Once the Bakasura demon assumed the shape of a very big duck and opened his mouth in order to swallow Krsna and all the cowherd boys. When Krsna was entering into the demon's mouth, Balarama and the other cowherd boys almost fainted and appeared as though they had no life. Even if they are illusioned by some ghastly scene or by any accidental occurrence, devotees never forget Krsna. Even in the greatest danger they can remember Krsna. This is the benefit of Krsna consciousness: even at the time of death, when all the functions of the body become dislocated, the devotee can remember Krsna in his innermost consciousness, and this saves him from falling down into material existence. In this way Krsna consciousness immediately takes one from the material platform to the spiritual world.
In this connection there is a statement about persons who died at Mathura: "These persons had a slight breathing exhilaration, their eyes were wide open, the colors of their bodies were changed, and they began to utter the holy name of Krsna. In this condition they gave up their material bodies." These symptoms are prior manifestations of death.

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