(Dante ascends with Beatrice to the seventh heaven, which is the planet Saturn; wherein is placed a ladder, so lofty, that the top of it is out of his sight. Here are the souls of those who had passed their life in holy retirement and contemplation.)
Again mine eyes were fix'd on Beatrice;
And, with mine eyes, my soul that in her looks
Found all contentment. Yet no smile she wore:
And, "Did I smile," quoth she, "thou wouldst be straight
Like Semele when into ashes turn'd;
For, mounting these eternal palace - stairs,
My beauty, which the loftier it climbs,
As thou hast noted, still doth kindle more,
So shines, that, were no tempering interposed,
Thy mortal puissance would from its rays
Shrink, as the leaf doth from the thunderbolt.
Into the seventh splendour are we wafted,
That, underneath the burning lion's breast,
Beams, in this hour, commingled with his might.
Thy mind be with thine eyes; and, in them, mirror'd
The shape, which in this mirror shall be shown."
Whoso can deem, how fondly I had fed
My sight upon her blissful countenance,
May know, when to new thoughts I changed, what joy
To do the bidding of my heavenly guide;
In equal balance, poising either weight.
Within the crystal, which records the name
(As its remoter circle girds the world)
Of that loved monarch, in whose happy reign
No ill had power to harm, I saw rear'd up,
In colour like to sun - illumined gold,
A ladder, which my ken pursued in vain,
So lofty was the summit; down whose steps
I saw the splendours in such multitude
Descending, every light in Heaven, methought,
Was shed thence. As the rooks, at dawn of day,
Bestirring them to dry their feathers chill,
Some speed their way a - field; and homeward some,
Returning, cross their flight; while some abide,
And wheel around their airy lodge: so seem'd
That glitterance, wafted on alternate wing,
As upon certain stair it came, and clash'd
Its shining. And one, lingering near us, wax'd
So bright, that in my thought I said: "The love,
Which this betokens me, admits no doubt."
I had not ended, when, like rapid mill,
Upon its centre whirl'd the light; and then
The love that did inhabit there, replied:
"Splendour eternal, piercing through these folds,
Its virtue to my vision knits; and thus
Supported, lifts me so above myself,
That on the sovran Essence, which it wells from,
I have the power to gaze: and hence the joy,
Wherewith I sparkle, equaling with my blaze
The keenness of my sight. But not the soul,
That is in Heaven most lustrous, nor the Seraph,
That hath his eyes most fix'd on God, shall solve
What thou hast ask'd: for in the abyss it lies
Of th' everlasting statute sunks so low,
That no created ken may fathom it.
And, to the mortal world when thou return'st,
Be this reported: that none henceforth dare
Direct his footsteps to so dread a bourn.
The mind, that here is radiant, on the earth
Is wrapt in mist. Look then if she may do
Below, what passeth her ability
When she is ta'en to Heaven." By words like these
Admonish'd, I the question urged no more;
The Divine Comedy
Paradise (excerpts)
by Dante Alighieri
c1300
Translation: Henry F. Cary
The Attainment of Nirvana
Acquisition of honor etc.: - The blessings to be derived from the realization of this transcendent wisdom include not only the ability to enter the trance of cessation, but also the acquisition of honor etc. For the individual who has developed his wisdom by the development of the fourfold wisdom of the paths is worthy of the worship, the veneration, the votive offerings, and the reverence of all the world of gods and men, and is an unsurpassed source of merit for the world.
To particularize: -
He who, being of weak faculties, develops the wisdom of the first path with a dull insight is reborn seven times at most; after seven rebirths in states of bliss be will make an end of misery: he who develops it with medium faculties and insight is a roamer; after two or three rebirths he will make an end of misery: who develops it with keen faculties and insight takes root but once, only one human birth will be pass through and make an end of misery.
He who develops the wisdom of the second path returns once; once will he return to this world and then make an end of misery.
He who develops the wisdom of the third path never returns. His destiny is fivefold, as follows: In the descending order of the worth of his faculties he passes into Nirvana in the midst, at the end, without instigation, with instigation, or passes up current to the Sublime Gods.
Here the one who passes into Nirvana in the midst is reborn in some one of the Pure Abodes and passes into Nirvana before attaining half the normal length of life of that heaven; he who passes into Nirvana at the end passes into Nirvana after attaining half the normal length of life; he who passes into Nirvana without instigation achieves the fourth path without instigation or urging; he who passes into Nirvana with instigation achieves the higher path with instigation or urging; and he who passes up current to the Sublime Gods starts from the particular heaven in which he may be reborn, and ascends as far as to the Sublime Gods and there passes into Nirvana.
