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vāyur anilam amṛtam
athedaṁ bhasmāntaṁ śarīram
oṁ krato smara kṛtaṁ smara
krato smara kṛtaṁ smara

SYNONYMS

vāyuḥ—air of life; anilam—total reservoir of air; amṛtam—indestructible; atha—now; idam—this; bhasmāntam—after being turned to ashes; śarīram—body; oṁ—O Lord; krato—O enjoyer of all sacrifices; smara—please remember; kṛtam—all that has been done by me; smara—please remember; krato—O supreme beneficiary; smara—please remember; kṛtam—all that I have done for You; smara—please remember

TRANSLATION

Let this temporary body be burnt to ashes, and let the air of life be merged with the totality of air. Now, O my Lord, please remember all my sacrifices, and because You are the ultimate beneficiary, please remember all that I have done for You.

PURPORT

This mantra of Sri Isopanisad confirms that the living entity exists after the annihilation of the material body.

na jāyate mriyate vā kadācin
nāyaṁ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ
ajo nityaḥ śāśvato ’yaṁ purāṇo
na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre

“For the soul there is never birth nor death. Nor, having once been, does he ever cease to be. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, undying and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.” [Bhagavad-gita 2.20]

The Esoteric Teaching states that when the material body dies, the spiritual living entity continues to exist in the same identity. The temporary material body is a foreign growth on the spirit soul. The living entity is never impersonal or formless; actually, matter is impersonal and formless. The living entity is always personal and individual, with an eternal spiritual form. The material body derives its form and design from the eternal form of the indestructible spirit soul.

Material nature responds to the presence of the living entities by creating varieties of temporary material bodies according to their desires for sense gratification. Degraded living entities are given material bodies suitable for eating unclean things like stool — for example, the body of a fly or a hog. Similarly, living entities with a perverted desire for eating flesh and blood may attain a carnivore’s body equipped with suitable teeth and claws. But human beings are not meant for eating flesh. Human teeth are designed to chew grains, fruit and vegetables, although there are two canine teeth so that degenerate humans can eat flesh. I find they are also useful for eating capatis.

However, all material bodies are foreign to the spiritual living entity. The material body changes according to the living entity’s karmic qualifications and desires for sense gratification. The living entity changes bodies, one after another, as he grows from childhood to youth to maturity and old age. Then he takes another body at the time of death.

dehino ’smin yathā dehe
kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā
tathā dehāntara-prāptir
dhīras tatra na muhyati

“As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change.” [Bhagavad-gita 2.13]

The best kind of body is the human form wherein the living entity has recovered his complete natural spiritual realization. After this highest kind of material embodiment, the spirit soul gives up the material body, which will be turned to soil or ashes after death, and allows the life energy of the material body to merge into the eternal reservoir of life energy. Then being freed from the need for material embodiment by the process of self-realization given in the Esoteric Teaching, he attains an eternal spiritual form in ecstatic relationship with the Lord in the spiritual world. This is the goal of all processes of self-realization.

The spirit soul performs activities with the material body by submitting different requests to the Supersoul. The Supersoul controls the body through the movements of the life energy, called prana-vayu in Sanskrit. The hatha-yogis especially study manipulating the material bodily prana. They try to elevate the life energy until it reaches the brahma-randhra, the highest chakra at the top of the head. Then the perfect yogi can transfer his existence to any planet in the material world by meditation on the demigod controlling that planet.

But this process is still simply giving up one material body and then entering into another. The spirit soul has been doing this for thousands and millions of lifetimes in this material world. The perfection of changing the body is giving up the material body altogether, entering into the spiritual world. There he attains a completely different type of body — a spiritual body, which never has to meet death or change. This highest process of yoga is described in this mantra of Sri Isopanisad.

No one wants to die or change the body because we are actually eternal spiritual beings. Material nature forces the living entities to change their bodies due to their desires for temporary material sense gratification. These desires range from bacteria and other primitive species to the highest and most powerful material bodies, like those of Brahma and other demigods.

All these bodies, composed of matter in different shapes, are different from the spiritual living entities within them. The living spiritual entity in a hog’s body or in the body of a demigod is the same. The living entity takes on different bodies according to his desires and the karmic results of his activities. But the spirit soul is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, and therefore his real nature is revealed when he separates from the gross material body.

bahūnāṁ janmanām ante
jñānavān māṁ prapadyate
vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti
sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ

“After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.” [Bhagavad-gita 7.19]

The human body has the potential for complete self-realization. After many, many lifetimes of culturing knowledge of the Esoteric Teaching, the perfect human being surrenders unto the Lord. Spiritual knowledge and self-realization are perfect when we surrender unto the Supreme Lord, Vasudeva or Sri Krsna. We see by experience that even if a person attains knowledge of his identity as spirit soul, if he does not surrender to Krsna, he falls down again into the material world. We must understand that the living entities are eternal parts and parcels of the Complete Whole, Krsna, but can never become the whole. The Vedas proclaim that one must fall down even if he has become one with the brahmajyoti.

