Transmigration in the Mahabharatha and Siva Purana, Part 3

The journey to Yama Loka takes a year or more and it is frightening in its form. There is only suffering till the very end of this trail. The trail’s difficulty changes according to the nature of the essence of the person’s past life. To those who have committed grave injuries and injustices to others , the path is very difficult, painful and long. It is almost impossible to obtain any help on the way. Yet, when the time comes, all, even the Devas, the Asuras and all human beings, male female, ungendered, young, old etc. must walk this path leaving their friends and relatives and all of their conveniences. All transient entities (i.e. all living creatures) must someday, be wayfarers on the road to Yama Loka.

Whether, at the moment of one’s passing away, it is day or night, or one is in an alien land or a forest; atop a mountain or on wate; on land or in the sky; at home or away; eating or drinking; awake or asleep; standing or sitting, the Maha Marga (the Great Road) is always open.

On the road to Yama Loka, those who have caused grave injuries to other creatures in their life-time, will be seen, at times in the grip of a great fear along certain stretches of the road, while they are seen stark raving mad along others. They are seen being physically restrained and punished at yet other stretches of the road, crying piteously for help.

The frightening size and form of Yama’s messengers and their fearful language and weaponry; their skill and cruelty cause great fear and consternation in the Jeevi who has caused great suffering in its life to other beings. The fear and the realization that these consequences are the result of their own actions, turns them into completely listless sufferers as they progress slowly forward even as they suffer the abuse of the messengers of Yama.

To the extent that one has failed to perform Dana (Giving or Self-Sacrifice), the road they walk on will appear in stretches to be made of sharp thorns, yet other stretches being filled with extremely hot sand, or dust blown air. Those who failed to strive to uphold Dharma in their lives will receive physical punishments that the Preta Sarira or Yatana Sarira is suited for, with sticks, stones, whips and Ankusa (The small very sharp tool used by the Mahut (rider) to control an elephant).

Those who’ve committed homicide will have extreme physical pain and suffering inflicted on them causing them to convulse, scream and moan continuously. Some of them will have various body parts broken or smashed. Others will have their necks put into a knot. Yet others will have missing ears, noses or lips.  In some stretches of the journey, they will be pursued and hunted by fearsome messengers armed with a variety of weapons such as sakti, sankha, arrow, spears etc. Along some stretches of the path, they will be attacked by packs of dogs, wolves, tigers and aggressive crows. Along other stretches of the road, they will be attacked by the messengers of Yama, who capture and slice the meat off the Jeevis to cook and eat.

Those who steal other’s clothing or beds,causing them humiliation will be made to run naked by pursuing pisacha Messengers. At other stretches, meat eaters will be attacked by bulls, wild animals (including wild boar) and scorpions and will be repeatedly injured or partly eaten by them. (Both the Mahabharatha and the Siva Purana mention the extensive suffering of the meat eaters at the hands of the animals who were their former meals- much of which I have redacted. The premise is that while most animals are tamasic and will accept their fate at the abbatoir, some of them are rajasic and will choose revenge – you killed me, so I will kill you , they say. So these rajasic animals will perform their own yoga and yagna as best they can and receive the opportunity in turn to claim their revenge in this manner. On the other hand, we must also remember that in the Santi Parva, of the Mahabharatha, it is stated that those who give up eating meat and become vegetarian/vegan in this lifetime, even if it be at the very end, will receive justice as if they have been vegetarian all their life, so it is a forgivable offense.)

Those who steal or cheat others out of their cattle, grain, gold, fields, land, house etc will be attacked with stones, sticks and thorny weapons as they stagger on their way to Yama Loka. The attacking messengers will moreover aim for and attack all the different body parts of the Jeevis.

Those who showed no concern for the possibility of a journey to Yama-Loka in the hereafter and therefore freely stole from the Sattvic and silenced them by force from protesting or protecting themselves will make the journey with their hands and feet tightly tied together with jackals frequently attacking them and partly eating them many times along the way. Their throats will be dry, with no water available to them the entire way. Some will lose eyes, or ears or noses. They will be pursued by Messengers intent on inflicting pain.  They will be tossed into the Amedhyakupa, where they will suffer continuously for 10 million years and then spend a further billion years taking birth as worms that nest in excretions.

Those who, out of ego, greed or adherence to untruth refuse to encourage Sattvic behavior and refuse assist the Sattvic in their need, will be repeatedly hanged by the neck and whipped along the way. Their repeatedly pleas for food and water will be ignored the entire way to Yama Loka.

Hearing this detailed picture of the path to Yama Loka, Dharma Raja turned pale and fell into a deep faint. Krishna revived him. Dharma Raja wiped his eyes with the wet cloth offered by Krishna and said, “O God of Gods! Your description of Yama Loka causes great fear in me. Please tell me how one might traverse this road in comfort.

