FOREWORD
Man is a complete being in himself. There are two dimensions of man’s being: the physical and the spiritual. The physical dimension of man relates to man’s physical or external existence, while the spiritual dimension of man relates to man’s inner self. Both dimensions are important in their place, but the status of the two is distinct.
However ‘modern civilizational progress’, has made available to man an enormous variety of things that cater to the material aspect of his being. There has been much ‘progress’ as far as material ‘development’ is concerned, catering to human needs. But, as far as man’s inner being—the spiritual dimension—is concerned, the process has been moving in the opposite direction. There has been no noteworthy progress on man’s spiritual front. It would be true to say that man’s inner character or being is now drowned in a sort of extreme starvation.
It is necessary to understand this contradiction in man’s personality and discover its solution. There is an urgent need to save man from this looming crisis.
Along with fulfilling the needs of the material dimension of his being, man must also seek to fulfil the demands of the other part of his being—the spiritual dimension. Only then can one develop a truly evolved personality. Only then can one nurture and express his hidden innate potential.
In this book an attempt has been made for man to understand that in this world man has succeeded in building a material civilization by discovering and exploiting the laws of nature. However, it is only in the next world after death that man can build a spiritual civilization in which he will achieve lasting success on a much vaster scale. It is important to understand that he can do this only after striving earnestly to comprehend the creation plan of God for humanity and then adhering unflinchingly to its edicts.
The idea of God is embedded in every person’s nature. Man, by nature, seeks God. By birth itself, every human being aspires to find God. However, in history, it has always happened that people have made the mistake of attributing the status of God to someone other than God.
The first responsibility, therefore, of every person is to find the true God and establish a connection with Him. Therefore, discovering the true God should be a person’s most significant aim and purpose of his efforts. It is this that makes human life meaningful. The person whose life is bereft of this discovery is the poorest, even if he owns enormous material wealth.
An issue that one needs to bear concerning the discovery of God is that a person gets this opportunity only in the pre-death phase of his life. In the post-death period, those who had not discovered God in their life before death will be deprived of this chance. Then it would be too late.
Man’s life is divided into the pre-death and post-death phases. A tiny portion of man’s life is kept for the first phase, while the rest—which carries on for eternity—is in the post-death phase. If man’s story is seen only in the pre-death phase, it will appear as a meaningless tragedy. However, if man’s story is seen in the light of the period after death, it will seem meaningful.
In line with this creation plan of God, man stands at a very critical juncture. He has to choose between two alternatives. One option is to use the available opportunities in the present world according to God’s creation plan and then become eligible to enjoy eternally in Paradise. The other option is to lead a life of heedlessness in this world and be eternally deprived of pleasure in the next phase of life.
For life after death, God has made a perfect world—Paradise. This Paradise is, in every sense, an ideal world. Those who qualify themselves according to the Divine standards will be settled in the ideal world of Paradise.
Now, who are these qualified people? These are the ones who, using their intellectual capacities, attain the realization of God. Coming out of intellectual confusion, they discover the Truth. They devote themselves to God alone by worshipping none but God. Despite possessing complete freedom, they are willing to be regulated by divine discipline. Faced with adverse conditions, they build in themselves a positive character. They relate with others in the same ethical way they want others to connect with them.
According to God’s creation plan, the temporary world before death is simply for the sake of an examination. As per this plan, living in an ideal world of ultimate joy is possible only in life after death. Given these fundamental realities, man should try to make himself successful in the examination before death so that in the stage of life that comes after death, he may obtain his desired ideal world—eternal Paradise—as a Divine reward. This is the only principle for a successful life.
Wahiduddin Khan
21 February 2021
New Delhi, India.
