WAITING

M. M. NINAN
forms of life evolve from lower ones, similarly from the life of the individual in this world is
evolved his higher 'spiritual' life. During his life, man's deeds shape and mould his spirit, for
better or worse, according to his deeds. When a person dies, the physical body is finished, but
the spirit remains, as he or she had moulded it by their deeds when alive. That is the life after
death.
Heaven and hell are not actual places somewhere in the universe, but really our inner
conditions or the condition of the spirit resulting from our deeds. Heaven and hell begin in this
life within a person's heart.
The exact nature of these things cannot be known in this world because they are in an entirely
different world where ours ideas of space, time, feelings, etc. do not apply. But to describe
them to us, physical terms have to be used such as "gardens and rivers" in paradise, and the
"fire" of hell, to give an idea of what they feel like.
BAHÁ'Í FAITH
The Bahá'í Faith regards the conventional description of heaven (and hell) as a specific place
as symbolic. The Bahá'í writings describe heaven as a "spiritual condition" where closeness to
God is defined as heaven; conversely hell is seen as a state of remoteness from God.
Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, has stated that the nature of the life of the soul in
the afterlife is beyond comprehension in the physical plane, but has stated that the soul will
retain its consciousness and individuality and remember its physical life; the soul will be able to
recognize other souls and communicate with them.
For Bahá'ís, entry into the next life has the potential to bring great joy. Bahá'u'lláh likened
death to the process of birth. He explains: "The world beyond is as different from this world as
this world is different from that of the child while still in the womb of its mother." The analogy to
the womb in many ways summarizes the Bahá'í view of earthly existence: just as the womb
constitutes an important place for a person's initial physical development, the physical world
provides for the development of the individual soul. Accordingly, Bahá'ís view life as a
preparatory stage, where one can develop and perfect those qualities which will be needed in
the next life. The key to spiritual progress is to follow the path outlined by the current
Manifestation of God, which Bahá'ís believe is currently Bahá'u'lláh. Bahá'u'lláh wrote, "Know
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