Immortality

From The Mahabharata, Santi Parva

Yudhishthira said: Having acquired great power and great wealth, and having obtained a long period of life, how may one succeed in avoiding death? By which of these means, viz., penances, or the accomplishment of the diverse acts (laid down in the Vedas), or by knowledge of the Srutis, or the application of medicines, can one succeed in avoiding decrepitude and death?

Bhishma said: In this connection is cited the old narrative of Panchasikha who was a Bhikshu (mendicant) in his practices and Janaka. Once on a time Janaka, the ruler of the Videhas, questioned the great Rishi Panchasikha, who was the foremost of all persons conversant with the Vedas and who had all his doubts removed in respect of the purpose and import of all duties.

The King said: By what conduct, O holy one may one transcend decrepitude and death? Is it by penances, or by the understanding, or by religious acts (like sacrifices and vows), or by study and knowledge of the scriptures?

Thus addressed by the ruler of the Videhas, the learned Panchasikha, conversant with all invisible things, answered, saying: There is no prevention of these two (viz., decrepitude and death); nor is it true that cannot be prevented under any circumstances. Neither days, nor nights, nor months, cease to go on. Only that man, who, though transitory, betakes himself to the eternal path (of the religion of Nivritti or abstention from all acts) succeeds in avoiding birth and death. Destruction overtakes all creatures. All creatures seem to be ceaselessly borne along the infinite current of time. Those that are borne along the infinite current of time which is without a raft (to rescue) and which is infested by those two mighty alligators, viz., decrepitude and death, sink down without anybody coming to their assistance. As one is swept along that current, one fails to find any friend for help and one fails to be inspired with interest for any one else. One meets with spouses and other friends only on one’s road. One had never before enjoyed this kind of companionship with any one for any length of time.

Creatures, as they are borne along the current of time, become repeatedly attracted towards one another like masses of clouds moved by the wind meeting one another with loud sound. Decrepitude and death are devourers of all creatures, like wolves. Indeed, they devour the strong and the weak, the short and the tall. Among creatures, therefore, which are all so transitory, only the Soul exists eternally. Why should he, then, rejoice when creatures are born and why should he grieve when they die? Whence have I come? Who am I? Whither shall I go? Whose am I? Before what do I rest? What shall I be? For what reason then dost thou grieve for what? Who else then thou wilt behold heaven or hell (for what thou dost)? Hence, without throwing aside the scriptures, one should make gifts and perform sacrifices!

From The Bhagavad Gita,Chapter 2, Shloka 27; 

Jatasya Hi Dhruvo Mrityur Druvam Janma Mritasya Cha 

Tasmaad Aparihaaryearthe Na twam Shochitum Arhasi

Death is an absolute certainty for the one who is born and birth is an absolute certainty for the dead; therefore, over the inevitable, you should not grieve.
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Positive & Progressive Immortality: 

Because the soul is a particle of consciousness, he is endowed with free will. Eliminating free will, only gross matter remains. Without independence, the soul could not progress from bondage to liberation, and his ultimate salvation would be impossible. But his spirit of exploitation is a foreign force, an intoxicant; a miscalculation that surrounds his independence.

Life's objectives may be scientifically analyzed as threefold: exploitation, renunciation, and dedication. The most common tendency is found in those engaged in exploiting other persons, species, or elements, for mundane sense enjoyment. Such persons desire to materially elevate themselves in the present environment, and thus they are described as elevationists. A more sober class discovers the severe equal and opposite reactions to worldly pursuits (karma), and they engage in renunciation of the world in search of equilibrium. They hope to escape the world's concomitant reactions and sufferings. Thus their goal is liberation, and they are known as Salvationists or liberationists. But if we dive deeply into the revealed scriptures, it will be apparent that the pursuits of both exploitation and renunciation are not only fruitless, but injurious to real progress.

The normal, wholesome, and happy plane is in the life of dedication. Without exploiting or borrowing anything from the environment, and without attempting to artificially renounce it, one who is sincere to dedicate himself naturally comes into contact with a higher and more subtle plane of life. By his readiness to give and serve, he will attain to a higher society and achieve appropriate guidance. The enjoying spirit forces one to be associated with a lower section to control and enjoy. And the renouncing spirit allures even the scholars with its "prestigious" superiority over exploitation. Thus it is more dangerous, just as a half-truth is more dangerous than falsehood. As it is difficult to awaken someone from the deepest possible sleep, the liberationists may remain for incalculable time within their cell of non-differentiated liberation. But the higher existence will invite the service of one who desires to purely dedicate himself without remuneration.

Service, dedication, is the summum bonum of the teachings of the Vaishnava school, the third plane of life where every unit is a dedicating member in an organic whole. In such a normal adjustment, everyone mutually assists one another in their service to the center, the higher recipient, the highest entity. Everything is existing to satisfy Him. If this were not the case He would not be the Absolute. God is the prime cause of all causes, and everything exists for Him, to satisfy Him.

