Following is from the teachings of Vedanta... In Vedanta, heaven—or rather heavens—are accepted as part of the lower reality. Going to heaven is not the professed to be the ultimate goal of life. According to Vedanta, heaven can be likened to a vacation resort. After death, if one has done enough good deeds in life, one can go to heaven for a very long time. But eventually he will have to return to the earthly plane. Thus even though one may be in heaven, he is still bound and mired in ignorance to his true nature. [As it says in the Bhagavad-Gita: From Brahma Loka to the lowest world, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place O Arjuna. But one who comes to me, O son of Kunti, never takes birth again. (Gita 8:16)] The human goal according Vedanta is Self-realization. The Atma is the ultimate reality. When one realizes his true nature, he attains spiritual fulfillment in this life itself. Then, upon death, he does not go to any heavenly abod...