Paradise

Paradise is reunion with God

“Where is Paradise, and where is Hell? Say: The one is reunion with Me, the other thine own self”

(Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 118)

Paradise is a reality where recompense will be given (though the detached will see good acts as their own reward)

"As to Paradise: It is a reality and there can be no doubt about it, and now in this world it is realized through love of Me and My good-pleasure. Whosoever attaineth unto it God will aid him in this world below, and after death He will enable him to gain admittance into Paradise whose vastness is as that of heaven and earth. Therein the Maids of glory and holiness will wait upon him in the daytime and in the night season, while the day-star of the unfading beauty of his Lord will at all times shed its radiance upon him and he will shine so brightly that no one shall bear to gaze at him. Such is the dispensation of Providence, yet the people are shut out by a grievous veil. Likewise apprehend thou the nature of hell-fire and be of them that truly believe...However, unto them that are rid of all attachments a deed is, verily, its own reward."

(Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 189)

(Residing in Heaven has a spiritual meaning)

“These ancient Beings, though delivered from the womb of their mothers, have in reality descended from the heaven of the will of God. Though they be dwelling on this earth, yet their true habitations are the retreats of glory in the realms above. Whilst walking amongst mortals, they soar in the heaven of the divine presence.”

(Bahá'u'lláh, Kitáb-i-Íqán, par. 74)

(A “Paradise” is found in this world and the next just as the Bible indicates)

"In the heavenly Books, mention is made of the immortality of the spirit, which is the very foundation of the divine religions. For rewards and punishments are said to be of two kinds—one being existential rewards and punishments and the other, ultimate rewards and punishments. Existential paradise and hell are to be found in all the worlds of God, whether in this world or in the heavenly realms of the spirit, and to gain these rewards is to attain life eternal. That is why Christ said: Act in such a manner that you may find eternal life, be born of water and of the spirit, and thus enter into the Kingdom.[Cf. John 3:5]"

('Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, Chapter 60, par. 2)

The Rewards or Spiritual “Paradise” of this world

"Existential rewards consist in the virtues and perfections that adorn the human reality. For example, man was immersed in darkness and becomes luminous; he was ignorant and becomes informed; he was heedless and becomes aware; he was asleep and is awakened; he was dead and is quickened to life; he was blind and begins to see; he was deaf and begins to hear; he was earthly and becomes heavenly; he was material and becomes spiritual. Through these rewards he is reborn in spirit, is created anew, and becomes the manifestation of the verse in the Gospel that says that the Apostles “were born, not of blood, nor of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God”[145 Cf. John 1:13.]—that is, they were delivered from the animal characteristics and qualities that are inherent to human nature, and acquired divine attributes, which are the outpouring grace of God."

('Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, Chapter 60, par. 3)

The Rewards or Spiritual “Paradise of Heaven

"The ultimate rewards, which consist in life everlasting, have been explicitly recorded in all the heavenly Scriptures. They are divine perfections, eternal bounty, and everlasting joy. The ultimate rewards are the gifts and perfections that man attains in the spiritual realms after his ascension from this world, while the existential rewards are those true and luminous perfections which are attained while still abiding in this world, and which are the cause of everlasting life. For the existential rewards are the advancement of existence itself and are analogous to the passage of man from the stage of the embryo to that of maturity and becoming the embodiment of the verse, “Hallowed be the Lord, the most excellent of all creators!”[146 Qur’án 23:14] The ultimate rewards consist in spiritual bounties and bestowals, such as the manifold gifts of God that are vouchsafed after the ascension of the soul, the attainment of the heart’s desire, and reunion with Him in the everlasting realm."

('Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, Chapter 60, par. 4)

Our actions in this world bring “reward and punishment,” “heaven and hell” in the next world

“For just as the effects and the fruitage of the uterine life are not to be found in that dark and narrow place, and only when the child is transferred to this wide earth do the benefits and uses of growth and development in that previous world become revealed—so likewise reward and punishment, heaven and hell, requittal and retribution for actions done in this present life, will stand revealed in that other world beyond.”

('Abdu'l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 185)

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