A barren conception of mere "deathlessness" cannot afford us any knowledge of a positive thing, but only freedom from the negative side. If immortality means "no influence of mortality," what, then, is its positive conception? What will be the nature, movement, and progress of that which is immortal? Without this understanding, immortality is only an abstract idea. Because it does not appear to exhibit the symptoms of death, stone would be "more immortal" than human beings, and conscious entities would be "mortal," forever denied immortality! What, then, is the positive conception of immortality? How are the immortal "immortal"? What is the positive reality in immortality? How can one become immortal? One must search out his intrinsic location in the universal order. It will not do to attempt to solve only the negative side of life which is full of suffering — birth, death, infirmity, and disease. We should know that there exists a conception of life worth living for. This positive side has been almost totally neglected in most general religious views.

For instance, the Buddhist theory is that after liberation, nothing remains. Buddhists crave absolute extinction of material existence. And the Shankarite monist theory of liberation is to lose one's individuality by "becoming one" with the non-differentiated aspect of the Absolute. They postulate that when the triad of seer, seen, and seeing, or knower, knowable, and knowledge culminate at one point, the triad is destroyed and nothing remains.

This is a vague area of "negative immortality." The "oneness" in which the perception of individuality is obscured is a marginal or "buffer" state midway between the material and spiritual worlds. Composed of innumerable souls, it is an immortal plane devoid of specific variegatedness. It possesses positivity only in the sense that it is a plane of existence, a background, but in itself it lacks a positive development of variegated existence. The nature of the background is oneness, and development woven over it necessitates plurality or a differentiated nature.

Thus, the "immortality" of the impersonalistic schools such as the Shankarites and others offers no positive life. But in Vaishnavism, immortality is a positive, dynamic existence. Above the non-differentiated Brahman aspect of the absolute, the transcendental variegated experience begins. Situated there in the spiritual plane is the positive Kingdom of God.

Transcending the vague areas of "negative immortality" that the impersonalists aspire for, the devotees — the Vaisnavas dedicate themselves to the life of eternal devotional service to the Supreme Lord of the transcendental realm. Although the soul can maladopt himself to a fallen state of existence in the planes of exploitation and renunciation, he is inherently adaptable to the positive life in the Kingdom of God. Positive immortality is possible only for the surrendered. All others are necessarily mortal. Only those who have wholly given themselves to the center are living in eternality.

With a broad vision, we must know ourselves as created of smaller stuff, and thus only with assistance from above can we improve our situation and achieve a position in the higher plane. A submissive, serving attitude is necessary. If we submit, the universal authoritative aspect of the Absolute will take us upward to a higher prospect. He is the autocrat, the absolute knowledge, the absolute good: everything about Him is absolute. Being in a vulnerable position as we experience in this world, why then should we not submit to Him?

The road to the sphere of transcendence is the deductive or descending method. We can reach the absolute good, the absolute will, by His consent alone. Only by faith in absolute surrender is anyone allowed entry into that domain; never by "exploration," by "colonization," or by attempting to become a "monarch" there. No inductive or ascending method such as renunciation or ordinary yoga can compel Him to accept us. Whosoever He chooses can alone reach Him. Although the highest point of the renunciates is desirelessness or freedom from possessiveness, the surrendered soul is naturally desireless. Detachment is only the negative side of surrender, and above selflessness, the devotee surrenders himself to the higher substance, and this is what it means to be awake in another world, another plane of life. Such is the positive Vaishnava conception of life — to determine one's real self beyond the jurisdiction of the world of misconception.

The nature of progressive substance is eternal existence, knowledge, and beauty. The one harmonizing organic whole contains similarities and differences, held inconceivably in the hand of the Absolute. And there is no anarchy in the absolute power. Nonetheless, mercy is found to be above justice. Above judiciousness the supreme position is held by love, sympathy, and beauty: "I am the absolute power, but I am friendly to you all. Knowing this you need never fear" (Bhagavad Gita 5.29). This revelation relieves us of all apprehension: we are not victims of a chaotic environment, but it is judicious and considerate, and the ultimate dispenser is our friend.

Surrender is the foundation of the world of devotion. It is the very life and essence. One cannot enter into that domain without surrender. It must be present in every form of service, and to attempt divine service without it will be a mere imitation or a lifeless formality. The entire gist of the Vedic instruction is to dedicate oneself to the service of the Godhead. Without surrender, the activity will be adulterated with exploitation, renunciation, artificial meditation, and so on.

By constitution the soul is the Lord's servant, and the Lord has the right to do anything according to His sweet will. If accepting this truth we undertake devotional practices, only then will our activity be devotional. The activity of the self-dedicated soul alone can be called devotion. Sincere prayer will help us to seek the help of the Lord, but again, prayer in the spirit of surrender can alone reach Him. The path of devotion entails inviting the positive to descend and embrace us: "I am very low and You are so high. You can purify me for Your higher purpose. Be pleased. Otherwise I am helpless." It is impossible to take Him captive in the cage of our knowledge. Only the way of devotion can help us. In every respect He is high, great, and infinite; and we are comparatively small. His mercy, His sympathy, love, and grace are the only medium through which we can come to know Him. And cultivating good faith in that autonomous sweet land which is so high, we will earnestly hope and pray to be associated with the Absolute as His devotee; and that will bring our happy prospect for the future.

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