(October 12, 2012 at 9:24 pm)Akincana Krishna dasa Wrote: In the view of the Bhagavatam, there are many planets with lots of different qualities of life in the material realm. There are many kinds of heaven, including places with much much better facilities for material enjoyment (ie sex, drugs, music). There are many levels of hell as well.Kind of like the Death Gate Cycle! Great fantasy series.
Our planet is kind of like lower-middle class in the spectrum. Not that great, not that bad. There's a range of possibilities here. Some people live in comfort and opulence and enjoy a decent life. Others suffer like crazy, with all the shades of grey in between.
One achieves a certain destination according to one's desire and one's karma. The Christian conception of eternal hell is quite strange and does not at all match with the conception of an all-merciful God.
Every destination in the material realm is temporary. That's the limitation. Everyone in the material world has to die eventually, although some beings can live a very very long time, far beyond human life.
We are not this body, we are eternal spirit souls. If we uncover our natural, eternal spiritual identity, we can live a life of eternity and unending bliss and knowledge in the spiritual realm.
“Eternity is a terrible thought. I mean, where's it going to end?”
― Tom Stoppard, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
― Tom Stoppard, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
