Die such a death that you will not have to die again. Die, all of you, in the real sense of the word so that you may live ever after. The stopping of breath and the absence of pulse are not real dying. It is no use letting your earthly body die; all your desires and longings should die. That is, seek out the death of maya first and become sanskara-less. Then alone will you have died the real death and have been born into eternity.
An earthly being who realizes God can be said to have earned real birth. All the wise ones, holy ones, sufis, saints, pirs and prophets, by surrendering every worldly thing to God, have reached the Goal — Union with God. So do such acts that will earn you freedom from the recurring rounds of births and deaths.1
When you understand this, what is the use of sorrow and weeping? If you have love for the dead, it should be selfless. The dead do not want your expressions of sadness. Manifest such love for them that they would be pleased and at peace. If you want the consciousness of their souls to progress, express selfless love. Do not make them unhappy by your weeping and wailings.
Jamshed was my brother, but I am Jam Sheth [Master of Death]. The same death has brought Jamshed to his Master. Jamshed is near Jam Sheth! So give up this worthless conduct and be absorbed in your duties. Do not have the idea that because Jamshed is dead the world is dead.
He who is convinced that after death there is birth again never worries or sorrows. What is the use of sorrowing over dried-up crops in the field? By dying before death [annihilating the mind] you will gain both worlds. Otherwise, it is a never-ending cycle of taking birth and dying. There is no escape.
It is a matter of luck. What can we do when our last day dawns? It is not in our hands, so what can be done? We all have to go one day. So what is the sense of weeping? One can do nothing except submit to God's will.
One of the men wanted to know what the simplest and easiest way to emancipation and immortality. Baba replied:
The easiest way to immortality is contact with a Spiritual Master, and the simplest requirement is intense longing for realizing God.
Footnotes
- 1.Once Baba composed these couplets in Hindi along the same theme: How did we die before our death? How can we know these many secrets? Those who cling to the Master's footsteps, How can they continue if they don't find Him?