Overcome Death

Swami Ram Swarup Ji, Yogacharya
We daily observe that several human-beings meet with death and such departed souls start their journey for a hidden untrodden space where nobody becomes able to visit with human-body.
Infact, according to Yajurved mantra 1/1, the human-body has been provided by God to the soul to do worship to destroy sorrows, to overcome cycle of birth and death and thus to attain salvation. Otherwise, according to Patanjali Rishi’s Yog Shastra sutra 2/3, amongst the five great sufferings, the most sorrowful suffering to be experienced is death.
Besides, it is an eternal and everlasting truth that the death swallows learned as well as ignorant persons equally. (Yog Shastra Sutra 2/9 refers).
This is only the cruel death where recently our forty jawans have been swallowed by it and the whole family of soldiers including our nation have been left behind with grief-stricken hearts and eyes full of tears.
Living-beings include human-beings but there is a vast difference between the two, i.e. human-beings if follow spiritual and worldly pious paths simultaneously, then they become able to overcome death and thus make their future bright by destroying all sorrows and attaining salvation whereas the said opportunity has not been awarded by God to other living-beings.
Let us also pay our attention towards ChanakyaNeeti which preaches that there are four qualities which are equally applicable to human-beings and other living-beings. Those qualities are- eating, sleeping, fearing and reproducing. But one divine quality of Dharma i.e. worship, to discharge moral duties towards family, society and nation and to do only the pious deeds which are mentioned in Vedas, distinguish human-beings from other living-beings.
Therefore, if human-beings donot follow the said path, naturally no difference remains between the two i.e. God and learned treat human-beings like other living-beings and accordingly the result of karmas in the shape of sorrows is awarded to them and facing of cycle of birth and death continues.
So, those who are desirous of overcoming death, destroying the sorrows, experiencing divine pleasure and attaining salvation, being the main motto of human-life, then those aspirants will have to follow the vedic path to worship the greatest, Formless Almighty, God Who is divine form of light, creates, nurses and destroys the universe, Whose name, form and unlimited divine qualities are mentioned in eternal knowledge of Vedas by God Himself. You see, without knowing the said God, nobody can overcome the cruel and most painful suffering death.
In this regard, I would like to quote here, Yajurved mantra 31/18 as under-
“VedaahametamPurushamMahaantamaadityavarnnamTamasahaparastaat,
TamevViditvaatiMrityumetinaanyahapanthaVidyateayanaaya.”
In this ved mantra, there is a preach to an aspirant [So, let us be good aspirants by listening Vedas.] that Oh! aspirant, I (Ved) know the God, Who creates all the worldly matters from prakriti, (Mahaantam) has unlimited divine qualities (Adityavarnnam) who is form of divine light i.e. He gives the light to sun, moon and the whole world etc. but He never takes light from any source, (TamsahaParastaat) Who is away from ignorance/illusion (Purusham) He is Almighty and perfect in all respects (TamevViditva) by knowing Him only, you (Ati+eti) overcome (Mrityum) the severe pain of death.
In the last, mantra preaches a deep advice for the whole universe that (AnyahaPanthaha Na Vidyate) without knowing the said God there is no other path to overcome the death (Aynaaya) and by destroying the sorrows to attain final liberation.
Meaning- In this ved mantra, there is a preach to an aspirant [So, let us be good aspirants by listening Vedas.] that Oh! aspirant, I know the God, Who creates all the worldly matters from prakriti, has unlimited divine qualities who is form of divine light i.e. He gives the light to sun, moon and the whole world etc. but He never takes light from any source, Who is away from ignorance/illusion. He is Almighty and perfect in all respects by knowing Him only, you overcome the severe pain of death.
In the last, mantra preaches a deep advice for the whole universe that without knowing the said God there is no other path to overcome the death and by destroying the sorrows to attain final liberation.
Infact, the traditional Vedic preach from learned Rishi-Munis has been meant for a good aspirant and since we are human-beings and our main motto of life is to attain salvation by worshipping God by following vedic path, therefore, it is our moral duty entrusted by God in Vedas to become good aspirants, in the absence of which, we would not be able to know the eternal, everlasting, immortal, omnipresent and Almighty God whose description is mentioned in Vedas by God Himself and not by any other human-being etc. otherwise, what would be the use of doing worship without knowing the above cited God, ask Vedas. You know, the above quoted Yajurved mantra 31/18 emphasis forcefully that the death is overcome by knowing the only God who has been described as above and whose unlimited divine qualities are mentioned in Vedas by God Himself and not by any Rishi-Muni or human-being.
So, like the previous yugas, we will have to revert back to Vedas to escape from the cruel claws of death.