Heaven ( Svarga ) 1

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once, by immediate materialisation. So it is a happier world than the

earth-plane. The Christians, Mohammedans and Zoroastrians believe in heaven

of different kinds. In Mohammedanism, the departed souls pass through the

bridge Al Sirat. The faithful ones who have done virtuous deeds reach the

Paradise which is situated in heaven. The Mohammedan conception of Paradise is

that of a beautiful garden, furnished with springs, fountains and rivers

flowing with water, milk, honey and balsam. There are trees having trunks of

gold and yielding the most delicious fruits. There are seventy effulgent,

beautiful girls called Hur-ul-ayun with big black eyes. The Jews and the

Zoroastrians also have a similar conception of heaven.

Roman'"> The Paradises of the Zoroastrians are known by the names Bihisht and

Minu. The persons who have done good deeds in the earth-plane enjoy the company

of Huran-i-bihisht or black-eyed damsels of Paradise, who are under the care of

the angel Zamiyad. The name for heaven is Garo-de-mana (Garot—man in the

Persian) or house of hymns. The angels sing hymns here, just as Gandharvas sing

in the heaven of the Hindus. The Jews and the Parsis believe in seven

Heavens. The heaven of Eden is composed of precious stones. There is a

resemblance between the garden of Eden and the Paradise of Zoroastrians. The

two trees in Eden, the tree of knowledge and the tree of life, correspond to

the painless tree and the Gao Karena bearing the white Roama. The Parsis, the

Christians and Mohammedans believe that heaven is eternal and permanent. All

enjoyments come to them incessantly without any pain and difficulty. Heaven

is a place of mental and sensual enjoyment. The enjoyments in heaven are more

intense, subtle and refined. But they cannot give everlasting peace and real

eternal bliss. They wear out the senses. A wise man with discrimination and

dispassion will never crave for the enjoyments of heaven. He will never dream

to have an abode in heaven.

There is jealousy; there is Raga-Dvesha (likes and dislikes) in heaven. Demons

fight with gods. Real, thirsty aspirants should ruthlessly ignore heaven. They

should yearn for the final emancipation, or Moksha. Every man builds up his

own heaven according to his own desires and imaginations. Every man has his own

idea of pleasures. Pleasures are always changing. A drunkard dreams of a heaven

where there are rivers of wine. This would be a very bad heaven for a sober,

pious man. A young man dreams of a heaven where he will have celestial damsels,

celestial cars, fine music and dance. When that man becomes old, he does not

want a woman. It is your necessities and desires that make your heaven. Your

heaven is the counterpart of your desires.

You have no idea of real eternal bliss of the Soul. Your mind whirls in

sensual pleasures. That is the reason why you are carried away by thoughts of

heaven or paradise. Have a clear understanding of the nature of the Soul. You

will have no craving for the enjoyments of heaven. The Atman or the Soul is an

ocean of bliss. The ocean of bliss or the fountain of joy is within you.

Withdraw the senses. Look within. Fix the mind on the Soul. All sensual desires

will melt. You will be immersed in the ocean of bliss. The period for which

you live in heaven depends upon the degree of your meritorious deeds.

You can become an Indra or Lord of the heaven if you like. Indrahood is a

position. The Indra who had lived before is not the Indra of the present day.

Countless Indras have come and gone. When man becomes disgusted with the

world around him through miseries, sorrows, disappointments, failures, loss of

property, diseases, and death of dearest relatives, he thinks that he would go

to some place where there would be all happiness for ever without any misery or

pain, where he would live with his forefathers with a perfect body. So he

creates heaven or Svarga. How can there be eternal happiness in a finite plane

conditioned in time and space? Eternal bliss and immortality can be found in

your own Atman, the Self only. ----Sri

Swami Sivananda

mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"> Sivaya Namah

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