Who went to hell and back in Hinduism to warn about it? Can you please list any old time reports and are there any new reports like that from these days to warn about what is in hell.
Thanks.
Peace!
Who went to hell and back in Hinduism to warn about it? Can you please list any old time reports and are there any new reports like that from these days to warn about what is in hell.
Thanks.
Peace!
If you are looking for someone who has come back and forth from hell(ignorance) What would you like to know?
There is truly one hell in this realm, ignorance. Not knowing you do not know.
Anything above that is workable.
The first step out of the darkness of hell is realizing you do not know...and begining to seek the answers.
Vannakkam: Take a look at the information here http://veda.wikidot.com/the-chakras on the chakras below the muladhara, and you'll have a pretty decent idea of whats in 'hell.'
Aum Namasivaya
These are the underworlds, (atala sutala vitala ect) they are not hells, only different planes these planes are way more peaceful and beautiful places than the upper realms. The descriptions you linked to are new age distortions without backup from hindu lore. The hells are called Narakas, like Raurava were sinners that speak falsehood are punished, these are entirely different places that have nothing whatsoever to do with the lower realms.
Narada Muni praises the beauty of the underworlds:
The extent of the surface of the earth has been thus described to you, Maitreya. Its depth below the surface is said to be seventy thousand Yojanas, each of the seven regions of Pátála extending downwards ten thousand. These seven, worthy Muni, are called Atala, Vitala, Nitala, Gabhastimat, Mahátala, Sutala, and Pátála Their soil is severally white, black, purple, yellow, sandy, stony, and of gold. They are embellished with magnificent palaces, in which dwell numerous Dánavas, Daityas, Yakshas, and great snake-gods. The Muni Nárada, after his return from those regions to the skies declared amongst the celestials that Pátála was much more delightful than Indra's heaven. "What," exclaimed the sage, "can be compared to Pátála, where the Nágas are decorated with brilliant and beautiful and pleasure-shedding jewels? who will not delight in Pátála, where the lovely daughters of the Daityas and Dánavas wander about, fascinating even the most austere; where the rays of the sun diffuse light, and not heat, by day; and where the moon shines by night for illumination, not for cold; where the sons of Danu, happy in the enjoyment of delicious viands and strong wines, know not how time passes? There are beautiful groves and streams and lakes where the lotus blows; and the skies are resonant with the Koïl's song. Splendid ornaments, fragrant perfumes, rich unguents, the blended music of the lute and pipe and tabor; these and many other enjoyments are the common portion of the Dánavas, Daityas, and snake-gods, who inhabit the regions of Pátála
Vishnu Purana chap. v
Last edited by MahaHrada; 04 March 2012 at 07:51 AM.
Thank you the response. I am familiar with the puranic descriptions, but I don't know that much about tantra. I was browsing through a book about laya yoga which has some cross references to tantras, agamas and other scriptures and there was no mention of these ideas. It's good to get a confirmation about this, since you are knowledgeable about tantras.
I know about this idea of idea of yadandam tatpindam: " what is in the universe is in the body," they must have taken this idea and invented new chakras.
Last edited by Sahasranama; 25 April 2012 at 05:04 PM.
The idea that the Pindanda equals the Brahmanda, or that the totality of the universe makes up the body of the great person the Mahapurusha is not only to be found in the tantras but also in the vedas.
There are also chakras or body regions (adharas) below Muladhara that are mapped to the Lokas, the problem with our shaiva "church" is a mix up with islamic, christian or judaistic ideas of a hell or hells below the earth were sinners suffer according to their vices. This concept of hells exists in Hinduism but these are not underworlds, they are called narakas, but are of course not mapped to the body or to chakras. Who wants to assimilate a hell into his own subtle body?
How this originally pre abrahamic, semitic or sumerian concept of an afterlife of the soul below the earth in a series of 7 underworlds or hells, was mixed up with the hindu concept of diverse lokas that stretch below the surface, is probably also due to theosophy. If one is acquainted with the works of Madame Blavatsky there are too many similarities to this american shaiva "church" than to be mere coincidental.
There are many diverse systems of chakras and nadis described in the different tantras, the system most of us are acquainted with today describes 6 chakras in the body and one thousand petalled Lotus, but this is just one approach among many others, that has become very popular.
The presence of chakras beneath muladhara in the feet, and other places and also several chakras above the head are described in lesser known tantras.
One can say that the number and location of chakras to some extent depend on the kriya and mantra and tantra that is taught by the Guru rather than that they are a given fact which is acessible without Guru upadesha.
To say that chakras are created by dhyanas or dharanas, kriyas and mantras rather than that they exist naturally is not an entirely incorrect approach, though there is a tendency for some of the chakras (or wheels of nadis) to naturally occur in certain body regions in the average person, but much of what will later be your subtle body depends on the sadhana and the deities you practise.
But nowadays who is an average person? One that is not torn by desires from his centre? One without habits that cause impurity in the prana and without traumatic experiences, and therefore with his flow of prana unhindered and his self settled and centered?
To understand the original concept of chakras and nadis one must think that wherever there is prana there is also conciousness, wherever the flow of prana becomes immobile, stuck and arrested, by some reason, be it an individual karmic obstacle, an impurity, traumatic shock, or the general disposition of the nadis in different regions of a human body, there can develop a center of conciousness in case enough prana assembles at a place in the form of a collection of drops or bindus.
Theoretical wherever there is such an assemblage of drops and at least one nadi crosses another (such regions occur all over the body) there is the potency in the human subtle body to develop the hub of a wheel of nadis, which is a chakra. Every hub is self concious to a certain extent and has a will to survive of its own.
So due to malas, vasanas and samskaras the pranas, the chakras and the whole nadi system is not only impure, but our identity or conciousness is also located at unfavorable places in minor chakras, and in this way our personality is split into differnt sometimes even opposing desires, identities etc. differentiated from each other. The impure prana has become stuck or is arrested, so these armourings are build up, conciousness and prana is unbalanced in different regions, where it ideally does not belong, this is a loop feed back, which defines our limited ego with his tendencies, according to ones karma, vasanas etc. engraving imbalances into the subtle body, which in turn feeds back his acquired distortion to the mind.
So the individual impure and unbalanced subtle body of the person in bondage has to be transformend into a divine and pure subtle body by sadhana, the chakra/nadi systems which are described in the tantras are diverse, because there are several latent possibilities (or blueprints) showing in what way the divine subtle body of a sadhaka can be perfected.
There is a variety of what you want or can become. These are concepts that are a little alien even to tantrics nowadays so i guess almost no one will belive me.
Last edited by MahaHrada; 25 April 2012 at 07:22 PM.
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