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wasted." Just at that time a storm started, the boat began to toss over the waves and it seemed that it may sink any moment. The fakir laughed because the pundit got very frightened. Who will not when death is imminent? The pundit used to talk of deathlessness, used to say that the soul is immortal, but these scholarly claims of the soul, of deathlessness, are of no use when faced by death.
The fakir asked him, "Do you know how to swim?"
The pundit answered, "No, not at all."
The fakir said, "Then the whole of your life is wasted! I am going to jump because this boat will sink."
OH IDIOT! SING THE SONG OF THE DIVINE, SING THE SONG OF THE DIVINE BECAUSE AT THE TIME OF DEATH -- perhaps Shankara knew the story which I have just told you -- THE MEMORIZATION OF GRAMMAR WILL NOT SAVE YOU.
When you are about to be drowned, when death surrounds you, you will be saved only if you know how to swim... swimming in death. If you do not know how to swim in death, then death will drown you. It has drowned you many times before too, but you have not woken up yet, you have not learned to swim yet. At the time of death your knowledge of languages -- no matter how many languages you know -- as well as your knowledge of grammar, will be absolutely useless.
Death is the criterion. Whatever is useful at the time of death is wisdom and whatever is useless at the time of death is scholarliness. Go on testing whatever you know on this criterion. Keep this touchstone always with you just as a goldsmith goes on testing the gold on the touchstone. Whatever is useful, helpful at the time of death, is true knowledge, and whatever is useless and deceptive is nothing but scholarliness.
And can anything which is useless in death be useful in life? What is of no use even in death, how can it be useful in life? -- because death is the ultimate culmination of life. It is the pinnacle of life. It is the festival of life. Whatever is useful in death is useful in life. Although it is easy to deceive in life it is impossible to deceive in death. Death exposes everything.
Whom is Shankara calling idiot? He is calling that person an idiot who does
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