By Sanjib Mukherjee,
The above question was once asked of me by my Guru. The question was designed to make me think about living life in the present moment and experiencing each moment with 100% focus and attention. If I were to ask you the same question, how would you spend the next 24hrs if this was to be the final day of your life?
Every day we have. The. Same. Situation. But. We are. Unaware. Of the. Final. Minute
…just like our Guru has shown us–to be IN the moment, like there’s no tomorrow!…with total responsibility to the moment–every moment of those 24 hours!–100% with whatever that moment brings with it–if it brings happiness then to be happy and share it with those around, if it brings service to another then serve totally, if it brings laughter then laugh from the core of my being, if it brings a fight then grit my teeth and fight with all I’ve got!!!!!
Everyday should be spent as it was your final, because we do not know what tomorrow may bring,
I would spend it with my beautiful family that has taught me to love and be happy, to have laughter in my life, without laughter what else is there to bring a smile to your face.
Dearest Sanjib…. Wow !!! What a lovely question…. So busy with life’s each and every day till now, never thought how would be my last moment in this World…or what I want to do.
Okay, If God is telling me, today is your last day and you have this 24 hours… first thing what I will do whatever is there which my family need to know I will … See Morewrite everything in a paper and keep it for them safely so that they will not have any problem…as I do care for them and let them know how much I love them from the bottom of my heart… If anytime, in stress, ever I hurt them for anything, they should forgive me… That was not intentional, just happened out of stress…
Then I will have a lovely shower, will do my everyday’s prayer and puja, wear a beautiful and most favourite saree of mine, dress up the way I normally do or love to do, wear my favourite perfume, switch on my Music System, AC On and relaxed with a lovely book in my hand in my beautiful bed (book should be one of my fav one or the one I need to finish reading , or may be Celebrating Silence) and wait for that lovely moment to come and take me away…
Love you Sanjib…
If I would know that these are my final 24 hours in life, I would spend them playing with my children and would not even bother surfing on the net or anything. I would call up my friends and family and would tell them how they have been valuable to me and how I love them so much. The final moments would be spend with my family and 2 close friends.
I would spend my final day giving thanks to the Lord for giving me a wonderful life with my family and friends. . .
just give thanks ….for what he has given and plead to lord to never come back to this world ……….
Ha ha..I will freak out! thinking that how am I going to die? and stay in bed listening some nice bhajan..or I really have a wish..which I will try to achieve then!
Most people would freak out and try to do as much as possible in that time.but I would probably just spend that time with the people I love,n the people who loves me. laugh about good and bad times, and apologize for stupid things I’ve done.
:) i will hug my family members & guru & friends and say i love them so much…later, will listen to nice bhajan…sing & dance along(will spend more time here) ….last will do my “last” yoga & kriya…..then, rest!!!
hi Sanjib…wishing you a thoughtful and amazizng morning as you are..!!!!
What a beautiful and ultimate question today…simple yet so deep it is…just seeing the topics so many hidden thoughts and desires came to surface…that what if today is my last day…so what would i love to do..
as in life we have lived so many wishes and desires we dont even realise …it is said that
*** Hazaroin khwahishe aise ki hur khwahish pe dum Nikle …
bahut nikle mere arman lekin phir bhi kum nikle…****…
means we have so many thousands of desires that we live and die with each one…and how many we fulfinlled stil we think there are stil left..
so if we think that ways so we go on thinking that we could have done this or that and we would like to do the most desired things on our last day…like we can spend time with loved ones…we can sing infact i would like to dance a graceful an beautifl salsa dance…which i always wished but dont know how to do…or go to the most beautiful place i wished to or on the last day i dress up in most beautiful dress i always wish to…and on last day also i would like to have so many pictures of me so that my each moment is memorable..for me and the people who wil remember me…so these kindof so many things generally each one of us would think seeing the question and remind of the desires of heart and mind…
but these days i think the other ways…like as WHAT IF TOMORROW NEVER COMES…as we ofthen think that we would start our yoga n meditations from tomorwo or from tomorwo i wil be careful about my dieting or tomorow defintily i wil go to learn or study that i wanted to…or tomorrow i wil go to meet the person who is remembering me…or tomorrwo i wil take care of my own needs or tommorow i wi go and say soory to one whom i hurt…so on so many things we delay day by day and then everyone know such tomorwos never comes..when we seriously sincerely start doing things we wish or we need to do..
so sometime we think that if we wud knew we are seeing a person whom we love for last time we wud have stoped them for going or wud have said that we love them…or atleast would have hugged them last time …but we always think that tomorrow wil come and we wil say that…instead of assuming that he or she knows wel we love them…
would like to share some lines..
