What Becomes Of The Soul After Death

A passionate man, whose mind is filled with lower appetites and strong sense-cravings, who has spent his life in much sensual indulgence in this earth-plane, enters the Preta Loka (astral world of gross density) after his death. He is unconscious for a short time after death. He is in a sleepy state. He awakens and finds himself in this Loka, or world.

As soon as he wakes up, the sensual cravings, desires and appetites torment him immensely. He wants to eat, drink and enjoy with women. But he cannot gratify his desires now with his present body. He is kept in this world just as a prisoner in the prison. Therefore, he is extremely miserable and unhappy, as he cannot gratify his passion in this plane. The senses are powerful, but he cannot get here the means of gratification. His misery is beyond description as he is not able to satisfy his passions, cravings and appetites. He is just like a starving man.

The passions have their roots and centres on the senses and the mind. They are not in the physical body. This physical body is only the instrument of gratification in the hands of the senses and the mind.

You can help the sufferer in the Preta Loka by performing Sraaddha (religious libations and offerings). Performance of Sraaddha helps to free him and make him pass on to Svarga, or heaven. The Mantras recited set up powerful vibrations. These vibrations come against the body which imprisons the individual soul, and break it for its freedom.

Do you realise now the importance of Sraaddha? Those who have left doing Sraaddha on account of ignorance, perversion of intellect caused by wrong Samskaras and bad association and hearing of wrong teaching should perform Sraaddha from this moment at least. Rishis and Sastras take care of you like kind mothers.

If you do not wish to enter the Preta Loka and undergo the sufferings, learn to be wise. Learn to control the senses. Lead a well-regulated and disciplined life. Do not allow the senses to run riot. Give up gluttony. Do not follow the philosophy of flesh. Passions and appetites will only torment you when you pass through death. If you practise self-restraint, you will enter the regions of bliss.

“The Pretas are of six kinds, namely, the slightly sinful, the ordinarily sinful, the greatly sinful, the slightly virtuous, the ordinarily virtuous, and the greatly virtuous. Some of the most sinful Pretas continue to be experiencing the insensibility of death like a stone for a period of a year. Regaining awareness they experience that they are doomed to suffer from the endless torments of hell which their Vasanas have brought them, for a long time. They then undergo the experience of hundreds of incarnations until they finally get rid of the experience of world-illusion, by finding peace within. There are others in this class, who, after their torpor of death is over, begin to experience the unutterable pain of insensibility in the form of immovable trees, etc. Then they undergo the torments of hell, after which they are again born on earth in accordance with their earthly desires. Those of ordinary sin experience the inertness of stone for some time after death. Being awakened to consciousness, they, then or after some time, undergo the experience of the lives of birds, reptiles or beasts, before they turn to their usual lives in the world. The slightly sinful souls, often immediately after the insensibility of death, come to assume some human form to continue their earthly existence in accordance with their previous desires. They come to the worldly consciousness soon after their death and their previous desires and imagination evolve new worlds in their experience in a dream-like manner. The greatly virtuous souls, soon after the insensibility of death is over, get an experience in the worlds of gods. Having enjoyed the fruits of their virtues in godly personality and in heavenly worlds, they are again born in this world in noble and rich families. The souls of ordinary virtuous experience, after the insensibility of death is over, that they are being carried away by winds and later on are turned into the lives of plants and herbs. Having undergone this experience for some time they feel that they are entering human bodies as food, and there they are turned into spermatozoa and thence enter the wombs of (expectant) mothers.”

This is also known by the name of Chandraloka, wherein the forefathers, or Pitris, live. This is also a heaven. Those who perform sacrifices and charitable deeds with selfish motives (Ishtapurtam), such as digging wells, building rest-houses and laying out parks or gardens for the public, enter this Loka. The ruler of this world is Lord Yama, son of Surya. The Jivas come back to this world after the fruits of their actions have been exhausted. Lord Krishna says in the Gita: “Smoke, night time, the dark fortnight (also the six months of the southern path of the sun) attaining by these to the lunar light, the Yogi returns” (Chap. VIII-25). When they die, they first go through smoke, then to night, then to the dark fifteen days, then to the six months when the sun goes to the South, and from that they go to the world of their fathers. This path is called by the name Pitriyana, or the path of Pitris.

The Pitris are highly pleased when their descendants offer oblations and when they perform Sraaddha on the anniversary day, they bless them.

In Chandraloka, the Jivas acquire fine, brilliant bodies, the bodies of gods. They become gods and enjoy the happiness of heaven for a long period. They live with their forefathers. They come down through the spheres of air and clouds. They reach the world through rain-drops. They attach themselves to some cereal or grain, which is eaten by some man, who is fit to give them material to make a new body. Those whose deeds have been very good take birth in good families.

The heaven of the Fathers, or Pitri Loka, or Chandraloka is not the highest abode of eternal Truth. It is a phenomenal universe. The dwellers of that Loka or plane are bound by the law of Karma, by the rule of cause and effect, by the law of action and reaction. Their stay on that plane is temporary although it may last for thousands of years.

The Pitris have no knowledge of Brahman or the Imperishable Reality. They are bound by desires. They cannot teach Brahma-Vidya to others as they themselves are imperfect.

“The knowers of the three Vedas, the Soma-drinkers, the purified from sin, worshipping Me with sacrifice, pray to Me the way to heaven; they, ascending to the holy world of the Ruler of the Shining Ones, eat in heaven the divine feasts of the Shining Ones.”

“They, having enjoyed the spacious heaven-world, their holiness withered, come back to this world of death. Following the virtues enjoined by the three, desiring desires, they obtain the transitory.”

“They who worship the Shining Ones go to the Shining Ones; to the ancestors go the ancestor-worshippers; to the Elements go those who sacrifice to Elements; but My worshippers come unto Me.”

Even the dwellers of the highest heavens are subject to the laws of rebirth and reincarnation. He alone is free from birth and rebirth and transcends all phenomena who, after knowing the Absolute Truth, after realising the Supreme Soul, becomes one with Brahman, the Absolute.

The conception of heaven of the Hindus is different from that of the Christians or of the Mohammedans. The heaven of the Hindus is a place where the departed souls go to reap the fruits of their virtuous deeds. They remain there for some time till the fruits of their virtuous actions are exhausted. Then they come back to this world. They eat in heaven the divine feasts of the Shining Ones or the Devas. They move in celestial cars. Indra is the Lord of heaven or Svarga. Various kinds of Devas (gods) dwell here. Celestial damsels like Urvasi, Rambha dance here. The Gandharvas sing. There is no disease here. There is no trouble of hunger and thirst. The inhabitants are endowed with a brilliant subtle body. They are adorned with shining garments. Heaven is a thought-world, a realm of intense ideations. Whatever one wishes, he gets it at once, by immediate materialisation. So it is a happier world than the earth-plane.

The Christians, Mohammedans and Zoroastrians believe in heaven of different kinds. In Mohammedanism, the departed souls pass through the bridge Al Sirat. The faithful ones who have done virtuous deeds reach the Paradise which is situated in heaven. The Mohammedan conception of Paradise is that of a beautiful garden, furnished with springs, fountains and rivers flowing with water, milk, honey and balsam. There are trees having trunks of gold and yielding the most delicious fruits. There are seventy effulgent, beautiful girls called Hur-ul-ayun with big black eyes. The Jews and the Zoroastrians also have a similar conception of heaven.

The Paradises of the Zoroastrians are known by the names Bihisht and Minu. The persons who have done good deeds in the earth-plane enjoy the company of Huran-i-bihisht or black-eyed damsels of Paradise, who are under the care of the angel Zamiyad. The name for heaven is Garo-de-mana (Garot—man in the Persian) or house of hymns. The angels sing hymns here, just as Gandharvas sing in the heaven of the Hindus.

The Jews and the Parsis believe in seven Heavens. The heaven of Eden is composed of precious stones. There is a resemblance between the garden of Eden and the Paradise of Zoroastrians. The two trees in Eden, the tree of knowledge and the tree of life, correspond to the painless tree and the Gao Karena bearing the white Roama.

The Parsis, the Christians and Mohammedans believe that heaven is eternal and permanent. All enjoyments come to them incessantly without any pain and difficulty.

Heaven is a place of mental and sensual enjoyment. The enjoyments in heaven are more intense, subtle and refined. But they cannot give everlasting peace and real eternal bliss. They wear out the senses. A wise man with discrimination and dispassion will never crave for the enjoyments of heaven. He will never dream to have an abode in heaven. There is jealousy; there is Raga-Dvesha (likes and dislikes) in heaven. Demons fight with gods. Real, thirsty aspirants should ruthlessly ignore heaven. They should yearn for the final emancipation, or Moksha.

Every man builds up his own heaven according to his own desires and imaginations. Every man has his own idea of pleasures. Pleasures are always changing. A drunkard dreams of a heaven where there are rivers of wine. This would be a very bad heaven for a sober, pious man. A young man dreams of a heaven where he will have celestial damsels, celestial cars, fine music and dance. When that man becomes old, he does not want a woman. It is your necessities and desires that make your heaven. Your heaven is the counterpart of your desires.

