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Baha'u'llah tells us that the life in the flesh is by the embryonic stage of our existence, and that escape from the body is like a new birth through which the human spirit enters on a fuller, freer life. He writes:-- (188:2) "..the soul, after its separation from the body, will continue to progress until it attaineth the presence of God.. It will endure as long as.. His sovereignty and power will endure. It will manifest the signs of God and His attributes, and will reveal His loving kindness and bounty.. The honor with which the Hand of Mercy will invest the soul is such as no tongue can adequately reveal.. Blessed is the soul which, at the hour of its separation from the body, is sanctified from the vain imaginings of the peoples of the world. Such a soul liveth and moveth in accordance with the Will of its Creator, and entereth the all-highest Paradise.. If any man be told that which hath been ordained for such a soul.. his whole being will instantly blaze out in his great longing to attain that.. station... The nature of the soul after death can never be described, nor is it meet and permissible to reveal its whole character to the eyes of men. The Prophets.. have been sent down for the sole purpose of guiding mankind to the straight Path of Truth. The purpose underlying their revelation hath been to educate all men, that they may, at the hour of death, ascend, in the utmost purity and sanctity and with absolute detachment, to the throne of the Most High. The light which these souls radiate is responsible for the progress of the world and the advancement of its peoples.. Through them the clouds rain their bounty upon men, and the earth bringeth forth its fruits.. All things must needs have a cause, a motive power.. These souls.. will continue to provide, the supreme moving impulse in the world of being. The world beyond is as different from this world as this world is different from that of a child while still in the womb of its mother." (Baha'u'llah) (188:3) "The mysteries of which man is heedless.. will he discover in the heavenly world.. the holy souls.. will be acquainted with all mysteries and will seek the bounty of witnessing the reality of every great soul.. (and) will find all the friends of God.. of the former and recent times.. (190:1) The.. distinction between men will.. become realized.. but this distinction is not in respect to place, but in respect to The soul and conscience. For the Kingdom of God is sanctified (or free) from time and place; it is another world and another universe.. the spiritual beloved ones will recognize one another, and will seek union with each other, but a spiritual union. Likewise a love that one may have.. will not be forgotten.. nor wilt thou forget there the life that thou hadst in the material world." ('Abdul-Baha) (190:2) Baha'u'llah.. regards the descriptions of Heaven and Hell given in some of the older religious writings as symbolic.. and not literally true.. Heaven is a state of perfection, and Hell that of imperfection; Heaven is harmony with God's will and with our fellows, and Hell is the want of such harmony; Heaven is the condition of spiritual life, and Hell that of spiritual death. A man may be either in Heaven or in Hell while still in the body. The joys of Heaven are spiritual joys... (190:4) "...The rewards of the other world are the perfections and the peace obtained in the spiritual world after leaving this world.. In the same way, the punishments of the other world... consist in being deprived of the special divine blessings and the absolute bounties, and falling into the lowest degrees of existence. He who is deprived of these divine favors, although he continues after death, is considered as dead by the people of truth.." ('Abdul-Baha) (191:2) "The wealth of the other world is nearness to God. Consequently, it is certain that those who are near.. are allowed to intercede.." ('Abdul-Baha) (191:3) "..in that world also, they can make progress. As here they can receive light by their supplications, there also they can plead for forgiveness. (192:1) Both before and after putting off this material form there is progress in perfection, but not in state... There is no other being higher than a perfect man to which he can transfer himself. He only progresses in the state of humanity, for the human perfections are infinite. (192:2) Hence, as the perfections of humanity are endless, man can also make progress in perfections after leaving this world." ('Abdul-Baha)
(192:3)
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