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Thread: Is hell eternal in hinduism ?

  1. #1

    Is hell eternal in hinduism ?

    Greetings people,

    I found a few contradictions in sources on the internet about what I mentionned in the tittle of this thread : so, does hell exists forever in hinduism of is it just a temporary state of being ? Do you have any scripture to support any theory ?

    I thank you for answering me since going to hell forever is something that scares me since I was a child... Finding a religion where God is more mercifull than in my own tradition would be nice

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    Re: Is hell eternal in hinduism ?

    Namaste
    Quote Originally Posted by VVV View Post
    I found a few contradictions in sources on the internet about what I mentionned in the tittle of this thread : so, does hell exists forever in hinduism of is it just a temporary state of being ? Do you have any scripture to support any theory ?
    To properly understand the answer to this question first you should understand some of the basic concepts of the Hindu dharma teachings. What is a soul, what is karma, what is reincarnation (rebirth)? What is the destination of the soul after death? Why someone goes to heaven and someone to hell, etc?

    Karma means "work, activities, deeds". To say it simply it is usually said that people make good (pious) and bad (godless, wicked, sinful) karma. Each type of karma brings the consequences or karmic reactions, good or bad results in the form of merits and demerits, enjoyment or suffering, higher destination or state after death or some lower destination or state after death. Thus according to his karma a person goes to heaven or hell, achieves better or worse life, is born in a higher or lower species of life, etc.

    Now, whichever karma someone make, good or bad, you should know that karma is transient in nature, ie whichever results someone gets, merits and demerits, he will gradually spend these karmic results until they are exhausted. Karmic results can be imagined as a bank account with a certain amount of money piled up. The person who spends money from his bank account to buy something for his enjoyment will spend all he has in the account sooner or later. That's the way karma works. Thus, the karmic merits (or demerits) gradually being consumed in the form of enjoyment (or suffering) until exhaustion. This means that anyone who goes to heaven or hell there has exhausted his karma and his stay in heaven or hell comes to an end. After that he returns back to earth.

    I thank you for answering me since going to hell forever is something that scares me since I was a child... Finding a religion where God is more mercifull than in my own tradition would be nice
    In Hindu dharma one is advised to reach the eternal abode of the Lord which is far above the level of existence of material spheres such as material Heaven. The feature of that place is not of a temporary existence, but permanence and eternity where one can stay forever.

    regards

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    Re: Is hell eternal in hinduism ?

    Dear VVV,

    How can hell be eternal and why ? If God is really God and not Satan, then eternal hell is an impossibility. God by definition is omniscient, omnipotent and merciful. The last one should come automatically to God as He can't have any desire to be fulfilled and He can't have any hatred towards anyone. He fully know that Man is His own creation. Evil is to created by God and Hell is too created by God. The weaknesses in a man is too a creation of God alone. Yes, man has some limited free-will granted to him. So, if a man falters then it is basically due to design of God and to some extent due to failure of man i.e. man can be faulted only in a limited way for such failures. In such a scenario, how can an unlimited punishment be awarded to man on his failure ?? It cannot be justified and God has no reason to be unjustified.

    God is father/mother of everyone. If you commit some mistake, will your own father/mother throw you into fire for eternity ?

    There can be no punishment which outweighs the quantum of failure. So, Hinduism has no hell as described in Abrahimic religions. Yes, there are short term purgatives and once soul complete its term, it is goes out to take birth again.

    OM
    "Om Namo Bhagvate Vaasudevaye"

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    Re: Is hell eternal in hinduism ?

    Greetings people,

    I found a few contradictions in sources on the internet about what I mentionned in the tittle of this thread : so, does hell exists forever in hinduism of is it just a temporary state of being ? Do you have any scripture to support any theory ?

    I thank you for answering me since going to hell forever is something that scares me since I was a child... Finding a religion where God is more mercifull than in my own tradition would be nice
    Namaste VVV

    Your question has a very clear answer - NO.

    In Hinduism, Soul (Atma) is not created by any God but is eternal. Also it is not originally sinful but intrinsically divine. Soul (Atman) is free and liberated for ever. Yes as long as mind is trapped in cycle of rebirth there are pleasures and pains, but once ego is dissolved the person loses all personal identities and merges into Brahman or Atman. Brahman or Atman is free from all bondage and forms.

