Disappointed he didn't die on time

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

This is London - May 14, 2007 Patient given wrong diagnosis of year to live now faces bankruptcy
When doctors diagnosed cancer and told John Brandrick that he had less than a year to live, he resolved to make the most of the time he had left. The 62-year-old council worker quit his job, sold his car, stopped paying his mortgage and dug into his life savings so he could treat himself and relatives to expensive restaurant meals.

He even sold all his clothes but for the black suit in which he expected to be buried.

A year later, however, with no sign of the Grim Reaper coming to call, he went for tests - which gave him a clean bill of health. He had never had cancer at all.

Yesterday the divorced father of two said he faces having to sell his home to rescue his finances and is considering suing the hospital which mistakenly gave him a death sentence. go to story

Comment

Send this story to a friend

Any moment I can die
excerpt from Lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.3.25, Los Angeles, June 23, 1972

Condemned Men

Sitting on Death Row Hansadutta das

Someone once said to Prabhupada, "Yes, it's all temporary I see that, but why not let me enjoy as much as I can before I go?" Prabhupada replied, "That's not intelligent. It is like if I offer for you to enjoy this beautiful woman here as much as you like, and when you are done, then I kill you. Can you enjoy? Where is that enjoyment?" Like the condemned man on death row, you can order whatever you like for your last meal, and in the morning you will be executed. So, how can he enjoy? Someone may object to this: "Yes, but the condemned man has only one day; we may have a hundred years." But actually there is no difference. It is just a question of time. Whether we have a day or a year or a hundred years, the fact is that whatever endeavor we make, whatever arrangement we make, whatever attachment we develop, however many friends and followers and worshipers, we will be taken away. We will be kicked out. more

Death Sentence: Silver Lining in the Cloud

At Death's Door

No Time

Sitting on Death Row

Related Topics

Aim of Life

Health - Birth, Death, Disease, Old Age

Life after Death

That seriousness was there in Parikshit Maharaja because he knew it certainly that he was going to die within seven days. So "I have to finish my God realization, self-realization, with seven days." We are not so serious, because we are thinking that "We shall live for seven millions of years, so let me go slowly. Better utilize the time by sleeping." That is our position. If you have got some time, "Let me take this opportunity by sleeping, not by reading the books." So if you do not become serious, then it will take many, many years. But we should be serious more than Parikshit Maharaja. Parikshit Maharaja had at least time limit seven days, but we do not know whether we will live again seven minutes. Any moment your heart can failure. You do not know. You are going to the street... Just like the two boys were coming. They did not know that they were going to be killed. So our life is so jeopardized. Any moment I can die. That's a fact. If you don't take seriously like that, that "Any moment, I can die." So Parikshit Maharaja had the opportunity of hearing Srimad-Bhagavatam for seven days, so I do not know whether we'll have, I have opportunity for reading Srimad-Bhagavatam for seven minutes. So let me read it very seriously." That should be our attitude. Not that, "Seven... Oh, Parikshit Maharaja was given seven days notice. Oh, I have no such notice. I may live for seven millions of years." That is our disease.

Here the most wonderful thing is that everyone is seeing that everyone is dying every moment, but the man seeing, he's thinking that he will live forever. This is the most wonderful thing. Nobody thinks, "No. He is dying, so I will have to die." No. He thinks "I'll live. He is dying." This is the most wonderful thing. He does not think that "I have seen. My father has died, my mother has died, my brother has died. So everyone has died. So I'll die. So what I am doing before death?" They're not serious. Not at all serious. But death is... "As sure as death." And we do not know when that death is coming to take place. So how much serious we should be. We should be very serious. Labdhva su-durlabham idam bahu-sambhavante. We have got this human form of body, human consciousness, advanced consciousness, after many, many births, after through the evolutionary process. Many millions of years we have passed through many species of life. Ashitim chaturash chaiva lakshams tañ jiva-jatishu. Ashitim chaturah, eighty-four lakhs or 8,400,000's. Bhramadbhih purushaih prapyam manushyam. In this way, going through so many species of life, we have got this human form of life.

tad apy abhalatam jatah
tesham atmabhimaninam
varakanam anashritya
govinda-charana-dvayam (Brahma-vaivarta Purana)

In this valuable life, it will also be spoiled if we don't surrender to Krishna. Krishna is canvassing personally,

sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam sharanam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
mokshayishyami ma shucah [Bhagavad-gita 18.66]

Krishna personally comes to canvass. Because we are all Krishna's children, He's very sorry that we are in this miserable condition of life. He's very sorry. But we are so fool, we do not know that what is the condition of our life. We are thinking we are very much happy. This is called maya. He's suffering, he's kicked by the shoes of maya every moment, and still, he's thinking "I am very happy. Why shall I go back to home? I shall remain in America." But you cannot be allowed to remain in America. You are thinking, "All right... You are born of a very rich family, a rich nation, you have got opulence. You have... Your roads and your houses are very nice, but who is going to allow you to live here? Why don't you think like that? You may live for fifty years, or sixty years, or utmost 100 years; then you'll be kicked out. But they do not know that life is eternal.

When I am kicked out, then what life I am going to accept? They are in oblivion. There is no education in the university. This is going on. So this Krishna consciousness movement is a boon to the human society. You should take it very seriously and utilize your human form of life to understand it and be happy. Thank you very much. [pause] Why not begin immediately?

Disappointed he didn't die on time/ WORLD SANKIRTAN PARTY