Tue, 16 Jul 2013 14:54:06
Baba
(Note: This is the second letter in this series. A link to the initial letter is appended below. - Eds)
Namaskar,
I appreciate the clarification and reminder that heaven and hell are states of mind. This is helpful for my own personal understanding but also extremely useful knowledge for doing pracara and engaging in debate. This topic acts as a clear evidence how Ananda Marga ideology is based on rationality and logic - there is no superstition or dogma.
Human beings have various kosa and lokas. The manomaya kosa - also known as svarga loka, and it is there that people undergo happiness and sorrow.
"It is Svarloka which is called the Manomaya world and it is in this stratum that a person experiences pleasure and pain." (1)
Here the matter is that this svarloka refers to one's subconscious mind. When that subconscious mind is involved in spiritual ideation then that person is in heaven and when they are involved in degrading thoughts then they are in hell. (Note: For more about the subconscious mind please refer to the heading "About Subconscious Mind" beneath the signature)
For instance, there are some people who think, "nobody loves me", or "this world is coming to an end - doomsday", or "I am lost and disconnected and hate this world." Those harboring such thoughts in their mental plate - in their subconscious mind - are in hell. This type of thinking brings so much suffering and leads them to the brink of devastation. All because their subconscious mind is polluted.
In contrast, there are established sadhakas who constantly think, "I am the child of Parama Purusa and He is always helping me & taking care of me", or "I am the disciple of Lord Shrii Shrii Anandamurtiji and I have come on this earth to propagate His glory." Such bhaktas are in heaven because their subconscious mind is always absorbed in the Divine.
The conclusive idea is that when one does good deeds and undergoes the positive reaction - either in this life or a future life - then one feels happy. This might take the form of some kind of victory, or receiving all types of support etc. Or, if one did not study hard for an examination but got a top mark, then they are reaping a good samskara from the past. This joyous reaction and feeling in the mind from a prior action is known as svarga (heaven). In contrast, if someone studied very hard for an examination but became ill during the exam and could not pass, then that is the negative reaction of their prior bad deed, either from this life or a previous life. In that case they are undergoing a negative samskara. The suffering or sadness experienced in the mind is what we call hell.
In the first letter in this series there was an extended quote in Hindi script. The below paragraph is the translation of that quote for non-Hindi readers. Thereafter please find the original Hindi excerpt as well.
"What are the seven lokas (worlds)? They are not separate worlds. Out of these seven lokas, the lowermost bhurloka, i.e. physical world, and uppermost, i.e. satyaloka, are within Parama Purusa; and rest of the five lokas are between these two, i.e. the five kos’as of the human mind. The five kos’as are the five stages of human mind: bhuah, svah, mahah, janah, and tapah. Bhuah is the crude mind directly related to the physical works and the svah loka is the subtle mind, the mental world – manomaya kos’a. Mainly the feeling of happiness and sorrow is experienced... Where? in svarloka, in manomaya kos’a. So, people call this svarloka as svarga (heaven). Svah combined with ga is svarga. Here only, happiness and sorrow are experienced. Viz. the satisfaction in the mind of a person after doing good work is felt in the svarloka i.e. manomaya kos’a. This means svarloka is always with you. When you do benevolent work, you go from being an ordinary human to an extraordinary human being, then the svarloka is filled with happiness. And, having human shape and form, if you do degrading work, then the svarloka is full of sadness and sorrow. The mind gets stained and degenerated. Heaven and hell are not separate, distinct places, rather they are in this world; heaven [and hell] is hidden in your mind. Hence those people, whether they be scholars or not, who propagate stories of heaven and hell do not do anything except misguide others. They propel people into calamity. Remain aloof from them; they are the propagators of dogma." (Morning General Darshan, May 19 Varanasi, v19-02-(H))
Note: This translation from the original Hindi to English is based on the strong efforts of Dr T.R. Sukulji. We are most grateful for his expertise and commitment.
