To Die or Not to Die: Yogi’s Choice at the Moment of Death

According to some haṭhayogic texts, an advanced yogi has the ability to determine the precise moment of his death. And when this moment comes he can make a choice – either to die in a controlled way and reach a desired destiny, or to escape death and become immortal in his physical body. This lecture will explore different techniques leading to this goal.

Lubomír Ondračka is Reader in Indic Religions at the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Faculty of Arts, Charles University in Prague. He graduated first at the Institute of Chemical Technology in Prague (five years engineering program in Mathematical modelling) and then at the Faculty of Arts, Charles University (five years MA program in Bengali). His research areas are history of Yoga and religions of Bengal. He teaches extensively on yoga, history of Indic religions and religious practice in contemporary India.