A Musician on the Street

People St. Augustine has met in the Spiritual World

People without Religious Faith

A Musician on the Street (Classic Singer)

At birth, all of us are endowed with a unique character and we try to promote our unique talents throughout our life. I would like to introduce one person who did so very well.

He was born with a God-given voice, and could proudly present his talent before anyone. Such a person is best advised to be a classic singer. Developing his talent, he majored in vocal music, became a professor in this field, inspired the hearts of many people through beautiful songs, and lived in glamour and comfort. Hence he always felt gratitude for his talent. He thought he was lucky because he had not gained his fame and wealth through hard work but through inborn talent. In this affluent life, however, he was full of excessive arrogance, self- admiration, selfishness, and so forth, and had no regard for other people's situations. With his genius, he attained his goal in life.

One day, however a sudden misfortune was visited upon him. He contracted cancer of the larynx. Now he could neither sing nor keep his professorship. From that time on, he began to feel the vain transience of life and realized that human beings are extremely weak and helpless. He met many patients in the hospital, and his eyes opened to their troubles and to the difficulties of the people around him. He deeply felt his powerlessness and the emptiness of his life and painfully regretted having been so heartless toward other people.

As his health deteriorated, he felt that he did not have long to live; hence, resolving to dedicate his talent for the sake of others, he started going around singing, with all his strength, mainly to patients, lonely people and on the streets. Strangely, however every time he sang, he had new courage and felt less and less pain in his throat. Having this mysterious experience, and remembering his past, he went around many places to sing with all his strength.

One day, in the middle of his singing, he experienced God. His body became hot like a fireball, and he felt as if he were flying in the air when God appeared in a voice saying, "Now your sickness is healed. Use your voice for the sake of others from now on." Then He disappeared in a flash like a white cloud. Thereafter, he turned into a street musician and comforted the hearts of passersby until his life ended on earth. Here in the spiritual world, he was surprised to see God again, and gained conviction that God can cure what is humanly incurable and do what is humanly impossible. He said that he was now living and sewing God in the place of God while thoroughly repenting of his having been so pitiless and arrogant towards other people.

When I heard this story, the thought came to me that no matter how brilliant a human being may be, he is but a small existence before God, and yet he does not realize it. If we are to be wise children of God, while on earth we should not show off our talents too excessively, but help others and keep correct faith.

An Atheist

We have but a very short stay on earth, and yet we live as if our earthly stay were forever. I have met someone who lived his whole life believing that God did not exist, and I would like to introduce him here. He was healthy and enjoyed riches and glamour, with nothing wanting in life. He thought, "What is the point of trying to find God?" He believed that people sought God because they had something missing in their lives, and thus he did not need God since he had nothing missing. Asking, "Where is God?" he enjoyed the bounties of his life until he came to the spiritual world.

According to him, when he concluded his comfortable life on earth and came here to the spiritual world, there was nothing prepared for him. Here, there was no one to take care of him, nothing for him to eat, and nothing for him to wear, and even all his friends despised and ill-treated him.

People around him kept ridiculing him, saying, "You do not eat this kind of thing, do you? You do not wear this kind of clothes, do you? You do not live in this kind of place, do you? So go and eat what you want to eat in the kind of place you like." So he was kicked out from everywhere and ended up having to live like a beggar, without knowing how long this kind of life would continue. When I asked him, "Do you know why you fell into this misery?" he answered by saying, "God is just and fair." He said that although he deserved the suffering here because he had enjoyed all the affluence and glory on earth, even now he still hoped to repent of his denial of God and lean on God. He said that after slipping into a situation of such want and difficulty, he became able to see his past mistakes, and that he would go after God if He did not forsake him, or even if He forsook him. He said that if he went before God, He would forgive him some day; he was confident that God is such a person.

In general, if we are too entrenched in the joy and comfort of the earthly life, we easily fall into a trap, without being able to get out. Hence, earthly things can easily be a deadly poison for us, and we should handle and relate to them properly. As you all know, the human being has a dual structure of the spirit self and the physical self, which are needed for the eternal world and the earthly life respectively. Think deeply about which of the two you will focus on in your life.