Transcending Dichotomies
Ramana Maharshi's enigmatic statement,
"Brahman is real,
The world is illusion,
Brahman is the world."
Commentary: These three lines move from initial division to ultimate unity. First, we distinguish between the Real and the illusory - between God and the world, the Infinite and the finite. Yet a deeper understanding reveals that God is also present within the world.
The wise desire the Otherworld and they are a minority,
The first are condemned, the second attain Paradise and the third are brought near to God and these are the elect. Sufis understand this Divine nearness to be a state where the soul is immersed in the Divine Presence—like a drop entering the ocean. This reintegration closely parallels the Hindu Moksha and Buddhist Nirvana, where individual consciousness is reabsorbed into Universal Consciousness. However, this does not mean the termination of our identity which we will now explain.
Coexistence
The Quran reveals an interesting duality in the afterlife:
“For he who fears the meeting with his Lord, there will be two Paradises” (55:46).
Commentary: The scholar Ibn Ajibah says that one Paradise is a reward for actions and the other is a reward for faith. That is to say one is a physical Garden and the other is a purely spiritual state of Divine Proximity and Intimacy. Sahl at-Tustari also says that our actions determine our share in the Garden, while faith determines our proximity to God.
Frithjof Schuon points out that these two Paradises in the Quranic verse are an exact equivalent of the two bodies of the Buddhas3. In Buddhist doctrine, an enlightened being exists simultaneously in a heavenly body (Sambhogakaya) and in a formless ultimate body (Dharmakaya). “When speaking of his own state in the Hereafter, the Prophet ﷺ described it as a two-fold blessing: “The meeting with my Lord and Paradise4.”
The Ridwan of Allah
At first glance, the phrase “except as God wills” seems to imply a potential limit to Paradise. But the verse immediately reassures: “a gift uninterrupted”—suggesting that this exception does not mean an end to Paradise, but rather alludes to something beyond it.
Spirituality and Sensuality
Many ancient sages and mystics across the globe have recognised that sexuality, music, and beauty are not simply sources of sensual pleasure but possess a sanctifying or we can say spiritual dimension. They are capable of leading to spiritual elevation or degradation. Over the course of human history, however, they become increasingly susceptible to degradation because of humanity’s spiritual decline. This explains why the later religions in history, such as Islam, impose stricter regulations on these expressions which is part of the Divine wisdom, tailored to the conditions of the era.
Islam, for instance, tends to censor music, female beauty and sexuality more rigorously than other traditions. Yet paradoxically, it vividly portrays these same sensual pleasures—wine, women, and song—to be a part of Paradise. This reveals a deeper truth about the complex relationship between spirituality and sensuality.
Frithjof Schuon insightfully observes that Islam - like Hinduism and Buddhism - distinguishes between crude sensuality and sanctified sensuality, incorporating the latter within its Paradise. The sacred texts of Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists speak of the sensual delights in Heaven, affirming that sensuality is not inherently profane but possesses a sacred dimension. This understanding reaches its zenith in the esoteric practices of Hindu and Buddhist tantra, which systematically explore the power of combining sensual and spiritual energies.
Such a perspective challenges the rigid dualism between spirit and matter that has shaped Western educated minds since Descartes (d. 1650). Western educated critics in the last few centuries have often dismissed the sensual descriptions of heaven in Muslim, Hindu, and Native American traditions as incompatible with genuine spirituality. They fail to grasp that the two are not mutually exclusive.
Notes
1. A quote from the Buddha on the sensual delights of Paradise (source: Magandiya Sutta 75):
"Having conducted himself well in body, speech, and mind, on the dissolution of the body, after death, he might reappear in a happy destination, in the heavenly world... and there, surrounded by a group of maidens in the Nandana Grove, he would enjoy himself, provided and endowed with the five cords of divine sensual pleasure... What do you think, Magandiya? Would that young god surrounded by the group of nymphs in the Nandana Grove, enjoying himself, provided and endowed with the five cords of divine sensual pleasure, envy [those on earth]... or would he [seek to] return to human sensual pleasures?"
Magandiya: "No, Master Gotama"
Buddha: "Why not?"
Magandiya: "Because celestial sensual pleasures are more excellent and sublime than human sensual pleasures."
2. The great Sufi Ibn Arabi explicitly states that the Qutb, the highest figure in the hierarchy of saints (awliya), frequently engages in conjugal acts and loves women. He notes:
"The sexual act of one in such a state is like the sexual union of the people of Paradise, only for the sake of pleasure [not procreation]..."
