The Mirage

I would like to narrate an incident of Mr. R.N. Pandey, a second lieutenant in the Indian Army, when he mistakenly boarded the Jammu Tawi Express, thinking it was the Utkal Express. It was only as the train steamed out of the station that he realized he was on the wrong train. When the train was nearing Okhla, in desperation he opened the door and jumped out of the train, which by then was hurtling along at full speed. He never reached the platform. He fell down under the train on to the railway track and was cut to pieces by the wheels. And so, on 12th November 1985, at the promising age of 35, death came to claim him for its own. (Hindustan Times, 13 November 1985)

The successful man who runs a lucrative industry, owns a palatial mansion, drives where he wills in limousines and possesses all kinds of status symbols including a circle of wealthy and elegant friends, has all the things which add upto success in this world. Yet he is no more immune to misfortune than Lieutenant Pandey. At any moment his factory can close, his house can crumble around him, his cars can skid with him to destruction and his friends can one by one desert him. Those self and same things which are such glittering symbols of success can become like so much dross under his feet, and under whose deadweight he may be buried forever.

As soon as the true nature of material things is laid bare, they appear no more attractive than tombstones. To all intents and purposes, material progress leads one to the splendid mansions of success. But, if we were to face up to the reality, we would see that it takes us only as far as the graveyard–and not one step beyond.

The real pleasures are those of the next world, while the pleasures of this world are only a mirage. The greatest mistake man can make is to pursue what is superficially attractive in this world, while neglecting what is to be achieved in the next; in this way, he will have success in neither.