सप्तलोक क्या है ? एक ही साथ है, कोई अलग-अलग दुनिया नहीं है | सप्त लोक में निम्नतर लोक जो भूर्लोक, physical world | ऊर्ध्वतम लोक, जो सत्य लोक, वह तो परमपुरुष में स्थित | और, इन दोनों के बीच जो पञ्च लोक हैं, वही है पञ्चकोष | मानव मन का पाँच कोष, पाँच स्तर | भुवः, स्वः, महः, जनः, तपः | भुवः है स्थूल मन, जो प्रत्यक्षरूपेण शारीरिक कर्म के साथ सम्पर्कित | और स्वः लोक है सूक्ष्म मन | मानसिक मनोमय कोष, मानसिक जगत् | मुख्यतः सुख-दुःख की अनुभूति {हो} होती है कहाँ ? स्वर्लोक में, मनोमय कोष में | तो, यह जो स्वर्लोक है, इसी को लोग स्वर्ग कहते हैं | स्वः युक्त “ग”, स्वर्ग | सुख-दुःख की अनुभूति यहीं होती है | तो, मनुष्य अच्छा कर्म करने के बाद मन में जो तृप्ति होती है, वह मन के स्वर्लोक में अर्थात् मनोमय कोष में होती है | तो, ये स्वर्लोक हमेशा तुम्हारे साथ हैं | तुम सत्कर्म करते हो, तुम मानव से अतिमानव बनते हो तो, स्वर्लोक ख़ुशी से भर जाता है | और, तुम मनुष्य के तन में, मनुष्य की शकल में अधम कर्म करते हो, तो स्वर्लोक दुःख में भर जाता है, मन में ग्लानि होती है, आत्मग्लानि होती है | तो, स्वर्ग-नरक अलग नहीं, इसी दुनिया में | और, तुम्हारे मन के अन्दर ही स्वर्ग छिपा हुआ है | तो, जो पण्डित हो चाहे अपण्डित हो, स्वर्ग-नरक की कहानी, किस्सा-कहानी सुनाते हैं, वे सभी काम नहीं करते हैं | वे मनुष्य को misguide करते हैं | विपद में परिचालित करते हैं, उनसे दूर रहना | वे dogma के प्रचारक हैं |– MD, May 19 Varanasi, v19-02-(H)
Following are more of Baba's teachings on heaven and hell.
"Same way, in the world of effulgence, nectar, there are seven layers - bhuhloka, bhuvahloka, svahloka, mahahloka, janahloka, tapahloka, satyaloka. Parama Purusa is the controller of these two worlds, heaven and hell. You must not forget that all these seven lokas which are the underworld, of hell, or these higher lokas which are the world of effulgence, they are not any particular place. They are different stages of mind." (2)
So here Baba tells that hell is not some physical place like a different planet or the moon - rather it is a state of mind.
In this next section, Baba uses the directions "up" and "down" as metaphors to refer to a state of mind, i.e. high mind versus low mind. Baba makes it very clear, that hell is a status of mind.
Ananda Marga philosophy states, "Those human beings who do not do sadhana for their spiritual development, they are sure to get degenerated. Because in this universe, nothing is immobile. Whether one likes it or not, one has to move. So those who are not doing the sadhana of moving upward, they will not remain where they are. Rather they will fall down. Because, they will have to move. If one does not go up, then one has to go down. There are seven layers of the mind, towards the downwards direction also. -Tala, atala, vital, tala'tala, pa'ta'la, atipa'ta'la, and rasa'tala. Those human beings who are crude minded, reach in hell-- rasa'tala. That is the lower-most stage. Such a human being is not human. He is not animal also. The stage of such a person, is lower than animal..."
"When human beings get completely degenerated, then they create logic and reasoning in the favor of their sinful deeds. So you think carefully. That is the stage of cimmerian darkness where human beings cannot see their own hand. Because they are surrounded by anda tamisra', lower most of lower lokas, rasa'tala. This is the path of degeneration." (3)
And here Baba further describes that stage of degeneration.
Ananda Marga philosophy states, "Those who have human body but their deeds are not humane, what is their stage? Their body is in bhurloka, but their mind is far lower than bhurloka. After such demise they not got get human form. Instead they will be crudified a become like wood, bricks, and stone. These are all truth - logical things. But the tales of heaven and hell, vahista-dozalokha is just gossip talk." (4)
After reading this, the whole point is very clear. That, these worlds heaven and hell, have no physical existence. It is a stage of mind. When one does sadhana and feels the proximity of Parama Purusa Baba, then one is in the higher world. And when mind is degenerated, selfish, and engaged in heinous and sinful activities, then they are a creature of hell.
