Can the Mahamrityunjaya Mantra Really Save Us from Death?
Sadhak's question: Can one escape death by chanting the Mahamrityunjaya Mantra?
Shri Maharaj Ji's answer:
Tryambakaṁ yajāmahe sugandhiṁ puṣṭivardhanam
urvārukamiva bandhanānmr̥tyormukṣīya māmr̥tāt
This mantra is called the Mahāmṛtyuñjaya mantra. This mantra is found in the Vedas.
It is a prayer to Lord Shankar:
"Please make me immortal, meaning, free me from the bondage of the material world. That is, free me from the cycle of birth and death: being born, dying, and then hanging upside down in the mother's womb again."
When someone becomes seriously ill in the world, and the doctors give up hope, people call priests and have them chant the Mahamrityunjaya Mantra to save the person from death. This is because the priests claim that by having this mantra chanted, the person will not die. Those poor priests themselves are unaware that everyone must endure their destiny. The very priests who come to keep others alive will themselves die one day.
Death is certain, whether one is a saint or someone bound by Maya. Everyone has to leave at their pre-destined time. Saints too remain in this world only until that time, according to God's command.
The meaning of the Mrityunjaya Mantra is also that we should be granted liberation - it does not mean that we should be saved from death.
So, death is certain for everyone. Therefore, no one should ever remain under the illusion that through any action, religious practice, ritual, penance, or austerity, a person will not die. This has never happened until today, nor will it happen in the future.
One has to die one day. This is certain for everyone. Even after death, it is God who determines where one will go and how long one will remain there, whether in hell, heaven, here on earth, or the abode of God. None of these things can be predicted by an astrologer or even by a saint.
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