ON THE THRESHOLD OF PARADISE

The advent of automation is an advance intimation of the joys of Paradise. Indeed, of Paradise, the Quran says: “Therein you shall have all that your souls desire, and therein you shall have all that you ask for as a rich provision from One who is ever forgiving and most merciful.” (41: 31-32) From the scientific and academic standpoint, the above-mentioned facts make the ideal age of the future—the “spiritual civilization”— understandable in terms of being a superindustrial age. This Super-Industrial Age is yet to reach completion, but it is in this fourth phase that the ideal world—in religious terms, Paradise—will probably take shape, in the world Hereafter. Paradise is the final period of the journey of civilization. Such a world, by the law of nature, will definitely come into existence in due course. Therein, all types of limitations and disadvantages will be brought to an end. There will be no fear or grief, nor will there be any noise or pain. All those potentialities which have been apparent to man from the very first day will be fulfilled in the world of Paradise. Moreover, the human personality will also attain new heights of development. This for man will be the culmination point: he will become the perfect man. He will find an eternal life in which old age, accidents, disease and death are absent. This will be the ideal world where man will be in a position to utilize the full potential of his personality, thus experiencing complete fulfillment. Paradise is the final period of the journey of civilization. Today man stands on the threshold of Paradise. The present transitional period can be called, ‘Paradise-in-the-making’. Paradise will be the culminating point of the evolutionary process in human civilization. It will be the dawning of the perfect and ideal world of which man has always dreamt. On reaching there man will be eternally free from all sorrows and hardships. It will be the ideal realm of joy, peace and eternal happiness. It should be borne in mind though that Paradise is not a place of stagnation. There man will make new discoveries all the time and this series of discoveries will be unending. For this reason there will be no boredom in Paradise, because boredom prevails only where new Today our world is potentially a Paradise. Tomorrow this potential will become a reality and then the earth will become a place of eternal happiness and joy.