Devotee:
Pranam, Gurudev.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Pranam, baba, pranam.
Devotee:
Gurudev, today we are going to discuss a strange and different topic: birth and death. These two are inevitable; no one can ever escape them.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
It is a constitution. The constitution of the world is birth and death. Both are shrouded in mystery. Just as birth is mysterious, death is also mysterious. Both are mysteries. This is called the constitution of the world. You cannot stay here for long; you must leave. This applies to everyone, except perhaps for certain saints and sages. There are sages who live for 4,000 to 5,000 years; it's not that they don't exist. Especially in Ganganj, the Mahatapa has lived for 5,000 years. Babaji Maharaj is about 2,500 years old, and there are two women there who are also about 1,500 years old each. Therefore, age is not a factor for them. They have come to this world, but they have no real connection with it.
Devotee:
Gurudev, we have discussed birth and death before, but the death of an ordinary person compared to 'leaving the body' or 'samadhi'āto ordinary people, the difference might seem negligible, or they might not even understand it. However, to you, or in the world of spiritual practice, these concepts carry immense differences. What exactly is this difference?
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
According to the world's constitution, people cannot stay here for long. Whether it is for 50, 60, or 70 years, one must leave. It is a colorful stage, a Rangamancha. No one can stay on this stage for long. Samadhi is something completely different. Do not mix the concept of samadhi with ordinary death. We speak of Sat-Samadhi (True Samadhi). Samadhi should be 'Sat' (True), not 'Asat' (False/Pretended). Many pretend to be in samadhi, but that is not it. Real samadhi is not death. There is no question of death in it. The practitioner has a body and a soul; everything is intact.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Sometimes they release the soul. I have mentioned before that we travel in our subtle bodies (Sukshma-deha). Many people have seen us in various places. People often call me and say they met me yesterday, that we talked, and so on. This is a sign of samadhi. Samadhi happens exactly like this: the soul is released, while the body remains.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
If you ever go to Ganganj, you will see many people in samadhi there. There is no death and no old age. There is a gentle light that does not tire you. You do not feel thirst, and there is no need for food or drink. Some of those in samadhi leave their bodies there and take birth on Earth to work for the welfare of all living beings. Even while they are born through another womb for human welfare, they remain in samadhi elsewhere, with their original body lying there. We have always observed this. It is very strange and mysterious.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
However, for the welfare of the world, they leave their bodies there and come to this realm. After completing their work, they rejoin that body; the soul returns to it, and they become 'alive' again. A practitioner will eventually take samadhi. There are eight paths, and the final one is the path of samadhi. This is also a mystery: being in deep meditation, where did your soul go? Surely, the soul is engaged in some work. Those who are true saints try to work for the welfare of the world. Because they exist, the world continues to function properly even today.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
In Ganganj, there are many people who have been practicing for 4,000 to 5,000 years just through meditation. No one speaks to anyone else there. Only those who are deeply engaged in intense spiritual practice enter samadhi because there is no hunger, thirst, or concern for the elements. In that state, they come to Earth for the welfare of the world. They take a human form while their original body remains elsewhere. That is why they are immortal; they do not die. Samadhi is not death; it is the temporary release of the soul from the body.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Releasing the soul from the body is relatively easy compared to the difficulty of putting the soul back into the body. Sometimes it might not re-enter. This is a critical challenge for the practitioner. You might recall the case of Abhimanyu in the Mahabharataāhe knew how to enter the maze (vyuha), but he didn't know the way out. This is similar. Returning the soul to the body is a profound task. Only those few who truly enter and exit samadhi can describe it.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
By entering samadhi, many try to reach God. But sometimes God does not take them and sends them back, as happened with Ramakrishna and Sai Baba. When Ramakrishna entered samadhi to reach God, he found Sai Baba already sitting there. Both had 'applied,' so to speak, but the application was rejected in a sense, and they had to return. There was only one 'vacancy,' and only one could be taken at that time. Everyone practices in their own way. This is a special kriya (practice). Even when you sleep, your soul leaves and performs various actions in different places. You can sense these actions, and then the soul returns and you wake up. It is quite similar to the state of sleep.
