THE BEGINNING OF A NEW LIFE
Death is Not the End
OF all moments that lie within the realm of human imagination, death is the most savage. All the other calamities that cause man distress are nothing compared to that which he encounters in the form of death.
With death, we enter the most difficult stage of our lives. We become totally powerless, destitute, and helpless. All worldly suffering has a limit, but in the world that we will enter after death suffering and torment will be unlimited.
In reality, this is the state of man in the present world. So inherently weak is man that he cannot bear even the slightest inconvenience. Just the prick of a needle, a day’s hunger and thirst, or a few nights’ insomnia are enough to rock his entire being. In this world, however, he has everything he needs. That is why he forgets his indigence, and remains blind to his true nature.
The worldly affliction which causes man distress on earth is trivial compared to the affliction of the Hereafter.
In this world man is provided with food and water, air and light; he is able to tame the forces of nature and bring civilization into existence. But if this world were taken away from him, he would not be able to fashion another world of this kind anywhere in the universe. It would be his lot to wander around in darkness.
The worldly affliction which causes man distress on earth is trivial compared to the affliction of the Hereafter. Worldly honour and ease make him proud and complacent, but they are of no consequence if they do not support his next, eternal life. If man were to be conscious of what would become of him after death, he would forget about his worldly state, and concentrate on consolidating his position in the world where both repose and torment are infinite.
Death is not the end of life; it is the beginning of a new stage of life. It will lead some into a den of unmitigated hardship, and others to a world of infinite happiness.