You have no idea of real eternal bliss of the Soul. Your mind whirls in sensual pleasures. That is the reason why you are carried away by thoughts of heaven or paradise. Have a clear understanding of the nature of the Soul. You will have no craving for the enjoyments of heaven. The Atman or the Soul is an ocean of bliss. The ocean of bliss or the fountain of joy is within you. Withdraw the senses. Look within. Fix the mind on the Soul. All sensual desires will melt. You will be immersed in the ocean of bliss.

The period for which you live in heaven depends upon the degree of your meritorious deeds. You can become an Indra or Lord of the heaven if you like. Indrahood is a position. The Indra who had lived before is not the Indra of the present day. Countless Indras have come and gone.

When man becomes disgusted with the world around him through miseries, sorrows, disappointments, failures, loss of property, diseases, and death of dearest relatives, he thinks that he would go to some place where there would be all happiness for ever without any misery or pain, where he would live with his forefathers with a perfect body. So he creates heaven or Svarga. How can there be eternal happiness in a finite plane conditioned in time and space? Eternal bliss and immortality can be found in your own Atman, the Self only.

A life in heaven is very much the same sort of life you lead here, only a little happier. You have comfortable living there, but it is not eternal life of everlasting bliss. Further, you will have to come down to earth-plane, when the fruits of good actions are exhausted. Heaven is not a permanent abode. Everything which has name and form must perish. Atman or Soul only is immortal and eternal. That is the reason why sages and thirsty aspirants after Truth do not long for the enjoyments of heaven.

The Vedanta does not attach any special value to heaven. It teaches that these heavens are phenomenal and transitory. Even if one dwells in heaven for millions of years, these millions of years are nothing before eternity.

Lord Jesus says, “The Kingdom of Heaven is within you.” Vedanta also tells the same thing. Real everlasting happiness can be attained by realising one’s own Atman or the Immortal Soul. Eternal bliss is within. Perennial joy is in your own innermost Self. The little pleasure that you get from objects is only reflection of the bliss of the Soul. It is a particle of that real, eternal bliss of Soul.

Man sees God face to face. He lives in God. There is no intervening veil or limitation between him and the Lord. He lives in absolute and complete oneness with Him. He is ever blissful. This is Heaven.

From the transcendental viewpoint, there is neither heaven nor hell. They are creations of psycho-physical necessities. If your mind is filled with Sattva, you are in heaven. If Tamas and Rajas preponderate in your mind, you are in hell.

When a man who has done meritorious actions dies, he becomes a Deva or god and dwells in heaven. He enjoys various kinds of pleasures in heaven. During his period of stay in heaven he does not do any fresh Karma or action. Dwelling in heaven is simply a reward for his past good actions. In the Deva form he does not perform any Karma at all.

Abandon the idea of heaven. The idea of obtaining eternal happiness in heaven is a vain dream. It is a puerile idea. Seek the eternal bliss in your own Atman through meditation. You are the Immortal Soul, free, eternal; you are ever pure, ever blessed. Assert your birth-right. Proclaim your freedom and be what you really are, ever free, ever blessed. Everything in time, space and causation is bound. The soul is beyond all time, all space, all causation. ‘Tat Tvam Asi’, Thou art That, my child. Realise this and be ever happy.

Lord Buddha says: “Many thousand myriads of systems of worlds beyond this is a region of bliss called Sukhavati. This region is encircled within seven rows of railings, seven rows of vast curtains, seven rows of waving trees. This holy abode of the Arhats is governed by the Tathagatas and is occupied by the Bodhisattvas. It has seven precious lakes, in the midst of which flow crystalline waters having seven and yet one distinctive properties and qualities. This, O Sariputra, is the Devachan. Its divine Udambara flower casts a root in the shadow of every earth, and blossoms for all those who reach it. Those born in this blessed region—who have crossed the golden bridge and reached the seven golden mountains—they are truly felicitous; there is no more grief or sorrow in that cycle for them.”

Only persons who have earned great merits on earth can go to heaven. The heaven is well provided with excellent paths. It is always frequented by celestial cars. Atheists and untruthful persons, those who have not lived a life of asceticism and those who have not performed great sacrifices, cannot go there.

Only virtuous souls and those of subdued minds, those who have controlled their senses, those who are free from malice, those intent on the practice of charity, and heroes and men bearing marks of battle and who have performed the most meritorious acts, attain to the celestial regions. The celestial regions can be attained only by virtuous acts. The celestial regions are inhabited by pious men. They bestow every object of desire. The Siddhas, the Visvas, the Gandharvas, the Apsaras, the Yamas and the Dharmas dwell there. There is that foremost of mountains, the golden Meru, extending to thirty thousand Yojanas. There are many celestial gardens. The Nandana garden is the most beautiful one. Here sport the persons of meritorious acts. Neither hunger nor thirst, neither heat nor cold, neither grief nor fatigue, neither labour nor repentance, neither fear nor anything that is disgusting and inauspicious is found here. There is no old age either.

Delightful fragrance is found everywhere. The breeze is gentle and pleasant. The inhabitants have resplendent bodies. Delightful sounds captivate both the ear and the mind. These worlds are obtained by meritorious acts, and not by birth or the merits of fathers and mothers.

There is neither sweat nor stench, nor excretion, nor urine. The dust does not soil one’s clothes. There is no uncleanliness of any kind. Garlands do not fade. Excellent garments, full of celestial fragrance, never fade. There are countless celestial cars that move in the air. The dwellers are free from envy, grief, ignorance and malice. They live very happily.

Such is the bliss of heaven. But the disadvantages of heaven are great indeed. In the celestial region, a person, while enjoying the fruits of acts he had already performed, cannot perform any other new act. He must enjoy the fruits of the former life till they are completely exhausted. Further he is liable to fall after he has completely exhausted his merit. These are the disadvantages of heaven. The consciousness of those about to fall is stupefied. It is also agitated by emotions. As the garlands of those about to fall fade away, fear possesses their hearts.

But there is one world where there are no such disadvantages. It is the supreme seat of Vishnu, above the abode of Brahma, which is pure, eternal and effulgent. It is known by the name of Para Brahman. Persons who are addicted to sensual objects or those who are subject to arrogance, covetousness, ignorance, anger and envy cannot go to that place. Those men who are free from conflicting emotions and those who have restrained their senses and those who are given to meditation and Yoga can go there.

Men who enjoy heaven suffer great misery and extreme regret in this world. Therefore do not desire to go to heaven. Try to reach that supreme abode of eternal bliss from where there will be no fall. Seek that unfailing region, going to which people have not to lament, or to be pained, or to be agitated.

Practise Jnana Yoga. Engage yourself in constant meditation on Para Brahman or the Supreme Self. Attain knowledge of the Imperishable and obtain the supreme state of emancipation, which is eternal. Then censure and praise will become equal to you. A brick, a stone and a piece of gold—all will become the same to you.

It is common nowadays to hear it said that the Puranas are very unreliable scriptures and that they indulge in unlimited exaggeration about very many things. These critics say that the Puranas contain gross overstatements and preposterously puerile attempts to cajole or to cow down the reader with citations like the grandiose descriptions of heavenly regions and their joys as also the awful pictures of hell-fires and their torments. To criticise a subject requires a very little wit or wisdom. For simple and direct condemnation without caring to consider the pros and cons of a matter is the inborn nature of the human mind. But even to these biased ones a little thoughtful consideration will forthwith reveal that the sagely writers of the Puranas had a special purpose in writing certain things in the manner they did. They deliberately emphasised and laid particular stress upon some subjects with a definite end in view. Underneath these graphic and detailed descriptions of the Karmas and their consequences there is a shrewd psychology and insight being put to make a practical purpose.

Until and unless Self-realisation is attained, Knowledge-Absolute is gained, there is ever the ebb and flow, the constant see-saw between the animal and the man in every human being. The beast or the brute is never completely absent or overcome except through a final Divinisation of the individual. As long as there is the human, side by side there will be the animal also, now the one having the upper hand, now the other. It is only when the Jiva gets above and beyond both these and gets transformed and established in the third and hitherto dormant aspect of his nature, namely the Divine aspect, that he becomes ‘Mriga-Nara-Atita’, transcending both the sub-human and human limitations. Then onwards there is no more of this tug-of-war between the animal and man natures to gain precedence and dominate over the field of Jiva-consciousness. For now the Divine Kshetrajna Himself reigns supreme over the Kshetra.

