Krishna
said, “Oh Son of Pandu! One who lives according the Dharma
(Dharma-Artha-Kama-Moksha), stays away from Jeeva – Himsa (i.e. practices
Ahimsa), remains always in the service of gurus, parents, family, friends and
those who depend on him/her, one who shows respect and affection to the
Sattvically behaved, one who gives to the Sattvic, one who especially
patronizes those among the Sattvic, who know the Vedas; one who has hosted sumptuous meals of the highest
quality to the Sattvic (vegetarian) will travel in comfort on the road to Yama
Loka. One who ensures that the Sattvic are well-stocked in life; umbrellas,
footwear, beds, furniture, clothes and jewelry for the Sattvic womenfolk will
all travel under cool, golden umbrellas, on gloriously adorned horse-drawn
carriages over the sun-scorched road to Yama-Loka. Those who give cows or pure milk from
well-tended cows, yoghurt, ghee, cane sugar and honey to the families of the
Sattvic will travel on golden flying machines over this difficult road. Those
who give the gift of water to the Sattvic (open wells, deep-pit wells, storage tanks, ponds, canals
and irrigation channels) will fly in chariots drawn by swans over this road. Those
who give sesame to the Sattvic will travel in flying vehicles with a great shining
light emanating from them.
For
those interested in reading further on, into this discussion between Krishna
and Dharma Raja, if you look up the appropriate chapter, the following topics
are discussed: Jala, Anna, Athidhi
Satkara Mahima: The Great Gifts of Water, Food and Guest Service. Subsidiary Topics:
Lobham, Ajnanam, Narakam
ACCOUNTS
OF THE TRANSMIGRATION JOURNEY OF THE SOUL IN THE SIVA PURANA
(We pick up the reading of the Siva Purana midway,
to a discussion of this specific topic…)
Sanath
Kumara said to Sage Vyasa, "Oh Vyasa, the Great Rishi! Here! I shall give
you a short summary of the different kinds of activities that make one a future
denizen of Hell. Listen while seated comfortably! To deliberately set out to attract
another's mate; To seek to cheat another out of (his/her) wealth; to habitually
wish ill of others; to unreasonably cling to a determination to succeed at
tasks in ways that are either plainly impossible or harmful to others; These
are the four kinds of Culpable activities and can be called the lower or
injurious modes of the mind.
Habitual
bragging & bombast; Habitual lying; Habitually speaking in way that is
hurtful to others; Spreading false rumors about others on the sly; These are the
four kinds of the Culpable activities that maybe labelled the lower or
injurious vocal modes. Desire to consume that which must not be; Engaging in
the physical abuse of pranis (living beings); To be habitually engaged in acts of
no consequence; Acts of theft of another's wealth; These are the four kinds of
Culpable activities that maybe labelled the lower or injurious physical modes.
Therefore
twelves modes of injuries in the mental, vocal and bodily realms have been
given here. As we make our way across the Samsara Sagara (the journey of life
across the ocean we call the world) we must guard our ego from becoming bigger
than the manifestation of the Yagna (sacrifice) of the world. Surely the mortal
ocean segues into the Ocean of Hell itself if the size of one's ego exceeds the
Sacrifice in the world. It is the sacrifice of the Universe that enables us to
be here. For our ego to exceed it, is for us count ourselves bigger than the
sum total of the Sacrifice of the Parabrahmam itself. This is a demonstration of
one's ignorance only and of an extreme kind, that will result in the person
becoming a denizen of Hell.
Those
who commit the murder of the Sattvic; those who give themselves away to drink;
those engaged in the theft of gold; those who consummate a relationship with
their teacher's partner; Those who associate with the above four categories of
people, will acquire Culpability through association, enough to enter the 5th
row of Hell purely from the knowing association alone.
In anger
or greed; In fear or hatred; To assist or suggest a plan to kill a Sattvic person under the influence
of the above four passions (four of the eight Arishadvargas) is equivalent to
the Sattva Hatya.
One who
offers a Sattvic person a life- or dignity- saving favor, and then betrays the
person or asks for it back; one who offers false evidence to help convict an
innocent person knowingly in a court of
law resulting in the loss of wealth, freedom or life of that person; such a
person is equivalent to the one who would commit murder of a Sattvic person.
Many
Severe Transgressions fall into the category of Sattva Hatya: 1) One who practices
slandering of a Sattvic person, accusing them or spreading rumors about them,
resulting in character assassination and loss of wealth of the targeted Sattvic
person and falsely praising themselves, attributing great qualities to one-self
that one does not possess; 2) One who insults a scholar in full court, in the
presence of the King and makes the scholar feel humiliated; 3) One who creates
difficulties that do not exist and prevents the mating of bulls and cows; 4)
One who encroaches or steals the land set aside for the grazing of the cattle;
5) One who steals the wealth of the temple; 6) One who has become wealthy through
anything other than the legitimate way of fair trading; 7) One who constantly
takes up and gives up vows; 8) One who
does not perform any of the Pancha(five) Maha Yagna; 9) One who gives up
his/her life for drink; 10) One who casts away his/her dutiful mother and
father; 11) One who gives false evidence; 12) One who enters the forest and
kills all manner of innocent creatures; 13) One who sets fire along the path of
cows (with the intent to harm them), in the forest or the village; 14) One who
steals the wealth of the Sattvics,; 15) One who manipulates the Will of a dead
person; 16) One who sells away garden, forests, lakes, women or men; 17) Men
who serve one woman while dishonestly telling another that they serve them; 18)
One who fails to aid a woman in extreme (injurious or life-threatening)
distress; 19) One who constantly ‘tries’ other’s duties without meditating upon
one’s own; 20) One who performs his daily ablutions in or next to temples,
cow-halls, in a live fire, in water, on
the public street or the public gardens; 21) One who moves the stones marking
the borders of one’s own or another’s land. 22) One who lets one’s men/women,
children, friends, old or eager or relatives starve while he/she eats to their
fill; 23) One who says he is a sanyasi and then lives with a house and
possessions;
The
Pancha(5) Maha Yagna are: Deva Yagna (worship of
Devas); Pitr Yagna (worship of ones forefathers);Manushya Yagna (worship of
fellow humans); Bhuta Yagna (worship of other beings); Bramha Yagna (worship of
knowledge)