naiṣkarmyam apy acyuta-bhāva-varjitaṁ
na śobhate jñānam alaṁ nirañjanam
kutaḥ punaḥ śaśvad abhadram īśvare
na cārpitaṁ karma yad apy akāraṇam

“Knowledge of self-realization, even though free from all material affinity, is not stable or eternal if devoid of a conception of the Infallible [Supreme Personality of Godhead]. What, then, is the use of fruitive activities, which are naturally painful from the very beginning and transient by nature, if they are not utilized for the devotional service of the Lord?” [Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.5.12]

Previous mantras of Sri Isopanisad reveal that the brahmajyoti effulgence emanates from the transcendental body of the Lord. In the brahmajyoti there are many spiritual living entities who have realized their eternal existence. But they grow bored with existence without differentiation or engagement, and develop the desire to enjoy their senses. Therefore fall down from the brahmajyoti into the material world, where they imagine they are enjoyers and controllers, but are actually false lords controlled by the desires of the material senses.

The desire for such temporary enjoyment and false lordship is the material disease of the living being. This disease forces him to transmigrate through the various material bodies under the spell of sense enjoyment. As we have discussed many times in this series, becoming one with the brahmajyoti is not complete spiritual knowledge, nor does it provide eternal liberation from material existence. We can reach the highest stage of self-realization only by surrendering unto the Lord completely, and developing our consciousness of loving spiritual service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

This mantra prays to the Lord to grant entrance into the spiritual kingdom of God after relinquishing the material body and material life energy. The devotee prays ardently to the Lord at the time of death, with full consciousness of his past deeds and the ultimate goal. The devotee begs the Lord to consider his devotional service activities and the sacrifices he has performed. In this consciousness, he can transfer his existence to the spiritual world in the next life.

yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran bhāvaṁ
tyajaty ante kalevaram
taṁ tam evaiti kaunteya
sadā tad-bhāva-bhāvitaḥ

“Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, O son of Kunti, that state he will attain without fail.” [Bhagavad-gita 8.6]

When leaving the body, the mind’s store of impressions unreels like a tape recorder. Therefore we naturally remember our previous life’s activities at the time of death. One who is completely under the influence of material conditioning remembers the heinous sinful activities he performed trying to enjoy his material body, and consequently he gets another material body after death. But one who has dedicated his life to activities of spiritual service automatically remembers his devotional service to the Lord, and attains the spiritual world. Thus the mind carries the living entity’s propensities into the next life, for good or ill.

The devotees develop a sense of love for Godhead by practicing devotional service to the Lord throughout his life. Even if a devotee cannot remember his service to the Lord at the time of death, the Lord does not neglect him. The Lord never forgets the loving service rendered by His pure devotees, and carries his devotees to an exalted destination after death.

ananyāś cintayanto māṁ
ye janāḥ paryupāsate
teṣāṁ nityābhiyuktānāṁ
yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham

“But those who worship Me with devotion, meditating on My transcendental form — to them I carry what they lack and preserve what they have.” [Bhagavad-gita 9.22]

The Lord goes on to describe His intimate relationship with His devotees in:

“Even if My devotee commits the most abominable action, if he is engaged in devotional service he is to be considered saintly because he is properly situated in his determination. He quickly becomes righteous and attains lasting peace. O son of Kunti, declare it boldly that My devotee never perishes. O son of Prtha, those who take shelter in Me, though they be of lower birth — women, vaisyas [merchants] as well as sudras [workers] — can attain the supreme destination. How much more this is so of the righteous brahmanas, the devotees and the saintly kings. Therefore, having come to this temporary, miserable world, engage in loving service unto Me. Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, become My devotee, offer obeisances to Me and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me.” [Bhagavad-gita 9.30-34]

Our predecessor Master Teacher Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura explains these verses as follows:

“One should regard a devotee of Krsna to be on the right path of the saints, even though such a devotee may seem to be su-duracara, ‘a person of loose character.’ One should try to understand the real purport of the word su-duracara. A conditioned soul has to act for double functions: namely for the maintenance of the body and again for self-realization. Social status, mental development, cleanliness, austerity, nourishment and the struggle for existence are all for the maintenance of the body. The self-realization part of one’s activities is executed in one's occupation as a devotee of the Lord, and one performs actions in that connection also. One must perform these two different functions along parallel lines, because a conditioned soul cannot give up the maintenance of his body. The proportion of activities for maintenance of the body decreases, however, in proportion to the increase in devotional service. As long as the proportion of devotional service does not come to the right point, there is a chance for an occasional exhibition of worldliness. But it should be noted that such worldliness cannot continue for long because, by the grace of the Lord, such imperfections will come to an end very shortly. Therefore the path of devotional service is the only right path. If one is on the right path, even an occasional occurrence of worldliness does not hamper one in the advancement of self-realization."

