Srila Prabodhananda Saraswati’s Vṛndāvana-mahimāmṛtam 1.50
bhrātas te kim u niścayena viditaḥ svasyānta-kālaḥ kim u tvaṁ jānāsi mahā-manuṁ balavato mṛtyor gati-stambhane mṛtyus tvat-karaṇaṁ pratīkṣata iti tvaṁ vetsi kiṁ vā yato vāraṁ vāram aśaṅka eva calase vṛndāvanād anyataḥ
O Brother! Do you know for sure the exact time of your death? Or have you perfected some great mahā-mantra for the sake of preventing the advancement of powerful death? You think death will wait for you to finish all your tasks in life? [I think that the answer to all these questions is yes,] because you seem to confidently walk out of Vrindavan again and again to go elsewhere. —
Translated by Hari Parshad Das from the Sanskrit available at Gaudiya Grantha Mandira
SB 7.2.57 purport-
Yamarāja once asked Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, “What is the most wonderful thing within this world?” Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira replied (Mahābhārata, Vana-parva313.116):
Hundreds and thousands of living entities meet death at every moment, but a foolish living being nonetheless thinks himself deathless and does not prepare for death. This is the most wonderful thing in this world. Everyone has to die because everyone is fully under the control of material nature, yet everyone thinks that he is independent, that whatever he likes he can do, that he will never meet death but live forever, and so on. So-called scientists are making various plans by which living entities in the future can live forever, but while they are thus pursuing such scientific knowledge, Yamarāja, in due course of time, will take them away from their business of so-called research.
SB class-Jan 3, 1974 LA
The modern civilization, rascal civilization, they do not know how to utilize life. So many days, so many hours, they are simply wasting, simply wasting. It is said that the sunrise and sunset, during this period, the sun's business is to take away the duration of our life, sunrise and sunset. That means twelve hours or thirteen hours which is gone between the sunrise and sunset...This sun's business is to take away the portion, the fixed up duration of life which I have been given. That is, some of it, is taken away. The same example. Just like you have got a fixed balance in the bank. If you draw even ten pence, ten shillings, that means it is taken away. You have to replace it. But replacing is not possible. Bank balance you can replace. But the balance... Suppose you have passed... I have passed... Suppose if I live for eighty years or ninety years or hundred years. So this seventy-eight years is already taken away. It cannot be replaced. You cannot make the bank balance or the duration of..., again complete. That is not possible. This is plain fact.
Therefore here it is said that those who are Kṛṣṇa conscious, they must weigh, measure every moment, "Whether this moment has been spent without Kṛṣṇa consciousness?" That is the criterion. Avyartha-kālatvam [Cc. Madhya 23.18-19], nāma-gāne sadā ruciḥ. This is the test of advanced Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Rūpa Gosvāmī gives, avyartha-kālatvam. Avyartha-kālatvam means "Whether my time has been spent uselessly?" One should be alert. "Whether my time has been used, has been uselessly spent by talking nonsense?
...What is the value of your independence? Can you avoid death? Suppose you are independent. What is the meaning of this independence? When death will come, will catch you by your neck and throw you away, your independence, nonsense independence... What is the value of this independence? Be independent from the clutches of māyā. No more death—that is independence. That is independence. No more birth—oh, that is independence. No more death. Otherwise what is the meaning of independence? You are not independent. You are under the clutches of māyā. You are struggling. You are struggling to get out of the clutches of māyā or the material nature, external energy of God. You are trying to make nice medicine to get out of the attack of disease. But you can manufacture a better medicine, but you cannot get out of disease. That is not possible. This is struggle. Now we have manufactured such a nice medicine that cancer or any other disease will not attack us. That is very nice. But find out some medicine that death will not attack you. "Oh, that is not possible." Then where is the meaning of your advancement?
So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is that medicine by which you can conquer over death. Therefore this is the best medicine. Bhavauṣadhi. It is said in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, bhavauṣadhi. Nivṛtta-tarṣair upagīyamānāt.
SB 10.1.4
nivṛtta-tarṣair upagīyamānād
bhavauṣadhāc chrotra-mano-’bhirāmāt
ka uttamaśloka-guṇānuvādāt
pumān virajyeta vinā paśughnāt
TRANSLATION--
Glorification of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is performed in the paramparā system; that is, it is conveyed from spiritual master to disciple. Such glorification is relished by those no longer interested in the false, temporary glorification of this cosmic manifestation. Descriptions of the Lord are the right medicine for the conditioned soul undergoing repeated birth and death. Therefore, who will cease hearing such glorification of the Lord except a butcher or one who is killing his own self?
Some Conclusions- These are some very powerful statements by Srila Prabhupada, Srila Prabhodananda Sarasvati, and Srila Vyasadev.
Who among us will hear them? Only those who are sober and not chasing some will of the wisp in this material world. Admittedly, it is not an easy thing to do, otherwise we would have everybody in this material world becoming serious devotees. And even among our devotees why do we find so many who show by our actions we have no time to follow this simple path and regularly associate with Vaisnavas by chanting dancing and feasting? It simply means for those of us who cannot or will not find the time, that we are being carried away by Maya devi's tricks, and the reason we fall for those illusions is because we do not seriously and constantly hear from our spiritual master. There are so many reasons, that we can find for failure but all we need for success-- is one.
Hare Krsna
Damaghosa das