The Foundation Now Being Built

I said that our life on earth is a very important phase of our endless existence. This statement needs emphasis.

We may be tempted to think that since we are going to live forever, it is not very important what we do during our short stay on earth. But actually, it is during our stay on earth that our personality is established and our character formed. The inner character formed in the world is what develops forever in the afterlife. While we are living in this world, the foundations of our eternal existence are being laid.

We have to realize that death only gives us a clearer consciousness of our spiritual surroundings. It has no power to change us in any way. It can't change greed into unselfishness, or hate into kindness. In short, while we are living in this world we are forming our future heaven or hell for ourselves.

If we are dominated by self-love and mere physical-mindedness, we have hell inside of us, and in the future life we will go into situations which reflect our inner state of mind. If we are inwardly motivated by love for the Lord and the spirit of helpfulness to others, having kind feelings toward everyone and following the Divine teachings with love in everything we do, we have heaven inside us, and in the future life we will come into heavenly situations.