Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada

Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan

Now Sri Krishna is answering the next question. That how someone can remember Him at the time of death. First He gives specific direct answer and then He gives general principle. So BG 8.5 is the direct answer.

Bg 8.5

anta-kāle ca mām eva
smaran muktvā kalevaram
yaḥ prayāti sa mad-bhāvaṁ
yāti nāsty atra saṁśayaḥ

Word for word: 

anta–kāle — at the end of life; ca — also; mām — Me; eva — certainly; smaran — remembering; muktvā — quitting; kalevaram — the body; yaḥ — he who; prayāti — goes; saḥ — he; mat–bhāvam — My nature; yāti — achieves; na — not; asti — there is; atra — here; saṁśayaḥ — doubt.

Translation: 

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.

 

anta-kāle ca mām eva, if at the time of death one remembers mām eva remembers Me. Certainly eva 

Then smaran muktvā kalevaram, If one remembers Him alone, then one becomes liberated from the body then

yaḥ prayāti sa mad-bhāvaṁ, yaḥ prayāti so when one leaves like this, sa mad-bhāvaṁ, that person will attain my nature, yāti nāsty atra saṁśayaḥ, of this there is no doubt, yaḥ prayāti, such a person will attain my nature. But of this there is no doubt. So Krishna is telling over here something very significant.

What He is saying that actually if one want to attain Supreme Nature Supreme destination of Krishna then we have to remember Him at the time of death, so importance of moment of death we have discussed repeatedly in Isopanishad and Nectar of Instruction also we discussed that so I will not elaborate much on this by Srila Prabhupada often quote this, From Mukanada-Mala Satotram, King Kulashekar’s Prayer,Kanta Avarodam Vidhau Samarananm Kutaste. He says that actually at the time of death Kanta Avarodam, the Kafa specially comes up, and when it comes up Samaranam Kutaste, how it will be possible to remember you my Lord therefore he is saying that I wanted to die immediately he is saying let my mind entangle in the tangle of your lotus feet. Like a swan gets honey that is at the bottom of the lotus flower and puts his head inside, it goes so much inside, his neck and head goes inside so that it is difficult even to come out also. Like that my dear Lord I wanted to get so entangled in You as if I will not be able to come out only. So one got so much absorbed in Krishna it is like material death itself ultimately what is death it is like cease of material activities so let us get so absorbed and entangled in your lotus feet that nothing will remain for me. 

Then yaḥ prayāti sa mad-bhāvaṁ, so if one can do like this one absorbed in remembrance of Krishna and one is remembering Krishna at the time of death, then Krishna says that you will come back to Me. And generally speaking if we don’t see something often we are likely to have doubts, all we want is evidence so what is the result what is the guarantee that this will happen, and Krishna is reassuring us that there is not even a doubt on this. Not to have even slightest shred of doubt about this. In this there is no doubt. Now how can we understand this actually Krishna is here to help us, Krishna is not there to engage us, Krishna is not here to fail us also, Krishna is in our heart to help us in gaining success. So if we are thinking Him at the time of death then we have actually developed love for Him, As the moment of death so traumatic that it is possible for us to think of so many things else except the thing which we love most and which we have got greatest shelter, so when we got the shelter at that time, so if we have taken shelter of Krishna deeply before death then we will take shelter of Krishna at the time of death. And if we take shelter of Krishna at the time of death then naturally Krishna wants to take us back, Krishna is eager for us to come back. So it shows eagerness to Krishna, Krishna I am thinking of you I want to come back to you then Sri Krishna will take us back so there is no doubt it is not that Krishna wants to keep us here, Krishna simply wants to see whether we wanted to go back or not. If we show that we wanted to go back then definitely He will take us back. 

Now significant word here is smaran muktvā, It is not Kirtan Muktva, if someone keep a gun at his head and says I have enjoyed enough now I will just say Krishna and shoot he will not go back, we can’t cheat Krishna, now actually it is smaran, even if we say Krishna we may not be able to remember Krishna if we have not developed attachment to Him. 

Now we will see significantly so many time Prabhupada quoted full Hare Krishna. And mostly this is one place where Srila Prbahupada has quoted Hare Krishna twice, so by this Prabupada is emphasizing importance of holy name. Srila Prabhupada has said that by chanting Hare Krishna Maha Mantra we can remember Krishna. So by delightedly chanting Hare Krishna maha mantra throughout our life we will be remembering Krishna at the time of death also.

End of transcription.