Of those who develop the wisdom of the fourth path, one is freed by faith, another is freed by wisdom, another is doubly freed, another possesses the threefold knowledge, another the Six High Powers, but the greatest of all is he who has mastered the four analytical sciences and has lost all depravity. Concerning this last it has been said: -
"At the time he is in the paths he is disentangling the snarl, at the time he is in the fruits he has disentangled the snarl, and there is in all the world of gods and men none more worthy of votive gifts."
Since, then, such blessings manifold
From noble wisdom take their rise,
Therefore the understanding man
Should place therein his heart's delight.
The above constitutes the explanation of the development of wisdom and of its blessings in the Way of Purity as taught in the stanza,
"What man his conduct guardeth, and hath wisdom,
And thoughts and wisdom traineth well,
The strenuous and the able priest,
He disentangles and this snarl."
Buddhist Doctrine - (excerpts)
Buddhist Sources
c500bc
Translation: Henry Clarke Warren
Death is a doorway....not a wall.
William D. Montapert
Inspiration & Motivation
We are here not for a day, nor a week, nor a year. God has set Eternity in our hearts. We are built on so vast a scale that the years, be they multitudinous or few, cannot unravel all the potentialities that God has packed within us. God did build us especially for a million years.
And when the millenniums are grown weary with their march and have fallen out by the way, we shall go on and on, eternally on.
Alfred A. Montapert
Inspiration & Motivation
(c)1982 by Alfred A. Montapert
Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
Belline: Michel, what is life like "over there?"
Michel: It is another world, a dream which cannot be expressed in words. Movement, transparency, thoughts. Here neither Earthly good nor Earthly evil exists. It is a kind of homelessness, a kind of dream in countless dimensions and vibrations.....Here, time, as you conceive of it at this moment, becomes a caricature. That's all I can say. (April 8, 1971)
Belline
Das dritte Ohr, ein Dialog mit dem Jenseits
Bonn, 1973
Miracles of the Gods -
Extraterrestial beings visited this and other solar systems and left behind scions in their image on planets that seemed suitable. Certain groups of these descendents have an advantage over us. They tamed, developed, and trained the "beast brain" earlier than we did......
.....Homo sapiens became intelligent only after the visit by extraterrestial beings.....
A few "chosen people" - I do not mean religious personalities - have always found access to the wonderful unconscious, from which they evoked great visonary discoveries.....Extraterrestial impulses cause the brain to produce visions.....An Arabic visionary sees Mohammed...a Hindu sees Brahma...an American Indian sees Manitu...
The question remains why the extraterrestials started such a maneuver. To me it is conceivable that they wanted to give a clear sign! Here we are; we live in a great space station, and you puny men must understand that your intelligence originates from us who are capabale of staging such a spectacle.
We earthworms, crippled by our upbringing, do not realize this, but turn it into a religious miracle and sign......I can't see miracles in physical events.
Erich von Daniken
Miracles of the Gods
(c)1975 Dell Publishing Co. Inc., and Souvenir Press, Ltd.
The Celestial Glory
In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees; and in order to obtain the highest, a man must enter into (eternal marriage); and if he does not, he cannot obtain it. He may enter into the other, but that is the end of his kingdom: he cannot have an increase. (May 16, 1843)
God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits in yonder heavens!
........In the beginning, the head of the Gods called a council of the Gods; and they came together and concocted a plan to create the world and people it.
........There never was a time when there were not spirits; for they are (co-eternal) with our Father in heaven.
........I take my ring from my finger and liken it unto the mind of man - the immortal part, because it has no beginning. Suppose you cut it in two; then it has a beginning and an end; but join it agin, and it continues one eternal round. So with the spirit of man.
........Intelligence is eternal and exists upon a self-existant principle. It is a spirit from age to age, and there is no creation about it.
The relationship we have with God places us in a situation to advance in knowledge.....This is good doctrine. It tastes good. I can taste the principles of eternal life, and so can you.
........Jesus said, "In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you (John 14:2). Paul says, "There is one glory of the sun, amd another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead (Cor. 15:41).".....We have reason to have the greatest hope and consolations for our dead of any people on the earth;" (April 1844)
........The heavens were opened upon us, and I beheld the celestial kingdom of God, and the glory thereof, whether in the body or out I cannot tell. I saw the transcendent beauty of the gate through which the heirs of the kingdom will enter, which was like unto circling flames of fire; also the blazing throne of God, whereon was seated the Father and the Son. I saw the beautiful streets of the kingdom, which had the appearance of being paved with gold. (January 21, 1836)
Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith
Compiled by Joseph Fielding Smith
(c) 1976 Desert Book Company
Salt lake City, Utah
I think that time will have no meaning in heaven. We will be doing things that we can't even imagine now. I believe that it's impossible for us to comprehend.
We will all have our priorities straight - everything will be put into perspective.
We'll be able to see how pretty some things are - like the direction that a brick is laid, or the color of that brick.
