QUALIFICATION FOR THE IDEAL WORLD

One needs to have two qualifications to be eligible for Paradise in the Hereafter: one is to acknowledge the truth of the one God, and the other is to lead a principled life.

In the present world of trial, to be eligible for Paradise, any man or woman needs to have two qualifications: one is to acknowledge the truth of one God, and the other is to lead a principled life. Those men and women who qualify for this test will be given a place in Paradise where all their desires will be fulfilled. Those who fail this test shall spend their lives in eternal deprivation.

In the present world, man finds himself free. However, this freedom does not belong to him as a matter of right but is a test paper. Man must acknowledge the truth of One God and surrender to Him—not by compulsion but by his own choice. This surrendering before the One God is, without doubt, the greatest sacrifice that any man can make. Acknowledging the truth of One God is like making oneself smaller, not only to God but to others as well. But this is the virtue that will raise man to the highest position. It will take him to the very entrance to Paradise.

The second important thing in this set of requirements is to lead a principled life. Generally, man’s character is moulded by his emotions—anger, revenge, jealousy, hatred, rivalry, etc. These are the negative feelings that shape man’s personality. But what man ought to do is to become disciplined in such matters. He should not build his character under the influence of external incentives but by his own decisions; he should establish it based on higher principles. This is what is called a divine character.