For surely there’s always tomorrow
to make up for an oversight,
and we always get a second chance
to make everything right.
There will always be another day
to say our “I love you’s”,
And certainly there’s another chance
to say our “Anything I can do’s?”
But just in case I might be wrong,
and today is all I get,
I’d like to say how much I love you
and I hope we never forget,
Tomorrow is not promised to anyone,
young or old alike,
And today may be the last chance
you get to hold your loved one tight..
So if you’re waiting for tomorrow,
why not do it today?
For if tomorrow never comes,
you’ll surely regret the day,
That you didn’t take that extra time
for a smile, a hug, or a kiss
and you were too busy to grant someone,
what turned out to be their one last wish.
So hold your loved ones close today,
whisper in their ear,
Tell them how much you love them
and that you’ll always hold them dear,
Take time to say “I’m sorry,” “please forgive me,”
“thank you” or “it’s okay”.
And if tomorrow never comes,
you’ll have no regrets about today
keeping this thought in my mind from so many days i am just living like if TOMORROW NEVER COMES…i just dont hesitate in saying i love you so many times to people i feel love for i dont hesistate now in saying sorry to people i feel so..i dont hesistate in asking what i can do for you or what i can do to remove pain or burdens from someone’s life or bring smiles to their life…and most importantly i clear my doubts instantly regarding every however bad or negative thought it may be i instantly share so that if i am not going to live the very next moment how can i die with a doubt in my mind towards people i love…
i want to die with clear heart clear mind…full of just love..no regrets of what i had done wrongs…as i clear daiyl…no anxiety as i want to dstribute my love an financial things also with truthful and honest decisiong among the people who deserve it…no thoughts of thinking who am i going to be in next birth or who wil be best life partner that time…why we have to think al this …i want to live each momnet with faith whatever i desere surely comes to me…whetehr love or life other things or thoughts whatever i dont deseerve i wont get however i try…whatever belongs to me…my love my luck no one in this world able to take it away from me…
so living life fully each moment in the way as it comes to me…
so each day is for me like living on last day ..i dont care if it is last day or moment of my life as I AM REALLY HAPPY AT THIS VERY MOMENT…RICHEST WOMAN HAVING SO MUCH LOVE AND MAGIC AROUND ME…SO GOD MAY TAKE MY LIFE AT ONE OF THESE MOMENTS I DONT MIND IT ALL …as last moment ful of love rarely people get such happy ending ..of life…
I would like to know all of yours view i have said so much i cant resist sharing my feelings as if tomorrwow never comes…
Thanks you very much Sanjib….for giving chance to share our inner thoughts….
lots of love and care and regards….Rekha..
wow-nice topic-on d final day -wud contact all my near n dear ones-n tell them i love them-n spend all my money-on myself n on d poor i happen to meet that day-n wud b wid my family n also pray to d almighty-n thank him for all he gave me n this life-n ask for forgiveness too from him- n happily wait for d departin time-wid -god’s name n my breath n mouth-that’s all
first go to the parlor transform self to a beautiful butterfly then meet Mr. Right spend 3 – 4 hrs. with him then meet spiritual adviser seek forgiveness shop for last meal to cook and go home spend time with family & call good and trustworthy friends then lay down wait until it is time.
…just like our Guru has shown us–to be IN the moment, like there’s no tomorrow!…with total responsibility to the moment–every moment of those 24 hours!–100% with whatever that moment brings with it–if it brings happiness then to be happy and share it with those around, if it brings service to another then serve totally, if it brings laughter then laugh from the core of my being, if it brings a fight then grit my teeth and fight with all I’ve got!!!!!
Just give everything away and spend the rest of the day in meditation in advance of the irrefutable end.
