What Do You Really Own?

In an examination hall a student gets many things. He gets a place in the hall to sit. There are a table and chair for him to use. He is given paper to write. And so on. The student uses these things freely, without any restrictions. The building saves him from the heat or the cold. The table and chair enable him to sit and write comfortably. The paper enables him to record his answers.

But all these things that the student has access to at this time are simply on account of the examination that he is writing. These things are ‘his’ only till such time as the period of the examination is not over. The moment the examination period is up, all these things that had till then been freely available for his personal use are taken away from him.

Something similar to this is an individual’s affair in this present world. Here, a person appears to own many things. He thinks that he is free to live here just as he pleases and to use the things he has received just as he wants. But actually, all that a person has here is on account of an examination. God is taking an examination of individuals in this present world. In accordance with the demands of this examination, God gives many necessary things to a person. But these things remain with him only till such time as his examination period is not over. As soon as the examination period is up all these things are taken away from him. The person who till now seemed to possess a great many things is suddenly bereft of everything! At that moment—of death—he becomes like a traveller who has been suddenly dropped into a barren desert or into outer space without any support.

Between our present state and our future state there stands only the invisible wall of death.