Until this state is attained, therefore, we find that man is in turn animal and human according to the Vritti that possesses him. He shows himself alternately to be noble and petty. He swings between the sublime and the ridiculous. His two different aspects react to the external stimuli in their own distinctive manners. And equally likewise only particular modes of external approach succeed in evoking the desired response from these dual aspects in man’s consciousness. Thus it is that we find in persons who have evolved themselves to some fair extent and acquired a good measure of Sattva, or refinement, culture and character, the purely gross and degenerate impulses and temptations fail to have effect. They succeed only in exceptional situations when the person unfortunately happens to be in some rare moment of weakness due to a revival of Samskaras. Whereas in gross natures such temptations readily and immediately work havoc, and vice versa, noble impulses immediately influence a fine nature but fail to evoke any response in a gross person of low animal mentality. This has given rise to the proverb in the Marathi language, “To the cobbler’s deity worship is by shoes,” or again the current Tamil saying, “Without the cane the monkey will not dance.” The same is the case with noble sentiments too, as is simply exemplified by the over-careful psychology applied by the famous Dr. Arnold of Rugby in appealing to the worthier instincts in his boys. No less striking is the historic example of Mark Antony skilfully exercising his persuasive and provocatory eloquence to his Roman audience, first to evoke compassion by playing subtly upon their human side, and then rousing a frenzy of revengeful violence by inflaming their strong animal passion of anger.

It is this deep human insight and admirable penetrating psychology that is at the basis of the Hell and Retribution ideas in the Puranic Hindu Religion. They knew that sweet whistling will not make the buffalo move, whereas whipping will. We know how on the eve of building the great bridge to Lanka, when requests failed to make the Ocean-King behave suitably, Rama took out an arrow in anger. The very next instant had the Sagara-Raja pleading with folded hands before Rama. Likewise to goad man on to noble deeds, high aspiration and righteous conduct, the Puranic sages held out before him bright prospects and extolled the untold benefits and blessings of a good life. Here they tried to appeal to man’s human side. But when he indulged in extreme sin and bestial acts of gross sensuality, they knew that it was not the occasion for mincing matters. The beast could only be chastened through a true and vivid description of the inevitable results of his actions. Here we must note that they did not exaggerate or utter any falsehood, but gave a special importance to emphasise the matter by dilating upon it in graphic detail and spared no pains in doing this. They therefore confronted the Jiva with a terrific array of dire consequences that would inevitably accrue to the evil actions of the sinner. They gave graphic descriptions of the various punishments awaiting the wanton transgressor of moral and spiritual laws. They vividly related past instances of transgressors and the retribution that overtook them to testify to this truth. The Puranas abound in fearful examples of life-long sufferings in lower wombs suffered by people like Nahusha, Jaya and Vijaya, the well-known Gajendra and many others.

They do not stop with that. As though it were not enough to give instances of the fruits of positive sinful actions and crimes, they cite certain cases when even the indulgence in a comparatively harmless, good emotion like affection, brings about grave suffering upon man. The warning implied in the story of the past lives of Sage Jadabharata is an instance in point. Also the accidental participation in a seeming falsehood was enough to send a soul to behold though but for a moment, the awful hell-fire. The incident of the great Yudhishthira’s vision of Hell is referred to here.

Fortunately or unfortunately, out of the numerous Puranas very few are studied by the vast majority now-a-days. Those few devoted people that read the Puranas or listen to their recital rarely go beyond the four or five classical Saivite and Vaishnavite Puranas that are currently popular throughout the country. We may say that Purana perusal is generally confined to the Skanda, Markandeya, Vishnu or the Srimad Bhagavata. It is not the scholar or the orthodox Brahmin section that is meant here but the common man-in-the-street who goes to form a distinct and important part of the population. Thus this whip-crack of the Karma and Karma-phala citation does not sound nowadays to chasten the sensual beast in man. And as a result of this it is running amuck as never heretofore. But laws, be they mundane or divine, are inexorable. The ignorance of the Penal Code does not lay a premium on indulgence in crime nor does the offender go scot-free. He burgles and he gets jailed. He murders and is hanged. Likewise he also sins and suffers. If this truth of the inescapable order of the cosmic Law is placed before him in unvarnished and distinct outline it may serve just a little bit to persuade him to give up vice and follow virtue, to renounce Adharma and embrace Dharma. It has purposes confined mainly to the physical and mental forms that this heavenly retribution takes, and also to the forms it takes upon this earth-plane. For modern man is held by the motto “seeing is believing” and he hardly requires to give a second glance to show the terrible truth of the price man pays in hospitals and clinics for the crimes against Dharma.

The diseases we suffer from the births we get here on earth are all products of actions done by us in previous times. Every action has its reaction and no action goes unrewarded in suitable manner. Evil actions do not go without their bitter effects upon the doer.

Hells are not imaginary fiction as ordinarily conceived of by the modern rationalistic mind. The empiricist believes only in experience of sense-contact and feels himself unable to rise above the dictates of the intellect. But it does not mean that man has reason to overlook facts beyond his comprehension. We have no right to assert that this globe of earth is the most concrete reality and that others are mere apparitions. The stars do not become mere spots with a twinkling light in the sky merely for the reason that we perceive them to be so. If I have not seen America I have no right to deny the existence of such a country. There are evidences, both intuitional and rational, for us to accept the existence of worlds beyond, which are entirely different both in nature and size. The Yogavasishtha says that our earth is only an atom among many other larger worlds existing beyond our perception and is of one particular variety among many others which differ from it in every way. We have no authority to discard the account given by Vasishtha that there exist worlds which are made of different materials like, copper, iron, gold, etc., filled with water, milk and the like and inhabited by serpents, animals, devils, and so on. It is not necessary that human beings alone should inhabit all worlds and that the same earthly conditions should prevail in all planes of existence. The universe is a gradual revelation of the Infinite Absolute in various degrees of Consciousness, which is inclusive of every sort of life and experience. The Infinite is a great Wonder and we cannot say what things are thriving in Its womb! We and our world are but one among the many in It! There are many families in Infinity, and earth, hell, heaven, men, animals, gods, devils, are all Its children with varying temperaments. The Absolute ranges from lowest matter to Pure Bliss or Ananda, and between these exist the countless universes with their contents. They differ both in their individual nature and in the nature of their contents. It is said that beings take birth in one or the other of these worlds in accordance with their actions which bear fruits of a kind that can be reaped only in that particular world. Only fire can give heat and only food can appease hunger. Even so only a particular condition and environment enables us to reap the fruits of a specific action. Though punishments need not necessarily be due to the wrath of any personal Divine Being, it can be asserted that it is necessary, by the very law of nature, that the soul should manifest itself with a body suited for its experience determined by its past actions. As such, it is not unreasonable that variety in the nature of worlds should be real. We have to remember that the real is unseen.

Hells, therefore, are as much real worlds as the regions of Indra or this mortal earth of ours. They are regions with difference only in the subtlety of the plane of their manifestation. They differ in the degree of the state of Consciousness revealed through them. The sufferings inflicted on the sinners may be taken to mean either an actual birth in such regions, or a life on earth with such entanglements, where one will undergo such pains either directly or through the agency of others.

In the Vedas and Vedanta there is no mention of hell. The Puranas only speak of hell or place of torture. From the absolute viewpoint, there is neither heaven nor hell. From the relative viewpoint, hell is as much real as this world. For a man of discrimination, the world also is a hell. Hell and heaven, though not absolutely real, are not unreal as long as individuality persists, and are as much as any plane of existence.

Christians and Mohammedans speak of eternal hell. There cannot be eternal damnation or eternal punishment. The life of a wicked man here is nothing when compared with eternal life. If there is an eternal damnation into the fire, it means that there is an infinite effect produced by a finite cause. This cannot be.

The different torments of hell, the seven compartments into which it is said to be divided, and the partition called Al Airat separating heaven from hell according to Mohammedanism, all seem to be adapted from the Jews.

Hindu Puranas have been very clear on the question of heaven and hell. Writers of law-books or Smritis, like Yajnavalkya and Vishnu, have given serious description of the various hells and the various pleasures of heaven. Yogi Yajnavalkya mentions 21 hells in his law book, viz., Raurava, Kumbhipaka, Maharaurava, Tamisra, Andha Tamisra, etc. The author of Vishnu Smriti also has written the same thing. A hell is a region of sharp, severe, intense pain. The evil-doers suffer for a period. Bad action is worked out in that state and then the evil-doers come back to earth-plane. They get another chance.

The Ruler of Hell is Lord Yama. He is assisted by Chitragupta. Hell is a particular locality which is walled off from the surrounding regions of space by the messengers of Yama. Sinners get a thick body called ‘Yatana-Deha’ when they are punished. The punishment in hell is not remembered by the soul when it is reborn. The punishment in hell is reformatory and educative. The permanent educative effect remains in conscience. The innate fear which some souls feel at the sight of temptation of sin is due to the finer development of conscience in the furnace of hell-fire. This is the permanent gain acquired by the soul. The soul is reborn with keener conscience after being purified by hell-fire. He can make better use of his faculties in the next birth.

The Jewish belief in a future life in Heaven and Hell coincides in all its detail with what we find in the Zend Avesta and is borrowed from it. There is a similarity in the Parsi and Jewish accounts of hell and its sevenfold divisions. The doctrine of eternal reward and punishment of the Jews is also borrowed from Zend Avesta. Gatha Ushtavaiti says: “The soul of the righteous attains to immortality, but that of the wicked man has everlasting punishment. Such is the rule of Ahura Mazda whose the creatures are.”