I will like to spend my day in seva sadhna n satsang
i realy loved your coment kalyani it is our right to die beautiful as beautiful we live…and sometime i tell to my closed ones that i would like to die as a maried woman and my best dress on me…and my wish like we in hindus arange condolence meeting that should not be jst one hour ..i guess so many of my loving people and friedns wil come each
… one should get chance to share ..and i even say that i wil decide myself what pictue should be placed there even after my dying i want to look good..and that meeting should also be memorable not like ordinary meet…it should be like a gala celebration as my loving frineds wil come so they should enjoy and have lots of specail dishes as they are precious for me
…so even if i wil not be there they must be treated well…and my all these wishes my family members specialy my husband knows well and he promised that it would be like this only as i desired to have …i cud not decide how wil i come to World and not much celebrations but i can decide THE GREAT GOING AND CLEBRATION AT THAT TIME ….:):)
will Live every moment in ‘Present’…
”Paseena maut ka aaya hai, Aeenaa laao;
Zindgi ki akhiri tasweer dekhenge”
thnx a lot rekha di………
ur reply is 2 gud di…………
How about you Sanjib?…what would you do?…we all want to know!
thx lot rekha..4 sayin what each one of us wantd 2…but cudnt say…jst love ur wrds..!!u r truly a guide.i wish u all d happiness n peace ….:)
Aggrieved at his ways, a woman took her debauched son to meet the Buddha. the moment he saw the youth, Buddha told him he had just one more day to live.
The younster was shocked. He clung to his mother’s sari and broke down and begged Buddha to help him.
‘I am sorry, son. i have no powers to forestall death,”said the Buddha.
Distraught, the youth went to meet all his family, friends and neighbours before the end came. with just six hours left for his death, he lay on the cot, thinking about all the people he had hurt, extremely troubled about his past.
When just 3hrs were left for his death, the Buddha paid him a visit.Smilingly,he asked the man how he had spent the last day of his life.”Did you lie to anyone? Did you speak unkindly? Did you steal?”he asked. the man snapped,”no,how cld i think of doing all this when my death is imminent?”
The Buddha patted him gently and said, “son,i do not know the time of anyone’s death. you became aware of your death 24hrs ago,but i have been aware of it for the past 24 yrs. that is the only difference between you and me.”
Inspite of knowing that death can strike us anytime, we refuse to acknowledge this truth ,and to life life in a way that wld leave us with no regrets when we look back.
live each moment fully…….now, now, now…… embrace and accept whatever comes your way, and act accordingly. live each moment like it was your last,,,,daily saadhna makes it even more effortless.rise each morning with a grateful heart… wow! god gave you another day to sing out your song.nit nutan….everyday you are born anew…..let life happen to you. wanted to share this everyone…..jaigurudev!
sorry for any typing mistakes… it had to be “live life in a way….
wondrful thots aarti..really enlightnin..
with the person who loves me the most
I would spend this 24 hours with all my love ones… play, eat, dance and be happy…
Guess I’ll stay in Mandir where there are Live Bhajans!!
I would like to do nothing…would like to go into deep meditation.
one days prayer to god will not help a person like me. Though I spent every day with my family and once a month with all my friends and relatives (whoever is available) I will call all of them together under one roof for one last time and have a blast.
in the Congregation of GOD… showering Blessings to d whole World… god bless
I am really not able to answer and understand others answer in this regards.. even this my last day on earth but I am not able to believe it..
Life don’t have first day and final day.. how can I trust in this question and answer it… my all answers would be wrong with wrong question … we do not have nothing to do here …
we are here just to be here.. 24 hours is a big big time to live and enjoy.. there is a lots of seconds and milliseconds to be here…this whole day on earth would so exciting and joyful just waiting for the last second or last breath of the day … just like i am enjoying and counting my every breath today and i am still exciting while thinking about my worldly death… what the moments would be when i will say real good-bye …
this question creating so much happiness and enthusiasm into me that i will today see the real thing so waited from my birth that was decided ..
