Śrīla Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāj recounts the Pastime of the passing of Śrīvās Paṇḍit’s son.
One day when Mahāprabhu Himself was chanting with His associates in Śrīvās Paṇḍit’s house, Śrīvās Paṇḍit’s son disappeared. It is an unthinkable matter. Mahāprabhu was dancing and chanting, and Śrīvās Paṇḍit was also present there, but his son was dead. Śrīvās Paṇḍit did not tell anything to Mahāprabhu, and his wife Mālinī Devī was crying, but very hiddenly. They did not want to disturb Mahāprabhu’s dancing and chanting of Kṛṣṇa-nām. They did not want to disturb that, but Mahāprabhu knows everything, and He said, “I am not feeling good today; what happened in this house?”
Śrīvās Paṇḍit replied, “Oh nothing, Prabhu! You chant and dance. There is nothing.”
“Oh no, no, I am not feeling good. What happened? Tell me.”
Then Śrīvās Paṇḍit told Mahāprabhu, “One jīva-soul mercifully came to my house, and today he disappeared.”
Mahāprabhu quickly went to give some pacification to the ladies and others. He also called that boy, “You are leaving us today? Why are you leaving? We are here chanting and dancing, and you are leaving. It does not look good. Why are you doing this?” Mahāprabhu asked this to that dead body. Then that dead body began talking. Everything is as it is meant to be, but we cannot see that, and what that dead body said is the truth: “I have very good fortune: I was born in Śrīvās Paṇḍit’s house, and now I am going to serve Your Divine Grace. I am very fortunate.” He spoke like this. “And if anybody is born one day, then he must die another day. That is not a significant matter. It is happening every day.”
ahany ahani bhūtāni gachchhanti yama-mandiram
śeṣāḥ sthāvaram ichchhanti kim āścharyam ataḥ param
(Mahābhārata: Vana-parva, 313.116)
Every day jīva-souls are dying and changing their bodies. It is not a very surprising matter. What is surprising is that everybody thinks, “I shall live a long time.” That is a surprising matter. Everybody is dying every day. That is not surprising. But everybody is thinking, “I shall not die; maybe I will die another day.” That thinking is very surprising.
This world is going on in this way, and with full consciousness and mercy we can see everything. It is very true, whether we know it or not: what will happen must happen.
Reference
Spoken on 10 October 1989.