What is the Vedic view on death and why should one never fear or hasten death?

In the Vedic literature, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa addresses "What is the Vedic view on death and why should one never fear or hasten death?" with profound philosophical clarity. As declared in BG 2.13, "As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change." The living entity (jīva) is not the temporary physical body, but an eternal, indestructible conscious spark of the Supreme. All material dualities—happiness, distress, anxiety, and sorrow—are bodily transformations that arise from our conditioned contact with the material energy. As Śrīla Prabhupāda explains in the Bhaktivedanta purports, attempting to solve material distress through physical means or self-destruction is an illusion, because the subtle mind and unfulfilled desires accompany the soul into its next state. Rather, as instructed in BG 2.22, one must use the mind to elevate oneself through spiritual intelligence. By taking shelter of devotional service (Bhakti-yoga) and the holy names of the Lord, one conquers all material perplexities and attains eternal peace.