THE FOUNTAIN OF IMMORTALITY

It is a fact that nobody wants to die in the world. Whenever anyone is ill, the best efforts, the most expensive medical aid that he can afford, all that he can spend, everything that he can do, is tried to the best of one's ability.
Most medications and supplements and transplants are designed to prolong life.
But for how long?
The inevitable, inexorable march towards Death continues to go on and no one is spared in the end.
Hence the question arises: For how long does one wish to live?
And the answer is "forever", "eternally".
Everyone wants immortality, a life that never ends.
What everyone wants is Eternal Life, and no one gets it in his lifetime.
Alexander the Great wanted to conquer the whole world. And he wished to do it while he was still young. But time was catching up with him. He desired immortality fast, so that Death would not catch up with him before he had conquered the whole world.
As legend goes, his Spiritual Guide, Aristotle, told him of a Fountain of immortality after drinking of which a person would become immortal. Death would never come to him. He would never die.
This was what Alexander had been in search of -- a life without Death.
And, so, Alexander and his Guide, Aristotle went to the forest where the Fountain of Immortality was flowing in the center of a pond.
Aristotle gave him a cup and asked him to dip it in the waters of the pond and drink from it, so that he would become immortal, attain immortality in this life, so that he would never die.
Alexander dipped his cup into the waters of the pond and was about to lift it to his mouth when he saw a strange sight.
Gathered on the other side of the pond was a huge crowd of people who were wailing and crying in agony.
"Aristotle!" said a bewildered Alexander, "where have you brought me? Why are all these people weeping and wailing?"
Aristotle: "They are weeping and wailing because they are in extreme agony!"
Alexander: "Then why don't they drink from the Fountain of Immortality?"
Aristotle: "Alexander! They have already drunk of the Fountain of Immortality!"
Alexander: "What! They why are they crying in agony? What are they asking for?"
Aristotle: "Alexander! They are asking for Death! They have attained immortality and they cannot die. But the sorrows and miseries of the world are now with them forever. They want to be relieved of their misery, and desire Death, which cannot come to them because they have become immortal!"
Alexander awakens as if from a dream. And then after a while he throws the cup into the pond and walks away from the place.
"If this is what immortality brings, a life of eternal sorrow and suffering, then I do not want immortality!"
Indeed, an eternal life without eternal happiness is a burden too great for man to bear.
God who created life, very meaningfully created Death as well, for all the living beings on earth.
We must accept Life as an order of God and Death as another order of God, and surrender ourselves before His Will in both circumstances.
It is in this surrender before His Will that Death turns into Eternal Life and Eternal Happiness.
In fact there is neither life nor death. There is just the Will of God.
It is said that Alexander never found the Spiritual Guide who could lead him to an Eternal Life which was also accompanied by Eternal Happiness.
As a Persian poet wrote centuries ago:
"Tahi dastaane kismat raa cheh sood az murshide kaamil
Choon khizr az aabe haivaan tishna lab mi aarad Sikander raa"
Alas! Those with an empty destiny cannot benefit from a Spiritual Guide!
Even as Alexander was left thirsty despite attaining the Fountain of Eternal Life.