(Source: Ibn al-‘Arabi, Muhyi ‘l-Din. Al-Futuhat al-makkiyya. 4 vols. Beirut: Dar Sadir.2:573-574)
The concept aligns with some Tantric Hindu and Buddhist traditions, where advanced ascetics may engage in conjugal acts with multiple female partners as a means to accelerate Enlightenment. While highly restricted and controlled, such practices can be prone to abuse and require careful consideration.
Upaya
(We only highlight these type of issues for the sake of interfaith dialogue and clarity to those few who need it.)
Semitic view: Heaven and Hell are eternal.
Indic view: Heaven and Hell are temporary.
Common ground: Heaven is eternal, Hell is temporary.
The common ground emerges from well-known perspectives within both traditions. In the Semitic faiths, a recognised minority view holds that Hell may not be eternal—a position affirmed by some of Islam’s most conservative theologians, including Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn Qayyim, as well as Sufi masters like Ibn ʿArabī. Similarly, in the Indic traditions, the notion of a temporary Paradise does not always imply a return to mortal existence but continued progression into higher realms and ultimately Liberation (see Advaita’s concept of Krama Mukti (gradual liberation) and Sukhavati in Pure Land Buddhism).
In Islam, there is a teaching that a Divine promise (waʿd) must be fulfilled, but a Divine warning (waʿīd) can be revoked in the end. The doctrine of eternal Hell can both be seen as a waʿīd—a stern warning or threat intended to inspire seriousness but whose consequences may be lifted through the Divine Mercy.
We understand how the threat of eternal punishment in Hell can serve a motivational purpose, even if its consequences may be revoked in the end. But why is Heaven described as temporary—and even negatively—in Indic scriptures? Because the true goal of the spiritual path should not be personal rewards or sensual delights in paradise, but God Himself and the Supreme Union (Moksha in Hindusim, Nirvana in Buddhism; the drop merging with the Sea). Paradise is sometimes described as temporary and negatively in Indic Scriptures to lift the seeker’s aspiration from the personal pleasures of heaven to the infinite reality of Brahman. In reality, Heaven may not be temporary at all, and the Divine warning of its loss—intended to stir the soul toward a higher goal—may ultimately be revoked through Divine Mercy (like the concept of eternal damnation in Semitic traditions).
We should clarify that Paradise is not viewed solely in a negative light within the Indic traditions. In Advaita, the teaching of Krama Mukti (gradual Liberation) holds that souls in Heaven continue to mature and grow spiritually, never having to fall back to lower worlds but steadily advancing toward Moksha. A similar teaching appears in Pure Land Buddhism, where beings in Heaven inevitably progress to Enlightenment (Nirvana) without the possibility of falling because they are in an environment that is conducive to spiritual progression. In both cases, Heaven is “temporary” only in the sense that it is a stepping stone toward the supreme Reality of moksha or nirvana—the drop merging with the Ocean.
In this vision, the soul in Heaven is not idly “passing time” in sublime pleasures. Spiritual education continues there in ways beyond our comprehension—what appears as play or delight is, in truth, the very process of refinement and preparation for ultimate union. Just as a child’s early games may look trivial yet are essential for physical, mental, and social growth, so too the joys of Heaven may represent the child’s stage of the souls journey in the afterlife before final Liberation.
In Hinduism and Buddhism, it is said that all desire (kama) has been overcome in the highest realms but perhaps it would be more accurate to say that desire has been refined and sublimated. The Sufis say all desire is ultimately a desire for God, though most remain unaware. This aligns with Vedantic thought that all seeking is, at its core, a search for the Source (Brahman). In Paradise, when beings attain full maturity, this reality becomes clear. The objects of sensual desire (kama)—wine, women, and song—still exist in the Muslim Heavens, but they are no longer seen as distractions. Instead, they are recognised as Divine Disclosures (tajalliyat), transforming enjoyment itself into an act of worship. This aligns with Tantric schools of Hinduism and Buddhism, which regard sensuality not as a hindrance to spirituality but a means of Awakening when perceived properly. In the state of Moksha, the realisation of Brahman, individual desire (kama) dissolves, not through suppression, but because they no longer perceive anything as separate from the Self, and the Self (Atman) is not distinct from Brahman.
In ordinary experience, desire arises because we see ourselves as separate from the things we seek. However, in the state of Divine Oneness (moksha), this illusion of seperation disappears. The multiplicity of celestial delights are no longer considered a desire for something external, but an expression of the Self seeking to connect with itself. Multiplicity no longer divides Unity but reveals its boundless and inexhaustible nature.
The laws of karma (cause and effect) are sometimes interpreted so rigidly that they overlook the possibility of repentance or Divine Forgiveness as a means of redressing past mistakes. This one-sided understanding of karma—focusing solely on causality while ignoring the Divine side of the spiritual equation—leads to the inevitable belief in a temporary Paradise within the Indic traditions.
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