Once there lived a shopkeeper in a village. In the talk of a noble man, he once heard, "If one utters the Name of God at the last moment of one's life, one attains liberation." The shopkeeper thought, "I have four sons. I will name all of them after the Names of God and form the habit of calling them by these names. One does call one's sons at the last moment of one's life, isn't it? In this way, I will easily attain liberation."
With the passage of time, his sons grew up. The shopkeeper's end came near. Realising that his life principle was going to ebb out at any moment, he called his sons, "Oh Rama! Oh Krishna! Oh Govinda! Oh Madhava!" The sons came near him and enquired with great anxiety, "Dear father! What for have you called us? How are you?" He saw all of them together.
At that moment, he remembered his shop and asked, "Oh! Have all of you come? Who will look after the shop?" He breathed his last while uttering these words. At the last moment of his life, his mind was fixed on his shop only.
We can utter God's Name at the last moment of our life only by remembering His Name all through our life, by doing intense practice and by God's grace. It is utter ignorance to use force and resort to tricks for remembering God's Name in our last moments. We should form the habit of contemplating on the Name of God when our body, mind, senses and intellect are healthy and strong.
(Quoted from the Divine Discourses of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba)
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