"Svahloka means manomaya kosa. The feeling of pleasure and pain happens in this loka. Svah + ga = svarga. Svaloka is the subtle mind. And manomaya kosa means mental state." (5)
Ananda Marga Philosophy states, "Svarloka – this is the pure mental sphere on which sukha and dhuka are experienced; it is also called Manomaya Jagat, Manomaya Kośa in individuals. It is in this sphere that the saskáras exist. According to mythology, after the death of the physical body or Annamaya Kośa, people go to svarga or naraká, heaven or hell. The fact is that the samskáras which determine the individuality of unit being situated in this svarloka. The Christian and Muslim ideas of heaven and hell and also svarga in Hindu Karmakandi Jaemini Partná, were derived from the fact that the samskáras which determine the requitals of actions exists exits in this loka. In reality no kośa will remain after death. The samskáras remains as the object of the átman. Thus the ideas of heaven and hell of the Hindu, Christian and Muslim mythologies are completely false, because after death there remains no mind at all to experience heaven or hell." (6)
Namaskar,
in Him,
Jyotirmaya
REFERENCES
1. Subhasita Samgraha - 1, The Base and the Relative Truth
2. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 9 (H)
3. AV-24 Hindi, p.167
4. AV-19, Hindi, p.12
5. AV-19, p.10
6. Tattvika Praveshika, Some Questions and Answers on Ananda Marga Philosophy
What is the subconscious mind? It is that part of the mind which memorises the day to day events. This aspect of mind is our power of recollection. With this subconscious mind you can remember your friends, what you ate yesterday, what you did 10 days back or 10 minutes back. Everything is stored in the subconscious mind. This subconscious mind does not need help from the indriyas, i.e. sensory and motor organs, to re-create stored images in the mind. For instance, even if your grandmother lives 100 miles away, with your subconscious mind you will be able to visualise your grandmother in your mind. The motor and sensory organs are not needed.
Without the help of the subconscious mind we cannot do anything substantial because one will not have the required memory or knowledge. One will not even remember one second into the past. One will forget.
In contrast, the conscious mind only works with the help of motor and sensory organs. When those organs are not functioning the conscious mind cannot do anything. It does not store any information. When you saw the monkey at the store then it is the subconscious mind that memorises that image. Later on when you tell your story about the monkey with the help of the subconscious mind then you will be able to clearly visualise that monkey in your mind.
Note 2: LINK TO INITIAL LETTER ON THIS TOPIC
Baba
== Re: IN AND OUT OF HEAVEN AND
HELL ==
(Note: This is the second letter in this series. A link to the initial letter is appended below. - Eds)
Namaskar,
I appreciate the clarification and reminder that heaven and hell are states of mind. This is helpful for my own personal understanding but also extremely useful knowledge for doing pracara and engaging in debate. This topic acts as a clear evidence how Ananda Marga ideology is based on rationality and logic - there is no superstition or dogma.
HEAVEN AND HELL ARE A REFLECTION OF ONE'S
SUBCONSCIOUS MIND
Human beings have various kosa and lokas. The manomaya kosa - also known as svarga loka, and it is there that people undergo happiness and sorrow.
"It is Svarloka which is called the Manomaya world and it is in this stratum that a person experiences pleasure and pain." (1)
Here the matter is that this svarloka refers to one's subconscious mind. When that subconscious mind is involved in spiritual ideation then that person is in heaven and when they are involved in degrading thoughts then they are in hell. (Note: For more about the subconscious mind please refer to the heading "About Subconscious Mind" beneath the signature)
For instance, there are some people who think, "nobody loves me", or "this world is coming to an end - doomsday", or "I am lost and disconnected and hate this world." Those harboring such thoughts in their mental plate - in their subconscious mind - are in hell. This type of thinking brings so much suffering and leads them to the brink of devastation. All because their subconscious mind is polluted.
In contrast, there are established sadhakas who constantly think, "I am the child of Parama Purusa and He is always helping me & taking care of me", or "I am the disciple of Lord Shrii Shrii Anandamurtiji and I have come on this earth to propagate His glory." Such bhaktas are in heaven because their subconscious mind is always absorbed in the Divine.
The conclusive idea is that when one does good deeds and undergoes the positive reaction - either in this life or a future life - then one feels happy. This might take the form of some kind of victory, or receiving all types of support etc. Or, if one did not study hard for an examination but got a top mark, then they are reaping a good samskara from the past. This joyous reaction and feeling in the mind from a prior action is known as svarga (heaven). In contrast, if someone studied very hard for an examination but became ill during the exam and could not pass, then that is the negative reaction of their prior bad deed, either from this life or a previous life. In that case they are undergoing a negative samskara. The suffering or sadness experienced in the mind is what we call hell.
TRANSLATION OF HINDI QUOTE
In the first letter in this series there was an extended quote in Hindi script. The below paragraph is the translation of that quote for non-Hindi readers. Thereafter please find the original Hindi excerpt as well.
