru’s sathsang, I had to tell her in detail what Sadhguru had spoken, and she would listen with so much interest. Once, Sadhguru said something like “Leave your last moment to me. I will take care that your death will happen smoothly.” When I shared this with Aarthi, I could see that this touched her deeply.

In the final year of her life, her health turned critical. For six months, she was bedridden, ate less, and needed an oxygen machine to support her breathing. One day, upon advice of the doctor, an x-ray was taken of her chest. The radiologist said that in his 25 years of experience, he had not seen anything like this – all the organs were merged one on top of the other. The doctor told me in private, “The situation is very critical. Anything can happen – there could be kidney failure, or the blood might clot, or she could go into coma.” I was helpless, and I could not share this with my wife or relatives.

But Aarthi insisted that I should tell her exactly what the doctor had said. When I told her that the doctor said the situation was critical, it seemed like she arrived at a decision. The next day morning, she called me and said, “Please pass on this message about my situation to Sadhguru.” Sadhguru replied saying, “She is in my awareness. Please ask the others to remain calm.” I told her this and that was when she relaxed. She asked Isha Yoga teacher Swaminathan to come and she spoke with him. After the conversation, he said she asked questions like “How to be in the last moment? In what mental state should I be? How to face it?” He added, “She is prepared. Prepare yourself too and everything will be fine.” When we went to see her in her room, she said, “Father, I have decided and there will be no change in this. It should happen soon.”

She kept listening to the ‘Brahmananda Swaroopa’ CD that had been sent to her from the ashram and she was looking at Sadhguru’s picture next to her. At that time, she was still on oxygen support. Four, five days later, she said, “Daddy, I have decided already. It should happen soon.” We were deeply concerned about what she said. To the doctors who came that day, she said, “Please make arrangements for my eyes to be donated. But please check if my eyes can be donated, to make sure that the disease will not spread to someone.”

One evening, a relative of ours came to visit, and when leaving, he said to Aarthi, “Today is Amavasya [new moon], so I will go to temple.” That whole night, Aarthi breathed without respirator and listened to ‘Brahmananda Swaroopa.’ She said, “I wish to be alone. I don’t want any relatives to come to see me.” In the morning around 10 a.m., I went next to her. It was as if her breath was going faster. In the next half hour, her breath changed. I sensed that this was going to be her last moment. When I touched her hand, she held it. I called my wife too, and we chanted together. In this half hour, without any struggle, she left her body peacefully. Her face was so clear at that moment. Death happened very smooth for her.

We had been afraid that her death would be painful, because that was what the doctors had said. We had been worried about the struggle that she might have to go through towards her end. But as she gave herself to Sadhguru, her death happened so effortlessly. We felt so humbled and grateful within.

The next day, we passed on the message to Sadhguru and his reply was, “She has reached the right place. Everybody can be calm.” I consider myself very fortunate for having known Sadhguru. Many times have I heard Sadhguru saying, “Give yourself to me. I shall take care of your life and death.” But now, I saw this with my own eyes through Aarthi. After this incident, my respect and gratitude for Sadhguru has increased even more.

- Krishnakumar, Isha meditator, Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu, India
[Translated from Tamil]

Questioner: My son is unable to cope with the death of his grandfather. How do I deal with this situation?

Sadhguru: Death is not a surprise. It does not take enormous intelligence and research, nor do you need education to find out whether you will die or not. It is inborn in every human being the moment s/he is born.

By the time you are four or five you know you will die, isn’t it? In spite of knowing this, you do nothing. Do you want to do something about it after the funeral is over? You cannot handle it like this, all of a sudden.This is not something that you handle at that very moment. When someone has lost a dear one and you try to philosophise by telling him/her that it is okay and that only the body dies the soul does not, you will hurt the person even more. That is not the right time for these words. This is something that needs to be brought into your life early enough.

It is not that people are not aware of death, but they try to close their eyes to it. It will be good if you look at it with openness. You must introduce it into your life and your children’s lives very early. Just remind children, “Death is a natural thing, and it is bound to happen. It is not a calamity; it is a natural process of life”.

It is good if you can talk to your children about your own death; it is good if they know that their parents will die some day. This will make them stronger. If something untoward happens and you die, your children will be able to handle their lives. Don’t you want to bring up your children in such a way that they can live a sensible and balanced life? Or do you want that when you disappear they be destroyed as well? Which way do you want to bring them up? If you do not acquaint them with death, they will not be able to accept it — whether it is in your family, or someone else’s. We are not wishing or inviting death, but if something happens, we must be able to carry on with our lives.

