Hell?

It seems that most religions have a very simple view of hell, or at least the ones that have a view of hell. If The Real World is really timeless and there is such a thing as eternity, so much more could be done with a Hell!

Imagine that you spend your life, struggling, but you feel that you are gaining Karma through this process. You are reborn a million times, and you become more enlightened each time. At some point, you know true peace and enlightenment. Imagine how much more your suffering would be if it turned out that this whole Karma and Enlightenment was just part of Hell! Being Enlightened and knowing all of the goodness that could have been yours, you will truly suffer for Eternity!

If there is a Hell, I do not think it would be the "bringing pain to nerve endings" type. Sure, a lake of fire seems like it would suck, and it probably would. But there is more to Life than just using nerve endings for pain or pleasure. To think of an afterlife totally based on nerve endings seems kind of juvenile.

Back to that Karma thing. Based on the ideas expressed above, it seems that this would indeed possibly be Hell right now. We do not Know God's presence, we can not feel his/her eternal love, so by definition, we are separated from God, therefore in Hell. So, working oneself up to a higher state, suffering for the common good, becoming a better "person", and possibly being reborn again and again to gain that special Karma just means that you are working your way to Eternal Damnation and Suffering as quickly as you can!

Put some brakes on it. Live a little. Do not trying to advance your Enlightenment, for you are only dooming yourself!

The Edward