"What are the seven lokas (worlds)? They are not separate worlds. Out of these seven lokas, the lowermost bhurloka, i.e. physical world, and uppermost, i.e. satyaloka, are within Parama Purusa; and rest of the five lokas are between these two, i.e. the five kos’as of the human mind. The five kos’as are the five stages of human mind: bhuah, svah, mahah, janah, and tapah. Bhuah is the crude mind directly related to the physical works and the svah loka is the subtle mind, the mental world – manomaya kos’a. Mainly the feeling of happiness and sorrow is experienced... Where? in svarloka, in manomaya kos’a. So, people call this svarloka as svarga (heaven). Svah combined with ga is svarga. Here only, happiness and sorrow are experienced. Viz. the satisfaction in the mind of a person after doing good work is felt in the svarloka i.e. manomaya kos’a. This means svarloka is always with you. When you do benevolent work, you go from being an ordinary human to an extraordinary human being, then the svarloka is filled with happiness. And, having human shape and form, if you do degrading work, then the svarloka is full of sadness and sorrow. The mind gets stained and degenerated. Heaven and hell are not separate, distinct places, rather they are in this world; heaven [and hell] is hidden in your mind. Hence those people, whether they be scholars or not, who propagate stories of heaven and hell do not do anything except misguide others. They propel people into calamity. Remain aloof from them; they are the propagators of dogma." (Morning General Darshan, May 19 Varanasi, v19-02-(H))
Note: This translation from the original Hindi to English is based on the strong efforts of Dr T.R. Sukulji. We are most grateful for his expertise and commitment.
सप्तलोक क्या है ? एक ही साथ है, कोई अलग-अलग दुनिया नहीं है | सप्त लोक में निम्नतर लोक जो भूर्लोक, physical world | ऊर्ध्वतम लोक, जो सत्य लोक, वह तो परमपुरुष में स्थित | और, इन दोनों के बीच जो पञ्च लोक हैं, वही है पञ्चकोष | मानव मन का पाँच कोष, पाँच स्तर | भुवः, स्वः, महः, जनः, तपः | भुवः है स्थूल मन, जो प्रत्यक्षरूपेण शारीरिक कर्म के साथ सम्पर्कित | और स्वः लोक है सूक्ष्म मन | मानसिक मनोमय कोष, मानसिक जगत् | मुख्यतः सुख-दुःख की अनुभूति {हो} होती है कहाँ ? स्वर्लोक में, मनोमय कोष में | तो, यह जो स्वर्लोक है, इसी को लोग स्वर्ग कहते हैं | स्वः युक्त “ग”, स्वर्ग | सुख-दुःख की अनुभूति यहीं होती है | तो, मनुष्य अच्छा कर्म करने के बाद मन में जो तृप्ति होती है, वह मन के स्वर्लोक में अर्थात् मनोमय कोष में होती है | तो, ये स्वर्लोक हमेशा तुम्हारे साथ हैं | तुम सत्कर्म करते हो, तुम मानव से अतिमानव बनते हो तो, स्वर्लोक ख़ुशी से भर जाता है | और, तुम मनुष्य के तन में, मनुष्य की शकल में अधम कर्म करते हो, तो स्वर्लोक दुःख में भर जाता है, मन में ग्लानि होती है, आत्मग्लानि होती है | तो, स्वर्ग-नरक अलग नहीं, इसी दुनिया में | और, तुम्हारे मन के अन्दर ही स्वर्ग छिपा हुआ है | तो, जो पण्डित हो चाहे अपण्डित हो, स्वर्ग-नरक की कहानी, किस्सा-कहानी सुनाते हैं, वे सभी काम नहीं करते हैं | वे मनुष्य को misguide करते हैं | विपद में परिचालित करते हैं, उनसे दूर रहना | वे dogma के प्रचारक हैं |– MD, May 19 Varanasi, v19-02-(H)
MORE OF BABA'S TEACHINGS
Following are more of Baba's teachings on heaven and hell.
HEAVEN AND HELL ARE NOT ANY PARTICULAR PLACE
"Same way, in the world of effulgence, nectar, there are seven layers - bhuhloka, bhuvahloka, svahloka, mahahloka, janahloka, tapahloka, satyaloka. Parama Purusa is the controller of these two worlds, heaven and hell. You must not forget that all these seven lokas which are the underworld, of hell, or these higher lokas which are the world of effulgence, they are not any particular place. They are different stages of mind." (2)
So here Baba tells that hell is not some physical place like a different planet or the moon - rather it is a state of mind.
THERE IS NO PLACE UP OR DOWN EITHER
In this next section, Baba uses the directions "up" and "down" as metaphors to refer to a state of mind, i.e. high mind versus low mind. Baba makes it very clear, that hell is a status of mind.