This does not mean that you will not miss

your loved ones or that you will not have the normal human emotions — no, you will have all that, but it will not destroy you. Everything that occurs in your life can enrich you if you can handle it with a certain sense of awareness. If you are unaware, everything that happens will be a problem.

So, when a dearest one dies, it is an enormous possibility for you to grow beyond your limitations. But you use it to destroy yourself. When you have paid such a big price of losing someone who is very dear to you, should you not benefit from it? It is awareness that will make you believe in death, and stay calm when it comes.

— Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, a prominent spiritual leader, is a visionary, humanitarian, poet and internationally-renowned speaker.
He can be contacted at www.ishafoundation.org

Living in illusion

So many veils and illusions separate us from the stark knowledge that we are dying. When we finally know we are dying, and all other sentient beings are dying with us, we start to have a burning, almost heartbreaking sense of fragility and preciousness of each moment and each being, and from this can grow a deep, clear, limitless compassion for all beings.

Sir Thomas More, I heard, wrote this words just before his beheading "We are all in the same cart, goint to the execution, how can i hate anyone or wish anyone harm ?" To feel the full force of your mortality, and to open your heart entirely to it, is to allow to grow in you that all-encompassing, fearless compassion that fuels the lives of all those who wish truly to be of help to others.

Source - Glimpse after Glimpse - Sogyal Rinpoche.

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Near Death experience from the above mentioned book

Those who have been through the near-death experience have reported a startling range of aftereffects and changes. One woman said: The things that I felt slowly were a very heightened sense of love, the ability to communicate love, the ability to find joy and pleasures in the smallest and most insignificant things about me....... I developed a great compassion for people that were ill and facing death, I wanted so much to let them know, to somehow make them aware that the dying process was nothing more than an extension of one's life.

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What is our life but a dance of transient forms? Isn't everything always changing? Doesn't everything we have done in the past seem like a dream now? The friends we grew up with, the childhood haunts, those views and opinions we once held with such single minded passion: We have left them all behind. Now, at this moment, reading this book seems vividly real to you. Even this page will soon be only a memory.

Sadhguru, how do we get over death of our dear one ?

Q: Sadhguru, how do we get over the death of a dear one?


A: [Sadhguru breathes in and out heavily and asks] “What is this? Life? Right?”
[Sadhguru breathes out once and stops for a while before asking] “What is this? Death? Right?”
“Now, someone or the other is dying in my family on a daily basis. What should I do about it? You don’t understand? This universe full of people is my family. How should I get over it? Get over what? You mean to get over the fact that the body, mind and emotions that you recognised the person by is no longer here, right? But when you could feel all of that of that person what did you do with that? The very fact that you want to get over it means that there is something that you did not do for the person which you ideally wanted to do when the person was alive. Do you know what that means? The person died but is alive inside you.
Everything happening in this world is happening where? Inside you. Am I right? I am talking here, where is it happening? Inside you. The tree is there but where is it actually? In your eyes, again inside you, right? You know all that nonsense of light falling on that image is getting reflected and creating an inverted image on your retina that is being read by your mind and shown to you in the way that it is, right? So where is everything happening? Where is the world? Inside you. Whatever is happening here is actually happening inside you. The moment it comes into your experience the world is inside you. So where is death of a dear one happening? Inside you?
This January when I was at the World Economic Forum, there was this nonagenarian lady who came upto me and narrated her experience. As a 13 year old she was from some part in Europe that was being conquered by Hitler and they were systematically exterminating the Jews and other people as well. It was at a time when her parents had disappeared, assumed dead, and she was left with her 8 year old brother at the railway station for around 4 to 5 days waiting for a train that would take her somewhere. As soon as they got on to the train, she noticed that her kid brother was not wearing shoes. He had missed it somewhere. The temperatures there are freezing cold. She got enraged and wrenched her brother’s ears for not wearing his shoes and scolded him almost throughout the journey. The boy did not respond even a single line. As the train reached its destination the boys and the girls were separated and taken away to their respective camps for extermination. The girl survived the camp and came out alive after 4 or 5 years and never saw her brother again.
To this day she remembers this incident with lot of emotions. But she said that she made an important decision from then. The last thing that she ever gave her brother was admonishment and hence whoever she met from that day on she spoke to them as if it was the last word she would ever speak to them. Please see how you interact with people at home, neighbours, colleagues, people on the road and others. Imagine if it was the last word you would ever speak to them and speak to them from now on. How would you speak? Would you still speak the same way or would there be a change in the way you spoke to them? In fact it is a reality. Look at it - you are here now, I am speaking to you. Is there any guarantee that you will be here next moment or tomorrow? Not that I want all of you to die or disappear suddenly, in fact I wish and pray that all of you lead long and happy lives [folds his hands in prayer], but can you guarantee me that you will be alive the next moment for me to speak to you?
Now the reason that you want to get over the death of a dear one is because somewhere deep down you feel you have not done or said something that you ideally wanted to do for the departed. Now that the person has departed you feel you have lost the opportunity of doing whatever you wanted to do. Imagine if you spoke and lived as if it was the last time you ever saw the person. Would there be any reason for you to get over death at all?
While doing this program, Anandha Alai, two of my volunteers have had an accident and have broken their skulls and died. Two others of my family, very loved ones, very dear ones have passed away recently. If we have done whatever we wanted to do for them then we continue to live joyously, right? We don’t have to let sadness affect us because they have passed away. We can be joyful and happy when our conscience is clear”

