Hindu Mythology

"The virtuous are then conveyed to Swarga or Elysium, whilst the wicked are driven to the different regions of Naraka or Tartarus."

"Enjoyment in Swarga, like punishment in Naraka, is only for a certain period, according to the merit, or demerit, of the individual. When the account is balanced, the man is born is born again amongst mankind."

"The seven principal chakras are situated along the spinal cord from the base to the cranium chamber. Besides seven chakras exist below the spine. They are seats of instinctive consciousness, the origin of jealousy, hatred, envy, guilt, sorrow etc. They constitute the lower or hellish world, called Naraka or pâtâla. Thus, there are 14 major chakras in all. The seven upper chakras are: 1) mûlâdhâra (base of spine): memory, time and space; 2) svâdhish†hâna (below navel): reason; 3) manipura (solar plexus):will power, 4) anahata (heart center): direct cognition; 5) vishudha (throat): divine love; 6) ajna (third eye): divine sight; 7)sahasrara (crown of head): illumination, godliness. The seven lower chakras are 1)atala (hips):fear and lust; 2)vitala (thighs): raging anger; 3)sutala (knees): retaliatory jealousy; 4) talatala (calves): prolonged mental confusion; 5)rasatala (ankles): selfishness; 6)'mahatala' (feet): absence of conscience; 7) patala (located in the soles of the feet): murder and [[malice."

"Naraka is abode of darkness. Literally, “pertaining to man”. The nether world, equivalent to the Western term hell, a gross region of Antarloka. Naraka is a congested, distressful area where demonic beings and young souls may sojourn until they resolve the darksome karmas they have created. Here being suffer the consequences of their own misdeeds in previous lives. Naraka is understood as having seven regions, called talas, corresponding to the states of consciousness of the seven lower chakras."

"The Sanskrit term Naraka is often mistranslated into English as the Hindu equivalent of the Christian "hell" or Catholic "purgatory." However, this misunderstanding is likely a result of there being no exact word in English equal to Naraka. Naraka is not a place of eternal damnation, as is hell of Western Christian theology. It is also not a place of forced purification where soul must remain until some final Judgment Day, as the Catholic purgatory. Instead Naraka is a place of purification where the spirits of the deceased come to be cleaned through suffering over a span of time (the length of which depends on how much negative karma the spirit accumulated during life). Damnation by a god is not what sends a person to Naraka, but rather their own negative and immoral actions during life."

"It is said that killing even a foetus is as criminal as killing a Brahman; and that for killing a female or woman, the punishment is to suffer in the Naraka, or Hell called Kata Shutala, for as many years as there are hairs on the female’s body, and that afterwards such person shall be born again and successively become a leper."

"The man who thinks of Vishńu, day and night, goes not go to Naraka after death, for all his sins are atoned for."

"That sinner goes to Naraka who neglects the due expiation of his guilt."

"Heaven (or Swarga) is that which delights the mind; hell (or Naraka) is that which gives it pain: hence vice is called hell; virtue is called heaven."

"The gods in heaven are beheld by the inhabitants of hell, as they move with their heads inverted; whilst the god, as they cast their eyes downwards, behold the sufferings of those in hell."

"These hells, and hundreds and thousands of others, are the places in which sinners pay the penalty of their crimes. As numerous as are the offences that men commit, so many are the hells in which they are punished: and all who deviate from the duties imposed upon them by their caste and condition, whether in thought, word, or deed, are sentenced to punishment in the regions of the damned."

"..the hellswhich are situated beneath the earth and beneath the waters, and into which sinners are finally sent are the different Narakas known as Raurava, Śúkara, Rodha, Tála, Viśasana, Mahájwála, Taptakumbha, Lavańa, Vimohana, Rudhirándha, Vaitaraní, Krimíśa, Krimibhojana, Asipatravana, Krishńa, Lálábhaksha, Dáruńa, Púyaváha, Pápa, Vahnijwála, Adhośiras, Sandansa, Kálasútra, Tamas, Avíchi, Śwabhojana, Apratisht́ha, and another Avíchi. These and many other fearful hells are the awful provinces of the kingdom of Yama, terrible with instruments of torture and with fire; into which are hurled all those who are addicted when alive to sinful practices."

