“From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains to My abode, O son of Kunti, never takes birth again.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 8.16)

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आ-ब्रह्म-भुवनाल् लोकाः
पुनर् आवर्तिनो ऽर्जुन
माम् उपेत्य तु कौन्तेय
पुनर् जन्म न विद्यते

ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ
punar āvartino ‘rjuna
mām upetya tu kaunteya
punar janma na vidyate

“For a thought exercise, let’s say that I assign myself the task of starting a religion. A brand new one. A system not previously followed. My motivations might not be the best. Perhaps I want to make money. I can gain popularity in alluring those who are disillusioned and disenfranchised by the prevailing faiths of the area. I want to be known. I want to be thought of as kind, compassionate, intelligent, and considerate.

“What is the first thing I am going to do? Well, write a book, of course. Within that book, I will identify a particular savior. It can be anyone; whether living today or a figure from the past. It could also be a concept, such as an abstract energy or a force. My book will describe this savior. My book will also give people the tools necessary for satisfying that savior. The associated way of living, under my direct supervision, will be known as religious life. You will be considered ‘religious’ if you follow me.

“To complete the assignment, to fill in the picture, I have to now identify the sinners. Well, that is pretty easy. Anyone who doesn’t read my book, who doesn’t believe in my savior, who doesn’t follow my guidance, is doomed. For just how long? Well, how about…forever! They have no other chance at salvation. They better line up right now, today, or be doomed to suffer for eternity.

“I might also create a schedule for assembly. This will be the easiest way to separate the ‘saved’ from the ‘condemned.’ The sinners will be those who fail to show up to the assembly. We will pray for them, of course. We will insist that they change their ways, that they finally realize their repeated absence is a glaring omission that must be corrected, to have any hope of acceptance within the society at large.

“Taking a few steps back, do you see what I did here? Does any of this sound familiar to you? To me, this is exactly how religions in the modern day operate. Their books might be from the past. Their savior is a figure from history; or at least that is the claim. Anyone who fails to fall in line is a sinner. The sinner needs to be saved. Religion is for reforming the ways of the uncontrolled population; the heathens who march to the beat of their own drum, who flagrantly ignore our warnings.

“How is Vedic culture any different from this? Does Bhagavad-gita not operate within the same paradigm? Why should I give Krishna consciousness a try if I already have these other faiths that are more or less the same? The name of the savior is different. The book might be longer or shorter, but there is always a book. What exactly is so special about your book?”

For starters, there is no limitation on accepting a single book. It is like saying that there is only one published work of authority to describe science. Even if the accepted principles do not change over time, there will still be many books describing science. There are different reflections and observations. There is also appreciation to consider, as more people appear within this world who are associated with that particular science.

In discussing the issue of the sinners, the conclusion from the authority of the Vedas is that the negative situation begins at birth. There is no reason to specifically fear demotion to hell precisely because there will be the forced pain of separation within this very lifetime. As soon as there is birth, there must be death. As soon as there is acceptance, there will be separation. Eventually, we will have to leave. What can be worse than this?

जातस्य हि ध्रुवो मृत्युर्
ध्रुवं जन्म मृतस्य च
तस्माद् अपरिहार्ये ऽर्थे
न त्वं शोचितुम् अर्हसि

jātasya hi dhruvo mṛtyur
dhruvaṁ janma mṛtasya ca
tasmād aparihārye ‘rthe
na tvaṁ śocitum arhasi

“For one who has taken his birth, death is certain; and for one who is dead, birth is certain. Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your duty, you should not lament.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.27)

The Vedas indeed include descriptions of hellish and heavenly regions. These places are like extreme versions of what we already experience in the earthly plane. Sometimes we are happy. Sometimes we are sad. Sometimes we are excited. Sometimes we are depressed. It is like a pendulum swinging between two endpoints known as bhoga and tyaga, accepting and rejecting. Heaven and hell are like realms where the experience at one of the endpoints extends for a longer duration.

There are rules and regulations for ascending. Failing to follow that system, which can be described as a religion, leads to trouble. At the same time, the relative positioning is like viewing participants in a race. On the map we see one person is ahead and one person is behind, but both are in the race. The heavenly and hellish regions are still part of the material world.

The higher understanding places piety and sin on an equal level. Good and bad are really the same. Not that bad is necessarily encouraged, but only temporarily progressing through good behavior does not entirely end the suffering. The concepts of good and bad are themselves within duality. They are created by the Supreme Lord, Shri Hari, and the same Hari is the only person who can remove the illusion.

हरि माया कृत दोष गुन बिनु हरि भजन न जाहिं
भजिअ राम सब काम तजि अस बिचारि मन माहिं

hari māyā kṛta doṣa guna binu hari bhajana na jāhiṃ
bhajia rāma saba kāma taji asa bicāri mana māhiṃ

“Good and bad, which are part of the illusion created by Hari, cannot be removed without worshiping Hari. Keeping this in mind, worship Rama and renounce all desires.” (Dohavali, 127)

That is the distinction with the offering of Vedic culture. The emphasis is not necessarily on sin. This is because a person is free to sin as much as they want. They will suffer the consequences automatically, through the system of karma. The pious will correspondingly enjoy the results through the same system. The real purpose of the human birth is to reconnect with the eternal way of living, which is known as dharma. That purpose is only fulfilled through consciousness of the one and only Supreme Lord, who may be known by many names but is always the same in His relationship to the living beings as their greatest and steadiest well-wisher.

In Closing:

As most benevolent to tell,
Always wishing me well.

Whether towards suffering to fall,
Or heaven a home to call.

Moving ahead in the race,
Or stuck in last place.

Real religion for higher direction,
To establish eternal connection.

Categories: questions, the maya of hari

Tags: dailyprompt, hinduism, poem, poems, poetry, religion