Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Is God Really Holding a Stick Up There?



Growing up in England, I was never really convinced as a child that God was an old bearded fellow living in the clouds just waiting to catch me doing something wrong. And if I did, a strong thunderous voice would emerge from the ether, shouting, there, got you!... followed by a wallop from his long wooden cane. Control by fear has never been the best form of motivation in any arena, and it seemed to me very unlikely that the The Almighty would have to resort to such scare tactics!

The Day of Judgement has been mentioned in just about every religion. Its not one of those things we like to talk about, and for sure no one has an exact handle on what actually will happen on that day. But suffice it to say that there will be a time when we will have to answer for our actions and we will be rewarded or not depending on our deeds. Yes, we are certainly responsible for our actions, but do we really suffer at the hands of God? My opinion (and probably also my preference) is that, although there will surely come a final day of judgement when we have to hand in our account books to God, we are also paying smaller fines now. Do we have to wait in fear and hope of the last day, when we will find out whether we have won or lost the lottery? Or is there a subtle GPS system constantly at work, giving us feedback as we go along?

Leaving the last day aside, there could be no greater punishment than losing ones happiness in this moment now. The pain of making mistakes and having to pay off our small debts along the way is our internal guidance system helping us to improve ourselves. Together with happiness, we lose our judgment, we lose our clarity; these are all small consequences for breaking the laws of harmony, or peace, or love or kindness etc.

Punishment is only a natural and automatic consequence of us breaking spiritual laws. As we lose our happiness through our wrongdoings, our conscience is stricken and we strive to get ourselves back to that place of inner peace again. And its a good thing that we have this constant inner guidance day after day, its designed to prevent us from straying too far away from the track. Yet it will only work if we pay heed to our own friend and conscience, our inner voice.

For those who cannot tune in to their inner guidance system, it means that they have gone too far down the wrong road, their conscience has been killed, and that is a very sad state of affairs. No conscience means they will have a really hard time improving their soul and balancing their spiritual bank account. So on our journey to that day, if we are feeling the consequence of our actions, it is only our soul yearning to return back to that original pure state when the slate was clean. For example, if we did not feel pain in the body, we would not know there is something we need to give our attention to. In the same way, pain in the soul directs our attention towards what needs cleaning or tidying or fixing within the soul.

We cannot get away with doing what we want, and not be accountable for our actions. No law states that not any physical or spiritual law. So for sure that day will come when justice will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. This is why God is also remembered as the Supreme Judge. Why does every soul on earth remember God at least once in their lifetime, even if its during their final moment? Because the Supreme Judge, the Lord of Righteousness, appears as a mirror in front of us for us to measure ourselves against. And only the Righteous One can reveal to us our faults. It is then that we may have a deep sense of regret that we left it too late. The Holy Koran refers to ... The day when their tongues, their hands, and their feet will bear witness against them as to their actions. It will be a day when everything is revealed to all, and the sorrow in the soul will be the real consequence, or punishment.



The only way to experience a good Day of Judgement is if I have been good all along; that I have ensured that our every moment is spent in a worthwhile and righteous way now. I dont believe God is faulting us for our vices, since we receive the pain of that here and now. He is faulting us for not striving to our highest perfection, for falling short of what He knows we can achieve. I believe our greatest pain in the end will not just be because of the sorrow we have given to others, but because we did not live out our full potential in the soul. Every soul is created full of divine virtues and powers. And this will be the greatest regret that I did not love when I could have, I did not respect, I did not give, I did not use my power in the right way, I did not live my truth, when I easily could have!

God is the Ocean of Love. He teaches us with love and if we do not learn, then we bring on the consequences for ourselves. Its Time... to listen to our conscience and to learn from our mistakes. Dont leave it too late! God is the Ocean of Love. He teaches us the laws of life, and if we do not heed to them, then there are always consequences!

'It's Time...' by Aruna Ladva, BK Publications London, UK

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