On The Threshold of Paradise

ON THE THRESHOLD OF PARADISE acknowledge the Truth of the one God, and the other is to lead a principled life. Those men and women who qualify in this test will be given a place in eternal 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; rather, it is a test paper. What man has to do is 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 that 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 a man’s character is moulded by his emotions—anger, revenge, jealousy, hatred, rivalry, etc. These are the negative feelings that shape a 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 Divine Character. And only people with such a divine character will be selected by God to inhabit eternal Paradise.