If the mind is filled with Rajas and Tamas, this state is hell only. Prison is physical hell only. To live in this cage of flesh without practising Japa and meditation is hell only.

Repentance for sin with a contrite heart is the highest Prayaschitta or expiation. The evil effects of sins are exhausted by repentance. Fasting, charity, penance, Japa, meditation, Kirtan destroy all sins. Thus a man may save himself from the pains of hell.

Lord Krishna says in the Gita: “Triple is the gate of this hell, destruction of the Self—lust, anger and greed; therefore let man renounce these three” (XVI-21). You do various wicked deeds when you are under the influence of anger, lust and greed. If you control these three evil Vrittis, you enjoy everlasting peace. Cultivate the opposite virtues: forgiveness, purity and generosity; these evil traits will die by themselves.

There are varieties of hells that a Jiva has to experience in accordance with the Karmas which he does through sin and passion. Twenty-nine kinds of regions of sufferings are described in the Bhagavata, when Jivas are said to be born due to their Karmas.

There is a place of suffering called Tamisra (darkness). Those people who lay hands on another’s wealth, children and wives, are born in this region. The Jiva experiences there extreme pain being bound with mortal cords and violently hurled into the dark regions. He has no food or drink. He is beaten with clubs, and by holding out threats and being brought to a state of weary affliction, the Jiva drops down in a swoon.

There is another region called Andhatamisra (blinding darkness). Here Jivas are born who deceive husbands and appropriate to themselves their wives and other property. Such Jivas are cast down into this hell to suffer torments where they lose all understanding and sense through excessive pain. The Jiva suffers like a tree whose roots are cut.

Those who grossly identify themselves with this physical body and regard the wealth of the world as their own, fall into a hell called Raurava. Those people who torment people here on earth become subject to the torment of poisonous worms called Rurus in this dangerous region.

Maharaurava is one of the same type. Those men who indulge in passions are eaten here by carnivorous (flesh-eating) animals.

In the hell called Kumbhipaka, dreadful fiends begin to boil in oil that cruel and merciless person who cooks and eats living animals, birds and the like.

He is thrown into a hell called Kalasutra who insults spiritual men, Brahmins and Pitris. He is placed on the surface of burning copper, forty thousand miles in extent and constantly heated by fire below and the sun above, and being tormented by hunger and thirst, undergoes untold misery.

There is a hell called Asipatravana. This is a forest full of leaves made out of sharp daggers. The Jiva is made to run through the forest and is hunted like a beast. He who goes against the Vedic Dharma, who embraces infidelistic religions are thrown here. Oh! pitiable sight indeed! He runs this way and that way and has every part of his body torn up in those dreadful woods of sword. The Jiva cries out, “Ah! I am undone” and falls down in agony.

Kings who inflict punishment on innocent men, or who inflict corporeal punishment to a Brahmin, fall into the hell called Sukara-Mukha. There every part of the body of the sinner is crushed like sugar canes. He shrieks in distress but none helps him.

Those men who having a good position in society inflict pain upon other poor people fall into a hell called Andhakupa. The Jiva is tormented on all sides in darkness by varieties of terrible beasts, serpents, etc., and learns such lessons that will not allow him to do such sinful actions again.

Brahmins who do not perform their daily Yajnas, who do not share with others what they possess, are fit to be called crows, and fall into a hell where their food is worms. They are cast down into a vast ocean of worms where they begin to tease the Jiva from all sides.

He who robs a Brahmin or a poor man and thus causes him to suffer without reason, falls into a hell where he is severely pinched by burning iron tongs and hit by red-hot iron balls.

Those men or women who abuse innocent poor servants and coolies who are rather to be pitied and helped for their miserable condition, fall into a hell where they are severely thrashed and forced to embrace a burning image of iron like unto a man or a woman. Those who abuse their marriage beds are given a similar punishment.

Whoever here approaches under the force of passion all kinds of beings, is placed in the Salmali hell with adamantine thorns and is dragged through the region of hell.

Kings who transgress the limits of righteousness, and administrative employees who discard the law of justice fall into the river Vaitarani after their death. The Jivas are bitten by aquatic monsters but are not separated from their body and are on the other hand supported by their vital breaths to be ever alive to the consequences of their Karma. This river is flooded with refuse, urine, pus, blood, hair, nails, bones, marrow, flesh and fat.

Those men, born of a higher caste, choose to be husbands of unchaste women belonging to a lower order of life and lead like brutes a life of shamelessness, fall after death into a pit of hell, a sea of pus, refuse, urine, phlegm and swallow the same most detestable things.

Those Brahmins and others who act like husbands of bitches and asses and find delight in chasing animals and killing them in violation of Sastra are after death made the target and pierced with the arrows of merciless beings.

Those men who mercilessly slaughter animals are born as animals in the hell of slaughterhouse, and are dealt with in a similar manner.

Those sinful twice-born men who deluded by passion cause their wives born of the same blood (Gotra) drink their semen, are thrown into a sea of semen and made to drink it.

Those who set fire to others’ houses and administer poison to others or plunder villages and caravans—be they kings or kings’ employees—they fall after death into a hell where they are voraciously munched by seven hundred and twenty hounds, with their dreadful teeth.

He who utters falsehood in giving evidence or in making gifts, falls into a hell called Avichimat where there is no support to stand upon. There the Jiva is hurled headlong from the summit of peaks of mountains four hundred miles in height. In this hell even hard stony surface appears like water and thus the Jiva is made to delude himself ever more. Though his body is shattered to pieces he does not die, and he is repeatedly lifted up to the top and hurled down again and again.

If a Brahmin drinks wine or eats objectionable food, he is made to drink molten iron in the region of hell. Those who go against the prescribed rules of Varnasrama Dharma are given suitable punishments here.

Those men who praise themselves as great personages, but do not respect those who are really great by birth, honour and learning, are truly living corpses and after death are thrown head foremost into a hell of brinish mire to undergo endless torments.

Those who worship gods by offering human victims, are thrown into a hell where they are cut to slices and eaten by devils, but even then they do not die but only experience pain.

Those wicked people who torment their refugees—because they are under their control—are made after death to suffer from extreme hunger and thirst and are on every side assailed by sharp instruments, and are made to recollect their sins.

Those who are here cruel like snakes by nature and terrify other beings, fall, when they die, into a hell called Dandasuka, where snakes of five or ten hoods attack them and worry them to death even though they do not die.

Those who here imprison people in dark holes and dungeons are in turn after their death imprisoned in dark atmosphere filled with fire and smoke.

The eyes of those householders who get angry with guests and look at them with cruel eyes, as if they would burn them, are plucked out after death by vultures possessing bills hard like adamantine rock.

He who having possessed much wealth, constantly suspects others as being thieves, and always watches over his treasure like a devil with a restless mind, becomes a devil in a waterless hell filled with darkness and filth. He falls into a hell called Suchimukha.

There are hundreds and thousands of such hells, which cannot be easily described here. They are only specimens of such hells for suffering sinners and transgressors of law.

Those who control their senses, and lead the path of Nivritti, who absorb themselves in Divine Meditation, who are good, kind and generous, who care a naught for this sensuous earth, who are intent on Supreme Moksha, are liberated beyond embodiment. Virtuous people get the joyous heaven for enjoyment. Others fall into one or the other of these hells, in case they are born again on this earth. (From the Srimad-Bhagavata)

Hell is a state of absolute and complete separation from the Lord, wherein man is not feeling the light of His Love, Holiness and Truth. There is no illumination. It is a Sunless world—Asurya Loka. All is chaos, darkness and torment due to the reaction and retribution of sin that has been wilfully, perversely and unrepentantly done.

There is no such thing as eternal damnation or eternal hell-fire for the sinners. It cannot be. It is a theory that has long been exploded. Eternal damnation is an ungodly doctrine, a terror and nightmare for ages. To make people desist from doing wicked actions a terrifying description of hell is given. If is Bhayanaka Sabda.

God has not created men to become everlasting fuel to feed the flame of hell. This is not certainly His purpose in His creation. If God be such, no one will pay homage to Him. Who then can be saved? How many spotless men are there in this world? Who is of such untainted character as to receive a direct passport to heaven? Even Pandits, Sastris, Acharyas, priests, religious preachers, Popes, Bishops and Archbishops, almost the whole population of this world will be roasted in hell-fire, if such relentless penalty is to become the common rule.

Two fierce messengers of Death stand before the lowest and the worst sinner, with frightful looks. The sinner is bound by the noose thrown by the messengers. Stricken by terror he passes urine. He is endowed with a special thick body called ‘Yatana Sarira’ to undergo the sufferings on the path. The messengers bind him with chords and forcibly drag him along distant routes to the city of Samyamani.