The impersonalists deny the facilities and benefits of devotional service because they lack complete knowledge of the Esoteric Teaching, and they are attached to the brahmajyoti feature of the Lord. The previous mantras state that the impersonalists cannot penetrate the brahmajyoti because they do not understand the Personality of Godhead. The impersonalists’ so-called spiritual path is just word jugglery and mental speculation. Consequently all their labor is just fruitless, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gita:

kleśo ’dhikataras teṣām
avyaktāsakta-cetasām
avyaktā hi gatir duḥkhaṁ
dehavadbhir avāpyate

“For those whose minds are attached to the unmanifested, impersonal feature of the Supreme, advancement is very troublesome. To make progress in that discipline is always difficult for those who are embodied.” [Bhagavad-gita 12.5]

We can easily obtain the exalted state of self-realization described in this mantra by constant contact with the personal feature of the Absolute Truth. Devotional service to the Lord consists of nine transcendental activities:

1. hearing about the Lord
2. glorifying the Lord
3. remembering the Lord
4. serving the lotus feet of the Lord
5. worshiping the Lord
6. offering prayers to the Lord
7. serving the Lord
8. enjoying friendly association with the Lord
9. surrendering everything unto the Lord

These nine principles of devotional service — one at a time or all together — help a devotee remain constantly in touch with God. Thus, the devotee remembers the Lord easily at the end of life. By adopting only one of these nine principles, the following renowned devotees of the Lord were able to achieve the highest perfection:

1. Maharaja Pariksit, the hero of Srimad-Bhagavatam, attained the desired result by hearing of the Lord.
2. Sukadeva Gosvami, the speaker of Srimad-Bhagavatam, attained his perfection just by glorifying the Lord.
3. Akrura attained the desired result by praying to the Lord.
4. Prahlada Maharaja attained the desired result by remembering the Lord.
5. Prthu Maharaja attained perfection by worshiping the Lord.
6. The goddess of fortune, Laksmi, attained perfection by serving the lotus feet of the Lord.
7. Hanuman attained the desired result by rendering personal service to the Lord.
8. Arjuna attained the desired result through his friendship with the Lord.
9. Maharaja Bali attained the desired result by surrendering everything he had to the Lord.

Hearing, chanting and remembering the science of God is the basic principle of devotional life. The complete Bhagavatam was chanted by Sukadeva Gosvami and heard by Maharaja Pariksit. Maharaja Pariksit inquired from Sukadeva because Sukadeva was the greatest spiritual master and transcendentalist of his time. The deep meaning of this mantra, and of practically all the mantras of the Upanisads, is summarized in Vedanta-sutra and elaborately explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam. Srimad-Bhagavatam is the mature fruit of the Vedic tree of wisdom.

This particular mantra is explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam in the questions and answers between Maharaja Pariksit and Sukadeva Gosvami at the very beginning of their meeting. Maharaja Pariksit's main question was: “What is the duty of every man, specifically at the time of death?” Sukadeva Gosvami answered:

tasmād bhārata sarvātmā
bhagavān īśvaro hariḥ
śrotavyaḥ kīrtitavyaś ca
smartavyaś cecchatābhayam

“O descendant of King Bharata, one who desires to be free from all miseries must hear about, glorify and also remember the Personality of Godhead, who is the Supersoul, the controller and the savior from all miseries.” [Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.1.5]

So-called human society today is generally engaged during the daytime in earning as much money as possible or else in shopping for family maintenance, and at night in sleeping and having sex. People think that they have very little time to inquire about or discuss the Personality of Godhead. They have dismissed God’s existence in so many ways, primarily by declaring Him to be impersonal. Therefore they find it difficult or impossible to remember Him.

But in all the Vedic literature — the Upanisads, Vedanta-sutra, Puranas, Bhagavad-gita and especially Srimad-Bhagavatam — it is declared that the Lord is an individual, personal sentient being, and is the supreme controller of all other living entities. His glorious Holy Name, fame, qualities and activities are identical in quality with Himself. One should therefore avoid hearing and repeating the unintelligent activities of worldly politicians and other ordinary men, but should organize one’s life so he can engage in hearing, chanting and remembering God constantly, without wasting a second of one’s precious time.

This mantra of Sri Isopanisad directs us toward such devotional spiritual activities. We must become habituated to the practice of devotional service, so we can remember the Lord at the time of death. When the material body is dying, how can we remember and pray to the almighty Lord unless we have cultured this activity throughout our life? Sacrifice means denying the interest of the senses in favor of the cultivation of devotional service to the Lord. One has to learn this art by employing the senses in the service of the Lord during one’s entire lifetime. “A saint in truth is a saint in youth.” Then at the time of death, one will reap the results of such potent spiritual practice and attain the spiritual world.