Ananda Marga philosophy states, "Those human beings who do not do sadhana for their spiritual development, they are sure to get degenerated. Because in this universe, nothing is immobile. Whether one likes it or not, one has to move. So those who are not doing the sadhana of moving upward, they will not remain where they are. Rather they will fall down. Because, they will have to move. If one does not go up, then one has to go down. There are seven layers of the mind, towards the downwards direction also. -Tala, atala, vital, tala'tala, pa'ta'la, atipa'ta'la, and rasa'tala. Those human beings who are crude minded, reach in hell-- rasa'tala. That is the lower-most stage. Such a human being is not human. He is not animal also. The stage of such a person, is lower than animal..."
"When human beings get completely degenerated, then they create logic and reasoning in the favor of their sinful deeds. So you think carefully. That is the stage of cimmerian darkness where human beings cannot see their own hand. Because they are surrounded by anda tamisra', lower most of lower lokas, rasa'tala. This is the path of degeneration." (3)
And here Baba further describes that stage of degeneration.
Ananda Marga philosophy states, "Those who have human body but their deeds are not humane, what is their stage? Their body is in bhurloka, but their mind is far lower than bhurloka. After such demise they not got get human form. Instead they will be crudified a become like wood, bricks, and stone. These are all truth - logical things. But the tales of heaven and hell, vahista-dozalokha is just gossip talk." (4)
After reading this, the whole point is very clear. That, these worlds heaven and hell, have no physical existence. It is a stage of mind. When one does sadhana and feels the proximity of Parama Purusa Baba, then one is in the higher world. And when mind is degenerated, selfish, and engaged in heinous and sinful activities, then they are a creature of hell.
PLEASURE AND PAIN OCCUR IN THE MIND
"Svahloka means manomaya kosa. The feeling of pleasure and pain happens in this loka. Svah + ga = svarga. Svaloka is the subtle mind. And manomaya kosa means mental state." (5)
SAMSKARAS EXIST IN THE SVARLOKA
NO BASIS FOR RELIGIOUS CONCEPTS OF HEAVEN AND HELL
NO BASIS FOR RELIGIOUS CONCEPTS OF HEAVEN AND HELL
Ananda Marga Philosophy states, "Svarloka – this is the pure mental sphere on which sukha and dhuka are experienced; it is also called Manomaya Jagat, Manomaya Kośa in individuals. It is in this sphere that the saskáras exist. According to mythology, after the death of the physical body or Annamaya Kośa, people go to svarga or naraká, heaven or hell. The fact is that the samskáras which determine the individuality of unit being situated in this svarloka. The Christian and Muslim ideas of heaven and hell and also svarga in Hindu Karmakandi Jaemini Partná, were derived from the fact that the samskáras which determine the requitals of actions exists exits in this loka. In reality no kośa will remain after death. The samskáras remains as the object of the átman. Thus the ideas of heaven and hell of the Hindu, Christian and Muslim mythologies are completely false, because after death there remains no mind at all to experience heaven or hell." (6)
Namaskar,
in Him,
Jyotirmaya
REFERENCES
1. Subhasita Samgraha - 1, The Base and the Relative Truth
2. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 9 (H)
3. AV-24 Hindi, p.167
4. AV-19, Hindi, p.12
5. AV-19, p.10
6. Tattvika Praveshika, Some Questions and Answers on Ananda Marga Philosophy
Note 1: ABOUT SUBCONSCIOUS MIND
What is the subconscious mind? It is that part of the mind which memorises the day to day events. This aspect of mind is our power of recollection. With this subconscious mind you can remember your friends, what you ate yesterday, what you did 10 days back or 10 minutes back. Everything is stored in the subconscious mind. This subconscious mind does not need help from the indriyas, i.e. sensory and motor organs, to re-create stored images in the mind. For instance, even if your grandmother lives 100 miles away, with your subconscious mind you will be able to visualise your grandmother in your mind. The motor and sensory organs are not needed.
Without the help of the subconscious mind we cannot do anything substantial because one will not have the required memory or knowledge. One will not even remember one second into the past. One will forget.
In contrast, the conscious mind only works with the help of motor and sensory organs. When those organs are not functioning the conscious mind cannot do anything. It does not store any information. When you saw the monkey at the store then it is the subconscious mind that memorises that image. Later on when you tell your story about the monkey with the help of the subconscious mind then you will be able to clearly visualise that monkey in your mind.
Note 2: LINK TO INITIAL LETTER ON THIS TOPIC