There is no shade of trees on the way. There is neither food nor water. Twelve suns blaze. The sinful soul goes along, pierced sometimes by cold winds, in one place torn by thorns, in another stung by very venomous serpents and scorpions. He is burnt by fire in another place.

With a broken heart, and the threats of a cruel guide, shivering with fear, bitten by merciless hounds, conscious of his past sins, tortured by hunger and thirst, burnt by the fierce sun, marching through red hot sand and severely beaten on the back though half falling down in a swoon, he is made to rise again and carried to the abode of Lord of Death. He is condemned to prolonged sufferings and passing through gradations of grossest animal lives, in the process of evolution like pigs and dogs, he attains gradually a human body after a process of purification of such sufferings.

In one place he falls into a hidden well, in another from a lofty mountain, in another he treads on razor-edges and spear-points. In one place he stumbles in the awful blackness and falls into water, in another in mud abounding in leeches, in another in hot slime. In another place is a plane of hot sand made of smelted copper, in another a mound of embers. In some places are showers of charcoal, showers of stones and thunderbolts, showers of blood, showers of weapons, showers of boiling water.

In the midst of the way flows the terribly horrible Vaitarani river with pus, blood. It is difficult to cross this river.

The sinner is beaten with hammers by the terrible messengers of Yama. He is forcibly dragged by the nooses. He eats the monthly rice-balls given by his son. If the son makes a gift of a cow the departed soul gets a boat to cross the Vaitarani river.

He reaches the abode of Yama at the end of a year. Lord Yama asks Chitragupta about the sins. Chitragupta enquires of the Sravanas who are the sons of Brahma, who know all about the actions of the human beings. The Sravanis, wives of the Sravanas, know accurately all that is done by women. Earth, water, fire, air, ether (sky), the heart, Yama, day and night, the two twilights, justice, the sun and the moon know the actions of man.

Lord Yama, the king of justice, gives fitting punishment to the sinners. Then the cruel messengers take them to hell and torture them. Again and again the messengers beat the sinners with spears, maces and pestles.

The virtuous are wafted in heavenly cars to the gardens of Paradise which they gain by their virtuous acts in life. But the highly sinful soul meets with icebergs and caverns strewn with thorns and pointed steel pikes, and bushes and shrubs on its way, as the punishment for its sins.

Those of the mediocre class, have a clear and fine passage, with soft grassy pathways strewn with cooling arbours and supplied with spring waters on both their sides.

On its arrival there, the soul reflects within itself thus: “Here am I and yonder is Yama, the Lord of death. That other is the judge of our actions, Chitragupta, and this, his judgment given on my behalf.”

Here in Yama’s court, the judgment is pronounced for the Jiva, so that it might reap the reward of its acts, whereby it ascends either to the blissful heaven above or descends to the painful hell below.

After having enjoyed the pleasures of Svarga or suffered the pains of hell, it is doomed to return to this earth again to undergo the result of its acts in repeated births. This is the significance of the periodical ceremonies done for the deceased, for the first one year after a man’s death.

Lord Yama is the King of justice. His city is built of diamonds and jewels. It is effulgent and impregnable. It is full of palaces and mansions. It has four gateways. It is surrounded by high ramparts. It measures a thousand Yojanas. Chitragupta, the recorder of fate of all human beings, also dwells in this city of Justice. He records the good and evil of men. This marvellous city was created by the architect of the universe (Visvakarma) by the power of his Yoga. There is a divine assembly place. All those assembled are knowers of the Scriptures: All are devoted to righteousness. The Royal Sages also are there. The sinners who go by the southern path do not behold it. Those who go into the mansion of righteousness by the three gateways, eastern and others, are men of virtuous actions.

There is an eastern way covered with the stalks of Parijata trees and paved with jewels. The holy Brahmins, Sages, the Royal Sages, the devotees of Lord Siva, those who built rest-houses, who give shelter to the ascetics during the rainy season, those who are free from anger and greed, those who delight in truth and righteousness, those who delight in the service of their teachers, those who make gifts of land, houses and cows, those who tell and listen to the sacred Scriptures, are travellers on this path. They go to the assembly of Righteousness.

The second, the northern way is paved with yellow sandalwood. There is a pleasant tank full of the essence of nectar. Those who are learned in the Vedas, who honour guests, who are worshippers of Durga and the Sun, those who die for the sake of Brahmins, in the service of the master, those who die in the protection of cattle, those who delight in making great gifts, enter the northern gate and reach the assembly of Righteousness.

The third, the western way, is beautiful with jewelled mansions. Those who are devoted to Lord Vishnu and Lakshmi, those who repeat the Gayatri Mantra, those who maintain household fires, those who repeat the Vedas, those who are endowed with dispassion, those who perform the five sacrifices, those who perform Sraaddha for the forefathers, those who perform the Sandhya at the proper time, those who observe the vow of celibacy, those who turn away from injury to others, those who are faithful to their wives, those who are intent on the welfare of all beings, ascend the best of chariots, drink the nectar and enter the assembly of Righteousness by entering the western gate.

Lord Yama welcomes them and honours them with sandal paste and other things. They live there for some ages and enjoy superhuman happiness. Then they take a holy human birth when their merits of good actions have been exhausted.

The assembly-hall of Yama, the son of Vivasvan, was built by Visvakarma. That effulgent Sabha covers an area of one hundred Yojanas. It has the splendour of the Sun; it yields everything that one may desire to have from it. It is neither very cold nor very hot. It delights the heart.

There is no grief, and no decrepitude, no hunger, no thirst; nor there is anything disagreeable, nor there is any kind of wretchedness or distress. There can be no fatigue or any kind of evil-feelings in that Sabha. Every object of desire, celestial or human, is to be found in that hall; all kinds of enjoyable articles, as also sweet, juicy, agreeable and delicious things that are lickable, suckable or drinkable are all there in profusion. The garlands that are there are of the most delicate fragrance and the trees that stand (around it) yield whatever fruits are desired.

There are both cold and hot waters—they are all sweet and agreeable. There sit holy royal sages and stainless Brahmana Rishis. They all cheerfully wait upon Yama—the royal sage Trasadasyu, Kritavirja, Srutasrava, Dhruva, etc.—one hundred kinds of the Martya race, one hundred of Nepa, and one hundred of the Huya race, one hundred kings of the name of Dhritarashtra, eighty of the name of Janamejaya, one hundred of the name of Brahmadatta, one hundred of the name of Iri and Ari, two hundred Bhishmas, one hundred Bhimas, one hundred Prativindas, one hundred Nagas and one hundred Hayas.

These holy royal sages, all of great achievements and great knowledge of the Sastras, wait upon Yama in that assembly-hall. The performers of sacrifices, the Sandhyas, Yogins, the living Pitris, the wheel of Time, the illustrious conveyor of sacrificial Ghee (Agni), all sinful men and those that died during winter solstice, those officers of Yama who have been appointed to count the allotted days of everybody and everything, Kasa and Kusa trees and all plants in their spiritual form wait upon Yama. These and many others are the members of the assembly-hall of Yama. They are so numerous to be mentioned here. The Sabha is capable of going everywhere at will; it is wide of extent; it is beautiful. Visvakarma has built it after long continued asceticism. It is resplendent with its own effulgence. It is visited by the ascetics of severe penances, of excellent vows, of truthful speech, of pure and peaceful mind, and of heart sanctified by holy deeds, all of shining bodies and all attired in spotless robes, all adorned in bracelets and garlands, and with their own holy acts and with the marks of their orders.

Many illustrious Gandharvas and many Apsaras fill all parts of it with both instrumental and vocal music, and with sounds of dance and laughter. Sacred perfumes and sweet sounds and the celestial garlands are all there in crowds. Hundreds of thousands of virtuous men of celestial beauty and great wisdom always wait upon and worship the illustrious lord of all created beings.

The celestial Sabha of Sakra (Indra) is full of lustre and it was obtained by him as the fruit of his actions. It was made by Indra himself as effulgent as the Sun. Its breadth is one hundred Yojanas; its length is one hundred and fifty Yojanas; it is five Yojanas in height. It can go anywhere at will.

It dispels decrepitude, grief, fatigue and fear; it is beneficial and auspicious; it is furnished with rooms and seats; it is charming and adorned with celestial trees. In that Sabha sits on an excellent seat, the lord of the celestials with his wife Sachi, who is the embodiment of beauty and wealth. With an indescribable form, with a crown on his head, with white bracelets on the upper arms, attired in pure white robes, and adorned with many coloured garlands, he sits there with Beauty, Fame and Glory by his side.

There daily wait upon that illustrious deity of one thousand sacrifices (Indra), all the Marutas—that lead the life of householders, the Siddhas, the celestial Rishis, the Sadhyas, the celestials, and the bright complexioned Marutas adorned with golden garlands. These with their followers all possessing celestial forms and adorned with ornaments always wait upon and worship the illustrious chastiser of foes, the lord of the celestials.

