She was capable of laughter the world could hear.
Of tears that could never be seen.
A wife who lived like a lover.
A Mother who was always a Child.
She grew wings like a dove,and flew to her rest.
She was our Mother.
Circa 1979 December 9 she flew away from planet earth. At her niche @ St.Michael’s Mahim-Mumbai, were these words we got engraved
“The Rose still grows beyond the wall”.
We siblings still say
“What would mum have said / done now” …… ...........Answer got.
Death I believed then as now is only a change of state. If our experience as a human is analogous to a journey down a river, then our experience as a spirit is analogous to the entire water cycle. Each of us is like a raindrop which fell from a cloud and ultimately entered into a river for the journey back from where it came - the sea. Then the cycle is repeated. In the same way that a drop of water is a part of the sea and contains within itself the nature of the sea itself, so our spirit is a part of God containing within it the Whole of God itself. This concept of a something being both a part and the Whole is what we call the atman being part of the param-atman. By becoming a droplet in the water cycle, we can experience wonderful adventures which ultimately help us to understand ourselves and the sea even more. Which river of life we choose to travel down is up to us. Once we begin the journey, we are partly at the mercy of the river and the course it takes us. How we chose to flow down the river is our decision. This river which represents the course of our life that leads us back to God is an archetype that is familiar to us. On the river, we are always moving forward from a source toward an end. There are many decisions and choices to make while traveling the river. Sometimes we have no choice at all but submit to the mercy of the river. At times we can relax and go with the flow. Other times we can shoot the rapids. Wisdom means knowing the best course of action to take as we travel down the river. It concerns how we choose our destinies before our birth, how is analogous to standing on top of a very high mountain, looking down upon a vast system of rivers and choosing which river to partake. From the vantage point of being on top of a mountain, we can get a good view all the rivers from their beginning to their end. As in life, each river has a number of forks and branches to choose from. Some rivers are more challenging while others are less challenging. Some rivers are very dangerous and can lead to disaster. But no matter which river of life we choose before our birth, the river will always carry us back to the sea. This means we are all predestined to eventually return to God.
But once we begin our journey down the river of our choosing, we have many choices which are not predetermined. "Our life is like a river. The destination is set, but the method of our journeying is up to us. We can cruise down the middle of the river at top speed, or we can hug the shore and spin around in eddies. We can crash over rapids or chart a safer path between obstacles. We can slum along the bottom in the mire and slime of sediment, or we can glide along the sparkling surface where the air is clean. The river is ours from birth to death. How we navigate it is determined by the hundreds of small choices we make each day.
The idea of death has been the strongest power of religion and religious life. Death stirs man to search for immortality. Man is afraid of Beyond Death. He wants to live forever. Why are we afraid of death? Death is separation of the soul from the physical body. The entrance of a soul into a body is called birth. The soul's departure from the body is called death. Death is a door opening from one aspect of life to another. Ice becomes water, and water becomes steam, vapour, and invisible gas, according to the degree of vibration. So is life in the physical, astral, and mental planes. Death does not end your personality and self-consciousness. It merely opens the door to a higher form of life. Death is only the gateway to a fuller life. Death is not extinction of personality. It is merely the cessation of an important individuality. Death is not the opposite of life. It is a phase of life. Life flows on ceaselessly. The fruit perishes, but the seed is full of life. The seed dies, a huge tree grows out of the seed. The tree perishes, it becomes coal which has a rich life. You will again resume the work that was left off by you in your previous life. Therefore do not be afraid of death. Living is a continuous process of dying. Just as you move from one house to another house, the soul passes from one body to another to gain experience. The last thought of a man governs his future destiny. It determines his future birth. It is very difficult to keep up God-consciousness at the time of death when diseases torment the body, when consciousness fades. But, for that man who has disciplined his mind all throughout his life and who has tried to fix the mind on the Lord through constant practice, the last thought will be thought of God only. It cannot come by a stray practice in a day or two, in a week or month. It is a life-long endeavor and struggle. Persons who have done good Karma spend a great deal of time on the Heavenly plane before being born again. Great souls, spiritually advanced persons, wait for a long time before reincarnating. In the intervening period between death and new birth, the departed spirit, especially if the person is spiritually developed, can frequently materialize upon the earth plane if necessity arises. It takes form, and even makes itself felt by tangible touch. It is an exact counterpart, a subtle 'double' to the physical body, and forms the vehicle in which the departed soul journeys after death. Spiritual realization and knowledge of the Self alone will reveal the mystery of life and death and the life beyond death. That is why it was written “The Rose still grows beyond the wall”. Let us get ready to walk as we prepare for a peaceful life "Beyond Death" as we say “world without an end ……….Ameen”.
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