Dear Paul Muddha, You wrote:
> Do you believe in Moksha or heaven after death for our souls? > According to the oldest and most extensively detailed Vedic texts, the attainment of heaven after leaving the body is a result of pious work and thus the result of good karma. Living in the celestial heavenly planets means much more pleasures than we could imagine on Earth, and with a lifetime that lasts extensively longer the more we go higher up into the 7 layers of heavenly life. For example, in the lowest of the heavenly regions called svarga-loka, 24 hours of their time lasts a full year on Earth. However on the highest region called Brahma-loka, 24 hours of their time lasts 8,640,000,000 years here on Earth! So even when we talk of heaven, there’s not just one static destination, and also although the durations of life become fantastically long, they are temporary and not eternal. I am inclined to believe that the heaven known to the Abrahamic faiths may well refer to one of, or a collection of, the 7 heavenly regions above us. I’ve even heard a thoughtful scholar suggest that Jesus may be residing in surya-loka (in the Sun planet with the Sun-God Surya as his father), but this is impossible to verify, although his speculative evidence from both the Vedic and Christian philosophies are somewhat convincing. Jesus may also reside in Indra-loka or the residence of the king of Heaven Indra as his father. I was defeated on many occasions when trying to argue that Jesus resides in one of the regions of moksha, namely in the Vaikuntha planets, so I am forced to put my hopes to rest on that one for now at least. You also asked about moksha or liberation. That also exists as a possibility for each soul. However there are two main categories: personal and impersonal liberation, and those are very different from each other. Attainment of these regions require a lifetime, and sometimes even many lifetimes of overcoming all material desires, without even a tinge left before the cycle of birth and death between earthly, hellish and heavenly life is broken. Scholars argue that since Jesus did not focus on this implies that his followers are not guided beyond heaven. I struggle to argue against this, although I am instinctively inclined to hope that Jesus’s teachings could lead to some sort of moksha for his most sincere followers. So the conclusion is that where each person will go after parting with this body will depend on one’s desires cultivated through life and ones activities performed which shapes one’s karma. Up to this endeavour in life, the highest attainment possible is only the heavenly regions. However one’s attention to practices of self-realization and God-realization in this lifetime can afford such a soul an onward journey towards impersonal liberation and personal liberation respectively. There is so much more to mention here but since this is not a topic of discussion for this group we will need to take this off-list in more detail. If you are interested further you can join my Bhagavad-gita reading group which happens every Sunday at mid-day Indian time. Write me if interested. And I’m now realizing that since I tried to condense so much data into such a few paragraphs, I would have more than likely confused more people than enlightened them. Apologies if that’s the case. Kind regards, Yamuna Jivana Dasa From: 'PAUL MUDDHA' via AccessIndia [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Saturday, June 29, 2024 10:08 AM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: [AI] The passing away of some of our recent good souls Do you believe in Moksha or haven after death for our souls? Mr. YJD? From: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > On Behalf Of Shyam Sayanekar Sent: 28 June 2024 20:06 To: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> Subject: Re: [AI] The passing away of some of our recent good souls CAUTION: This email is originated from outside Canara Bank. Do not click any links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know that the content is safe. Hello, very thought-provoking. Very philosophical, presented in very remarkable English. I don't know about others, but at least I subscribe to your view. On Fri, Jun 28, 2024 at 7:25 PM Yamuna Jivana Dasa <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > wrote: Dear friends, First I wish to add my voice to the condolences for the loss of some of our active members. They will surely be missed by those who knew and loved them most. Yet I wish to say something further that I hope will not offend anyone, although there is serious danger that my words might do so. For me, based on my prolonged exposure to the Vedic perspective, there is also a special celebration when a person like one of us living in blind bodies passes from this world. The phrase I used “blind bodies”, though strange-sounding, is very real and not meant to be an offensive phrase. Since we only experience blindness of the eyes due to our conditioning within the bodily designation, we are imprisoned like everyone else by having limited material bodies, but more so when those bodies face blindness or any other physical limitation. There is now many documented cases of Near Death Experiences (NDEs) or Outer Body Experiences (OBEs), where people who had specific disabilities on leaving their bodies experienced full unrestricted sense perception and abilities outside the body. Can you imagine how exciting it must be to realize that even while they have just passed away, each of these people would experience the complete thrill of freedom by being fully abled-bodied, and far more so than an ordinary sighted embodied person on Earth? This is not just phantasmagoria. It is spiritual truths now backed up by scientific study. So instead of diving deep into this topic, I will conclude by offering the thought that while we celebrate the work of those individuals on Earth, we can also celebrate their freedom now from the shackles of this blind physical body that incapsulated that soul for its less fortunate duration. We can, on their behalf, look forward to better and brighter futures for them. Many of these people were actively advocating for accessibility, inclusion and other social and opportunity advantages for us. They had active natures, so they will become very bored “resting in peace”. I will instead therefore not wish them a rest in eternal peace, but instead wish them a vibrant, dynamic future, in which they are actively pursuing their hearts desire, without the limitation of a defective physical body. But more than that, I wish them the opportunity to connect with divinity, and to attain a happiness in the company of the supreme being I call Sri Krishna (you may refer to other names of the supreme, that’s all well), for that happiness in union with the divine is the most fascinating and dynamic engagement, also with others in that space. Even if this goal may be accomplished over time for some of us and even for some of those who have departed but must continue the cycle of life, I pray that they will quickly, by special mercy, show an interest in the supreme being, which is the only way of overcoming the cycle of repeated birth and death. While we may miss them as persons we once knew, revered and loved, we can let them go, being excited for their freedom from physical limitations that have befallen them in this body of being blind. Thus with saddened hearts let us not fail to celebrate their good fortune. For me personally leaving this blind body will be a celebration. I hope this is understood without offense by all who listen to my words here. Kindest regards, Yamuna Jivana Dasa -- Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list.. Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "AccessIndia" group. 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