In spite of tremendous development in the present world, adverse conditions are still very much in evidence. But people, owing to their lack of awareness of God’s creation plan, do not understand why this is prevalent. So, they continue to react negatively to situations and by giving such a response, prove themselves — in the eyes of God — to be failures in the examination he has set for them.

According to this Creation Plan of God, human beings are placed in situations where they have to face hardships from time to time at every moment throughout their lives as part of their test. Difficulty and sadness are integral part of the creation plan of the Creator. No man has the power to extricate himself from this life of trial and tribulation. This arrangement is to remind man of the fact that the present world has not been made as a place of luxury and comfort, but rather as a period of trial and as such as will help determine whether he is eligible or not for the eternal life in Paradise.

It is situations such as these that are the tests for man. Giving negative responses to negative situations leads to failing the test. On the contrary, giving positive responses to such situations leads to passing the test. In short, a person who has passed the test is one who has opted for the way of forgiveness in moments of anger; who has converted sentiments of jealousy into those of well-wishing, who has converted negativity into positivity, who has converted hatred into love, who has diffused the tensions, instead of causing them to mount: above all, who has converted material loss into non-material gains, by opting for the course of introspection, when beset by complaints and grievances.

In the present world of trial, any man or woman, to pass the test needs to have two qualifications: one is to acknowledge truth of the One God, while He is still unseen and the other is to lead a principled life based on the principles of life laid down by Him.  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 what happens is that 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 on the basis of higher principles. This is what is called as divine character.