Illusion

I saw a video on WhatsApp wherein the concept of heaven was explained through a metaphor to a rich man who wanted to take all his possessions to heaven. A wise person told the rich man that just as he had to exchange his currency when he travelled abroad, he had to get the currency of heaven before travelling to heaven – which is blessings through good deeds… Sounds good but if we stop for a moment and ask ourselves what is heaven, we will find that it is just a thought of continued pleasure post death. So we invest in some good deeds now so that we can secure our “pleasure” post death – much like a Provident Fund investment which secures your fund flow post retirement…

In other words our attachment to the cycle of fulfilment – seeking pleasure/avoiding pain is passed on to the next realm(if there is one, we are even not sure of that but doesn’t harm taking some insurance of doing some good deeds just in case…) Doing good deeds is always good but with what intention you do it would matter for your own evolution/maturity. 

The problem is that we have experienced life only as a cycle of fulfilment and are so attached to it that we want it to continue in the next realm as well. It is this attachment to the concept of fulfilment and that life is “Out there” to be achieved or grasped that is the problem. Ask yourself when is it that you would have had enough? Never – you want to live forever and do the same things that you are comfortable doing that bring you pleasure. Now ask yourself can this happen? Obviously No. You observe it all around that everything is impermanent and yet you seek permanency of pleasures in life and in death… 

This is the illusion that you must get over, no one else can do it for you. Meditation is the way to get over this illusion.
When you go deeper you will find that you are not living an illusion, you are the illusion….