Hurrah !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ….. today is real festival… a festival to enjoy past and future and present together … lets come together friends and be grateful to God to send us this great invitation like marriage ceremony … lets have sweets … lets have drinks …. say cheers we completed our assignments beautifully for this tough exams on earth …
Again hurrrah hhhhhhhhhhhhhhh …………………will be meeting again soon..
every moment be useful to others engage ur senses in all goodness be kind to everyone and forgive whom u hurt knowingly or unknowingly and be in gratitude
I wud just sit,go back in d flashback right frm my childhood till date..feel d good days and bad moments,and experience it all ovr again and breath my last breath! finally
wid a smile on my face…indeed lfy is byutiful ! 
For surely there’s always tomorrow
to make up for an oversight,
and we always get a second chance
to make everything right.
There will always be another day
to say our “I love you’s”,
And certainly there’s another chance
to say our “Anything I can do’s?”
But just in case I might be wrong,
and today is all I get,
I’d like to say how much I love you
and I hope we never forget,
Tomorrow is not promised to anyone,
young or old alike,
And today may be the last chance
you get to hold your loved one tight..
So if you’re waiting for tomorrow,
why not do it today?
For if tomorrow never comes,
you’ll surely regret the day,
That you didn’t take that extra time
for a smile, a hug, or a kiss
and you were too busy to grant someone,
what turned out to be their one last wish.
So hold your loved ones close today,
whisper in their ear,
Tell them how much you love them
and that you’ll always hold them dear,
Take time to say “I’m sorry,” “please forgive me,”
“thank you” or “it’s okay”.
And if tomorrow never comes,
you’ll have no regrets about today
May13 in hindi Mai Tera……….Samachar Samapt Huey !!!!!
i’d just live the same!
wow..such amazing and beautiful responses!
from a personal perspective, I would spend the 1st 8 hours of the day contacting all my loved ones and give them all one final blessing and moment to remember me by (the last impression we have on someone is always the strongest one)…
The next 8 hours, I would write continously (maybe even on this blog!) about my whole philosphy on life…what I have learnt, what I would like to share, and what advice I can give anyone reading my thoughts..
The final 8 hours, I would do my final rituals…bath, sadhana, meditate and then sit in a quiet spot and go deep within. During these moments I would like to reflect on my whole life, the impact I have had, lessons I have learnt..just simply sit through and reflect with an observing and non-judgemental mind.
Whilst approaching the final hour, my thoughts would turn solely to all the Guru’s who have guided me throughout life….with complete reverance and humility I would offer all my heartfelt gratitude and blessings… till finally my attention would turn to the ultimate consciousness from which we have all come from. I would ensure my last thought in this realm and 1st thought in my next journey would be entirely focused on my maker.
During meditation I believe we all leave this world on a regular basis and experience the ultimate consciousness beyond our earthy existence. The source of all energy, power, love, compassion is where I truly believe we all ultimately reside.
Death is but a mere extension of life, its simply the movement of one dimension to another…ultimately, our soul never changes.
I could write an entire book on this topic…who knows…maybe one day I will..:)
I would do what I’m doing every day, but I would be scared. I would be with my family and my pats. Our life is beautiful. I love my life and everything in it. Every event, every person and every experience. We should be happy for living but grateful for dying. That’s a part of the life.
I think i would just be here that one day without complaining about anything or anyone and just admiring God’s creation …..this world and ppl around more closely then before and spend my last few hours in thankfulness for all the wonderful experiences i enjoyed and lessons i learnt here and then finally go into deep meditation and connect with almighty.
for me it would b like any other day except for a little remorse for leaving the loved ones as i try to live my life…………….as each day being my last
@ Sanjib : Wow !!! What a wonderful thought by a wonderful person!!!
Sanjib… I can feel from your writings that what a beautiful and blessed soul you are…. We should have more Sanjib’s in this World… Thanks for sharing your lovely thought ! Love – Kalyani
grt feelings sanjib!!
hope it’s like this wen d time really comes-
If it were my last…I Would think good and only good about every body,help where ever and how much ever where needed,connect with the divine in meditation and be Antar mukhi as far as possible.
Trigger succession management system in my business and family, takes only one hour, since its proactively documented. Keep my loved ones along with me in the rest of the stuff I’m doing.
Donate my kidney, blood, heart, eyes, hands, legs, etc etc. to whatever extend that is possible to give happiness to any of my fellow human beings.
Rest of the carcass to be used @ medical college for learning.
