On Mundaka Upanishad: The death of mind is the end of death perpetual
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Following is an excerpt from a samvaad (dialogue) session with Acharya Prashant.
वेदान्तविज्ञानसुनिश्चितार्थाः सṁन्यासयोगाद्यतयः शुद्धसत्त्वाः ।
ते ब्रह्मलोकेषु परान्तकाले परामृताः परिमुच्यन्ति सर्वे ॥vedāntavijñānasuniścitārthāḥ saṁnyāsayogādyatayaḥ śuddhasattvāḥ
te brahmalokeṣu parāntakāle parāmṛtāḥ parimucyanti sarveDoers of askesis who have made sure of the aim of the whole knowledge of Vedanta, the inner being purified by the Yoga of renunciation, all in the hour of their last end passing beyond death are released into the worlds of the Brahman.
~ Verse 3.2.6
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Acharya Prashant (AP): “Doers of askesis who have made sure of the aim of the whole knowledge of Vedanta, the inner being purified by the Yoga of renunciation, all in the hour of their last end passing beyond death are released into the worlds of the Brahman.”
The verse must be understood clearly and as per the fundamental principles of Vedanta; else there is scope for misinterpretation.
“Doers of askesis” — those who have gone through great penance, those who have known Vedanta completely — ”those whose inner being” — meaning the mind — ”has been purified by renunciation, they come to their end passing beyond death and are released into Brahman” — they come to their end and pass beyond death.
We are obviously not talking about one particular moment of physical death here. What happens to the body is not too much a concern with Vedanta. Vedanta is not the science of the body. Vedanta is not very concerned without anatomy. Vedanta is concerned with our suffering, and it is not the body that suffers. The body might get hurt, wounded, diseased or aged, but it never suffers.
The body can become an object in the field of suffering, but the body itself is never the experiencer of suffering. The…