HEAVEN AND HELL

Various religious traditions contain references to paradise, which is described as a place or period of complete happiness, with no trace of sorrow.

- B.K. SHEILU

When or where was this paradise? Does it still exist somewhere? Many people believe that paradise or heaven is a place above, or apart from, our world. That is why people are said to ascend to heaven after death. Mythological tales describe angels escorting virtuous souls to heaven. Similarly, hell is believed to be the nether world where souls are flung to suffer for their sins.

In fact, heaven and hell exist in this very world at different points of time. They are not distinct places but qualitatively different periods in the cycle of world history.

Our world is heaven during the Golden Age, when only deities, or people with divine qualities, exist. The deities are aware of their true identity - that they are souls, not bodies. Consequently they are free from the influence of vices, which arise from identifying the self with the body. Being completely virtuous, they lead a life of unalloyed happiness.

Such a world seems to be a fantasy when we look at the current state of affairs. If heaven existed on this very planet, how has it turned into the violent, chaotic place it is today?