There wait upon Indra all the celestial Rishis of pure soul, all as effulgent as the fire, and all whose sins are completely washed off, all that are energetic, without grief of any kind, and without any fear (or anxiety)—all performers of Soma-sacrifice, Parasara, Parvata, Savarni, Durvasa, Yajnavalkya, Uddalaka, etc. Some of them are born of women, some not born of women—some living on air, some on fire. These Rishis worship the wielder of thunder (Indra), the lord of all the worlds. Sahadeva, Sunita, Samika, Hiranmaya, Garga, etc., and the celestial waters and plants, faith, intelligence and the goddess of learning, Dharma, Artha and Kama, also lightning, clouds charged with rains, the winds, all the loud-sounding forces of heaven, the eastern point, the twenty-seven fires conveying the sacrificial Ghee, Agni, Soma, the fire of Indra, Mitra, Savitri and Aryama, Bhaga, Sukra, the planets, the stars, the Mantras which are uttered in sacrifices, all these are present there.

Many charming Apsaras and Gandharvas gratify there the lord of the celestials with their various kinds of dances and vocal and instrumental music and with the exhibition of many skilful feats. The Brahmana Rishis, all the royal and celestial sages adorned with garlands and ornaments, often come to and go from that celestial assembly-hall, riding on various kinds of celestial cars.

Brihaspati and Sukra are always present there on all occasions. These and many other illustrious Rishis of rigid vows, Bhrigu and the seven Rishis who are equal to Brahma himself, use always to come to and go from that assembly-hall, riding on cars as beautiful as the car of Soma. This Sabha is named Pushkaramalini.

The celestial Sabha of Varuna is matchless. Its dimension is exactly like that of Yama. It is adorned with white walls and arches. It is built by Visvakarma under the waters; it is surrounded on all sides by many celestial trees made of gems and jewels and producing excellent fruits and flowers. Many plants with blue, yellow, black, white and red blossoms have formed themselves into excellent bowers. Hundreds and thousands of beautiful and variegated birds of various species always pour forth their melodies within them.

That Sabha is very delightful; it is neither cold nor hot. It is ruled by Varuna, and it consists of many rooms furnished with many charming seats. Here sits Varuna with his queen (Varuni) adorned with celestial ornaments and jewels. Adorned with celestial garlands, perfumed with celestial scents and besmeared with paste of celestial fragrance, the Adityas wait upon the lord of waters, Varuna.

Vasuki, Takshaka, Janamejaya, etc., all having auspicious marks and Mandalas and broad hoods, wait upon Varuna, without any anxiety. The son of Virochana, Vail, Sangrodha, those Danavas called Kalakpanja, Suhanu, Pithara, Dasagriva, all adorned with earrings, floral garlands and crowns and attired with celestial robes, all blessed with boons and possessed of great bravery and immortality, all well-conducted and of excellent vows, wait upon Varuna, the wielder of the noose (as his weapon). There wait upon him the four oceans, the rivers Bhagirathi, the Kalindi, the Vidisa, the Venva, the rapid Narmada, the Chandrabhaga, the Sarasvati, the Iravati, the Sindhu, the Godavari, the Krishna, the Kaveri, the great Sone, the Sarayu, the red Mahanadi, the Gomati, etc., all other rivers, sacred Tirthas, lakes, wells, springs, tanks, large and small, all in their personified forms, the points of heavens, the earth, all the mountains, every species of aquatic animals, wait upon the illustrious Varuna. The Gandharvas and Apsaras, experts in vocal and instrumental music, wait upon Varuna, singing his eulogistic songs. All the charming mountains, that are rich in jewels, are present there engaged in sweet conversation. Varuna’s minister, named Sunava, surrounded by his sons and grandsons, wait upon him along with the Pushkara Tirtha, called ‘Go’. All these in their personified forms worship Varuna.

The greatly effulgent assembly-hall of Vaisravana (Kubera) is one hundred Yojanas in length and seventy Yojanas in breadth. It was built by Kubera himself by his ascetic powers. It is like the peak of Kailasa (mountain) and it outshines the brilliancy of the moon herself. Being supported by the Guhyakas, it looks as if it is attached to the firmament. Being adorned with celestial-made large palaces of gold, it displays great beauty.

It is extremely delightful and rendered fragrant with celestial perfumes. It is ornamented with many great jewels. Resembling the peaks of a mass of white clouds it seems to float in the sky. It is painted with colours of celestial gold, and therefore it appears as if it is adorned with streaks of lightning. Here sits on an excellent seat, which is as bright as the sun and which is covered with celestial carpets and furnished with beautiful footstools, the handsome king Vaisravana attired in excellent robes and adorned with costly ornaments and brilliant earrings, and surrounded by his one thousand wives.

Salubrious and cool breeze blowing through the generous forests of Mandaras and carrying the fragrance of the field of jasmine and also of the lotuses on the breast of the Alaka (the celestial river) and of the gardens of Nandana (the celestial wood) wait upon Kubera.

There sing the celestials with the Gandharvas surrounded by various tribes of Apsaras in notes of celestial sweetness. Misrakesi, Rambha, Urvasi, Lata, and a thousand other Apsaras and Gandharvas, all great experts in music and dance wait upon the lord of wealth. That assembly-hall filled with the notes of instrumental and vocal music and with the sounds of various Gandharvas and Apsaras is extremely charming and magnificent.

The Gandharvas named Kinnaras and others, Hamsachura, Vrikshavaspa and many other Yakshas by hundreds and thousands always wait upon Kubera. The illustrious Lakshmi and also Nala Kubera always remain there (in that Sabha). Many others often go there. Many Brahmana Rishis and celestial Rishis always go there; many Rakshasas and Gandharvas wait there. There wait upon his friend, the lord of wealth, being ever cheerful and knowing no fatigue, the illustrious (deity), the husband of Uma, the Lord of all creatures, the three-eyed God, accompanied by His wife and surrounded by innumerable spirits, some of dwarfish stature, some of fearful face, some with blood-red eyes—some feeding upon fat and flesh, and all armed with various weapons and possessed of the speed of wind.

With cheerful heart hundreds of Gandharva chiefs attired in their respective robes worship Kubera. The chief of the Vidyadharas, Chakradhamana with his followers wait upon Kubera. Many Kinnaras, innumerable kings with Bhagadatta at their head, and the chief of Kimpurushas, Druma, the chief of the Rakshasas, Mahendra, all wait upon Kubera.

The virtuous Vivishana waits upon his elder brother Kubera. The mountains (Himalayas), Paripatra, Vindhya, Kailasa, Sunava, and many others in their personified forms with Meru at their head wait upon Kubera.

The illustrious Nandisvara Mahakala, many spirits with arrowy ears and sharp pointed mouths and the deep-roaring white bull of Siva, many other Rakshasas and Pisachas wait upon Kubera. The son of Kubera surrounded by his attendants, always with his permission, formerly used to worship by bowing his head to Siva, the Creator of the three worlds. One day the high-souled Bhava (Siva) made friendship with Kubera, and from that day He is always present in the assembly-hall of Kubera. Those princes of all wealth, Sankha and Padma (in their personified forms) accompanied by gems, wait upon the lord of wealth.

Kine form the support of all creatures. Kine are the refuge of all creatures. Kine are the embodiments of virtue. Kine are sacred and kine are purifiers of all. They have excellent forms and qualities.

Kine form high and excellent energy. The gift of kine is highly spoken of. Those good men, who, shorn of pride, make gift of kine, are considered as doers of righteous deeds and as givers of all articles. Such men acquire the highly sacred region of kine.

The trees there yield sweet fruits. Indeed, those trees are always bedecked with excellent flowers and fruits. Those flowers have celestial fragrance.

The entire soil of that region is formed of gems. The sands there are all gold. The climate there possesses the excellences of every season. There is no mire, no dust. It is indeed highly sacred.

The rivers there shine resplendent with the red lotuses blossoming upon their bosoms, and the jewels, gems and gold that are on their banks which display the effulgence of the morning Sun.

There are many lakes also on whose breasts are many lotuses, mixed here and there with Nymphaeu stellata, and having their petals made of costly gems and their filaments gold-hued.

They are also bedecked with flowering forests of the Nerium odorum with thousands of beautiful creepers twining around them, as also with forests of Santanakas bearing flowers.

There are rivers whose banks are variegated with many bright pearls and shining gems and gold.

Parts of those regions are covered with excellent trees that are decked with jewels and gems of every sort. Some of them are made of gold and some of them are effulgent like fire.

There stand many mountains made of gold, and many hills made of jewels and gems. These shine in beauty on account of their tall summits made of all sorts of gems.

The trees that bedeck those regions always put forth flowers and fruits, and are always covered with dense foliage. The flowers always yield a celestial fragrance and the fruits greatly sweet.

The righteous persons always sport there happily, freed from grief and anger; they spend their time there, crowned with the fruition of every desire.

Pious and illustrious persons sport there happily, moving from place to place in delightful and highly beautiful cars.

Bevies and celestial nymphs always amuse there with music and dance. Indeed a person goes to such regions as the fruit of his making gifts of kine.

