Five Ways I Can Tiptoe Around The End

“Tulsi says, ‘O low-born, death which takes place based on the order of Rama will be good for you, whereas the long and sinful life will be unfavorable.’” (Dohavali, 155)

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नीच मीचु लै जाइ जो राम रजायसु पाइ।
तौ तुलसी तेरो भलो न तु अनभलो अघाइ ॥

nīca mīcu lai jāi jo rāma rajāyasu pāi।
tau tulasī tero bhalo na tu anabhalo aghāi ॥

1. Lying

“What is the big deal? Why should I tell the truth? I do not want them coming after me. I am only protecting myself. Okay, others will have to suffer. They will not gain the support they need. There is strength in numbers, after all. But I am not ready to take up causes for others. I have no problem living dishonestly in this situation, in order to get by.”

2. Cheating

“Come on, get over it already. This world is full of cheaters. The corporate enterprise runs on something like a pyramid scheme. There is the topmost bluffer, and then there are those below who maintain the bluff through false promises of their own. I am merely adapting to the rules of the game. Why should I be honest and get taken advantage of? Trust me, these crooks would turn on me in a moment if it was to escape accountability.”

3. Stealing

“Just stop it. They can afford to live without. You are telling me they didn’t bend the rules a little to get to where they are? They did not cut any corners? This is giving back to the community. Sure, I am not asking their permission, but I am the one in need. Mind your own business.”

4. Taking innocent life

“I have no idea what is inside of this medication. It is safe and effective. Did you not hear the public service announcements? Why are you asking so many questions? You are claiming that they killed babies in the womb in order to produce this. Okay, but what can we do now? We need this to be healthy. Why should we risk our lives just for the sake of upholding principles that no one else seems to follow?”

5. Astrology

“Sorry, I cannot leave my home today. There are some bad spirits on the horizon. I follow astrology. It comes in handy during times like these. I will be sure to join you in a few weeks, when this evil spell has passed. I am not prepared to take risks.”

…

To understand the difficulty with the human existence, how there is danger at every step, we can take the hypothetical situation of being trapped inside of a residential area. It is an apartment. We were there to run some basic household errands.

Take out the trash. Feed the fish. Pick up the mail. It is kind of housesitting, except we are not living there or staying overnight. We gained entry through pushing buttons on a keypad. We will exit the same way. We do not plan on staying long.

The problem on this day is that we have accidentally triggered the security system. Maybe we forgot the exact sequence of buttons to press for activating the system only after we have left, from the outside. Instead, we are now the main participant in what appears to be a laser light show.

There are these lines of light going in every which direction. If we should happen to come in contact with any of the beams, the sound will go. The alarm will get triggered. The police will show up and we will have to embarrassingly explain our predicament.

We can try to dance around the issue. We can try our best to find a means of escape. We can twist and contort our body in the desperate hope to avoid the inevitable. In the beginning, we think this is possible, but as more time passes we realize that there is no hope. We have to surrender to the situation and rely on the mercy of whatever should take place in the aftermath.

In the same way, the Vaishnava would rather depend on the will of the Almighty. This is pertaining to the ultimate end, which is known as anta-kale in Sanskrit. This is a critical moment in time, as the consciousness then determines the nature of the next existence.

यं यं वापि स्मरन् भावं
त्यजत्य् अन्ते कलेवरम्
तं तम् एवैति कौन्तेय
सदा तद्-भाव-भावितः

yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran bhāvaṁ
tyajaty ante kalevaram
taṁ tam evaiti kaunteya
sadā tad-bhāva-bhāvitaḥ

“Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, that state he will attain without fail.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 8.6)

The problem, of course, is that ante-kale rarely announces itself in advance. Moreover, we have to experience it to truly believe it. We have no memory of it previously occurring, though we are pretty certain it has. In addition, we know from witnessing the departure of others that the same will occur for us.

Goswami Tulsidas says it is beneficial to leave this world at the direction of the Supreme Lord, who is known as Rama, among many other names. Let Rama decide to where I will go. Let the decision come from above.

Tulsidas refers to himself as low-born in recognition of the human tendency to try to avoid the end as much as possible. That is actually a path of doom, since so many compromises will have to be made. It is something like the wealth of misers, which causes torment during both this lifetime and in the future.

प्रायेणार्थाः कदर्याणां
न सुखाय कदाचन
इह चात्मोपतापाय
मृतस्य नरकाय च

prāyeṇārthāḥ kadaryāṇāṁ
na sukhāya kadācana
iha cātmopatāpāya
mṛtasya narakāya ca

“Generally, the wealth of misers never allows them any happiness. In this life it causes their self-torment, and when they die it sends them to hell.” (Lord Krishna, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 11.23.15)

Better to avoid the torment. Better to stay within the lines of dharma. Better to avoid exploiting others for our personal gain. Better to keep sinful life, agha, at a great distance. Otherwise, the few moments we pad to the life duration will be overwhelmed by the negative impact to the consciousness.

In Closing:

At any moment can lose,
Ultimately for Rama to choose.

What can I really do?
Alone and helpless too.

Can attempt this trick or that,
But sin with revenge to exact.

Better to stay clean and pure,
And husband of Sita to adore.