THE AFTERWORLD

man, know theyself! ~ 31 ~ to detect it, it could be replayed to us in its original form, and many would be the historic discussions upon which we could then eavesdrop. Just as we are enveloped by a blanket of air on which every word of ours is engraved without our being able to see either the air or the ‘inscription,’ so the other world constantly envelopes us, recording our actions and our intentions. In this way they are imprinted there for all time, for the Almighty to read after we pass away. Imagine a record, revolving in silence on a turntable. We place the needle in its groove, and, immediately, the room is filled with the sound of music. Not a single note is missed. None of its subtleties are lost. Similarly, the record of our lives will give forth every detail of our thoughts, words and deeds, not when a needle is placed in the groove, but when our Lord utters the word of command. The entire history of our lives, recorded right from the moment of birth, will thus be played back to us—whether to our joy or to our discomfiture will depend on the kind of lives we have led. On hearing this ‘play-back,’ people will ask, “what sort of a book is this which has omitted