Old Age, Death

Man should remember death at every moment. He should be prepared to die at any time. He should introspect as to what preparation he has done for the life after death.

Man is born into this world as a baby, becomes an infant, and then he reaches adolescence. Then he grows old and finally within a period of a hundred years, he dies. It happens with all men and women—compulsory aging after adolescence and afterwards compulsory death.

This is the story of every individual. The following expression describe the case of every man and woman born in this world: “What a magnificent world they have built to leave.” This is the story of everyone in this world, with the sole difference being that some build a small castle for themselves and others build a big castle. The British had to leave their magnificent “political Taj Mahal” on August 15, 1947.

The same end awaits all men and women. Certainly the time is going to come for everyone when, all alone, they will have to leave this world, leaving their castles behind them. This happening takes place before us each and every day. But no one learns anything from this. Everyone—rich or poor, ruler or ruled—is living as if whatever has happened with others will not happen to them. Man appears to be invested with powers. But as regards death he is totally powerless. Just as an earthquake comes all of a sudden governed by the unilateral laws of nature, similarly, death, too, comes from the Creator on a unilateral basis. Man has no say in this matter.

This state of affairs demands that man should remember death at every moment. He should be prepared to die at any time. He should be engaged all the time in introspection as to what preparation he has done for the life after death, and what he has in store for his journey after death. People write their life’s diary but what is more important is to write the diary of death. Everyone should record in his diary as to what he thought today about death.

For instance, on hearing of someone’s death, I was reminded of my own death. When I witnessed that person’s last rites and I saw his body being lowered into the grave, I was reminded that one day I, too, would be buried in the same way.

One who sees his own death in the death of others is the truly living person. A living person does not wait to undergo a fatal experience in order to learn a lesson from it. The truly alive person is one who learns lessons from the experiences of others.