How do we Qualify for Paradise?
In the present world of trial, any man or woman to be eligible for Paradise, needs to have two qualifications: one is to acknowledge truth and the other is to lead a principled life. Those men and women who qualify in this test will be given a place in Paradise—where all their desires will be fulfilled. For those who fail in this test, they shall spend their lives in a state of eternal deprivation.
In the present world, man finds himself totally free. However, this freedom does not belong to him as a matter of right, but is rather a test paper. What man has to do is to acknowledge the truth of One God, and surrender to Him—not by compulsion but by his own choice. This surrendering before the truth of 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 very virtue, which will raise man to the highest position. It will take him to the very entrance of 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 man has 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 on the basis of higher principles. This is what is called Divine character.