Everyone Is Dying Every Moment
The inevitability of death is the most conspicuous fact of life, yet it is the one reality that humanity is most determined to ignore. Śrīla Prabhupāda relentlessly points out that "everyone is dying." From the moment of birth, the clock is ticking, and with every passing second, our measured duration of life diminishes. Whether one is a king, a scientist, or a common man, the final outcome is the same. However, the tragedy of material life is not just death itself, but the illusion that allows us to forget it and waste our valuable time.
Most Wonderful Thing
In the Mahābhārata, Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja is asked, "What is the most wonderful thing in this world?" He replies that although every day countless living entities are marching to the abode of death, those who remain think they will live forever. Śrīla Prabhupāda echoes this sentiment, marveling at the power of māyā that blinds us to the obvious. We see our fathers die, our friends die, and our ancestors die, yet we optimistically plan for a permanent settlement in a temporary world. This willful ignorance is the hallmark of the conditioned soul.
- Because everyone is dying, but the man who is not yet dead, he thinks that he'll live forever. This is the most wonderful thing.
- 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.
- This body will not exist, but we forget that. This is the most wonderful thing in this material world. Everyone is dying every moment, still, one who is living, he thinks that he will live forever. That is the most wonderful thing.
Failure of Modern Science
Modern scientists often boast of their progress, but Śrīla Prabhupāda challenges them on this fundamental point: have they stopped death? He argues that mere medical advancements or technological comforts are useless if the primary problem—death—remains unsolved. In fact, he sarcastically notes that modern inventions often serve only to accelerate death, such as nuclear weapons or abortion. A civilization that calls itself "advanced" while ignoring the slaughter of inevitable death is simply a society of rascals.
- Everyone is dying, and everyone is trying not to die. This is the problem. Nobody wants to die, but everyone is dying. That problem this rascal scientist cannot solve. Therefore they are like dogs, and to catch their tail is like that. Yes.
- You have discovered a bomb which will accelerate death. Death, everyone is going to die. So if you manufacture something which will accelerate my death, is that very meritorious.
- World Health Organization. Rascal, who is healthy? Everyone is going to die. "World Health Organization." They are manufacturing. They do not think that "Where is health?" Such foolish things are going on all over the world.
Two Kinds of Death
While physical death is unavoidable for the body, the quality of that death determines the future of the soul. Śrīla Prabhupāda distinguishes between the kṛpaṇa (miser) and the brāhmaṇa (wise man). The kṛpaṇa wastes his life in sense gratification and dies like a cat or dog, bewildered and fearful. The brāhmaṇa, however, utilizes his life for tapasya (austerity) and spiritual cultivation. When he leaves his body, he does so with knowledge and detachment, prepared for a higher destination.
- Everyone is dying. Nobody can live here permanently. That's a fact. But one who is dying after executing the life of tapasya, he's a brahmin. And one who is dying like cats and dogs, without any execution of tapasya, he's called krpana.
- Everyone is dying, for no one can live here permanently, but one who dies after executing a life of tapasya is a brahmana, and one who dies like a cat or dog, without executing tapasya, is called a krpana.
Solution: Kṛṣṇa Consciousness
If everyone is dying, what is the solution? Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that those who engage in kṛṣṇa-kathā (topics of Kṛṣṇa) are technically not dying. They are living, because they are connecting with the eternal. By chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa and engaging in the service of the Lord, one transcends the temporary nature of the body. For a devotee, death is not a termination but a transition—a return to their real life.
- Everyone is dying, but those who are engaged in krsna-katha, in Krsna consciousness, those who are busy in Krsna's business, they are not dying. They are living.
- Everyone is going to die. I am going to die tomorrow, he is going to die day after tomorrow, he . . . everyone will have to die. Who will live here? So what is the anxiety? Chant Hare Krsna. That's all.
- Finding out opportunity how to waste valuable time. They do not know that every moment they are dying. Death has begun since one takes birth. And our business is before dying we must be prepared for the next life.
Conclusion
There is no need for false optimism or morbid fear. The fact is that everyone is dying. The intelligent person accepts this reality and uses the remaining time to solve the problem of birth and death once and for all. As Śrīla Prabhupāda simply advises, nobody is going to live here, so before death comes, one should chant Hare Kṛṣṇa.
Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani
Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Everyone is Dying. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.