Call some place Paradise, kiss it goodbye!

It's interesting that most cultures define heaven to have just the attributes they lack in real life. Jewish (and consequently Christian) Heaven had streams and gardens, which Israel did not. Islamic heaven is full of sex, for obvious reasons. Greek heaven, as well as Hindu Swarga in its simplest form, was about living the life of the Rich and Powerful, where debauchery isn't quite sinful any more.

So, it would seem that heaven is indeed a fool's paradise as writer Johan Hari claims.

Some cultures did get the picture. As Hari points out:

In The Epic of Gilgamesh, written in Babylon 4,000 years ago, the eponymous hero travels into the gardens of the gods in an attempt to discover the secret of eternal life. His guide tells him the secret – there is no secret. This is it. This is all we're going to get. This life. This time. Once. "Enjoy your life," the goddess Siduri tells him. "Love the child who holds you by the hand, and give your wife pleasure in your embrace."

It would seem that heaven and the afterlife are projections of a human mind that's fearful and not able to come to terms with the fact of death.

And while you're thinking of that, listen to the Eagles say it as well as anyone can.

Who will provide the grand design?
What is yours and what is mine?
'Cause there is no more new frontier
We have got to make it here

We satisfy our endless needs and
justify our bloody deeds,
in the name of destiny and the name of God

And you can see them there,
On Sunday morning
They stand up and sing about
what it's like up there
They call it paradise
I don't know why
You call someplace paradise,
kiss it goodbye