PARABLES OF RAMA: MAKING A HEAVEN OF HELL BY ASSIDUOUS WORK

2014-24   Parables of Rama: Making a Heaven of Hell by Assiduous Work
Swami Rama Tirtha: In Woods of God Realization Vol1 pp. 245-249

Making a Heaven of Hell - Assiduous Work

Swami Rama Tirtha [1865-1903]

HUXLEY IN HELL - MAKING A HEAVEN OF HELL

 Swami Rama Tirtha  [WGR-1 pp. 245-249]

There is a story about a Christian priest in England. He read about the deaths of some great men, Darwin and Huxley. He began to think in his mind whether they had gone to hell or heaven. He said to himself, "These people did not believe in the Bible, they did not believe in Christ. They must have gone to hell." But he could not make up his own mind to think that way. He thought: "They were good men, they had done some good work in the world, they did not deserve hell. Where did they go?"

He fell asleep and dreamt a most wonderful dream. He saw that he himself had died and was taken to the highest heaven. He found there all the people whom he had expected to find; he found all his Christian brothers who used to come to his Church. He found them all there. Then he asked about these scientists, Huxley and Darwin. The doorkeeper of heaven told him that these people were in the lowest hell.

Now this priest asked if he could be allowed to go to the lowest hell on a flying visit simply to see them and preach to them the Holy Bible. The steward consented to get for him a ticket to the lowest hell. The railway train went on and on. He stopped at the intermediate stations and found that there was a change for the worse as he went on. When he came to the lowest hell but one, he could not keep himself in senses. Such a stench was coming out that he fell into a swoon.

In a few minutes the people on the railway platform were crying, "The lowest hell, the lowest hell" for the convenience of the passengers. But the priest was astonished. He asked everybody. "This cannot be the lowest hell? It must be about the highest heaven." The railway guard said, "Just get down, sir, this is your destination." He got down—poor fellow, but was surprised. He expected the lowest hell to be worse than the lowest hell but one. But this well-nigh rivalled his highest heaven.

He got out of the railway station and found there magnificent gardens, sweet-scented flowers, and fragrant breezes blowing into his face. He met one tall gentleman. The man was walking before him; and when the man stopped, the priest was delighted. They shook hands, and the priest recognized him. Who was he? That was Huxley. "What is it, is it the lowest hell?" asked the priest. Huxley said, "Yes, doubtless it is." And he said, "I came to preach to you, but first of all, answer how is it that I find such a strange phenomenon before me?"

Huxley said, "You were not wrong in your expectations for the worst. Indeed, when we came here, it was the worst possible hell in the universe. It was the most undesirable that could be conceived." And here he pointed out certain places—"There were dirty ditches." And he pointed out another spot "There was burning iron." And he pointed out another spot—"There was hot sand and there was steaming dung."

He said, "We were first of all placed in the most dirty ditches, but while there, with our hands we were throwing water to the adjoining hot burning iron. Then, with the aid of that iron which had cooled down, and holding it before the fire, we succeeded in making some instruments. After that we were to be taken to a place where there was the dung. With the help of our iron spades, we began the digging work. After that we were taken to the another kind of soil, and there we threw the dung as manure. Thus we succeeded by and by in turning this hell into a veritable heaven."

Now the thing is that in the lowest hell, there were present all the materials which being simply placed in their right positions, might make the highest heaven. So it is. Vedanta says, in you is present the divine God, and in you is present the worthless body; but you have misplaced the things. And that is how you make this world a hell for you. You have simply to rearrange. This ambitious spirit of yours, or this selfishness of yours, which is just like a hell you you can rearrange. No energy can be destroyed, but you can rearrange this hell and convert it into the highest heaven.

Vedanta says, the “only open sesame,” the only way to really stamp out all misery from the world-the only way to escape from all sins, is to realize the true Self. You will never be able to withstand animal passions unless you do away with all this splendour and glory that bewitches you, do away with all that attracts you. When you realize that, you stand above all the passions, and at the same time be perfectly free, be perfectly full of bliss, and that is Heaven. 

MORAL:—Even Hell can be turned into Heaven by the right application of energy and proper arrangement of materials.  

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Swami Rama Tirtha: In Woods of God Realization Vol.1 [Ebook pp. 245-249] 

Swami Rama Tirtha: Parables of Rama [Ebook pp. 458-463]

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