A person may grow spiritually more during the last few years of life

Until next time Times of India Ramesh Bijlani | Jun 13, 2011, 03.02pm IST

The spiritual explanation provided by the Mother (Aurobindo Ashram) is that a person does not die till he gives his consent, may be only for "the hundredth part of a second". As she says, there is always something in the person which, out of fatigue or disgust, says: "Well, let it be finished, so much the better". …

The body is subject to ageing and decay. Like any machine, it cannot go on working forever. Therefore, death is a physical necessity. Death is also a spiritual necessity. The goal of life is spiritual growth, and most of us are unable to complete the journey of spiritual growth in a lifetime. Beyond a point, our body is too worn out to continue with this journey. We should be happy that death provides us a mechanism by which we are sure to get rid of this body, and get a brand new body to continue the journey further. 

How can we be reborn unless we are ready to die? Death not only clears the way for another opportunity to take a few steps in our spiritual journey, it also helps us grow in this life. If we were assured of physical immortality, few of us would be motivated to grow spiritually. A sinful life can be so engaging, absorbing, and entertaining, that it would not leave us any time, incentive or energy to live a better life. The certainty of death is a powerful force that restrains evil and encourages good deeds. That is why a person may grow spiritually more during the last few years of life than in the preceding several decades. 

Auromira Yoga: OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE SPIRITUALITY By Dr. Ramesh Bijlani The misplaced curiosity trap

Drifting into spirituality with the relatively simple aims of pursuing something of lasting value, something useful to others, or something better than joining the rat race, some young people get distracted by the futile search for answers to irrelevant questions. They want to know more and more about life after death, rebirth, past life regression, or forecasting the future. They start resolving the apparent discrepancies in the karma theory. 

Thoughts and Aporisms 29 from All choice by Barindranath Chaki

We should understand properly what "will" is. The human will is a thought, supported by a 'force' for execution and also supported by an 'impulse'. Often, it is supported by a lesser knowledge and/or understanding, lesser force and lesser and baser impulses and instincts. We find on earth and among humans clash of wills. Whenever the thought and the force and the impulse backing the will is limited, more or less, conditioned by unconsciousness or half-consciousness, by grossness, by lack of enlightenment, there comes the question of clash or the question of virtue and vice. Barindranath Chaki 12-06-2011 [Simultaneously published by me in All choice and Sulekha.]   

The Guru, the Gandhian, the Organisation Man Rediff Rajeev Srinivasan

Baba Ramdev does identify with the hoary spiritual traditions of India, although he does bring in his own idiosyncrasies. For instance, the traditional Guru has been a mild, philosophical, spiritual person emphasising the syncretic, tolerant strain of meditative Indic tradition. A good example would be the other-worldly and kindly Ramana Maharshi of Tiruvannamalai, or Sri Ramakrishna of Calcutta. Ramdev is not so mellow.

That is not to say that there have not been assertive Gurus. The most prominent, of course, were Swami Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo, who did much to rekindle the spirit of Indian civilization, under withering attack by malign forces. And let us not forget the youthful Adi Sankara, he who traversed the length and breadth of the subcontinent, defeating the Buddhists in intellectual battles.

Baba Ramdev is perhaps in the mould of these robust Gurus. 

Savitri Era: Sri Aurobindo is a victim of disinformation

The name of Sri Aurobindo has adorned the media in diverse contexts in the wake of the current Hazare-Ramdev mobilization, but no one cares to point out the ...