A Story of Heaven and Hell

This is a story relayed from a professor in my China and Islamic Studies class today. It's worth sharing.

He mentioned that the story derived from a Hindu folk narrative, but he told the story a bit different.

The Story

A man came across God one day, and God told the man that he may have one wish. The man requested that he be shown Heaven and Hell before he dies. God granted his request and the man found himself in a vast white space with a long table full of all kinds of delicacies and treats.
"This is Hell," God said.

"I don't understand?" the man said.

The man was astonished. Hell seemed to look pretty nice to him. All the sudden, people started arriving on both sides of the table, as the people sat down, he could see that all of them were starving. The man then realized that there were slabs of wood tied to each person's arms so they could not bend their elbows. He watched as each person tried to feed themselves. Some tried to reach their mouths, but found it impossible. Some tried throwing the food in the air to catch it in their mouths, but no success. They all eventually sat down and realized they were never going to eat.

All the people vanished.

"This is Heaven," God said.
It was the exact same room, same table, and the same food.
"I don't understand," said the man. “We haven’t even left?”

All the sudden people started to appear on both sides of the table again, all which looked as though they were hungry. As they sat down, the man noticed again that each person had their arms bound with slabs of wood from keeping their elbows from bending.

The man looked at God and said, "Ok, now I really don't understand."

The man continued to watch as people started grabbing food, thinking there was no way they were going to feed themselves. Within a few moments, he watched as each person started to feed their neighbor. After a round or two, the neighbor would repay the favor by putting food in the other person’s mouth.

The man understood.
__

Considering this is not my own work, here is the original Hindu folk narrative. Different story, but same concept. Starts on the bottom of page 198 and ends half way through page 199.

I love this story because it’s simple, self-explanatory to a certain extent but also leaves room for interpretation. I love the idea that Heaven and Hell are in fact the same place, and it’s the people’s decisions that influence whether it’s one or the other. My second thought was that it’s not that the people in Heaven were smarter, but it’s that they would rather feed their starving neighbors before feeding themselves. But in Hell, it was another story because they were so focused on feeding themselves. In simple terms, I see Hell as a world where beings interpret things through the ego and Heaven as a world where beings interpret things through the heart.
With that said, I leave the floor to you. Please feel free to share your thoughts.

Namaste to All.

I've never heard it put that way before, but as I was reading the portion on Hell, I was saying to myself, "Why don't they feed each other?" Maybe I'm not damned after all.
Excellent thread. It put a smile on my face. S&F

Love that story, thanks for sharing.

I think that people get so caught up in following whatever arbitrary rules and commandments, believing in their specific brand of religion, that they can't see the forest for the trees.

The point of all this is to grow into a being that would consider his neighbor's plight above his own. A being to whom service and sacrifice for their fellow man is instinctual and immediate. Whatever or whoever is watching over this stage of our existence probably doesn't really care what road you take, but that you are moving towards the destination.

reply to post by Mactire

It's definately an interesting topic. Glad it brought a smile to your face, mine hasn't left since the 11am class.

reply to post by blamethegreys

Yep, I regularly put myself through the mental slavery of whether I am living the right life. Reminds me of Daoism and "the way." Honestly, I try to live my life through the eyes of compassion and love, but sometimes it's a battle, certainly a winnable one at that. My only concern about the so called destination is that I would rather make it as a whole than seperately or individually.

Thank you for your responses, it's greatly appreciated.

I had a friend who once asked me what I thought the Devil's Bible might be like. I told him, the same as God's Bible, only read in a different context. I've always felt that God and the Devil were the same "being". Two sides of the same coin.

This story makes me think about how maybe most of our happy moments are spent by interacting with other people more than many other things.

I did not think about putting the food into the neighbour's mouth the first time, but I think it was my lack of imagination rather than lack of kindness.

reply to post by ThinkingMe


Interesting, it could possibly be. One of those moments where not only one person is bringing good vibes but many. Personally, I can say my happiest moments have been when I'm around others.

Now that I think about it, I mean I have heard (do not take my word for it) that we could feed everyone on this planet. Considering I live in the US, it makes me think if I'm being one of those people not sticking out my hand to help because of the estimated 40,000 people who die everyday from malnutrition..

Thanks for replying. Anyone else like to discuss?

There's a third place called Earth were you help put food in your neighbors mouth but he doesn't help you in return and you starve to death.

Re Mactire

You wrote:

"I've always felt that God and the Devil were the same "being". Two sides of the same coin."

Or maybe two sides of the same con.

reply to post by bogomil


I don't think its a con, just a misinterpretation of the truth, which is why I wrote it as "being". I don't believe God/Devil are physical beings as much as some sort of Sentient Energy.

Re Mactire,

functioning from a metaphysic perspective myself, I don't see any difference of the coin/con options, whether god/devil are corporeal or not.

In any case, assuming that information can be gathered outside doctrines (i.e. by contemporary methods), there is a rather big amount of experience, which suggests that heaven/hell is a very restricted approach, only usable in cultures encompassed by judeo-christianity.

reply to post by bogomil


Personally, I do not believe in a physical place which would be Heaven or Hell. It's more on the lines that we either create a utopian type world (Heaven) or we create a dystopian type world (Hell).

I honestly think that life on Earth is Hell at the moment and the battle is to bring it back to this utopian style that so many long for. But in reality, most people are talk and no action. Whether you're religious by church, new-age philosophy, nothing, etc., we are all here right now. That's why I like this story because I interpret it as we, as humanity, have a choice.

reply to post by bogomil

I see Heaven and Hell as karmic consequences. Depending on the perspective of the person being affected it may appear good of bad. (Much like the Story). "One Man's Heaven is Another Man's Hell".
It isn't a physical place that you are sentenced to upon your death. It happens in real time.

Re Higns07

True about the down-to-earth part. I'm a relic from the sixties, and I'm probably one the few, who ever did anything more than talk. Would guess it's worse these days, when talking seems to be greater than life (living on a backwoods farm doesn't keep me up to date).

Re Mactire

The astral thingy appeals to me as a sensible arrangement. You know like the movie "What Dreams May Come". It'll also save whatever cosmic or existential bureaucracy there is a lot of work, as we partake in the design of the immediate afterlife ourselves. This I do not know firsthand, but from sources I consider trustworthy (e.g. Robert A Monroe).

Thats such a interesting story.
Makes you think that mabye heaven and hell are just different mindsets, hell being service to self and heaven service to others.
S&F

Re Littlecloud

You wrote:

"Makes you think that mabye heaven and hell are just different mindsets, hell being service to self and heaven service to others."

Putting it in a semantic context of theological ethics; probably. But the natural question will then ofcourse be: What theology?

Maybe a less doctrinally oriented way of putting it could be: Hell is like being insane from not knowing anything about 'reality'. Heaven is living free of illusions and non-sense.