I dont wish to meditate, be happy, be sad or anything.. there is no point.. just accept. full complete acceptance of completion and moving on to the next…
No remorse, no happiness, no sadness, no emotions.. nothing is in my hands..except what I have earned during this life.. which I wish to distribute.. and keep nothing with me.. Would love to die without anything.. absolutely anything in my hands… not even my emotions..
I’ve got 24 hours
, thats quite a lot of time 
..
My need for everything was during the time which I lived and felt that I would be living more. Now that my death is scheduled.. there is nothing more left, other than giving myself off.
Will trigger succession management system in my business and family, takes only one hour, since its proactively documented.
Keep my loved ones along with me in the rest of the stuff I’m doing. Tell them that my time has been drawn up. Make them realize the fact. Make them understand that this is how life is.. accept it. will only try for an hour.. rest will leave it to them to understand.
Donate my kidney, blood, heart, eyes, hands, legs, etc etc. to whatever extend that is possible to give happiness to any of my fellow human beings. Make sure someone takes care of the distribution past my death.
Rest of the carcass to be used @ medical college for learning….
I dont wish to meditate, be happy, be sad or anything.. there is no point.. just accept. full acceptance of completion of this life and moving on to the next, if there is one, else also its ok
I cannot take anything with me.. so will distribute what I have fully and unconditionally..
No left overs.. Would love to die without anything.. not even my emotions, body, money, earth, water, nature, thoughts… nothing..
Like I came to this world… I go.. thats what I love to do.. then just Die off.
Catch you later on FB.. if I’m born again as a human being, before FB gets obsolete.
))
I would be very happy that God gave me one day…
I would love to die like that.. 
)) Isn’t that always better than a sudden stop ??? remote possibility !! unless and until one is truely blessed..
I was imagining how I would be without this body, without a language to communicate, without the need for any food, air or any emotions.. experiencing my soul.. Thank you Sanjib, for making me feel my soul again..
this is the TRUTH…… I HAVE EXPERIENCED IN MY FAMILY…. death is but a moment , it will not give you time to even flush in the morning….
Aarti.. to me death is the moment when I’m free from this body, free from my material vision. Will welcome death with both my hands stretched.
Now living because of my vision and the power of it, that makes me happy too.
but because of the uncertainty of the death, we have to do a risk and succession management to the extent we can, proactively.
I would love to die early.. to experience the truth, not to run away from our reality, I have a wonderful reality too.. loving the way I’m living now, “fully being”
Most of us live life as if we do not have death at all.
thats the fact, thats when you get hit by this time bug when we fuse off.
@sanjib:so true n unique reply..!!u r truely unique sanjib in ur own special way…!!regards….roma!
To tell u the truth, I will go nuts. I don’t want to know when I’m going to die. I have to die one day, don’t mind if it is one yr from now, one month, 2 days, 1 day or even the next moment. I’ve my will and everything in order, ready to go, just that I don’t want to know, that is where God’s genius is, we won’t know the exact time of death and thank God for that!
@Prasad,that is exactly what i meant. it is a moment.. your last lines are the crux…people live like they will live on forever, and that others die. hence there is procrastination instead of proactivity. whatever everybody has said they will do if…. should be done now….calling somebody, telling somebody, writing, doing saadhna
…making it a habit, or whatevr like exercise….singing, dancing,because where, when and how each one of us goes is predetermined.being aware of this basic truth,brings us in the now and you become proactive and enjoy life,whatever it gives you is welcome. me too loving the way i’m now ….living fully from my” whole being”.
Profound Aarthi..
on a humorous note Sanjib.. If God gave me 24 hours.. is that 24 hours on the same day ??? and its on the final day ?
If its on different days.. thinking…..
))
Dear all… i am really enjoying such nice perspectives of taking the last day of life also so beautifully..and no one is scared of death i can see…all are talking about in such a graceful manner about it..and how amazing is everyone’s way of thinking to spend the las moments of life..:)
@Sanjib…such an awesome thought …even thinking that it would be your last day you would like to bless and give love to the people as you have been doing all the time…wow great thought we always heard abaout the first impression is the best impression…but you gave a strong and beautiful thought that last impression is the strongest one…of course i agree ..that last words of the enlightened person are like golden words for anyone to be remembered whole life and even beyond that…i must say your first impression or any day’s impression is strong and amazing as i realised ..and your blessings do work magically like your words…so really i am impressed by this thought also that you would be spending last day of life also in giving blessings to people..
