Satbir Singh Kapoor
“Khaanaa Peenaa Hasanaa Sounaa Visar Gaeiaa Hai Maranaa”- (Eating, drinking , laughing and sleeping, the mortal forgets about dying)
Guru Nanak Sahib Ji
We do not talk of death lightly- it is regarded as tasteless, ill-mannered and depressing. But death is an essential fact of life. It comes to kings as well as beggars, to the rich and the poor, to the saints as well as sinners, the aged and the young .You simply cannot turn a blind eye to it and fool yourself into believing that death comes to other people but spare you. It will not. Majority of people absorb themselves in the trivialities of their everyday life while turn their back to this inevitable event. Remaining aware that death will certainly one day meet him, man should strive to do good deeds in order to earn Lord’s consent.
A man once asked Sant Eknath Ji (Sant Eknath Ji has been one of the greatest Saints in Maharashtra), Maharaj , your life is so simple and sinless, Why is our life is utterly different? You are angry with none, you quarrel with none, you hate none. Sant Eknath Ji replied “Never mind me I have found out something about you. In seven days from now, you will die.”
Who could disbelieve Sant Eknath Ji‘s words? Death in seven days? Only 168 hours left Oh God what a calamity? He ran in haste to his house. On the seventh day, Sant Eknath Ji came to visit him. He greeted the saint. Eknath ji inquired “How are you?”. He said “All is over, now I am going”. Eknath Ji asked further “In these six days how many sins did you commit? And how many sinful evil thoughts came into your mind?”. And the man who had been awaiting death answered “Lord where was the time to think of sinful thoughts? Death stood ever before my eyes.”
Eknath Ji said “Now you know the reason, don’t you, why our lives are absolutely sinless? When death, the lion, stands always before us, how can evil thoughts appear? Constantly thinking of death is means of avoiding sin.
It is hard reality that death could come to any person of any age, but more the person is old, more he is vulnerable to death. To my surprise I have seen old people, even on death beds thinking evil about other people. This is because they think death would spare them and their end is far away. Never forget that those people who have already died had not been expecting death either, just like people who are still alive now and death probably came upon them at a very unexpected moment, such as at the dining table or while driving.
In an interesting incident in the great epic Mahabharata, King Yudhishthira was asked by a Yaksha (super natural beings who guard natural treasures of Earth), “What is the greatest wonder in the world?”. Yudhishthira replied “people see thousand dying every day and yet think that they themselves will live forever. This is the greatest wonder”. And it truly is!. This idea of living forever makes one greedy, corrupt, fraudulent, crooked, dishonest and deceptive.
Live everyday as if it was your last day. The awareness that life’s end is very close brings about a remarkable clarity regarding the priorities of life. It helps us recognize what is most important and what is illusory. Ask yourself “What would I do if I had only a day to live?”.
It brings the mind to the present moment. Strange as it may sound, remembering death does enable us to live fully. Let us accept death as a part of life, let us not forget it. According to Maulana Wahiduddin Khan “When people forget about death, they forget how to live”.
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