Paradise for Whom?
Paradise is another name for God’s neighbourhood. Only those people will find entry into Paradise, who realize God and adhere to divine ethics in this world. Living merely by social ethics will never make one eligible for entry into eternal Paradise.
An educated non-Muslim said, “I conduct myself well with others. I never harm anyone. I always try to live as a good member of society. Therefore, I am convinced that after death I will enter Paradise. When I am a good man, why would God send me to hell?”
I said that, good behaviour on its own would not lead one to Paradise. What is Paradise? Paradise is, in fact, another name for God’s neighbourhood. God will allow only those people to live in His neighbourhood, who adhere to divine ethics. No one can be held deserving of entering into Paradise just by adhering to social ethics.
In fact, there are two levels of ethics: one stands in relation to man versus man, another stands in relation to man versus God. These two codes of ethics are different in their dimensions. In relation to man moral behaviour is, in fact, social behaviour which is subject to social ethics. Adherence to the social moral code causes man to lead a harmless life in society. When people see that he is good to others, they regard him as a good member of society.
But the other moral code relative to God leads man to realization of God. When an individual discovers his Creator, this transforms his mind. His divine nature is awakened and, as a result, all those qualities are produced which measure up to the standard of elevated human ethics.
The human code of ethics comes into being because of social incentives. As such, once the relationship with a society no longer exists, this code of ethics does not exist either. Such a moral code serves a temporary purpose. But after the passage of time, it has no further reason to exist. On the contrary, the moral code relative to God results from an eternal incentive. This is interconnected with the eternity of God. Therefore, one who adheres to such a code of ethics is held deserving of being granted a place in the eternal Paradise of God.
Divine ethics is in fact, a phenomenon which comes into being after the realization of God. God being the Creator, loves His servants. Therefore, man also begins to love other human beings. The belief that God is the judge on the Day of Judgement, produces in man a strong sense of accountability. He refrains from using such words and doing such deeds as will cause God to hold him to task, and award him a severe punishment. The thinking of such a person is that the giver is God as well as the Taker—one who can take away what He has given. This feeling puts a complete end to human arrogance. Regarding someone as being less or inferior, becomes an attitude which he cannot afford.
Where the social code of ethics permits certain freedoms, the divine code of ethics—the result of the believer having established a relationship of servitude to God—sets boundaries. In short—the former code of ethics is worldly, whereas the latter is heavenly ethics. Social ethics is narrower in purview, unlike divine ethics which embraces everything.
Everything has a price and the price of Paradise is the realization of God. Nothing less than that can open the gates of Paradise. The truth is that if anything less than realization of God is regarded as the price of Paradise that constitutes belittling of Paradise.
What is realization? Realization is, in fact, another name for the discovery of God. It is to see God with deep insight. It comes about in a high level of consciousness, when all worldly things lose significance and God becomes the greatest concern for man.
This realization is no simple matter. The truth is that tens of thousands of veils are cast over God realization. Those who are able to tear aside these veils of doubt, reach that high level of conviction which is called God realization. A seeker of God realization has to pass this test. Only those who pass in this test of tearing aside the veils of doubt can experience the realization of God.
The real sign of the attainment of God realization is one and only one and that is internal in nature. That is, man finds God in such a manner that He becomes his inner voice in the complete sense. Man is by birth a seeker. It is man’s nature to want to discover the higher truth. God realization is the answer to this quest. When a child is looking for his mother and finally finds her, he embraces her with his entire existence. The same is true of one who has achieved God realization. When a person achieves realization of God in the real sense, he is linked to God so completely, just as a small child is with his mother.
In the matter of God realization no excuse is acceptable. One who in this present life proves himself blind to the attainment of God realization, will remain blind in the Hereafter as well. The reason is that when the opportunities of God realization present themselves with all the arguments and signs, it becomes impossible for anyone not to recognize them. This feeling of God realization is in tune with man’s instincts and, if he is serious, he will never fail to recognize it.
When a child’s mother is absent for some time and then she appears, it becomes impossible for the child not to recognize his mother. In a child the remembrance of his mother is so strong that it becomes impossible for the child not to recognize her when she comes before him. Similarly, when the door to realization of God is opened with all the arguments and signs, then man cannot afford not to recognize it. The child who does not recognize his mother is without doubt blind: he is deprived of his external vision as well as his insight.