Devotee:
Gurudev, you mentioned that samadhi is taken voluntarily. However, there are many instances where a person's presence is felt after their death. There are stories of souls staying in a certain place after death. How is that different?
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
That depends on one's karma (deeds). If one's deeds are not good, death is just an ordinary occurrence. So many people die, but no one remembers them all. However, Ramakrishna's name lives on because of his deeds. Likewise, Lokenath Baba is remembered for his deeds. People in a neighborhood might talk for a day or two after someone dies, but then they forget. But no one forgets Ramakrishna. One's deeds must be of that caliber.
Devotee:
Gurudev, suppose a practitioner who has taken samadhi later returns. Someone might see them. Similarly, when parents pass away, their children often feel their presence or even 'see' them when thinking about them. What is the difference?
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
This is a matter of the stars and planets. We believe that after death, people go through different stages or 'steps' of influence (dosh). Everything depends on this. If there is a 'fourth-step influence' (chaturth-pad dosh), a parent can appear at any time. You might see your mother sitting on the stairs as you enter a room. She won't speak, of course. I have heard such accounts from countless people. I have also sent many people to Pushkar to offer pinda (funeral offerings) for such souls. These souls are not yet reborn and continue to wander. By offering pinda at Pushkar, they are delivered. This is especially true for accidental deaths.
Devotee:
You mentioned that in Ganganj, someone can leave their body and take birth again. If they come to this world, is their spiritual practice discontinued?
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
No, there is no need for further practice at that stage. These things only happen once one reaches the pinnacle of spiritual practice. They have attained full penance (purna tapaprapta). They might leave their body for human welfare, perform certain tasks, and then return. This is the same as in the heavensāentities like the Pole Star (Dhruva Tara) are also constantly coming and going.
Devotee:
And Gurudev, what about Bhav-Samadhi?
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Bhav-Samadhi is exceptional. It involves suddenly entering a state of samadhi while immersed in thoughts of God. Ramakrishna used to do this right in the middle of a conversation. At that moment, he wouldn't even realize who was in front of him. His mind would be entirely with God. This is the real samadhiābeing in that state while physically present with everyone. It happened to Ramakrishna at almost every moment. Very few practitioners have experienced bhav-samadhi like him.
Devotee:
And what about Salil-Samadhi (Water Samadhi)?
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
That is samadhi in water. Our Ganges is a prime example. Why is the water of the Ganges considered so pure? It is because so many practitioners have taken salil-samadhi there. While sitting in the Ganges, they perform breathing exercises, and that is why the water remains so holy. Many sages have purified the water through their pranayama while in samadhi. Ramprasad took salil-samadhi as well.
Devotee:
One last thing, Gurudev. We have often seen you sitting in the cremation ground, surrounded by people. Yet, for a while, you seem completely unaware of your surroundings, only to return to the conversation later. Is this related?
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
These things are hard to put into words. I 'disappear' sometimes. Even with people sitting around, I might not hear anything. Later, if someone asks me about it, I can't say anything because, at that moment, I wasn't there. I had gone elsewhere for some special work. This is a type of samadhi.
Devotee:
I mean, traveling in the subtle body and samadhi are ways to define these experiences?
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Only the practitioner knows where and when their mind will go. Suddenly, one is gone. It's not always about closing my eyes and meditating; I am simply not 'there' for a while. Everyone who spends time with me knows thisāthat for maybe ten minutes, I am absent. Those who understand a bit don't ask. I leave sometimes; it is a type of samadhi.
Devotee:
So, friends, the death of ordinary people compared to samadhiāthings we might think are the same actually have profound differences. Highlighting these differences was the main objective of our video today.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Practitioners will take samadhi, but through various methods. Ordinary death is just the end; the person is buried, which is a kind of 'death-samadhi.' In such cases, the soul cannot be brought back. Even if given three or four hours, the soul does not return, and the person is declared dead. That is a different thing entirely.
Devotee:
Pranam, Gurudev.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Pranam.