And i realised your passion of writing and i can see even on last day also your wish to write something awesome and memorable is fantastic…and i guess til then you must have completed so many of books of your own…so that world can always remember you like great writers…
And most beautiful thought of meditation and feeling gratitude towards life and your Gurus and reviving the whole life and whatever you have done and learnt in life…this thought only shows your consciousness…
your name’ s meaning is FULL OF CONSCIOUSNESS …whole life you will give make this name more meaningful..and like your each moment of life your final moments wil be full of consciounsness no doubts in that…
I am so happy that i can meet such a person in life whose thougths are so beautiful and uplifting and i believe truly that such persons never die…physical death is just a change of phase …because LOVE MAKES YOU LIVE LONG AND FOREVER…you may or may be there but your love your kindness and your wisdom of thoughts wil always be there in people’s hearts and i believe not only our generation but new generation also can remember you with such regards and love as you are loved now…
God Bless you dear …i m really thankful to GOD to have such an awesome great friend who is so kind and considerate and wil live life fuly upto the last moment and beyond that …as love is immortal and never dies and you are made of love and wisdom and respect and care onlly…all these things are immortall…everllasting…so are YOU ….
thanks and regards and love for MY ANGEL…AND HIS ALL WISDOM CLUB FAMILY…all belong to me….Rekha…
That’s a lot to think about…
stay happy widout worries as dat wud b d final day nd spread happiness.nd love in others life.
24 hours is a lot of time… !
the only reason scriptures say keep ramnaam in mind always – is because death can snatch you away in just a few seconds…
if you have experienced life in silence for sometime in long sadhana periods – then you will have experienced death in timelessness to a large extent…
if one can be in true absolute active silence for about 3 hours – then the flow of energies go beyond the regular prana that gets distributed from the lungs – and gets linked to the inner silence which is the most abundant infinite source of prana…
and if that continues for few hours more – you may not even notice death happening in that Samadhi…
there were many saints who took ‘ Jeeva Samadhi ‘ like this…
I would spend the remaining 23hrs n 59 mins n 59 seconds of my life to call personally all those freinds n loved ones who were instrumental in making me happy n helping me to help others n saw me thru my toughest times n try to meet some of da old n the elderly in the family n some other underprivileged, deprived n distressed souls to comfort them by telling them that they are all luckier than me for they still have more life than me n how much i envy them for that n if possible invite my frens n relatives to dine with me n of course cook the best of my recipes for my family n frens while listening to all my favourite music n last but not the least sing my heart out n die happily while telling them not to cry over my death n rather fulfil my wishes of donating my eyes n organs to the needy n the deserving n follow the same themselves if they really love me as much as i did them.
taking a breath all day
its like a process in art of living advanced course and always its the end of life spent in being close to god or guru
Just like any other day.
enjoy life till the last minute…
Such a lovely question……though we r living like each day is the DAY but still given an opportunity….i would indulge in happier thoughts of my life……
all the thoughts from everyone are so clear and transparent had we not gone in this mode earlier we would be talking materialistic things and asking for more time , here the most fearful issue of everyone’s life has become so simple and clear . Sanjib , pls continue this thoughtoutful questions .
wow the views here are amazing…so interesting to see how everybody interprets the same question is so many differenty and unique ways:)
Rekha…thanks for your sweet words, I think this website is bringing out the writing qualities in so many people….very heartening to see:)
Sanjib…i guess whatever i say is heartfelt and if you find these words sweet may be because it was all about a sweetest and caring person who brought sweetness not onlly in my words but my nature that was so bitter earlier because of rudeness of some people and beahviours towards me…but joining you it seems like al bitterness disssolved effortlessly and not only you ..your all group people accepted me as a friend and giving so much love and respect with so kind words towards me that i stil think that i am seeing a dream as how reality can be so beautiful and dream like…and hard to believe that in this world stil so much love and magic exists that is surrounding me these days…if it is a dream i wish this never ends …
so all my happiness and inspiration to write or express me has come because or your inspirations only….thanks once again to you and the people who just joined me and make me feel so lovable…and great….
breathing