Suspending Death

(written on Nov 9, 2019)

We cannot avoid death in this material world, however we can suspend it, or avoid it for a short period of time. The process for suspending death is explained in SB 1.16, “O Sūta Gosvāmī, there are those amongst men who desire freedom from death and get eternal life. They escape the slaughtering process by calling the controller of death, Yamarāja.” Yamaraj is a great devotee of the Lord and he is the god of death. When we welcomingly invite Yamaraj to perform kirtan, Yamaraj becomes pleased with the devotee and suspends their death.

However, to avoid death completely, it is explained in the purport of SB 1.16.8, “Every human being dislikes meeting death, but he does not know how to get rid of death. The surest remedy for avoiding death is to accustom oneself to hearing the nectarean pastimes of the Lord as they are systematically narrated in the text of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.”To completely avoid death, the reading of the Srimad Bhagavatam is necessary. When one hears the Srimad Bhagavatam sincerely and regularly, then one will transcend the cycle of birth, death, old age and disease and will no longer be subject to death.