The Final Account

by Gregory Allen Butler

I came across "The Final Account" today, a passage written by Meher Baba which serves as a short, wonderful meditation, putting everything about life, and all of its complexities into perspective. It's located in his book, Life at its Best.

"When the goal of life is attained, one achieves the reparation of all wrongs, the healing of all wounds, the righting of all failures, the sweetening of all sufferings, the relaxation of all strivings, the harmonizing of all strife, the unraveling of all enigmas, and the real and full meaning of all life--past, present and future."

Sound good? Meditate on that for a while. Can you put yourself in that state of mind? Imagine all of these elevated states existing in you right now. They're there--waiting for you.

What would it feel like to achieve the reparation of all wrongs? There would be nobody to blame for anything. Nobody to sue. Grievance would be over. No more cause for hatred or war. Can you feel it? Can you surrender your mind to this state of being? Try it. There is no wrong to hold onto when the goal of life is attained.

What about the healing of all wounds? To meditate on the healing of all wounds is a healing experience in itself. The wounds are not you. They are nothing but temporary experiences. In eternity they do not exist. Let them go and they will be gone. There is no need to make them continue as a part of your identity.

And then there is the righting of all failures. A failure is nothing but a stepping-stone, a learning experience. They do not define you. They give the joy to your ultimate success.

How will the sweetening of all sufferings feel to you? I imagine it to be like an innocent man freed from a lengthy imprisonment, finally being reunited with his family after 20 years. A sweet embrace.

What does the relaxation of all strivings mean to you? To me it means the end of a long journey, reaching a goal that seemed almost impossible to attain. It's Gandhi defeating the British Empire or Nelson Mandela overcoming Apartheid.

The harmonizing of all strife. No more conflict. No more discord. Only oneness and peace.

Are you confused about anything? When the goal of life is attained you will experience the unraveling of all enigmas. No more confusion. Only knowledge. Self-existent knowledge.

Aha! The real and full meaning of all life-past, present and future.

It's comforting to know that there is a purpose for going through these experiences of wrongs, wounds, failures, sufferings, strivings, strife, misunderstandings, and meaninglessness. Life has no meaning if you have never experienced darkness.

The final account is like the end of a painfully long joke. It seems like the punch line will never arrive. But the telling of the whole thing is necessary for the full experience to be enjoyed.