The tibetan book of the dead

The blog which you are reading now is simply expressible of my own understanding of the book "The Tibetan Book of the Dead". The author of this book is W.Y.Evans Wentz. I wish the readers of this blog will try to ascertain the facts themselves from this book. I feel the book is authethic since the author has himself travelled in the parts of Tibet, Himalayas and have joined the various schools of religious sect before ascertaining the fact. In fact the author has impartially worked only has a interpreter of this book. He has translated whatever has been said by a Lamaic Teacher from Tibet. You can buy this book Here. This book will change the very way you have lead your life.

What you should do when your near one's breath is about to cease while encountering death ?

This is the most important moment in the life of the deceased. Please do not overlook this fact. It is the moment, when all the relatives and near one's should leave the deceased alone with the expert yogic preacher who will recite the verses from the above mentioned book. The preacher will keep reminding him about the states which he is going to experience. The suffering and crying's of the relatives disturbs the spirit of the deceased and the deceased is unable to hear what preacher is trying to say. I can understand the emotion's and pains of the relatives, of being separated from your dear one's. But this is the moment, when the deceased can realise that he is simply a void state of mind. This state of mind of the deceased continues even after death. The mind is clear, clean, uncreated yet powerful. It can avoid taking rebirth in this world of suffering and gain enlightenment. To gain enlightenment is very easy at the moment of death since the mind is many fold powerful at that time and it can understand things more clearly than our ordinary state of mind. BUT THE BIGGEST QUESTION FOR THIS MOMENT IS THAT , CAN WE FIND A YOGIC PREACHER OR BECOME ONE ?


Why people consider death as a taboo ?

It is strange that people avoid speaking on the subject of death, when the inevitable is going to happen to everyone. Wouldn't it would be wise if we become familiar with this phenomenon of death. One thing I came to know from this book is that there is existence even after death. It is not that has soon has we die, we will reincarnate in some other life form. We will have to pass through variety of visions, like dazzling lights, rays, peaceful and wrathful deities ,after death, which are coming from the centres of our own brain centres. This visions described in the book, are written with perspective of a buddhist. The visions will differ for a muslim, christian, hindu etc. There lies the secret key. One needs to understand that those visions are coming from one's own self. Those lights and deities are described in the stupendous form in the book, which I in no way can describe it my blog. What happens is, while our body is dead, the mental body is still alive. The mind becomes more lucid and clear after death and it sees things in unimaginable forms. Our conciousness is no longer entangled to our body. So these visions will come in dazzling forms. If one has lead a self-centred life, than he will be afraid of watching these visions and will try to flee away from this visions. No matter how much he may try to escape, those visions will follow him wherever he goes. The only thing the deceased can do is to recognise that this visions are emating from thy own brain. It is the part of his own intellect. On the other hand, if a person has lived a life of love, peace, joy, than that person will be able to recognise those visions. It has been specified in the book that if the person has come from yogic tradition, it will be easier for him to understand that whatever visions he see, is part of his own self. The visions and yourself are the same unity. One only needs to recognise and merge into it.

The goods news for human beings who are not in the spiritual practices is, this very book is designed, so that they can be liberated from this world. But one will need an expert preacher, who can practice, what has been prescribed in the book. The same things happen when you dream. You might had a nightmarish dream. The dream may be unreal but still you perspire in reality watching this dream. The watcher fails to recognise that this dream can cause no harm to him. The dream only acted has a reminder that there is fear inside you, which you have not addressed. What happens in this practice is, while the deceased is watching this dazzling visions, and is getting horrified by this visions, at that same time the preacher keeps reminding him that it is only a dream. No harm can come to him. Be calm and composed. Remember thy guru, the compassionate lord, or its tuteliery deities and thus it can be liberated from suffering and misery of this world.