Transmigration in the Mahabharatha and the Siva Purana, Part 2

The Mahabharatha – Aswamedha Parva (Samkshipta M. Dvitiya 761)

Dharma Raja: Kesava (Krishna), You are omniscient. So can you tell me how far is Yama Loka (Naraka) from us? (Hindu theology designates Naraka as the place where the Jeevi, i.e. a dead person's soul + the essences of the good and bad things done by that living being when previously alive. (While the English word 'hell' has many Judeo-Christian implications that do not apply here, it is a rough approximation of Naraka, when one uses Hindu canon to define what such a 'hell' is like.) How vast is it? How does it look like? Where is it? How may human beings escape the miseries of Naraka? When the Jeevi is cast out of this body made of skin, bones and flesh, what will the experience of happiness or sadness feel like? How will the good  who serve the Sattvic reach Svarga? How will those who have caused injury to others travel to Naraka? How will they look like when they travelling to Naraka?

Krishna: O King! Since you are a devotee of mine, I will reveal these facts to you. Between Earth and Naraka ( Yama Loka) is a distance of 86,000 Yojanas (1 Yojana  ~ 8 miles) . On the way there, there will be neither the shade of trees, nor rivers nor lakes nor wells. There are neither buildings nor squares. There are neither houses nor mountains, nor caves, nor villages, nor monasteries, nor gardens nor pleasant paths through a park. There is nowhere to pause and rest.

Upon orders from Yama, at the appointed time of death, Yama’s messengers will appear to the Jeevi and draw the life-force out of the Jeevi against their will. When the time arrives for one to die, one’s life force ascends to the throat. It will become separated from the action-oriented material and become susceptible to the movement of wind. It will then, with the exhalation be expelled against its will from the body. Thus leaving this six-layered body, this wind-like Jeevi will then enter an invisible body.

This Invisible Body (called the Preta Sarira) looks like, is colored like and is sized like the old body, except that no one can see the Jeevi in this body. Not only that, the Invisible Body will not be destroyed even if it is hacked, cut to pieces or burnt. It will cause tremendous pain but it will all slowly heal together again. No matter how badly injured. Thus equipped to suffer, the Jeevi is ready to begin the extremely painful journey to Yama Loka.

At the time, the Jeevi becomes overcome by attachment to the friends and the family members of the just concluded life and falls to the depths of sorrow and humiliation. The Jeevi watches as the near and dear gather and mourn in sorrow.

[Karma Kanda: The Preta Sarira is under Shiva's control.  The body is cremated in a timely manner also called  Agni Samskara - Cleans and purifying by way of Agni i.e. Fire. Shiva is also called Jwala Swarupa – Shaped like Fire. On the 2nd or 3rd day the pyre is cleaned. The few remaining bones and ashes are kept for release in a river of choice of the person who has passed away.

A stone is used by the priest (experienced in the Karma Kanda), to offer through the mantras, a home to the preta sarira for the 10 days of the funeral period.  The stone is kept clean, and dried herbs will be tied to it and water is offered to it daily until the 9^th day. Pindam (balls of rice with white lentils) is offered on the the 9^th, 10^th and 11^th days. This food is accepted by the Jeevi in the Sukshma Rupa – the microscopic or unreachably deep/subtle form or process. This food offered during the 9^th, 10^th and 11^th days, and the Dana (Giving or Sacrifice) practiced by the person are the only aids for the year long journey ahead. (Pindam may also be offered every month for the first year.) ]

By the end of the 10^th day, whether gently through the mantras of a good, well-qualified priest or through the more direct means of Yama’s messengers, the bonds to the people and things of the life just gone by are finally broken. Those who have committed grave injuries to others will perceive the arriving messengers as beings made of strange and terrible looking bodies, with a nasty and terrible temper and with the ability to give the Jeevi a clear picture of the suffering ahead. They will use their many perplexing and powerful weapons to roughly overcome the panic-stricken and futile resistance of the Jeevi and forcibly capture it and take it on its way. Those who have done good throughout their life will perceive the arriving messengers are beautiful and gentle hosts who lead them to the beginning of a year long journey in comfort.

The Jeevi then recognizes that wherever it goes, following behind it, like a shadow, are the essences of the good and bad of its past life. The Jeevi then loses all interest in the mourning family and friends. In a state of complete indifference, the Jeevi leaves it all behind and starts moving away. The family and friends are still in mourning and yet the Jeevi feels no more attachment to anything.  Their faces are streaked with the tears of sorrow as they cry. Yet neither can they see the Invisible Body nor does the Jeevi care. The Jeevi then turns and moves away, in the form of wind, away into the surrounding, all-enveloping darkness, which has no end in sight. 

