Thursday, January 24, 2013

The New Jerusalem or "Beam me up Scotty"

The New Jerusalem or "Beam me up Scotty" (The Post Non-Apocalypse) January 2013 The predicted end of the world didn't worry me too much. I was expecting one of two scenarios. Either The New Jerusalem right here on good old Terra Firma - Revelations 21: "At the end of the world the earth together with the celestial bodies will be gloriously transformed into a part of the dwelling place of the blessed." Or an instantaneous "Beam me up Scotty" to a heavenly realm. Either way you might look like your high school graduation picture. I could handle that. For the tired old world, how wonderful to transcend war, hunger, sickness and * old age *. There are a lot of things I'd miss in my humble world, I thought. But maybe the Biblical end of the world as we know it would mean transformation of our immediate surroundings into a place where perfect people inhabited uncluttered spaces that never had to be dusted (I hate vacuuming). I remembered what Geshe Sopa told my Buddhism class about the seven levels of Deva Heaven. When you die your soul is struck like a bell, he said, and the tone produced determines your goodness level, as the soul registers all Earthly deeds. Kind of like St Peter at the Pearly Gates. Then you are beamed up to the appropriate Deva Realm where you work. Yes, he said, there is work in heaven. If your tone is of a low vibration you go to the Hungry Ghost realm, kind of like Purgatory, where there is probably even more work to do and maybe takes longer (don't ask about the Hell Realm). After working out your Karma you will eventually be reincarnated into another human body where you will be motivated through suffering to figure things out (enlightenment) - or rinse and repeat. If you were really bad you might come back as an animal. Being a cat would be OK - but a warthog? Without Gaya where would you end up? Revelations does mention celestial bodies, so The New Jerusalem might still be a possibility, even if it was the end of the world. I didn't make any preparations for the end of the world as we know it, tho there are a few things I kind of wanted to hang onto. Alas, as everyone knows - You can't take it with you.