Trailblazer
Veteran Member
Nothing lasts forever in this life. Our life in this world is all about change and we can count on change, whether we like it or not. What is here today might last for a while but eventually it will be gone. Some people experience more happiness than other people but their happiness is not guaranteed to last forever as it could turn to sorrow overnight.
“O thou seeker of the Kingdom! Thy letter was received. Thou hast written of the severe calamity that hath befallen thee—the death of thy respected husband. That honourable man hath been so subjected to the stress and strain of this world that his greatest wish was for deliverance from it. Such is this mortal abode: a storehouse of afflictions and suffering. It is ignorance that binds man to it, for no comfort can be secured by any soul in this world, from monarch down to the most humble commoner.”
Selections From the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 200
Such is the nature of this material world. Nothing lasts forever, so this world cannot be relied upon for permanent happiness. We might be very happy with a new car or a new house but eventually there will be problems. We might be happy with a new job we got, but it will not last forever, it will end when we retire. We might be happily enjoying retirement years but that will eventually end, as nothing lasts forever.
I am not suggesting that people should not enjoy what the material world has to offer but I see a certain danger in becoming attached to anything that is impermanent because it will ultimately end and then what will we have at the end of this life?
We might be very happy in a marriage, but about half of all marriages end in divorce. Even if it does not end in divorce eventually it will end, as physical death will surely tear it asunder. No matter how much people try not to think about it, one or the other of the spouses is going to die first and leave the other behind. All living things will die eventually, and that includes our beloved animal friends. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.
Much as I often feel that physical death is a cruel act of God, I accept physical death as an unavoidable reality of life in this physical world, and I also see it as an opportunity for new beginnings. Since this physical life has to go until it ends, I believe we should try to make the best of the time we have in this world.
Man is said to die when the respiration of the lungs and the beatings of the heart cease, but I do not believe that the man actually dies. He is merely separated from the bodily part that was of use to him in this world, while the man himself continues to live. The man continues to live since man is not a man because of his body but because of his spirit (soul). It is the spirit that thinks in man, and thoughts and feelings are what constitutes man. The death of man is merely his passing from this physical world into the spiritual world, where the man takes on a spiritual body and continues to live forever.
Thus, I do not believe that physical death is the end of life. It is only the end of this physical life, but it is the beginning of a new life in the spiritual world.
“O thou seeker of the Kingdom! Thy letter was received. Thou hast written of the severe calamity that hath befallen thee—the death of thy respected husband. That honourable man hath been so subjected to the stress and strain of this world that his greatest wish was for deliverance from it. Such is this mortal abode: a storehouse of afflictions and suffering. It is ignorance that binds man to it, for no comfort can be secured by any soul in this world, from monarch down to the most humble commoner.”
Selections From the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 200
Such is the nature of this material world. Nothing lasts forever, so this world cannot be relied upon for permanent happiness. We might be very happy with a new car or a new house but eventually there will be problems. We might be happy with a new job we got, but it will not last forever, it will end when we retire. We might be happily enjoying retirement years but that will eventually end, as nothing lasts forever.
I am not suggesting that people should not enjoy what the material world has to offer but I see a certain danger in becoming attached to anything that is impermanent because it will ultimately end and then what will we have at the end of this life?
We might be very happy in a marriage, but about half of all marriages end in divorce. Even if it does not end in divorce eventually it will end, as physical death will surely tear it asunder. No matter how much people try not to think about it, one or the other of the spouses is going to die first and leave the other behind. All living things will die eventually, and that includes our beloved animal friends. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.
Much as I often feel that physical death is a cruel act of God, I accept physical death as an unavoidable reality of life in this physical world, and I also see it as an opportunity for new beginnings. Since this physical life has to go until it ends, I believe we should try to make the best of the time we have in this world.
Man is said to die when the respiration of the lungs and the beatings of the heart cease, but I do not believe that the man actually dies. He is merely separated from the bodily part that was of use to him in this world, while the man himself continues to live. The man continues to live since man is not a man because of his body but because of his spirit (soul). It is the spirit that thinks in man, and thoughts and feelings are what constitutes man. The death of man is merely his passing from this physical world into the spiritual world, where the man takes on a spiritual body and continues to live forever.
Thus, I do not believe that physical death is the end of life. It is only the end of this physical life, but it is the beginning of a new life in the spiritual world.
