The following passage was taken from Sri Chinmoy’s book entitled Death and Reincarnation:

     If one is a sincere seeker, then even while he is dying, great joy will come. Although the physical may suffer, the delight of the soul will come forward enabling one to meditate consciously. Sometimes, when one consciously enters into the pain, then one?s own inner courage in the pain itself is transformed into joy. One can consciously enter into pain even while undergoing a serious operation. When I was a young boy, eighteen or nineteen years old, I did this during a serious operation. While the doctor was operating on me I consciously entered into the pain and felt real joy. I was smiling at the doctor, and he simply could not understand it. This anybody can experience.

?Sri Chinmoy, Death and Reincarnation