Once Buddha had an encounter with Ananda, the son of his stepmother. Buddha had attained the stage of Nirvana (Self-realisation). Watching Buddha in this state, Ananda burst into tears. Buddha was about to give up his body. Ananda was in grief over the thought "What will happen to us? What is our future?"
Buddha summoned Ananda to come near him and said: "Ananda! This is not a time for grief. I am about to achieve Nirvana. You should also seek Nirvana. Looking at the dead, the living lament over death. But who are the dead? Death awaits the living in due course. Where there is birth, there is also death.
"Only the Divine {Purushothama) is free from birth and death. He is eternal with no beginning, middle or end. He is the Eternal Witness." (Telugu poem)
Except for the Divine, birth and death are natural to all human beings. Why than do you weep? You also must strive to achieve Nirvana."
(Quoted from the Divine Discourses of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba)
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