Heaven Cafe! Come and taste Manna and Nectar

Fear psychosis is the main trigger behind the theory of hell and heaven. This concept is evolving in the assumption that human behavior may be influenced under duress or the fear of the unknown. That goodies would head for heaven and baddies for hell has been the belief sown in the heart of the society just to regulate human behavior; to prevent people from living by conceit.

The word heaven always excites me and sets me indulge in fantasies. I fancy heaven a nice hang out where I can date and dine with Apsaras. Where Angels, flapping their wings, are waiting for your commands. It's a place where you could stretch your limbs and relax with a plate of manna for a brunch followed by a cup of nectar.

But what about hell? To your dismay, you don't get a rosy picture of it from the believers. They cherish calling it a den, a predators' liar and sinner's refuge helmed by ghosts or demons. Thus the Faithfuls' description of the hell goes overboard. They do this deliberately just to create a scare in the minds of  fellow humans.

It has been the surmise of the humanity that souls leaving bodies reach out to the precinct of god and wait there until the Judgment day. Lord Chitragupta, after browsing the 'pava and punya account of a soul allot it either heaven or hell. Again, that is the faith of the believers. But non believers call it a gimmick saying that it's another Amar Chitra Katha, a steroid one at that.

Unfortunately, most humans  buy this stuff as they like to be believers rather than intellects.
Another reason the yours truly adduce for the heaven and hell notion is the creation of man with a mind and consciousness. Man, with his innate mental powers, it was thought, might ruin the world if it didn't turn good for him. And there emerged, thanks to the Vedas and other religious scriptures, the 'Two House' belief just to rein in man from doing harm to other creatures.

Fear about hell was a deterrent factor  until man chose to live within the confines of his home. He was dormant, parochial prior to the technological blitzkrieg that took over the world. His vast knowledge that he acquired through research soon busted the heaven and hell syndrome that has been chasing him for aeons. Determined to survive in this fast paced world, he is now concerned only with getting his next meal. He doesn't bother about what would happen to him after his death.

Man now pooh poohs the heaven-hell hype that becomes the butt of jokes. "Go to heaven for the climate, and hell for the company," runs a snide remark of Mark Twain. That man has mellowed with times and amassed funds of knowledge make irrelevant what kind of dwelling he will get after his death. Religion, having failed to exploit man with the idea of a human getting either an abode or den after demise now resort  to other means to scare him.

Hindu religion always cherish telling people that another avatar of Lord Krishna is on the anvil. It reminds us about the declaration of the Lord , aeons ago, that He would come to the earth whenever Adharma slays Dharma. Not to be undone by the Hinduism, Christianity too proclaim Jesus Christ would soon descent in our midst and heal us of all our sins.

Though life becomes knotty, making our fight inevitable for our survival, we still could explore avenues to make our life a la heaven. Let not the fear of getting hell after death decide about the necessity of being a righteous person. A mind that cries for others' suffering is enough to make a human an Atman. Getting into such a mindset, we can have a haven under our feet while living and grab it even after death.