Twenty-Four Hours

Amma once told us
of a young man
who asked a Swami:
 
“Why do my weaknesses
trouble me,
but not you?”
 
The Swami replied:
“You will die
in twenty-four hours.”
 
A day later,
the Swami asked:

“Did you curse,
envy or wish anyone harm?”

“No, Swami.
I was thinking
only of death.”

The Swami smiled:

“You remembered death
for twenty-four hours.
I have remembered it
for twenty-four years.”

Amma would add:
 
Remembering death
is learning
how to live.

Image courtesy: rajGuru Notes