A youth paid a regular visit to a famous Saint from Maharashtra Eknath. He liked listening to his discourse, it made him feel peaceful and joyous from inside. There was something special about his talk, it sounded divine and pure.
One day a doubt occurred in his rational mind. He wondered if the saint who looked pure from outside, was also pure from the inside? This doubt kept lingering in his thoughts. He could not let go of this and his curiosity increased every day. One day when Saint Eknath was alone, he decided to get an answer for his doubt.
He asked the Saint –
“O holy one, please don’t feel bad but can I ask you one question?”
Please go ahead, ask whatever you want to know.” replied Saint Eknath.
“Are you as pure from inside as you seem from outside? Don’t you get bad thoughts? Have you never sinned?” asked the youth curiously.
Eknath replied-
“I will answer your questions but before that, there is something important that I need to share with you. Please show me your palm, I want to read it.”
After taking a good look at his palm, Eknath said –
“While most of the things look fine but seven days from now you will die at 7 in the morning. You can now ask whatever you wanted to”
The youth who was in deep shock said – “What should I ask now? I think I better go home.”
“You just came, what’s the hurry. Discuss any topic you want to.“ said the saint.
“What questions can you have about life when death is in front of you. Let me just go home now”, the agitated youth replied.
The youth returned home. He went straight to his room and slept on the bed. The family members were puzzled. His wife came and asked –
“What happened? Are you not well? Shall I make you some tea?”
His worried parents asked – “Should we call the doctor? Tell us what is the issue?”
“There is only one issue, I’m going to live for just seven days. So don’t bother me by asking so many questions. Just pray to God” said the depressed youth.
A couple of days passed. The youth called his family and said –
“I have few enemies, Please call them, I want to ask for their forgiveness for all the mistakes I have made. After my death, please do charity, feed the poor, help the needy, and pray to God daily.”
On the Seventh day early morning before the sunrise, Sant Eknath knocked at the door of the youth. The youth who was still sleeping woke up and opened the door.
Eknath asked – “Son, Were you still sleeping? Are you feeling ok?”
“Guruji, You forgot? today is the last day of my life” – replied the youth with a pale face.
“O yes, I remember, I came to tell you that I made a mistake in my reading, your death is not today but six months from now,” said Sant Eknath.
“What? What are you saying? Are you sure?” asked shocked and confused youth.
“Yes, there are still six more months for your death.” replied Eknath, and after a brief pause continued –
“Tell me one thing, in the last seven days, did you get any sinful thoughts, did you have any fights?”
“Not at all Gurudev! In fact, I asked for forgiveness from all my enemies and I also forgave them. In the last seven days, I have only been meditating and praying the whole time. I did not have time to think about anything else.”
Eknath with a smile said –
“Did you now get an answer to the question about my purity? You could see death after seven days but I’m seeing death every moment. The one who is always aware and conscious of death will never commit sins”
The youth apologized to Sant Eknath and swore to live a sinless life with awareness.
Wisdom Bite
Steve Jobs once quoted –
“If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I’m about to do today ?”
How often do we ask this question to ourselves? The fact is that we are mostly living an unconscious life, without awareness. It is because of this unawareness, we keep committing sins through our behavior and actions without even realizing it.
There are three types of people in this world-
People of the first type are the ones who are in denial mode about their death. They think death will come at the end of life so enjoy and do whatever you want to now. They don’t want to die. They want to live longer and enjoy as much as possible.
The second set of people are the ones who are frustrated with life. They are pessimistic in their outlook. They are unable to fight the situations in their life. They are fed up and want to end their life as soon as possible.
The last type of people are the ones who live every day with awareness. They thoroughly live their life and don’t shy away from facing challenges. They constantly remind themselves about the transient nature of life and avoid committing sins. They spread positivity and happiness in and around them.
So which type do you fall into?
What kind of life do you want to live from now on?
