"Similarly, whatever else a man may not meet during life, he is certain to meet with death. So each one must be trained to have at that time the attitude and thought that are most beneficial to him. Otherwise, life is a failure, a waste. A person unready for this consummation has to suffer the fate that will befall him. No one enters a battlefield in order to suffer defeat. So too, no one voluntarily accepts a fall; he seeks only progress. Will it not be wise, therefore, to strive for the end that is in your own best interest? Hence, every man must take earnest steps to secure the thought of the seventh item, Pranava, at the last moment of life. Whoever dies in that thought attains Me," said Krishna.

This is the entire essence of the Geetha. For the goal of all man's actions is to attain the acme of progress, is it not? That is the urge which makes him engage himself in prayers, in Japam and Dhyanam, in Archana and Thapas. All those who have placed faith in these have to remember the goal throughout.

Krishna said that Om or Pranava has to be remembered at the moment of death. There are certain points that require elucidation in connection with this for there are many who argue that the Pranava can be repeated only by a few and that others are not entitled to it. This is wrong. This false conclusion has been arrived at since they do not know the truth. It springs from a mistaken belief.

The Geetha does not mention this group or that group. Krishna declares "whoever" without any qualifying words, limiting it to one class or sex. He has not even said, "who deserves or who does not deserve," "who is authorised or who is unauthorised." He has only said that for meditation on the Pranava, (mere 'calling it to memory' is of no use) some preliminary disciplines have to be gone through, like control of the senses, the concentration of the mind, etc.

For, when the mind is flitting from one fancy to another, how can the production of a sound Om, Om, by the vocal organs be of any benefit? The sound will not help the attainment of liberation. The senses have to be curbed, thoughts have to be one-pointed, the glory has to be apprehended. That is why the Lord advised that from birth to death, one must be engaged in the search for truth. Instead, if you postpone Sadhana until the last moment, you will be like the student who turns over the pages of his textbook for the first time, just before he enters the examination hall! If the student feels that he has before him one full year and if he neglects to learn from the teacher and from lecture-notes and from books, how can anything enter his brain when he opens the pages of his book that very morning? It will only add to his despair. He can be pronounced proficient only in indolence.