The Final Journey

were. The tables will indeed turn on that day, when many who are last in the world will be the first in the sight of God, and the filth and pollution of what had seemed pure and attractive will be revealed before the eyes of man. Much that man looks upon with relish now; he will turn away in horror from then. People’s real natures are concealed in this world. For some, attractive words have hidden their inner states and for others, material splendour. But in the next world these things will be taken away from man; he will be brought forward in his real state. What a calamitous day that will be! If one were to gauge the severity of that day, then one would cease to talk so ferociously, or be so allured by worldly things; worldly honour would seem just as meaningless as worldly disgrace. The Mirage I would like to narrate an incident of Mr. R.N. Pandey, a second lieutenant in the Indian Army, when he mistakenly boarded the Jammu Tawi Express, thinking it was the Utkal Express. It was only as the train steamed out of the station that he realized he was on the wrong train. When the train was nearing Okhla, in desperation he opened the door and jumped out of the train, which by then was hurtling along at full speed. He never reached the platform. He fell down under the train on to the railway track and was cut to pieces by the wheels. And so, on 12th November 1985, at the promising age of 35, death came to claim him for its own. (Hindustan Times, 13 November 1985)