Transmigration in the Mahabharatha and the Siva Purana, Part 1

In the Sanskrit literary universe, the Puranas occupy a very important place. The intent and interpretations of the Vedas are clarified here in great detail. All three of the Kandas, the Karma Kanda, Upasana Kanda and the Jnana Kanda have all been extensively discussed in the various Puranas. Furthermore, the discussions in the Puranas are accessible even to those without knowledge of the Vedas.

In this age i.e., the Kali Yuga, several parts of the Vedas are obscured, like the sun behind the clouds. The true illumination of our age comes from the Puranas which have been preserved successfully. The Mahabharatha, (Adi Parva 1:267) emphatically states (Itihaasa puranaabhyam Vedam Samupabruohayeth) that the Vedas can only be fully understood with the help of the Itihasas and the Puranas.

The Matsya Purana (53:3) also states that of all the various source texts of the Sanathana Dharma, the Puranas are the most important. Of the 18 Puranas, the Siva Purana is the 4th and sometimes also called the Vayu Purana. The current version of the Siva Purana, has 24000 Slokas (couplets) organized into 7 Samhitas and is said to be condensed by Sage Vyasa, from the original 100,000 Slokas/12 Samhitas. That original version is believed to have been composed by Siva himself. Today, the Siva Purana's 24,000 slokas are divided into 457 chapters.

Dana/ (Danam Karoti) – The Duty of Giving

That which we give as a gift to others in this life is what determines the credit available to us for use on  the transmigratory journey of our ‘Jeevi’, (our soul + essences of good and bad in this life). Gift giving is classified as Sattvic, Rajasic or Tamasic depending upon the giver, the gift and why it was given.

A gift is not simply money but wealth or service of any kind that has positive consequences for the recipient. From the smallest to the biggest, a Sattvic gift is one given to assist a person exhibiting Sattvic behavior either in their time of need OR as a sign of genuine appreciation even though they haven’t done anything for you. The same gift is classified as Rajasic, if the recipient has at some point in the past OR might in the future expect a profit because of it. A gift is Tamasic if it is given if given with anger OR given to one who lives habitually by thievery, OR given with great reluctance in a humiliating manner to the recipient feels humiliated by the gift (i.e. it is not a gift but an act of evil) OR if it is conditional on the recipient being a family member or relative or otherwise affiliated to the giver.

Sattvic gifts are ultimately accepted by the Devas, the Pithara (forefathers who have ascended to Deva status), great sages and the fire (Agni). They are the purest gifts. The Rajasic gifts are accepted by the Danavas, Daityas(denizens of the lower realms) , Grahas (planets),  or Yakshas and Rakshasas. Tamasic gifts are accepted by the Pisachas and Pretas who are the wardens of Patala – a place where all Jeevi must go to suffer for the wicked deeds done in the life before.

Sattvic gifts reap the greatest benefit, Rajasic reap middling and the Tamasic gifts reap the least benefit in one’s Transmigratory journey. One must see giving as a duty and seek out ways to give at the highest level possible. Dana is the Yagna (sacrifice) of the Householder - that person who chooses to live life in society as a family member, contributing to the society at their level. The greater the Sattvic nature of the recipient and the need, the greater is the benefit that accrues to the giver. 

One must constantly seek opportunities to give Dana. Those who are affluent should establish large foundations that will give Dana to the scholars who pursue Sattvic knowledge or knowledge through Sattvic means to benefit the Sattvic. Thus, those who are Sattvic scholars AND poor are the greatest among the recipients and must be sought out with zeal by the affluent. Last, but not least, one must remember not to let this existence become a glorified book-keeping of Goodness (to paraphrase Swami Vivekananda) but rather one must attempt to transcend material existence by reaching to merge with the Universal Consciousness before or concurrent with the end of this particular material incarnation itself.

A Unitary Source & A Multiplicity of Dimensions

Hinduism is the old Aryan religion. The old Hindu books tell us that the Aryans lived in the India/Af-Pak/Tajikistan Himalayan reaches and plains), with Northern India as the seat of the civilization. The collapse of the massive Sarasvati River triggered migrations that isolated that Aryan Genepool into the now extant racial genotypes around the world.

Hindu texts lay out in great detail, the exemplary behavior that is needed for one to be called Aryan - the books clearly show that being Aryan is not about race but about upholding sattva, dharma and ahimsa. Therefore study and practice of Hinduism as envisaged in the great books - The Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras & the Bhagavad Gita (as of course, also the Vedas and the timeless truths they contain and many other wonderful texts, the Bhagavata, the Puranas, Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, the Mahabharatha, Ramayana) is the only way to understand the true meaning of being Aryan.

The word "Aryan" is a much abused one, with racists of many shades attempting to expropriate the word to serve their own narrow ends, to glorify their own tribes. Yet, all who sought to do say have seen defeat. It is time to bring the truth to the whole world, for we are all the progeny of the original Aryans and therefore we are all the inheritors of the great way of life pioneered by them.

The great Hindu books tell us that these original Aryans were much more long lived than us, were bigger than us, and had learnt to harness the powers of the mind to perform things that seem impossible to us now - from the control of matter through will power alone to the conception of progeny through the purely mental communion of lovers. The books  also tell us that the cycle of time has seen much water flow under the bridge and today, the Earth is no longer as pristine and spiritually balanced as it was and consequently, human lifespans have dramatically decreased, as have our size, strength and mental capabilities. And yet, the books emphatically assert that in spite of it all we are capable of restoring ourselves to the old glory, if we return to the path of Sattva, Dharma and Ahimsa.  The whole world will benefit enormously if people understand and absorb the beauty of the philosophy and the way of life that is built upon these concepts. It is the true heritage of all humanity.

All paths of worship will ultimately lead to the same unitary Universal Consciousness. Witness Shankara's beautiful words "Akashat patitam toyam sagaram prati gacchati, sarva deva namaskaram Keshavam prati gacchati" - Every drop of water that falls from the sky makes its own way to the same ocean - Every prayer offered with sincerity finds its own way to the same unitary Universal Consciousness - Kesava. And yet as we draw to the end of this epoch, referred to as Kali Yuga in the source texts -  a time of great evil and himsa (violence), the Hindu religion offers a royal path to return to those original values of Sattva, Dharma and Ahimsa. Great figures such as the Buddha, Sri Ramana Maharishi, Shiridi Sai Baba have shown us the way back to these Universal Values and through them to the unitary Universal Consciousness.

The unitary Universal Consciousness is often referred to as a genderless source. That Parabrahmam or Narayana is manifested as the Trinity of Creator -(Brahma+Sarasvati), Preserver -(Vishnu/Lakshmi) and Destroyer-(Shiva/Parvati). Upon becoming manifest, the creator, i.e. Brahma/Sarasvati,  emanated the Vedas from his/her face. The word ‘Vedas’ means ‘that which may be known’ and indicates that it is the treasury that holds all knowledge that can be known about this Universe.

Now, even the Vedas say though that to truly know God, the Vedas can only serve as a sort of instruction manual. It’s like this: If you study books on Psychology, you do not automatically become a psychologist. It’s only when you put the books down and go beyond them, i.e. practice them,  that you truly become a psychologist. Simple reading a Psychology book or by meditating “Pscyhology…Psychology…Psychology”, you do not become one (to paraphrase Swami Vivekananda). So too with the Vedas. They state that while they hold all that there is to be known, it is only by first absorbing them and going beyond them and practically searching for God in our own unique way (through your own unique Yagna i.e. a personal journey of self-sacrifice in the service of others) that we can truly realize God and the true nature of the Universe and ourselves.

Vyasa is the sage who is normally credited with having systematized the Vedas. He collated and divided some of the works known in his time into 4 books, now referred to us by the name of the Vedas. Vyasa not only systematized the Vedas, but later also dictated the Mahabharatha, (The Gita is a part of one of the Parvas (chapters - there are 18 Parvas) in the Mahabharatha), as well as composed the Bhagavata, which is the detailed story of Krishna’s life from start to finish and also recorded the hitherto unwritten oral history of the 18 Puranas, although there is some evidence that some parts of some of the puranas were added on later on by a few others.

Each of the 4 Vedas is divided into several parts. First and oldest come the Samhitas, then the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas and the Upanishads. The Samhitas are  mantras (chants with Bija-aksharas) or poems in praise of the various dimensions of Brahman. The Brahmanas have the narrative of the creation of the present Manvantara and other associated information. The Aranyakas have information on the proper Yagna rituals and ways to pray to Brahman in his/her various manifestations. The Upanishads are the philosophical portions, where they espouse the idea of Vedanta – that you must go beyond the Vedas, and live the ideals of the Vedas to realize that the Soul and Brahman are one and the same and that you are God.

It is said that the Upanishads were rewritten in the form of Sutras or concise aphorisms called the Brahma Sutras, by Vyasa himself. The Bhagavad Gita is said to contain the entire summary of the Upanishads also within itself.  This trio of the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras & the Bhagavad Gita are called the ‘Prasthana Thriya’. This trio of books can be referred to as the source texts of an aspiring Hindu/Arya.