We'll be able to concentrate on the really important things, like the greatness and goodness of our Lord.
It is my hope that heaven is NOT material: no real houses/mansions.
I do think that those who act well in this life ONLY so that they will go to heaven - or so they can attain "the highest level" - are deceiving themselves.
I think that people who suffer a lot here on this earth, will not have to do so much suffering in the afterlife. I DO NOT think that heaven will just be a continuation of life on this plain.
I think that everyone will eventually go to heaven.
Mareli, 37
IRS worker
Precipice BBS
Ogden, Utah
I think heaven will be whatever you want it to be.
"The Never"
California Beach House BBS
Utah
Do they have computers up there?
James Tran
high school student
Cadillac BBS
Houston, Texas
...the basis for unification theology is a doctrine of creation...the kingdom of God on earth is the restoration of God's original ideal which has yet to be realized.
Further, because God's original will was for this ideal of creation, God will not abandon it and unilaterally declare a new cosmos on "judgement day." The new heaven and earth of the Bible are viewed as being born out of and also being within the present order of things. The spiritual world and the physical world are not two different realities, but two aspects of one reality which is heavily dependent on their interrelationship. "Heaven" is something which is jointly created by God and humanity and it is to be realized both on earth and in the spiritual world...
...change, growth and development are essential. The biological life cycle will continue, new generations being born and occupying the earth for their period of time...family life is seen as central in the creation of an ideal world of peace and harmony...
It might be more appropriate to call our kingdom a family of God on earth...
The Unification Vision of the Kingdom of God on Earth
by Gordon L. Anderson
The Coming Kingdom
Edited by M. Darrol Bryant & Donald W. Dayton
(c)1983 International Religious Foundation, Inc.
Barrytown, New York
All plants, animals, and men are already in eternity, traveling across the face of time. Whence we know not. Whither, who is to say? Let us have one world at a time, and let us make the journey one of joy to our fellow passengers, and just as convenient and happy for them as we can, and trust the rest as we trust life.
Luther Burbank
Not by lamentations and mournful chants ought we to celebrate the funeral of a good man, but by hymns; for, in ceasing to be numbered with mortals, he enters upon the heritage of a diviner life. Since he is gone where he feels no pain, let us not indulge in too much grief. The soul is incapable of detah. And he, like a bird not long enough in his cage to become attached to it, is free to fly away to purer air....
Plutarch
.....Suddenly the one we loved so dearly sat up in bed, a strange light on her face of a happiness past all our mortal joy. She stretched abroad her arms, crying in the radiant abandon of spiritual certainty, "The Dawn! The beautiful Dawn!"
Archibald Rutledge
I have had sometimes in my sleep strange perceptions of a vivid spiritual life...and the joy of it is like no other joy - it cannot be told in the language of the world. ...it is so unlike and above anything we conceive of in this world that it is difficult to put into words. ...It seems...there is a sphere where the enthusiasm of love is the calm habit of the soul, that without words, without the necessity of demonstrations of affection, heart beats to heart, soul answers soul...and there is no need of words.
...This was but a glimpse; but it has left a strange sweetness in my mind.
Harriet Beecher Stowe
The tomb is not a blind alley; it is a thoroughfare. It closes upon the twilight, but opens upon the dawn.
Victor Hugo
When (Dr. William Seaman Bainbridge) was dying...I went to see him. As this big man...lay in his bed, his wife sitting beside him, he said, "I am going to the other side. My Lord is calling me. I am not afraid. I am ready to go."
Mrs. Bainbridge...said softly, "Will, when you reach the other side, please wait for me and meet me there."
A smile of assurance crossed his face. "I'll be there, I'll be there," he declared.
I turned to leave... "Good-by, dear old friend," he said. "I'll see you over there." It was just as if we were arranging to meet in some agreed-upon rendevous on earth. But he felt just as certain about a meeting place in Heaven.
.....death is not the end of life.
Norman Vincent Peale
Treasury of Courage and Confidence
(c)1970 by Norman Vincent Peale
Doubleday & Company, Inc.
New York, N.Y.
She has only gone on a little ahead
To fashion a home for me.
There will be curtains blowing,
And books, as there used to be;
Pictures, a desk, and tables fair
Where friends shall love to come....
She has only gone on as a mother would
To find me a new home. She has only gone on as others have
Who vanished from our sight,
Others whose lives with ours were wed
Till that mysterious flight.
None shall declare her death to me,
My loneliness deplore-
Oh, it is like her to go ahead
To open the new door.
She has only gone on a little ahead
To find me the loveliest place;
There will be golden roses there
Abloom in an azure space;
Poppies, pansies, and daffodils
And moss I shall love to tread-
O mother! Now it is clear to me,
You've only gone on ahead.
Angela Morgan