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tality. Let this body die if it has to, but let there be no such future possibility of being born and dying again. It is rare indeed to see a man desiring to control his senses and to evolve spiritually. It is not so easy; it happens very slowly, and you are fortunate to be one of those exceptions.
Once upon a time somebody asked Shankaracharaya, "O! Lord, great people condemn both birth and death. It is bad to be born and even worse to die, but is there a birth which can be appreciated and is there a death deserving applause?" Lord Shankaracharya answered,
Jato hi ko yasya punarnajanma kova mrityo yasya punarnamrityuh.
"The birth of one who will never be born again is commendable. The death of one who will never die again is also commendable." Once you leave this body, let there be no question of coming back into another body; abandon the possibility of repeating the cycle of birth and death.
Today we are celebrating such a great saint, who has transcended life and death. He is a jeevanmukta, free in this life, and he shows the path of freedom to all. There have been many people attaining self-realization, but they kept themselves secret. If Paramahamsa Satyananda, after his realization, had retired to a secluded cave in the Himalayas and enjoyed his blissful state there, then we would never be celebrating his Tyag Golden Jubilee. He was unlike the selfish people. He did not choose a secluded place for his austerities because he does not live only for himself. He made his knowledge available to all from this town of Munger, located in the poor and materially backward state of Bihar. That is why we are celebrating his Golden Jubilee.
The shastras mention that there are mountains not only of mud and stone, but also of silver and gold. The trees that grow on these mountains of silver and gold, however, remain just trees. They are neither soil nor stone, neither silver nor gold. Why should we appreciate the mountains of silver and gold if the trees growing on them remain just trees? We will applaud that mountain of malayagiri on which even the bitter neem trees become sandalwood.
Similarly, why would we appreciate a realized saint enjoying his blissful state in a solitary Himalayan cave? We will appreciate the great master whose mission is now providing
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