Those regions which are owned by Pushan, and the Marutas of great power, are acquired by givers of kine. In riches the royal Varuna is considered as pre-eminent. The giver of kine acquires riches like that of Varuna himself.

He who serves kine with respect and who follows them with humility, succeeds in getting many invaluable boons from kine which become pleased with him.

One should never, even in his heart, injure kine. One should, indeed, always confer happiness on them. One should always respect kine and adore them by bending low his head.

In Vaikuntha all persons dwell having the form of Vishnu and propitiate Him by means of Dharma which is not prompted by the desire of any fruit.

There dwells the glorious First Person who is beyond the range of words (who is to be known only by the Vedanta), who having associated Himself with the Sattva unmixed with Rajas, showers blessings on us, His devotees whom He would make happy.

There stands a garden called ‘The Highest Happiness’ filled with trees that yield all that is desired and it shines like the embodiment of the final beatitude.

In that Vaikuntha Loka the Muktas that move about in Vimanas along with their consorts are indifferent to the perfumed breeze, though their mind is agitated by the fragrance of the Madhavi flowers (creepers) dripping with honey in the middle of water, and they always sing the Lord’s deeds which cleanse the world of all sin.

In Vaikuntha, while the kingly bee hums as if singing the story of Hari, there comes for a moment a lull in the tumult of pigeons, cuckoos, cranes, the ruddy geese, Chatakas, swans, parrots, Tittiris and peacocks.

There the Mandara, the Kunda, the Kurava, the Utpala, the Champaka, the Arna, the Punnaga, the Naga, the Bakula, the Ambuja, and the Parijata, all these flowers endowed with fragrance as they are, regard very highly the Tapas of Tulasi when her fragrance is appreciated and valued by Hari who wears the garland of Tulasi as His ornament.

The Vaikuntha Loka is thronged with Vimanas of Vaidurya (cat’s eyes), emerald and gold, which are visible only to those that bow at His feet; and there women of stout hips and smiling faces do not, by their maddening smiles and other arts, excite the passion of those Muktas who have given their hearts to Krishna.

There, in the abode of Hari, the faultless Goddess Lakshmi, in a beautiful form, with her arms freely suspended, with lotus-like feet resounding with anklets, appears by her image reflected on the crystal walls laced with gold, as if engaged in dusting the house—Lakshmi whose grace is sought after by others (Brahma and all others).

There, in her own garden, and at all the wells of pure nectar-like waters surrounded by parapets of coral, while worshipping the Lord with Tulasi, Lakshmi saw her own face with beautiful looks and prominent nose reflected on the water and thought that it was kissed by the glorious Lord.

To the Vishnu-Loka do not go those, who listen to bad stories which spoil the mind, because they concern subjects other than the deeds (creation etc.) of Hari who shatters the sin of His devotees. The bad stories, which when heard by unfortunate men, deprive them of all merit and alas! throw them into hells of darkness where no relief is possible.

These are men, who deluded by the widespread Maya, do not perform the worship of this most gracious Lord, though they have attained this human life which is sought after even by us and in which it is possible to gain the knowledge of truth along with the practice of Dharma.

Thither go those men who are far above us and possessed of enviable virtue and character, men from whom Yama stands aloof, (or who have risen above Yama, Niyama and other restrictions), on whose body the hairs stand on end and from whose eyes tears flow, their mind and heart being overwhelmed by intense love in their mutual conversations about the Lord of delightful glories.

Vaikuntha, the one region worthy of praise in all the worlds, which is shining most splendid with its most beautiful and wonderful mansions of the gods and wise men and which is in short a region of divine nature, is occupied by the Father of the universe.

There are seven entrances to Vaikuntha. In each entrance there are two gods of the same age armed with Gada, beautifully adorned with invaluable Keyura, Kundala and Kireeta, who wear about their necks and between their four blue arms, Vanamala (the so-called wreath) about which swarm gladsome bees, and who appear to wear a face somewhat dark with anger from the bent brow, the prominent nose (wide nostrils) and red eyes.

There are seven planes. They are Bhuloka (earth plane), Bhuvarloka (Antariksha or the astral plane), Svargaloka (heaven or the mental plane), Maharloka, Janaloka, Tapoloka and Satyaloka (Brahmaloka or the world of Brahma, the Creator). Tapasvins dwell in Tapoloka. If you keep different kinds of lights in a room such as kerosene oil light, mustard oil light, petromax, candle light, electric light; the various lights interpenetrate in the room. Even so, the Lokas interpenetrate. Each plane has its own matter of an appropriate degree of destiny, which interpenetrates the matter of the plane next below it.

The astral plane, or Bhuvarloka, interpenetrates the earth plane and extends for some distance beyond it. The mental plane interpenetrates the astral but also extends further into space than does the latter. The vibrations of the astral world are more rapid or quicker than those of the physical plane. The vibrations of the mental plane are more rapid or quicker than those of the astral plane. The vibrations of the Satyaloka are more rapid or quicker than those of the mental plane. In each plane the soul develops a new and higher sense of power.

When you pass from one plane to another you do not move in space. You simply change your consciousness. You change your focus of consciousness. You can have different sorts of vision through the telescope or microscope by using lenses of different degrees of potency or power. You have got different vehicles within yourself which correspond to different planes and which can function in different planes.

In the dreaming state your astral body functions. In the deep sleep state your causal body functions. Even so, in the astral plane your astral body operates, in the mental plane your mental body operates, in the Brahmaloka your causal body functions. Each plane is formed by matter of different degrees of density. In the mental plane the matter is subtler than in the astral plane. In the causal plane the matter is subtler than the matter of mental plane. The planes occupy the same position in space. Heaven is here. Brahmaloka is here. Have a different vehicle or body and a different subtler eye. You can function in any plane.

In the physical plane one gets knowledge of objects through the five Jnana-Indriyas or organs of knowledge, viz., ear, skin, eye, tongue, nose. In the mental plane or heaven he does not hear, see and feel by separate and finite organs. He gets a Divya Chakshus or divine eye, an extraordinary new power or faculty. He can hear, see, feel and know everything of an object instantaneously, through this new mental eye. He gets an accurate and perfect knowledge of all objects. He is not deceived or misled by any external appearance. There is no misunderstanding.

In the mind all the powers of all the senses are blended. Mind is a mixture or compound of all the organs. It can hear, see, taste, smell and feel.

He can get everything by mere Sankalpa or willing. If he thinks of a celestial car, it is there before him at once. If he thinks of a place, he is there immediately. If he thinks of a person, he is before him at once. There is no distance for him. There is no feeling of separation for him. He reads the thoughts of others. Hence, questions and answers are not necessary in the mental plane. The interchange of ideas is very quick.

He can know the past and the future also. He is endowed with clairvoyance and clairaudience. He can simultaneously manifest himself in various forms.

Heaven is a plane of enjoyment only. It is a place to reap the fruits of one’s good Karmas done in the earth-plane. One cannot do fresh Karmas there. He cannot attain Moksha or the final emancipation from there. He will have to come down to this earth again for trying for his salvation.

Indra, Varuna, Agni, etc., are the original Devatas or gods of heaven. There are Karma-Devas also here. These are men who have raised themselves to the status of Devas through meritorious actions done in the earth-plane. A Deva has a luminous fire body. Fire preponderates. The Devas exhibit different degrees of brilliance in accordance with different degrees of advancement.

There is neither day nor night for a Deva, or an inhabitant of the mental plane, or heaven. He is neither sleeping nor waking. When he enters heaven he experiences intense happiness. This is his waking state. He sinks into a state of unconsciousness when the term of life in heaven terminates.

Brahmaloka is the world of Brahma or Hiranyagarbha. This is also known by the name Satyaloka. Those who go by the path of Devayana reach this plane. Those who perform meritorious actions without expectation of fruits and who lead the life of purity and righteousness and those who worship Hiranyagarbha and all realised Bhaktas will go to this realm.

They attain Krama-Mukti or progressive emancipation. They enjoy all the Divine Aisvaryas of the Lord and in the end of the cycle merge themselves in Para Brahman along with Brahma, the Creator.

Brahmaloka becomes Vaikuntha or appears as Vaikuntha for a devotee of Lord Hari. It becomes Kailasa or Sivaloka or appears as Sivaloka for a devotee of Lord Siva. It is the attitude that works.

People wish to know the exact period that elapses from the time of leaving the body and being born again. Does the soul take a new body in one year? Does it take ten years? How long does one live upon the subtler planes before reappearing on the earth-plane? These are some of the questions. Now, there is no definite period of time in this matter. In main two factors decide this issue viz., the nature of the individual Karma and the last impression before death. It may vary from hundreds of years to a few months even. Those that work out some of their Karmas in other planes in subtler regions, take a considerable time before entering a fresh body. The interval is very long, for a year of the earth period passes off as a single day on the celestial plane. There is an instance cited, where, seeing the amazement and admiration of foreign tourists at the imposing ruins of certain ancient monuments, a saint present in the vicinity remarked that some of these very people have fashioned these monuments centuries ago. Now they look in amazement upon their own handiwork.

