Achema - The Story of Edmund Burke

The following is a beautiful story to share.

Edmund Burke, one of the great historians of England. He had a friend of theologian, who was as famous as Edmund Burke. Even the King and Queen used to come to listen to his sermons on Sundays, but Edmund Burke never went there.

One day this theologian friend asked him: "This is a little hard for me, I’m always expecting that one day you can come to listen to my sermon. Even the King, the Queen, and the whole royal family came. All the great scholars of the university also came, you ....who are only my friend, the only person .....just for respect's sake, you should at least come once."

Edmund Burke said: "It is because of that, that I have not come. But you are insisting. This Sunday I am coming.....be ready!"

Theologian: "What do you mean by ...be ready?" He said: "Everything will be clear when I come to the Church."

The friend prepared a very beautiful sermon just to impress Edmund Burke. He also invited all Christian priests to help prepare of that upcoming Sunday sermon. This is something unknown to the mystics preparing sermon. Are you a teacher in the school or a professor in a college? Don't you have anything spontaneous to say? At least those who have experienced should have each moment like a spontaneous flow of fresh water, fresh energy. A prepared

speech, however look like very artificial, is basically false because it is not coming from bottom of the heart.

Edmund Burke came. The friend had prepared his very best sermon; he wanted to impress Edmund Burke. He kept on watching Edmund Burke face....but no feeling, no emotion, no single impact of what he was saying. He started stumbling, nervous of that man who was sitting in the front row like a statue.

And when the Q&A session, the first one who stood up was Edmund Burke. He asked: "I have a question. You said in your speech that a man who is good, virtuous, a believer in God, goes to heaven. And a man who is no good, no virtuous, no belief in God, goes into the hell or internal fire. My question is ....you have simplified things too much. I want to know....if a man is good and virtuous and does not believe in God, where does he go? A man who is bad, who is not virtuous but is a believer in God...where does he go?"

This question spins the theologian mind. He was lost, because any answer would be troublesome. He said, "Forgive me, I can't answer it spontaneously." Edmund Burke said: "I knew it, because the whole speech was not spontaneous at all. You jus like a parrot. How much time do you need to look into scriptures and libraries and find out the answer? You don't have the answer, and you have the nerve to say so emphatically who goes to hell

and who goes to heaven. And I have asked a simple question...."

The theologian said: "Please gives me a week time. Next Sunday I will answer." Those seven days were really hellfire. He tried so hard in the library looking for the answers, but whatever you say seems to be wrong. A

man who does not believe in God but is good, virtuous....you can't send him to hell. Then what is the need of being good and virtuous? A man who believes in God but is no good, no virtuous.....you can't send him to heaven, because if you send him to heaven then what is wrong in being a sinner, being bad, not being virtuous? Just believe in God.....then drop all this nonsense, make it simple...like those who believe in God go to heaven and those who don't believe in God go to hell. Then why unnecessarily bring these qualities of goodness and virtue?"

He was going mad, he couldn't sleep well for a week. And Sunday came....and it came so fast. Time is very funny. When you want it to be slow, it goes fast, and when you want it to go fast, it will turn up slowly. It always goes

against your wishes. So he went to the church one hour before he had to give the sermon. Still, he had no answer. He thought he should pray to Jesus Christ: "God...please helps me.....Scriptures are no help....Libraries....for

a week......I have worked hard, but still no answer. In fact, Edmund Burke was right; it was out of respect that he was not coming. I unnecessarily dragged him in and now he has created trouble not only for me....but for my whole worshippers. Now it is up to you to help me." So he bowing down before the statue of Jesus Christ, putting his head at his feet, he said: "Help me because it is not a question for my prestige; your whole religion is at stake. I am simply a representative."

He had not slept for a week, so he fell asleep just at the feet of Jesus Christ. He had a dream, a dream in which he saw that he was sitting in the train, a very fast train, and he inquired, "Where is this train going and where am I going?" They said: "This train is going to heaven." He said, "This is good. It is better that I should see with my own eyes that what kind of people are there. "So he figured it out.....if I can find Socrates there, that means that just goodness, innocence, sincerity is enough; there is no need for belief in God. "If Socrates is there, Gautama Buddha is there, Mahavira is there....but if I don't find these people there, then I can see what kind of people are there......because Adolf Hitler believed in God, Napolean Bonaparte believed in God, Alexander the Great also was a believer of God and goes on killing people. Nadirshah believer of God, and his only joy was to burn people alive. If I find these people there then I am finished; I have to say the Truth to the worshippers."

When  reaching heaven he couldn't believe what he saw. He cleanses his glasses, looked at it again...the station was looking just like a ruin. There was written "Paradise" but the word had faded; it was perhaps hundred of years before that somebody had written it. And all over, it was dirty. When he came down from the train and walking toward the inquiry office, there was no any one there. He tried to find out...."I want to inquire about a few people, whether they are here....Socrates, Gautama Buddha, Pythagoras, Heraclitus, Epicurus, Lao Tzu, Mahavira.." People said: "Never heard of them." And he saw people just with his dry bones, as if all juice had been taken out of them, skeletons covered with a skin, "Who are these people?" and somebody was a great saint....he had heard the name. Somebody was Saint Francis.....he said: "My God!" And dust, layers of dust on all these people----------and the whole place looked as if the rain had not come for centuries. Everything was dry, nothing was green...no trees...no grass....no flowers. He had never seen such a place. He said: "My God, if this is paradise, God save the Queen! This is a dangerous place."  And the saints were there, sitting under trees, which were naked, without any leaves. He asked whether spring comes here or not....they said: "Never heard of it before. What do you mean by spring?" ....


He quickly rushed back to the railway station and inquired whether there was any train going to hell. They said: "Just now it is standing on the platform." He went on the train to see hell, what he thought that if the heaven is already like this, what is going to be the hell! But as he went closer, the breeze was becoming cooler, fragrant. And when he reached the station he saw beautiful people...men and women, children....he said: "My God, there seems to be something wrong. This place should be paradise, everybody looks so happy"

He got down and he asked somebody, "I have you heard about Socrates, Gautama Buddha, Budhirdharma, Lao Tzu....." They said, "Those are the people who have changed the place. This place used to be so rotten, but since those fellows came here, they have changed the whole place. Now everything is green, an oasis. There is love, there is music, there is song. Wait for the night, when everybody dances, sings; right now everybody is working in the fields. Look at that man...he's Socrates working in the field."

It was such a shock. He woke up, and it was time for the worshipper to arrive. People had started coming and they were standing around him and watching him: "What is the matter? Has he fallen asleep, is he unconscious or what?"

Edmund Burke came to listen to the answer. The theologian said: "I tried my hardest but couldn't find the answer. Just now I have had a dream......I will relate the dream to you and you can draw your own conclusions. My

conclusions are this......I'm sorry, but what I haven been telling you was not right. It is not the question that the good people or the virtuous people go to heaven; on the contrary, it is just that wherever the virtuous people and  good people go, they create heaven. And belief in God is irrelevant. It is your individual whim....you can believe, you can not believe, It does not matter in the ultimate conclusion of life.”

Achema – Malaysia 2008

                           

All that's necessary for the forces of evil to win the world is for enough good men to do nothing.
Edmund Burke

Facts are to the mind what food is to the body.
Edmund Burke

Bad laws are the worst sort of tyranny.
Edmund Burke