God, according to His will, created a perfect world called Paradise. A world in accordance with all of our desires as human beings, in that it is free of all limitations and disadvantages, free of fear and pain; free of all imperfections. An eternal world where there is no death or old age. An ideal world where we could achieve complete fulfilment.
A perfect Paradise cannot be inhabited by less-than-perfect beings. So, God created perfection-seeking beings—us. He intended us to spend a period of trial on this present and imperfect world and after this, according to our deeds, we will earn the right to inhabit the perfect and eternal world.
As part of this test, Paradise is hidden from us. This world, therefore, has all the components necessary for a test. It has perfection-seeking beings in a less-than-perfect world. Beings who have been given complete freedom to choose their actions. We thus have a choice—we can misuse our freedom to do evil, or we can use our freedom wisely, submit to God and qualify for Paradise.
Who will qualify for paradise? Those pure souls who, in their life on this world, come up to the standard of citizenship of Paradise—a perfect world of eternal comfort and pleasure, a world which holds far greater meaning than this one. Perhaps it is this divine plan which Jesus Christ was referring to—
“Pray to God in these words—Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew, 6:9)
The test rests on our discovery of God, who is unseen. Before we can see Him, we should voluntarily surrender ourselves to Him. Our desire for Paradise should make us willingly adopt divine ethics. We should develop intellectually and spiritually until we are fit to inhabit the refined world of Paradise. Only those of us who succeed in maintaining a high moral character will find a place in a world of peace, love, and understanding.
For people who have no concept of Paradise, complete fulfilment in this world will be a quest doomed to failure. They could expend all their energy in pursuit of a dream world, but they will ultimately fail to construct it.
For those who understand the concept, however, life in Paradise begins right here and now, in this world itself. We have the pleasure of discovering it intellectually now, and will have the pleasure of experiencing it physically in the next world. Today, peace of mind; tomorrow, a truly peaceful life. Today, the satisfaction of intellectual conviction; tomorrow, the pleasure and comfort of a perfect and eternal life. Today, intellectual Paradise; tomorrow, Paradise itself. What could possibly be greater?
Unlike other beings, we are conscious of the past, the present and the future. We cherish a very pleasant consciousness of the future, aspirations of a better life or of the fulfilment of our dreams. Our lives centre on our constant efforts to improve our future. But this perfect future does not seem to ever materialise. This is a part of God’s creation plan. Our perfect future will not materialise in this world, but in the next. Those who have passed the test will find it, while those who have failed will not. This world is only a pathway to our final destination—Paradise.
In this world, everyone suffers frustration and failure. The reason for this is that everyone wants to make a perfect life in this world, which is not possible, because this limited and ephemeral world was not created for that purpose. Despite all our efforts, we are doomed to fail to make a perfect life. The present world is not Paradise; it only introduces the concept of paradise to us. We are allowed to see only glimpses of perfection in this world, which only increases our desire for complete perfection—Paradise. This life is a journey, not the destination. But we sometimes mistake it for a destination, and life becomes just a missed opportunity.
The life of this world is a journey. Not the destination. It is a time to sow, not to reap. The present world is limited. It does not have the means to fulfil our unlimited desires. It has the means to provide us subsistence at the physical level, but does not have the means to give us fulfilment at the spiritual level.
During this limited life on Earth, what we need to do, first and foremost, is to seek out the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe. Having seen a glimpse of Paradise on this earth, we should seek it in the core of our being.
Intellectually, spiritually and morally, we should make ourselves deserving of Paradise. We should devote our lives to preparing for the next life. All of us come into this world like ore, which has to be extracted and refined until it can be of use. We have to expand our consciousness through intellectual and spiritual development. This expanded consciousness is what being human means. Those who fail to attain the human level fail the test, and fail to achieve Paradise. Those who succeed will find both peace and happiness in this world, and a place in the Garden of Joy in the world to come, which we call Paradise.
