Death plays a pivotal role in the history of yoga—the original objective of practice was ending rebirth. At some point between the earliest Vedas and the time of the Buddha a thousand years later, the doctrine of karma changed people’s priorities.
Haṭha yoga texts, such as the Haṭhapradīpikā, often talk about gaining control over or conquering death.
Since ancient times, the Yoginis have appeared in various forms and often have a close association with nature.
In the Bhagavad Gītā, Sri Kṛṣṇa offers insights throughout the text and explicitly addresses death in some key passages.
Every moment, every breath, was so precious, because I had no idea if it would be my last moment.
Death always comes as a surprise even when we know it’s coming. It’s as much a part of life as birth.
What to speak of death, even life is appreciated differently by people with varying values. Seers have stated that those who don’t pursue a spiritual goal are dead while living.
For students of yoga and anyone who inquires into the magnum mysterium, a brush with death through some circumstantial event, in a dream, or standing at a hospital bedside, serves to amplify the experience of living.