This isn’t going to be a long post, for I am sad.
I am sad to share with you the news of untimely death of a young Safal Niveshak tribesman, Sameer.
I had never met Sameer but we had interacted a lot through email over the past few months…and had thus become ’email friends’.
The last time he wrote to me was on 25th August, the day he subscribed to my Mastermind course and was very excited to walk together with me on a one-year journey of learning.
Very sadly, his friend – another tribesman – broke the news to me that Sameer passed away on the 27th.
I just cannot imagine the plight of Sameer’s parents who have to pretend that they are alive to see that their son isn’t.
Losing people you know is never easy, especially when it seems way too soon.
Suddenly, life seems so unfair…and ephemeral.
Before Death Arrives…
Nobody knows when, how, where we will die.
I still don’t know why Sameer had to die at such a young age.
In this moment of sadness, which I share with you, here are a few words that remind me how certain death is, and what I must do before I die.
What follows below is a part of speech from Steve Jobs, who himself begun on his road to eternity two years back, and said this during a moving address at Stanford University in 2005.
It shook me when I read it for the first time. It shakes me again today when I read it to remind myself of the only reality of life…
When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.
Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.
Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share.
No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because death is very likely the single best invention of life. It is life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new.
Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.
Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.
And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
Sameer, you’ve turned over from time to eternity…and we’ll miss you!
It’s always sad to hear such things 🙁
Condolences,Vishal.My heart goes out to his parents who have to bear such a loss.
May god give courage to his parents and dear ones.
Really sad. Condolences to Sameer’s parents.
In this hour of grief, my heart goes out to his parents , praying and wishing that god gives them enough strength and succour to come out of this horrible tragedy.
Vishal-Steve Jobs Address to Stanford university, reminds me of my favourite question, when i used to interview senior people- ” If you were told that you would live for only 24 hours, what would you do, whom all would you contact and what would you say” Mind boggling and there are no right or wrong answers here.
Very sad to hear this…May god give strength to his parents to bear this loss..
Dear Vishal & fellow tribesman
Its a bare fact of the life that everyone who is born has to die but we all try to deny this fact to ourselves and want to live our lives as if we are going to live forever or our loved ones will live forever but whether we accept it or not the separation has to come and this ignorance / attachment brings misery or suffering.
Yaa, Steve jobs was right in reminding himself of this eventual truth that everyone of us have to face some day and the exact time and place nobody knows. It also helps to prepare us psychologically and helps us to remain equnimous at the time we face our own Death state. The state of mind at the time of passing away is most important to shape the future direction of the consciousness and state of mind at the time of death will solely depend on the way we now lead our lives in the present moment.
I was the most scared person whenever i faced a life threatening disease and this gave me the insight on my own tremendous attachment towards this body. But now because of my practicing Vipassana Mediation daily i was able to observe the truths like fear, anxiety, ego, jealousy, hatred, ill will residing in the deep corners of my sub conscious mind and becoming aware of them without reacting to them is like releasing them from my own system. I initially felt positive thoughts were enough to drive these negativity but only though meditation did i realize that understanding the process of their accumulation, formation and growth was the most important to take them out of the system completely.
This i am writing for us to understand the urgency to live the life fully to its full potential and we don’t know how much of the balance life is available with us.
As our condolences to sameer let us try to lead every moment of the life to its fullest value.
It is really sad. sometimes fail to understand will of god when i hear such tragic news…
may the soul rest in peace.
may the god gives courage to near and dear to withstand this unbearable loss…
May God give the strength and courage to Sameer ‘s family to endure this unbearable loss.
Sometimes, only few words are what you have -“A friend who dies, it’s something of you who dies”
Quite sad. Condolences to Sameer’s parents. May his soul rest in peace.
May Allah bless him and his family.
My condolences to Sameer’s parents, it is very hard for a parent to loose a young child, as every parent visualizes from day one on how the child would be as a grown up.
Having said this, I must admire the depth of your thinking, not just on investments, but also about life. When one thinks about life this way, even soberness comes into investing. We are not investing to “make money”, instead we are investing to make a “better” life for ourselves and our loved ones. Even Warren Buffet, for whom investment was not a means, but an end, since he loved that work so much, took good care of his family and his loved ones, before donating all his money to charity. Not all of us love the work of investing like Buffet, but we invest to build a better life. Looking at the mirror daily and seeing the body in front that will vanish one day is a profound experience. It makes one think of all the people whom one has to communicate with, and think about all the things one wanted to do, but did not do due to the compulsions of those moments in the past.
Before we mortally disappear, we must make the best of this life by listening to our inner guide and building what we wanted to do in this life.
Regards,
Rajaram
Sad. May his soul rest in peace.
Regards
Sujit Katyal
Dear Vishal,
Ramesh here, and it is with great sadness I write (was never good at it).
Sameer was the person who introduced me to your website. We used to discuss stocks during work and suggested your website and posts. He trained under me and was one of the smartest engineers in the oil business. He was one of the few who read up the oil industry history to get a good perspective of the business.
He had a lot going for him till fate cut him short.
I would like to thank you for remembering him in your post.
Regards
Ramesh
Good article Vishal ,
LIFE IS SHORT . DEATH IS CERTAIN . ETERNITY IS FOREVER !
You are unique . There never was and never will be anyone exactly like you . You are not a mistake . God placed you here to make a difference to people around you .Make the best use of your time on Earth !
Regards ,
James
Dear Vishal
Feel so sorry for Sameer. But again thanks to share feelings. With Steve Jobs . And that true but to be honest its very tough to enjoyed every day as ure last day . I tired it many times but it last for few days or months . But those few days and months add some thing extra in daily life for whole life.
Oh. I know the pain that follows losing close ones. Pl convey my condolences to his parents. RIP. Sorry to hear this.
Hi Vishal,
This post really touching for me as few weeks back I lost one of my very close friend, Dinesh. He was my school mate and was only 27 when he died due to heart attack.
Death is the destination we all share but loosing someone at such an early age seems very unfair. You are rite, we should learn to live each day of our life as its our last day.
May god give peace to the soul of Sameer and courage to his parents and family.
Regards,
Prashant Dalvi
Its extremely saddening, Vishal. My condolence for the grieving family of Sameer and you too. Losing a friend and a family member at such a young age, makes you wonder a lot of things in life!
Dear Vishal,
My condolences to Sameer’s family for this immense loss.
Though its entirely your prerogative , since you post doesn’t mention this, I believe you intend to return the amount collected from him…at least his family members will be able to utilise it.
In any case you have got strong collection for your course in this edition so it should not be a problem , I feel it will be better to return the amount collected ,as there is now no beneficiary.
Regards,
Prakash
That process is already on, Prakash. I would have returned the fee even if Sameer was the only subscriber.