Paradise: God’s Neighbourhood

companionship, study, discovery, happiness, etc. The pleasure derived from all these things by man is limitless. However, man is not able to experience these limitless pleasures in the present world. He is in search of them, but very soon, his time to leave the world approaches. While man may experience moments of pleasure, he is unable to satisfy his desires fully. This world only gives him a glimpse of eternal Paradise. The limitless pleasure that man seeks lies in the eternal world of Paradise in the Hereafter. The good fortune of finding a place in God’s neighbourhood in the eternal life of the Hereafter will be based entirely on merit. God’s neighbourhood is like a universal garden. In this universal garden, only those who meet the divine criterion will find a place. Anything short of this will not be sufficient to guarantee a place in this universal garden. Who will be eligible for entry into God’s Paradise? God will allow only those who adhere to divine ethics at two levels: one related to man versus man and the other related to man versus God. These two codes of ethics differ in their dimensions. In relation to man, moral behaviour is, in fact, social behaviour governed by social ethics. Adherence to the social moral code causes man to lead a harmless life in society. When people see that he is good to others, they regard him as a good member of society. However, no one can be considered deserving of entering Paradise merely by adhering to social ethics. To be deserving of entry into the neighbourhood of God, man must also live up to the moral code related to God—this is the realization of God. When an individual discovers his Creator, his mind is