Keep Distance – In Gita Verse 8.5 And whoever, at the end of his life, quits his body remembering Me alone at once attains My nature. Of this there is no doubt.
Krishna is saying that any moment even when you are just to die, in that moment also if you become a watcher – at once attains My nature. Krishna’s nature means emptiness.
From our life many times we have experienced that when we are angry and suddenly we focus on our breath we become calm. Death is a culmination of our own life. If at the time when you are angry you become alert that when you focus on your breath you calm down means you don’t have to fight with anger but you need to become self-alert. This can be done only by self and not by anyone else or by reading the scripture. This small, small realisation and self-alertness when it will grow in you, means your action comes from self-alertness, as a watcher towards yourself, you will be surprised that such a small practice and any circumstances can become an opportunity to grow in consciousness. Once this realisation settles in you, you will find that when you are going for a sleep you are calm and peaceful. Your nights are more relaxing.
Sleep is the experience of temporary death.
Now what Krishna is saying is that even when you are dying at that time if you become a watcher immediately you will calm down and in that calmness you will be able to merge into your emptiness. As you have experienced, from anger you become calm, the same way from fear of death you become calm, if you become self-alert, watchful towards your own-self. Then you will be able to enter into your emptiness, your formlessness.
Let me tell you one sufi story: A great king asked a Sufi mystic to give him something in writing – a sutra, a small maxim which would help him in every possible situation, good, bad, which would help him in success, in failure, in life, in death.
The Sufi gave him his ring and told him, “There is a message. Whenever you are really in need, in a real emergency, just open the ring, take up the diamond, and inside you will find the message – but not out of curiosity, only when there is real danger which you cannot face on your own and you need me, you can see the message.”
Many times the king became curious about what was in there, but he resisted his temptation: he had given his promise, his word. He was a man of his word.
After ten years he was attacked and defeated. He ran away into the forest, into the mountains, and the enemy was following him. He could hear the horses coming closer and closer – it was death coming closer. They would kill him! But he was going as fast as he could on his horse. Tired he was, tired was his horse; wounded he was, wounded was his horse. And then suddenly he came to a cul-de-sac. The way ended; there was an abyss. And there was no possibility of turning back because the enemy was closing in, at every moment coming closer. He could not take the jump into the abyss; that was sure death. Except for waiting there was nothing to do.
Suddenly he remembered the ring. He opened the ring, removed the diamond. Inside there was a piece of paper; on the piece of paper just a simple, single sentence: “This too will pass away.” And suddenly a great calmness descended on him: “This too will pass away.”
And it happened exactly like that. He was hearing those noises coming closer; by and by he started hearing them going farther away. They had taken a wrong turn. He had passed a crossroad, they must have moved on some other road. Then he gathered his armies, fought the enemies again, and won back his kingdom. He was received with great joy, garlanded, flowers showered, the whole capitol decorated for his welcome.
Suddenly he felt great ego arising in him. Again he remembered the message, “This too will pass away,” and the ego disappeared. And all those garlands and all that welcome became just a child’s play. In failure it helped, in success it helped.
That became his meditation, that became his mantra. So whatsoever would come he would repeat deep down – not verbally, but the feeling would be there in his heart – “This too will pass away.”
If you can remember it, then whatsoever comes into your mind you remain simply a witness: “This too will pass away.” That witnessing is awareness – but we are identified. We become greed, we become anger, we become lust. Whatsoever comes in front of our consciousness, we become identified with it. It is as foolish as when it happens to very small children.
Have you tried it? Just put a mirror before a very small child. He will look in the mirror very surprised, with wide open eyes he will look: “Who is this fellow?” He will try to catch hold, but he cannot catch hold of the person. And then, if the child is intelligent, he will try to go to the back of the mirror: “Maybe the child is hiding behind the mirror.” He is not yet aware that it is only a mirror; there is no reality.
Mind is only a mirror: it reflects the clouds of the world, it reflects all that happens around in the world. Somebody insults and there is anger – It is a reflection. Somebody beautiful passes by and it reflects – it is lust. And you immediately become identified with it.
Krishna says – Keep a little distance… and slowly, slowly, you will find that the distance goes on growing. One day the mind is so far, far away, it does not affect you at all. This is coming home, this is Buddhahood. Aes Dhammo Sanantano: this is the inexhaustible law of life. If you can be a witness you will be able to pass through a great transformation: you will know your real self.
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