    The eternal hell is a concept which does not makes any sense. It is based on the belief that non-followers of any personal God (Read
    YaHuWaH and Allah) are condemned for eternal torture. Now this is impossible. No God is stupid or unjust enough to give infinite punishment for finite deeds. In fact this belief exists mostly among Christians and Muslims, even most of Jews don't believe in this concept. Naraka , which is translated as hell by western scholars is not really a hell but a kind of place where you might go for a finite period according to your karma. If anything we experience Naraka or Swarga in this world itself.
    Last edited by isavasya; 09 April 2014 at 02:46 AM.
    When the light has risen, there is no day, no night, neither existence nor non-existence; Siva alone is there. That is the eternal, the adorable light of Savitri, - and the ancient wisdom proceeded thence (Svetasvatara Upanishad IV-18). :)

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    Re: Is hell eternal in hinduism ?

    Wonderful words have been given about this already by the two brilliant Beings above me. So wonderful and I agree.

    If God made us...he made our perceived "flaws"...so then why or how could there be a punishment? It would be as a car manufacturer making a faulty vehicle...a brake issue...and folks get behind the wheel of this automobile...and wind up in accidents...not their fault...and yet they go to jail? Would never happen in a just world.

    True hell, is a state of profound ignorance.

    Funny thing about hell. As a child in the womb...you are so utterly incapacitated by such a state of ignorance...you would never recognize it for what it is.

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    Re: Is hell eternal in hinduism ?

    Namaste,

    Heaven and hell are mental states. A human being constantly moves from one to the other state based on his karma. These states don't exist when one is dead but right here for him to experience in living colors. One could be down in the dumps all morning long when everything goes against him and he is as depressed as he could be, and by afternoon it might be sunny with the gods of heaven smiling on him for the rest of the day. Since everyone is reincarnated, all the hellish and heavenly conditions are faced by the souls right here in their current incarnation. All the happiness and misery are encountered and lived through to burn the past karma, right here. If the troll ever comes back, hell will be waiting for him/her in the forum.

    Pranam.
    Last edited by Believer; 12 April 2014 at 01:34 PM.

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    Re: Is hell eternal in hinduism ?

    Quote Originally Posted by VVV View Post
    Greetings people,

    I found a few contradictions in sources on the internet about what I mentionned in the tittle of this thread : so, does hell exists forever in hinduism of is it just a temporary state of being ? Do you have any scripture to support any theory ?

    I thank you for answering me since going to hell forever is something that scares me since I was a child... Finding a religion where God is more mercifull than in my own tradition would be nice
    Hi VVV. Admittedly I'm not well-informed on the more obscure Scriptures in our religion. But as far as I know there's no "hell" to speak of, eternal or otherwise. I do sometimes hear the claim that souls go through some state of purging between births. However I can say with certainty that as per the Hindu conception of God, no one is tortured for all eternity.

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    Re: Is hell eternal in hinduism ?

    Om.

    Wonderful answers. Believer's is nearest to what is my understanding.

    In hinduism, the terms heaven and hell are notional to indicate the state of mental existence after leaving the present human body.

    Based on the karma, the mind acquires charges of ego and desire. Higher the charges, more likely that the mind is moving to lower category of existence in next life. The existece can be either of the 6 lower lokas. This means the mind as per it's charge levels will get attracted to a body which is complimentary to it's (mind's) desire and ego.

    The tenure of the stay depends how chargd the mind is. If it goes to the lowest loka, it has to cover all the rest 5 lokas above it to come back to human level. So generally in lower lokas the mind moves up step by step.

    If the karma helped mind to reduce charges of ego and desire beyond a certain level, the mind gets a body of higher loka. In higher loka threare 7 levels with the highest being Brahma loka. Even there the mind comes down as it completes the tenure of life in respective loka.

    Only in human birth the capability is there change the state of mind and others are only to live the the fruits of the karma.
    Hell and heaven are the states of mind in living through the lower and higher loka bodies.

    Normally lower loka bodies are in the gross world and the higher loka bodies are in subtle world.
    Love and best wishes:hug:

  9. #9

    Re: Is hell eternal in hinduism ?

    Thanks for answering
    Beyond that point, is there any figure like Satan in hinduism ? I doubt of that, but that would be interesting to precize it. What's more, if he exists, does he has anything to do with hellish states of mind ?

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    Re: Is hell eternal in hinduism ?

    Quote Originally Posted by VVV View Post
    Thanks for answering
    Beyond that point, is there any figure like Satan in hinduism ? I doubt of that, but that would be interesting to precize it. What's more, if he exists, does he has anything to do with hellish states of mind ?
    Vannakkam: No, there isn't.

    Aum namasivaya

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