"The subastral plane is Naraka consisting of seven hellish realms corresponding to the seven chakras belwo the base of the spine. In the astral plane, the Soul is enshrouded in the astral body, called Sukshma sharira."

"In the early Vedic tradition, the death god Yama kept two dogs, Syama the Black and Sabala the Spotted, to bring and hold souls in the Purgatory-like afterlife called Naraka. Even the Norse god Odin kept a pair of wolves, Geri and Freki."

"Treating of a future state, [he says], that such as during their abode on earth have persevered in the practice of piety, and virtue, have worshiped God purely from gratitude, love, and admiration, and have done good, without being induced either by the fear of punishment, or the hope of reward, will not stand in need of being purified in Naraka, or of coming into this world to occupy other forms, but will be immediately admitted to celestial happiness."

"Those that do not worship the Devi, go to Naraka or hell ; moreover they suffer much from various diseases in this world. Those that do not worship the Devi are always defeated by their enemies, are void of wife and sons, become stupid and suffer pains from their unsatisfied desires."

"Some of the analogous words used to mean moksha are mukti, Nirvana, Turiya, Kaivalya, Apavarga, Nihsreyasa etc."

"The common word 'moksha' comes from the Sanskrit root MUC- with the help of the formative -S. It means 'to set free, release, deliver, draw out of'."

"Moksha, the fourth purushartha, stands for the spiritual principle and is a state of bliss. It marks the consummation of the process of our moral development and is therefore the ultimate goal of human life."

"As a sign of Moksha the Gita talks of Supreme peace where there is no specific happiness and where the person forgets himself in the enjoyment of the peace."

"To attain Supreme peace, everlasting peace and enjoy Supreme bliss, Lord Krishna does not say that there are different Muktis and the liberated jiva (mukta) will go to Several lokas (Vaikuntha etc) and enjoy with different grades of happiness."

"The agreed meanings of Moksha as accepted by all are-no rebirths, release from every thing bad, unholy, demerit, misery etc."

"Some people feel that performing rituals, one can attain Moksha. As a concluding part of a ritual, the priest reels of a long list of the resulting fruits a son, grandson, money, gold honours in this life and Moksha here after. Thus Moksha is included at the end of a long list of gains of a ritual performed."

"The highest goal to be achieved by any human being is moksha, which means liberation from bondage. Bondage means that state where one always thinks in terms of ‘I’ and ‘mine’. In this state of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ one experiences worries, misery, lack of peace, a feeling of lacking something and a feeling of utter failure or worthlessness."

"The fourth goal of life is moksha, which means “release” from life, particularly from the cycle of death and rebirth. This goal is best practiced in the retirement and renouncer stages of life, although it can be sought in all stages of life, particularly in the two paths of deeds and devotion."

"He who has no enemy, and is friendly and compassionate towards all, who is free from the feelings of 'me and mine', even-minded in pain and pleasure, and forbearing — these and other epithets of like nature are for him whose one goal in life is Moksha."

"On the advent of Buddhism, Dharma was entirely neglected, and the path of Moksha alone became predominant."

"What is Mukti [Moksha]? That which teaches that even the happiness of this life is slavery, and the same is the happiness of the life to come, because neither this world nor the next is beyond the laws of nature; only, the slavery of this world is to that of the next as an iron chain is to a golden one. Again, happiness, wherever it may be, being within the laws of nature, is subject to death and will not last ad infinitum. Therefore man must aspire to become Mukta, he must go beyond the bondage of the body; slavery will not do. This Mokshapath [Way to Moksha] is only in India and nowhere else."

"Moksha is the ultimate goal of the Hindu religious life. Moksha is called Mukti by the yogis, Nirvana by the Buddhists, and the Kingdom of heaven by the Christians."

"Although there are various views among the Hindu thinkers regarding the content of moksha, all systems agree that moksha is the liberation of the soul from the bondage of flesh and the limitations of the finite body."

"The ultimate goal of human life is to attain spiritual perfection (moksha), or freedom from transmigration of the atman. The social existence of an individual is means for attaining this supreme goal. Since an individual cannot attain moksha without fulfilling his (her) individual and social duties, responsibilities and obligations, Hindu social philosophy...includes the essential social principles and practices, goals of human life: dharma (moral law), artha (wealth), kama (pleasure), and moksha (spiritual perfection, the ultimate goal)."

