On March 21st, (1936) when Mehendarge received news of his brother’s demise, he wept. Baba took him aside, stating:
This life, body and death are all Maya, and to weep over the death of someone is ignorance. Remember, Maya does not mean this world and its affairs. The illusion that this world and everything in it is real – and of feeling happy or unhappy over certain conditions – is Maya.
See how Maya charms and deceives humans and how it entwines itself around them! Daily thousands die. Recently in America many died due to floods. In the war in Abyssinia, so many were killed. The earthquake in Quetta alone killed thirty thousand people! But though these thousands and thousands perished, you did not feel upset for them – those thousands of men, women and children who were healthy and strong, who were expected to live a long life and had various hopes, plans and ambitions.
Compared to them, your brother was old, unfit and suffering much. And for him, your tears are useless. He is free from his suffering. You should be glad.
Lord Meher, Original Publication, Bhau Kalchuri, Vol. 6, pp. 1991 – 1992.
(Meher Baba’s father Sheriarji was born on March 21, 1853.)