Remembering Death

Man has endless words at his disposal in this world; but there will come a time when he will be at a loss for words. There will be no one to listen to what he has to say, no press to print what he writes, and no loudspeaker to announce his words. The fool’s paradise that he had constructed for himself in the world will have been razed to the ground. He will look for some respite from anguish and despair, but there will be none.

If only man were to remember death, the things that make him cruel and unjust would become meaningless; he would realize that his actions are leading him towards Hell. Man cannot make use of the wealth that he holds so dear before death comes and severs him from his earnings for all time. If man were to remember this fact, he would not be so obsessed with self-enrichment in this world. People plot the destruction of others, but before they can carry out their plots, death comes between them and their enemies. If one constantly keeps this fact in mind, one will never seek to harm others; one will never plot the downfall of another.

No one is ready to buy a house that is due to be demolished the next day. No one inhabits a city that is about to be devastated by an earthquake. Yet everyone makes the much more serious mistake of ignoring the most severe earthquake which will strike us—death.