"Kama includes the pleasure of the sense, both aesthetic pleasure and sensual pleasure. Artha includes the pursuit of material well being, wealth and power. Dharma includes striving for righteousness and virtue. Moksha describes the desire for liberation from reincarnation. The first three goals pertain to the world we know, whereas moksha involves freedom from the world and from desires."

"The first three goals pertain to the world we know, whereas moksha involves freedom from the world and from desires... Moksha, although the ultimate goal, is emphasized more in the last two stages of life, while artha and kama are primary only during … Hindus themselves prefer to use the Sanskrit term sanatana dharma for their religious tradition. … According to Hinduism, our experience, our reason and our dialogue with others - especially with enlightened individuals - provide provide various means of testing our understanding of spiritual and moral truth..."

"Hinduism takes a comprehensive view of the human condition and classifies all the things people seek in the world and beyond into four broad categories called purushaarthas, kama, artha, dharma and moksha."

"The goal of moksha, of emancipation, though individual in form (like the Western quest for personal salvation), is thoroughly social in content. In a way, it goes beyond even the prevailing Western conception of moving from egoism to altruism. For the goal is not unselfishness but selflessness—a movement not from self to other, but from self to Self, in which there is no other."

"To attain Moksha while alive, the individual consciousness must become non-existent because then there is nothing left in the mind. Then, due to the attainment of Moksha, he becomes immersed forever in Pure Consciousness and the Liberated. One must live out his Dharma for the sake of others."

"For Shankara, the path of jnana-yoga was the only one to moksha."

"Liberation or moksha for much Vedantic thought was not something that can be “reached” or “acquired". Since the atman is already there as the fundamental essence of the self is merely there to be experienced."

"The only route to Moksha is through dharma, since freedom is seen, on this view, not as presupposition of action but as the culmination of life. It requires a switch in thinking to be able to regard freedom as in opposition to responsibility – freedom being attained after responsibilities are over (on the extreme form of the theory as against jivanmukti form)"

"The concept of Moksha in Indian thought represents an extreme form of the urge to get away from fact."

"Moksha or freedom is the Swabhava, the inherent constitution and essence of the soul and is not to be supposed as generated in the Soul through the action of anything else."

"Moksha is not just freedom from the cycle of rebirths, as is often misunderstood."

"Moksha or Emancipation is not a product or effect of any action. That which is the product of anything is bound to be non-permanent (anitya) and as moksha is permanent and eternal, it cannot be supposed to be the resultant of anything; it is the realization of the self as it is by its nature, and this becomes possible only when the Karma of the Jiva has been exhausted."

"Moksha is not the exclusive concern of Indian philosophy. Nor is it its predominant concern. Many of the thinkers and many of the schools are not concerned with it even marginally. Many others are concerned with it only in a peripheral manner."

"There are many philosophers and schools of philosophy in India that have literally nothing to do with moksha. The Nyaya, the Vaisesika, and the Mimamsa are predominant in this group. And, even those who are partly concerned with moksha, are concerned with it primarily in a philosophical manner only."

"The ideal of moksha was achieved in India as early as the Upanishadic and Buddhist times, whereas, philosophic reflection has not stopped with it; it has continued till today."

"The relationship between moksha and the Indian philosophy is not integral in the sense that the one is not intelligible without the other."

"Our belief in moksha is very ancient existing years before the christian era...Moksha is a pre-Aryna concept found in Sramana culture and later got assimilated in the Upanishads."

"Difficulties such as skepticism and fatalism that obstruct a person from pursuing moksha gave rise to philosophy in India. For these difficulties are intellectual in character and are therefore to be removed by means of intellectual activities such as reflection and argumentation. This would reconcile the apparent incongruity between the actual concerns of Indian philosophy which are essentially speculative and conceptual and its supposedly real concern with moksha which is essentially non-speculative and non-conceptual in nature. In other words, Indian philosophy is the removal of these intellectual difficulties that obstruct our way to moksha."

"One of the universally accepted ideas regarding the relationship between Moksha and Indian philosophy is that Indian philosophy is spiritual and that moksha is its main concern - it is the focal concern."