Saints say that it is necessary for every person who wishes to meet God that he must pass through the gate of death.
A story is related in Mathnawi to explain this point that there was a man who had a parrot. As he prepared to go on a journey, he asked the parrot if it had something to say. The parrot said, ‘If you happen to pass a certain place, you will find a big tree. There will be many parrots on it. Convey my message to them that they are very fortunate to lead a free life in the open, whereas I am unfortunate to be in prison.’
When the man reached that particular tree, he delivered the message to the parrots. One of the parrots fell from the tree and fluttered to death. The man felt extremely sorry for causing the parrot’s death. However, he could do nothing except to remain patient.
When he returned from his journey, he narrated the whole story to his parrot and expressed grief for the dead parrot. On hearing this, his parrot also fell in the cage and fluttered to its death. The man was very grieved again that he had caused two deaths.
He took the dead parrot out of the cage and threw it away. The parrot that was assumed dead and thrown out from the cage flew off and sat on a wall. The parrot said that in reality, neither that parrot nor I had died. I had asked the parrots for a way to be free from this prison. So, that parrot showed me that true freedom is achieved through death. So, I assumed death and attained freedom.
Thus, it is true that the one who is tangled in the urgings of the inciting self, cannot be free from [this prison] without death.
(Malfuzat, Vol. 6, p. 96)