A very sensual individual with strong craving or one with intense attachment sometimes is reborn quickly. Also in cases where life is cut short by a violent death or a sudden unexpected accident, the Jiva resumes the thread very soon. This was so in the case of the Amritsar girl, Mahindra Kumari. She was born within 7 months of her death in October, 1939. So strong was her desire to see her brother at the time of death. Usually in such cases of immediate rebirth, the Jiva often remembers many of the events of its previous life. It recognises its former relatives and friends and identifies old home and familiar objects. This sometimes leads to very queer developments. There are some instances where a murdered person, being reborn, has declared the manner of death and revealed the identity of the killer in the recent past.

Thus, for instance, Dharmarajya reported (23 Mar. 1936) that in a village in Gwalior, a village Patwari offended one Thakur Chotey Lal by making some false entries in the village-records prejudicial to the latter’s interest. To avenge the wrong the Thakur trapped the Patwari in an ambush, shot him in the chest and severed the fingers of his right hand. Some time later, a son was born to a person at a place 14 miles from the scene of murder. The child had a gun-shot-mark on his chest with the fingers of the right hand missing. When the child could speak, the father one day asked him if the Creator had forgotten to make the fingers. The child at once replied that Chotey Lal Thakur had shot him in the chest and severed the fingers and gave details of the incident, which were then verified.

A reincarnated individual had at times unerringly gone and uncovered the treasure that had been hidden away by him or her. In the vast majority this memory is not present. This is really a blessing conferred by the all-wise Being. Such recollection would greatly complicate our present lives. The past is veiled to you until such time as it is good and helpful to remember it. When you attain perfection and reach the end of a cycle, all will be revealed and you will see a whole rosary of lives threaded upon the one personality.

But such cases of immediate rebirth are not common. Generally for an average individual the interval between death and rebirth happens to be a considerable period measured in terms of earth time. Persons who have done much good Karmas spend a great deal of time in the celestial plane before being born again. Great souls, spiritually advanced persons, wait for a long time before reincarnating.

In the intervening period between death and new birth the departed spirit, specially if the person is psychically and spiritually developed, can frequently materialise upon the earth-plane if necessity arises. It takes human form, talks, and can even make itself felt by tangible touch. It is possible to photograph such an apparition.

Such materialised form is different from the astral body. The latter is not visible to normal vision. It is an exact counterpart, a subtle ‘double’ to the physical body and forms the vehicle in which the departed soul journeys after death.

But, however, astral consciousness cannot guarantee you freedom from birth and death. Occultism and spiritualism can never give ultimate emancipation nor reveal the full secret of the beyond. Spiritual realisation and knowledge of the Self alone will reveal the mystery of life and death, and the life beyond death.

Death is the most common phenomenon in nature and yet the least understood fact. It is one of the most difficult problems of philosophy, because there is no direct evidence usually available as to what really happens in and after death.

The practice of Yoga enables one to observe the phenomenon of death through the intuitive eye of wisdom or Divya Chakshus. Maharshi Vasishtha claims to have known everything directly and speaks on death upon his own experience.

Recently there has been an attempt made in the West by the Psychical Research Society to study the problem of death. Some thinkers have come to believe on the strength of the evidence collected that death does not bring human personality to an end.

Sir Oliver Lodge made scientific experiments. He is now convinced that there is the survival of life after death. He says:

“In justice to myself and my co-workers I must risk annoying my hearers not only by leaving on record our conviction that occurrences now regarded as occult can be examined and reduced to order by the methods of science carefully and persistently applied, but by going further and saying with the utmost brevity that already the facts so examined have convinced me, that memory and affection are not limited to that association with matter by which alone they can manifest themselves here and now, and that personality persists beyond death. The evidence to my mind goes to prove that discarnate intelligence, under certain conditions, may interact with us, on the material side, thus indirectly coming within our scientific ken.”

The modern tendency is to speculate more and more on the life after death, after the advent of spirit communications, table tiltings, spirit taps, spirit light, spirit-writings, slate writings, materialised hands, card liftings, tin trumpeting, planchette writings, Ouija board manipulating and communications through media. Articles are freely written on the subject both in the West and the East. There are many numbers of societies for the psychic research in the West. The effect of those researches has been able to convince the West the survival of the soul after death.

The Westerner with the state of spiritual advancement at which he has reached now and the quest for scientific demonstration of every phenomenon, may find revelations and discoveries of the existence of the soul, through this phenomenon by a degree of proofs and demonstrations. To the student of Eastern philosophy, bred and brought up in the sacred scriptures of India, the existence of a soul and its transmigrations are only the beginning of his philosophy. To the West it has come to be almost the end of their researches till now.

According to the spiritualistic school of thought the other world to which we go after death consisted of a number of spheres representing various shades of luminosity and happiness for which our spiritual conditions have fitted us. In these spheres the scenery and conditions of this world were closely reproduced and so also was the general framework of society. Death was made easy by presence of celestial beings who led the newcomer into his existence.

The souls of Jivanmuktas or great sages who have merged in the Absolute cannot by any amount of invocations, or spirit calls, or mediums, be recalled.

A departed spirit may bear intense love towards its former relations and friends. It may communicate with its survivors on earth.

Dying persons have very strong attachment to their children. If there are no persons to take care of their children, they project their astral body after death, appear before the relatives and give a message. There have been records of such cases.

Some departed souls who have intense attachment to relatives become earth-bound. They hover around them, remain close to them and try to help them. They try to be loved by them. They are conscious of their personality. They do not know that they are dead.

A man is sitting in his room. He is thinking of a difficult problem. He is alone in the room. The room is closed. He beholds his ‘double’ which is like him. This comes out of him, goes to the table, takes a piece of paper and pencil in hand, solves his problem and writes the answer on the paper. This ‘double’ is the astral self of the man which can live independent of the gross physical body. Such instances are recorded in the Psychical Research Society of Europe and America. This clearly proves that there is a soul which is entirely distinct from the gross physical body.

After death the individual soul takes all his desires with it and it creates the objects of enjoyment by mere thinking. If it thinks of orange, the orange is there and it eats the orange. If it thinks of tea, tea is there and it drinks tea.

He who wants to drink wine in heaven and eat delicious fruits and to live with celestial damsels and move in celestial cars, goes to a plane of consciousness where he will project all these ideas and make his own heaven.

Modern spiritualism has given wonderful demonstrations regarding the existence of disembodied spirits who continue to live even after the dissolution of their gross physical bodies. This has opened the eyes of the rank-materialists of the West and the atheists.

Some good spirits possess the powers of fore-telling, clairvoyance and clairaudience. They have love and affection for their friends and relatives. They try to help them during their distress, misfortunes, dangers and calamities. They give a warning message to avert dangers.

The disembodied spirits remain earth-bound for some time after their death. They expect help from their relatives and friends. Prayers, Kirtan, Sraaddhas, charitable acts, good thoughts help the departed souls in getting release from the earth-bound conditions and rising higher and entering the world of Pitris in order to enjoy the fruits of their good deeds.

The spirits have no knowledge of the highest truth. They cannot help others in attaining Self-realisation. Some are foolish, deceitful and ignorant. These earth-bound spirits control the mediums and pretend to know everything regarding the planes beyond death. They speak falsehood. They put on the appearance of some other spirit and deceive the audience. The poor innocent mediums are not aware of the tricks played by their dishonest spirit-guides. The spiritualists waste their time, energy and money in the vain hope of obtaining the favour of those spirits and transcendental knowledge through them.

The last thoughts of the spiritualists will be thoughts of spirits only. They cannot have sublime thoughts of God. Hence they will enter the region of the spirits only. Communication with the spirits will mar their onward march to higher blissful regions and make them earth-bound. Therefore, give up the idle curiosity of talking to the dead on everything regarding the spirit-world. You will not gain anything tangible and substantial. You will disturb their peace.

No one should allow himself to become a medium. The mediums have lost the power of self-control. Their vital energy, life-force and intellectual powers are used by the spirits which control them. The mediums do not gain any higher divine knowledge. These spirits are not angels as the spiritualists claim. They are really earth-bound spirits.

The spirits do portrait-painting and typing. Spirits materialise in the seance. They melt away in a mist-like white substance and disappear. You can hear the noise of the pencil during automatic slate writing. You may feel a gentle shock while the spirit writes on the slate. The spirits may place their hands upon you and catch hold of your shirt, tie, etc.

You create your destiny, your character, your future through your thoughts and deeds. There is no end of your experiences here and hereafter. You will continue to live and come back and be born again on this earth. Try to attain perfection and reach that state where there is no more birth, no more death, and no more disease, sorrow, tribulation or suffering. Meditate on the eternal Atman, thy innermost Self. Do not identify yourself with this perishable body, a combination of the five elements. Realise the Self and be free. Through knowledge of the Imperishable obtain perfect peace, eternal bliss, everlasting joy and immortality.