PARADISE: THE IDEAL WORLD OF THE HEREAFTER
The time and energy of every human being should be used to discover the divine criterion to enter eternal Paradise and plan their life in line with this discovery so that when death comes to them, they are declared qualified candidates for God’s eternal Paradise.
Some years ago, a magazine published an article titled ‘The Road to Paradise’. In the article, the authors related that they had traveled to a mountainous region situated amidst abundant beauty. However, traveling in that area, they also repeatedly faced bitter experiences. This area seemed very beautiful from afar, but one faced many challenges traveling on the roads there. The author explained it thus: ‘Every Paradise has its serpent’.
This symbol is based on a story from the Bible. According to this story, a serpent was also present in Paradise, where Adam had been placed. However, this story is not true. There is no ‘serpent’ in the eternal Paradise made by God. However, in all the temporary ‘paradises’ that man seeks to make on his own in this world, ‘serpents’ do exist. No ‘paradise’ made by man is free of ‘serpents’. Difficulties and challenges beset the human world.
The eternal Paradise made by God is an ideal abode. There is no sorrow, regret of the past, fear, or apprehension about the future. There are neither disadvantages nor limitations nor any pollution, strife, or violence. It is, in the total sense, an ideal realm.
This ideal Paradise has been made so that selected people can be settled there. Those who measure up to the high divine standards will be given this Paradise after death as a reward. They will live there forever and will never want to come out.
Man is a seeker of Paradise by birth. Every person, impelled by his Nature, seeks this Paradise. He is restless to obtain it. In the world before death, everyone is occupied with building the ‘paradise’ of his dreams here on Earth. The biggest concern of every person is to build the ‘paradise’ that exists in his dreams.
However, what every person gets in actual practice are only struggle and wasted effort. No one obtains the result that they had so desperately hankered after. People put in all their efforts to get the ‘paradise’ of their dreams here on Earth, but very soon, they suddenly die and head off towards the next world, taking along with them all their unfulfilled dreams!
The biggest secret of success is knowing that our life has two stages—the pre-death and the post-death stages. No one can obtain in the pre-death stage of life what the Creator has placed in the post-death stage. One can get Paradise only in life after death. For every person, the highest form of intelligence is to know these two stages and lead their lives accordingly. The world of ‘today’ is the place to make oneself eligible for Paradise, and the world of ‘tomorrow’ is the place to find the result of one’s life based on how we fare in the world of ‘today’. Every person’s task is to regard the life of ‘today’ as an opportunity to prepare for the eternal Hereafter. Their time and energy should be used to discover the divine criterion to enter eternal Paradise and plan their life in line with this discovery so that they are declared qualified candidates for God’s eternal Paradise when death comes to them.
