Roadmap to Heaven? Will GPS help?

Some religious leaders claim that they have the best roadmap to Heaven. But, is their GPS working?
Some people live a highly disciplined religious life, believing that through such existence they will go to Heaven, while others have not even been able to come to terms with the definition of Heaven.
While there are different definitions of Heaven documented in various religions and spiritual philosophies, the common denominator appears to equate to the holiest place accessible by people who practice high standards of dignity, goodness, piety and faith. The specific definition of Heaven appears to depend largely on religious traditions. Some religions conceptualize Heaven as some type of peaceful life after death defined in terms of immortality of soul, a place of eternal happiness. There are significant differences among the various religions on the physical location of Heaven, ranging from the sky or high above to a place that has no locational relationship to any planet. Further readings on this topic can be found on http://www.afterlifedata.com/afterlife_sources.php?status=used. In particular, it is interesting to note Michael Newton’s research documented in “Destiny of Souls” that upon death we go directly from one astral plane around earth through the gateway into the spirit world, which is an ethereal space without zones or barriers around it.
Religious leaders seemed to have focused their power of influencing the faithful on the ways they can enter Heaven. One of the fundamental roadmap to Heaven is based on the condition that we must live a “good life” within the terms of a particular spiritual system. Here again, religions differ from strict adherence to the terms documented by spiritual leaders to sola fide (by faith alone) doctrine that asserts that God’s pardon to guilty sinners granted to and received through faith or belief alone (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sola_fide). Some religious leaders in the camp of strict adherence to God’s “rules” often focus more on level of control than on showing how to live a good life with dignity, goodness, piety and faith. At times, examples of such actions culminated into holy wars which were military campaigns justified by religious differences. But thankfully, the majority of religious leaders have been able to focus on being good shepherds, believing in God’s care for his people, and dedicating their lives to providing a spiritual leadership that helps the faithful to lead a “good life” here on earth and realize eternal happiness after death.
During my personal journey that has provided opportunities to witness life in many part of the world and under different cultures ranging from atheist communism to different religious practices, I came to the conclusion that extreme interpretation of the “good book”, be it the Bible, Torah or Qur’an, may not provide the most direct route to Heaven. I also came to realize that Heaven can be found here on earth in the form of happiness. When I look back on my journey, I was happiest when my personal relationships were focused on giving rather than receiving, when my professional life was directed towards contributing rather than taking, and when I was able to provide service to those less fortunate than I was. These opportunities were not always found through organized religion; I found some through service clubs (37 years in Kiwanis leadership, including District Governor of Kiwanis International) and through being a caring father and grandfather. We can experience “moments of Heaven” here on earth and if we are able to cultivate the right mindset, these moments can become a continuum.
As far as Heaven after death is concerned, I look at it as eternal happiness of my soul, reconciling with God my mistakes on earth and “perhaps” getting a few brownie points for the good deeds. Deep down I kind of hope that my spirit be awarded a special bonus of seeing my children and grandchildren live happy lives.