At the time of death a whole storehouse of impressions and desires is churned out and the most deep-rooted desire comes to the mind. This desire occupies the dying man's mind for immediate gratification and it is said to be reborn and seeks gratification in the next birth. The last thought thus determines the nature or character of the body to be attained next. The Gita says, "Whatever thoughts predominate at the time of death as a result of the way you have lived your life, determine your after-death state....".

According to Paramhansa Yogananda, it would be futile to depend upon death to liberate you from your imperfections. You are exactly the same after death as you were before. Nothing in fact changes; you only discard your body. If you were a trickster or liar before death, you don't become a saint merely by dying. Whatever you have made of yourself thus far, so will you be hereafter. To bring a change in your character, huge effort is required.

Yogananda suggests that the seeker should adopt an attitude of dispassion  by constantly remaining aware of the transitory nature of life and the fact that the great sleep of death can take him away any moment from the world. Then, through regular meditation, the seeker should endeavour to rise above the delusion of body-consciousness in order that he is prepared mentally to depart from this world with an unruffled mind.

In meditation the seeker does consciously what he does unconsciously every night in deep sleep. Every night you lose awareness of your physical existence and the world, with its concomitant pains and tribulations. And what is unconsciously experienced  in the state of deep sleep, can also be experienced consciously in mediation by reconnecting our identity with our true Self, the inner Witness that both sustains and transcends the lower state of consciousness. The more you meditate, the more you will realise that there is something divine beyond the kingdom of ordinary consciousness where supreme peace and happiness reign. By the practice of ever deeper meditation, the seeker accesses to the supra-causal state of consciousness where he loses his separate entity and his ego gets dissolved in Pure Consciousness.

Paramhansa Yogananda calls this state as 'dying to the world without dying' -- a state where no duality of consciousness is experienced and all painful experiences of life and death give way to the bliss of eternal consciousness. A conspicuous feature of this state is that even while performing his worldly activities, the seeker continues to remain established in the super-conscious state of inner realisation. Yogananda would say: "Never go to bed   without meditating. What of it if you lose a little sleep? But it would be worthwhile if you can reach the deathless state before the Grim Reaper catches you".

Guru Purnima is a day of renewing our faith, our shraddha, in He who bestows the light upon our lives. It is a day of re-opening of our hearts, our souls and our lives to His divine presence and letting it penetrate and saturate every aspect of our being.

That "letting go" is the faith. If we can surrender to the guru with complete faith, he will transform our lives. However, if we "hang around" and doubt and think that we know better than he does, then we gain nothing.

"Gurur Brahma Gurur Vishnu Gurur Devo Maheshvarah

Guru Saakshaat Param Brahma Tasmai Sri Gurave Namah."