They may say they're not afraid of death
Madhusudana: I remember as a child lying in bed in the dark and thinking what it was like to die and imagining myself in a coffin, thinking I was dead. I got so scared because it was so frightening. I always had this image somewhere in my psyche about being afraid of death and probably that helped me to eventually come to Krishna consciousness. I used that thinking on my parents and asked my mother, "Aren't you afraid of death?" My mother said, "No, I'm not afraid of dying." That really confused me. How could anybody admit that they weren't afraid of dying?
So after one lecture where Prabhupada had been speaking about death and the fear of death, I said, "Prabhupada, I asked my mother about that and she said, 'No, that she's not afraid of death.'" Prabhupada said, "They may say they're not afraid of death, but you give somebody a gun and say, 'Okay, go ahead.'" Actually it is easy to say, but everyone is afraid of death. In my mother's later years she was very receptive to Krishna consciousness and she would express that she was always fearful when going on a plane. When you get down to it, everyone is afraid of dying.
So after one lecture where Prabhupada had been speaking about death and the fear of death, I said, "Prabhupada, I asked my mother about that and she said, 'No, that she's not afraid of death.'" Prabhupada said, "They may say they're not afraid of death, but you give somebody a gun and say, 'Okay, go ahead.'" Actually it is easy to say, but everyone is afraid of death. In my mother's later years she was very receptive to Krishna consciousness and she would express that she was always fearful when going on a plane. When you get down to it, everyone is afraid of dying.
Reference: Memories Anecdotes of a Modern Day Saint - Volume 4 by Siddhanta Dasa
Recently Added
Trending Today