The Day I Died
"Life upon this earthly face is naught but a form of death. That death which we so fear is, in truth, life itself. To invert this, to deem death as an end, a descent into oblivion rather than a rebirth into another realm, is faithlessness.
Should the Divine diTsmantle your earthly dwelling, do not weep or complain. Know that you are, in essence, imprisoned within this fleshly dungeon. When death arrives, and the walls crumble, you shall find release.
As my coffin is carried forth on the day I perish, mistake not my sorrow for worldly grief. Think not that I lament my departure. Nay! Weep not for me, nor utter, "Alas, he is lost!" For only if I succumb to the desires of the self, ensnared by the devil's snare, then is it time for lamentation.
Upon seeing my funeral procession, cry not, "Oh, parting!" For then it is not the hour of parting, but of meeting with the Divine. It is the hour of reunion. When they lower me into the grave, utter not, "Farewell!" For the grave is the veil that conceals the realm of souls.
If I die, speak not that I am dead. Nay, I was dead, and now I am made alive. The Beloved has taken me hence. As a bird, how sweet to leave its cage and soar! So, too, is death and departure from this land sweet to me."
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi