Post No. 14,479
Date uploaded in London – 6 May 2025
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What is A hell?
Scholars and commentators say there is no Hell anywhere in the Universe; but your physical or mental suffering is hell. But sometimes you wouldn’t know that you are in hell. Why? Because you don’t know anything better than that.
A pig enjoys dirty and muddy place. We know what stary dogs and stray pigs eat.
A poor man does not know anything about a palatial living. Only when he is taken there , he knows what he missed until then.
A hospital worker tests urine and poo of hundreds of patients. It is a hell for outsiders, not for that person. A doctor examines bottoms of the patients with piles and anus complaints; it is disgusting for the patients and his relatives.
Poo and urine of patients with chronic diseases are collected and disposed by nurses in hospitals and scavengers on the streets. It is a type of hell. All of us would have terrible fear or suffering or worries in our life; many of us would have excruciating mental or physical pain many times in our life . look at the statistics in encyclopaedias. That shows their fear, worries etc. there are the 21 hells described by our law books called Smrtis.
Medathithi, the most famous commentator on Manu Smriti , himself says it.
But there is another view supported by many Hindu saints. You will be born as an animal or a higher person according to the bad or good deeds you do in this birth. Abrahamic religions talk about eternal suffering in hell; but Hinduism talks about progress according to your good deeds / Karma in this birth.
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Srila Prabhupada, the founder-acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), viewed hell as a temporary state of suffering in the material world, not an eternal punishment. He emphasized that hellish conditions result from sinful actions and the forgetting of one’s relationship with Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. However, he also clarified that for a devotee, heaven and hell are not different, as a devotee’s true home is with Krishna in the spiritual world.
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Swami Vivekananda viewed hell as a temporary state, a stage on the path to liberation, rather than a permanent state of punishment. He emphasized the importance of living a fulfilling life in the present and focusing on realizing one’s true nature as Brahman, rather than dwelling on fear-based concepts of eternal damnation. He believed that the ultimate destiny of every being is to attain liberation, not to suffer eternally in hell.
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Paramahamsa Yogananda on Hell
A visitor: “The Bible says that evildoers shall be punished, and the good, rewarded. Do you subscribe to this teaching?”
Paramhansa Yogananda: “Certainly. If we accept the principle of cause and effect in Nature, and of action and reaction in physics, how can we not believe that this natural law extends also to human beings? Do not humans, too, belong to the natural order?
“This is the law of karma. As you sow, so shall you reap. If you sow evil, you will reap evil in the form of suffering. And if you sow goodness, you will reap goodness in the form of inner joy.”
The visitor: “How specific is the law? In physics, the law of motion states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. In Nature, effects are often very specifically, and not only vaguely, related to their causes.
“Yet we’ve been taught to view reward and punishment for human behaviour in more general terms. If we’re good, we’ve been told, we’ll go to heaven, and if we’re bad, we’ll go to hell. But people don’t think of themselves as reaping specific consequences for specific deeds.”
Yogananda: “The karmic law is exact. There is, furthermore, no question of suffering in hell for eternity. (How could the misdeeds of a few years on earth deserve eternal punishment? Could a finite cause have an infinite effect?)
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Ma Anandamayi’s view aligns with the concept of karma, where actions in this life lead to specific outcomes in the next. If one leads a life of good deeds and devotion, they will experience positive results after death, potentially progressing towards a higher spiritual state. Conversely, if one lives a life of negative actions, they may experience consequences, which could involve further rebirths or less favorable circumstances in the afterlife.
No Fear of Hell:
In one instance, Ma Anandamayi reportedly stated that her devotees would never experience hell, emphasizing the power of God’s name and the protection it offers. This suggests a more nuanced understanding of hell, possibly viewing it as a state of suffering or hardship rather than a fixed, eternal punishment.
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Swami Sivananda on Hell
The sinners do not go to Chandraloka. They go to Yama Loka or the world of punishment and after having experienced the results of their evil deeds come down to the earth.
Hells are places of torture for the evil-doers. The temporary abodes are Raurava, Maharaurava, Vahni, Vaitarani and Kumbhika. The two eternal hells are Tamisra (darkness) and Andhatamisra (blinding darkness). The seven hells are superintended by Chitragupta and others. Yama is the chief ruler in those seven hells also. Chitragupta and others are only superintendents and lieutenants employed by Yama. They are all under Yama’s government and suzerainty. Chitragupta and others are directed by Yama.If the entire Karmas bear fruit, there will be no cause for rebirth after life in heaven or hell or in animal-bodies because in these there is no means of Dharma or Adharma. Moreover, some sins like the killing of a Brahmin involve many births. Sri Madhvacharya writes in his Bhashya of Brahma Sutras that from the fourteenth year of age the Jiva does of necessity works, each of which would be the cause of at least ten births. How then can the entirety of Karmas lead to one birth alone?
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Philosopher Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan generally held a view that is not a belief in a literal hell as a place of eternal punishment. He believed that there is neither eternal heaven nor hell, and that individuals have the potential for growth and improvement. He emphasizes that true immortality extends beyond survival, encompassing eternal life and the possibility for continuous development.
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Osho views heaven and hell not as physical places, but as states of mind. He believes that being unconscious, acting without awareness, is living in hell, while being conscious and acting with awareness is living in heaven. He suggests that the secret is to cultivate continuous awareness, as this can lead to freedom from the cycle of hell and heaven.
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In Buddhism, the concept of hell realms, known as “Naraka” or “hell realms,” is not a permanent destination but rather a temporary state of existence, a place of intense suffering. Buddhists generally believe these realms are not literal but rather reflect the consequences of negative karma and the suffering caused by attachment and delusion. The ultimate goal in Buddhism is not to be reborn in heaven, but to escape the cycle of rebirth altogether and achieve enlightenment (Nirvana), a state of freedom from suffering.
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Jainism recognizes hell as a real realm of existence, called Naraka. It’s a place where souls experience suffering, and rebirth into hell is a consequence of past negative actions (karma). Unlike some beliefs, Jains don’t see hell as eternal punishment, but as a temporary state until the karma is fully worked through.
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Sikhism does not believe in a literal physical hell. While Gurbani, the Sikh scripture, uses the terms “heaven” and “hell” in some passages, these are generally interpreted metaphorically. The true “hell” in Sikhism is a state of suffering and separation from God, experienced through ego, attachment to worldly things, and a lack of awareness of one’s true nature. Conversely, “heaven” is a state of bliss and oneness with God, achieved through devotion and righteous living.
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TO BE CONTINUED……………………….
TAGS- Hell, real or not, scholars’ views, religions
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