All Too Soon

M

an seeks wealth, honour, power and offspring in this world. He does all he can to obtain these things, but death shows him that his desires cannot be fulfilled in this world. He cannot find in this ephemeral world what he longs for above all else.

One only has to think: what is the point of gaining anything in this world when one is bound to leave it behind in a few days? If one were to be content with one’s lot in this world, all the plundering and exploitation that man indulges in would then cease. It is a fact that there is no great difference between acquiring a thing and not acquiring it: what is the value of an acquisition which the very next day is going to be turned to loss? Man expends all his energies to obtain something, only to lose it the next moment. Life is sure to end in death. Man will leave behind all the valued possessions which he surrounds himself with in this world, never to return to them again.

Man lives for today; he forgets about tomorrow. He builds a home for himself by destroying others’ homes, although tomorrow he is going to step into the grave. He takes others to human courts, where he makes out false cases against them; he forgets that the angels are standing over him, ready to take him to the divine court. He looks down on others, thinking he is secure in his worldly greatness, but this greatness will soon be destroyed, and there will be no trace of it left.