"I suppose
in the end, the whole of life becomes an act of letting go, but what
always hurts the most is not taking a moment to say goodbye." - Irfan Khan from the movie "Life of Pi"
Probably one of the best
movie of Irfan Khan is the "Life of Pi" (that is the only movie I have
seen of his). The movie shows how Irfan Khan as Pi, was saved once
during the drowning of the ship in which his family was relocating to
Europe and the second time, while being stranded alone in the
Pacific Ocean along with a ferocious Bengal tiger called Richard Parker
in a small sail boat. But in the movie of life, he sadly couldn't be
saved from the cancer that was ravaging him. We may get saved many times
from many life-threatening circumstances but there will be one
situation when we will not survive. Whoever one is, however famous one may be, however educated and successful one may be, everyone has to meet this inevitable end.
Lord Krishna states this truth in the Bhagvat-gita 2.27 -
"jātasya hi dhruvo mṛtyur
dhruvaṁ janma mṛtasya ca"
"For one who has taken his birth, death is certain; and for one who is dead, birth is certain."
Therefore
intelligence is to prepare for this inevitable moment. How to prepare
for this final exam and pass it with flying colours is explained by Lord
Krishna in Bhagvad-gita 8.5 and by Shukadev Goswami in Srimad-bhagvatam
2.1.6
"anta-kāle ca mām eva
smaran muktvā kalevaram
yaḥ prayāti sa mad-bhāvaṁ
yāti nāsty atra saṁśayaḥ"
"And
whoever, at the time of death, quits his body, remembering Me alone, at
once attains My nature. of this there is no doubt." - Bhagvat-gita 8.5
"etāvān sāṅkhya-yogābhyāṁ
sva-dharma-pariniṣṭhayā
janma-lābhaḥ paraḥ puṁsām
ante nārāyaṇa-smṛtiḥ"
"The
highest perfection of human life, achieved either by complete knowledge
of matter and spirit, by practice of mystic powers, or by perfect
discharge of occupational duty, is to remember the Personality of
Godhead at the end of life." - Srimad-bhagvatam 2.1.6
Our
prayers to Irfan Khan who I heard was a vegetarian from his very
childhood even though born in a Muslim family. His father used to say
that he is a Brahman boy born in a Muslim family. Such sincere Muslims
bring great glory to their religion. We pray that wherever he may be, he
will continue on his search for the Absolute truth, something that was
so well depicted in the movie, "Life of Pi" and that was so dear to his
heart in his real life too. This life is after all, a small scene in
the big movie of the imperishable soul to find answers to the mystery of
life and death.
- Achyut Gopal Das
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