(Click to enlarge illustration of children playing with death lurking in the background)
Devotee: Swamiji, while it's true that anyone who thinks of Kṛṣṇa as he is dying can take on the body of Kṛṣṇa, is it not true that if you don't spend your life thinking of Kṛṣṇa, it may be difficult at the time of death to remember Him because of attachment?
Prabhupāda: Certainly. If you don't practice, then at the time of examination, certainly you'll fail. If you say, "All right. I shall see in the examination hall. I shall write everything nice," that is nonsense. You have to study nicely before the examination. Therefore it is said, yudhya ca mām anusmara (BG 8.7). Practice it. Abhyāsa-yoga-yuktena. What is yoga? Yoga means practice. Abhyāsa-yoga-yuktena cetasā nānya-gāminā (BG 8.8). Yoga means you do not allow your mind to go anywhere else. Just try to engage. Sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayoḥ (SB 9.4.18). Always fix up in Kṛṣṇa. That is the highest type of yoga. All right. Question finished? Let us chant.
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, New York, October 26, 1966)
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