Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri
Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
“To Hell
with it!” What would be the worst fate
you would wish for an adversary? When you consider someone’s offence to be
extremely heinous, unspeakably atrocious and wicked beyond measure, what
punishment would you wish upon the offender? Though human laws do prescribe
appropriate penalties for transgressions, ranging from a mere censure from the
court and release on assurances of good conduct, to capital punishment,
traditionally some offences have been considered too monstrous to be dealt with
under mere human laws. Again, when the criminal escapes the clutches of law (as
happens many a time in the case of those with money and muscle-power), does it
mean that he does indeed go scot-free, totally unpunished for his offences? Is
there a mechanism to ensure that offenders are brought to book without fail and
made to repent for their wrongdoings? Yet another question relates to wicked
thoughts, as opposed to deeds—under our legal procedures, mere thoughts, as long
as they are not translated into action, are not punishable, whether they relate
to wishing somebody dead or coveting someone else’s lawfully wedded spouse. Yet,
since it is the thought that forms the seed of action, one would feel that such
thoughts too should attract some form of retribution. However, (fortunately for
people like me) how to identify, recognise and appropriately punish such thought
processes remains beyond human capabilities. The concept of Hell, as a
place where just retribution is meted out to offenders, is as old as the hills.
There appears to be rare unanimity among religions on this—we Hindus call it
“Narakam”, for the Christians it is “Hell” and for the Muslims, “Jahnham” (or
some similar sounding word). Even if someone manages to evade human law, we are
told that the long arm of the Lord would ensure for him or her a spell in Hell,
to cure him or her of sinful inclinations. However, do Hell and Heaven
really exist as separate places, where the wicked and the good respectively go?
As some people say, are they not to be experienced in one’s own mind, which
torments one when one does something wrong and is extremely happy when one
performs some meritorious deed? Or, as the atheists say, are they mere figments
of imagination, created by elders to ensure adherence to accepted norms of
social and personal behaviour? As firm believers in that
supreme body of knowledge, the Shruti (Vedas), we are curious to know whether
this compendium has anything to say in the matter. As essentially all wisdom
beyond the grasp of our frail faculties has necessarily to be accessed from the
Vedas, we scour the vast body of the Shruti for any mention of Narakam, the
place inhabited by pApAtmAs. And we do come up with several, especially in the
aruNa Prasnam of the TaittirIya Aranyakam-- “DakshiNa poorvasyAm disi visarpI
naraka:--tasmAt na: paripAhi uttara poorvasyAm disi vishAdI naraka:
tasmAt na: paripAhi” These lines from the
AraNyakam tell us that Narakam does exist, and incorporate a prayer to the Lord
to save us from these hellish fires. Additional proof, if needed,
is furnished by the Sri Vishnu Puranam, which says that these worlds of sinners
are located beneath the earth and the waters— “tatascha narakA vipra!
BhuvO adha: salilasya cha pApinO yEshu nivasantE tAn shruNu
mahAmunE!” And
it would appear that “Narakam” is not just a single world, but is the generic
name for a group of worlds inhabited by offenders of various types and hues. We
thus hear of a good number of “narakam”s, each intended for a specific type of
wickedness, with punishments varying accordingly. The same Vishnu Purana
catalogues a sample list of narakams—Rouravam, Sookaram, ROdham, TAlam,
Vishasanam, MahAjvAlA, Taptakumbham, lavaNam, VilOhitam, RudhirAmbham,
VaitaraNi, KrimIsam, KrimibhOjanam, asipatravanam, Krishnam, DAruNam,
lAlAbhaksham, Pooyavaham, PApam, Sandamsam, VahnijvAlA, adha:shirA, aprathistta,
aprachi, KAlasootram, Tamas, AvIchI, ShvabhOjanam, etc. Lest we derive comfort
from the rather short list of hells indicated, the Purana hastens to assure us
that the aforesaid is just the tip of the iceberg and there are hundreds and
thousands of Narakams,e each intended for a certain type of
offender— “EtE cha anyE cha narakA:
shatasOtha sahasrasa: yEshu dushkrita karmANa:
pachyantE yAtanAgatA:” Defining the pre-requisite for a spell in hell, the Purana tells us that sin is nothing but behaviour incompatible with the codes of conduct prescribed for people belonging to various VarNAs and AshramAs (stages of life, viz., student, householder, ascetic, etc.). Those who violate these dicta fall into one or the other of the aforesaid narakAs. And, for our comfort, the Scripture adds that these offences need not be actual deeds—even sinful thoughts and words consign one to the horrible worlds below—“KarmaNA manasA vAchA nirayEshu patanti tE”. This then is the important difference between human law and the divine—You might be guilty of any amount of evil thoughts, but as long as you hide them well behind a law-abiding façade, no government can prosecute you. The arm of the divine law has, however, a greater reach and is able to discern wickedness in thought too and award appropriate punishment. We
are filled with horror at all this ghoulish spiel. Is there no way we can avoid
these fires of hell? We know from practice that it is impossible for us to
refrain from committing sin, one way or the other, for, Sin seems such an
all-encompassing word. Even a smile of derision at some one wearing TirumaN,
even a word in a lighter vein making fun of someone’s orthodoxy, even a single
thought coveting someone else’s belonging—all these would reserve for us a place
in hell. Given the impossibility of strict adherence to divine dicta in the
present day and age, how then can we avoid falling into the fires of hell?
The
same Purana, which furnishes a graphic description of hellish worlds, also
prescribes for us ways of avoiding the same, by telling us to perform
“PrAyaschittam” or atonement. For each and every type of transgression, ShAstrAs
lay down the type of atonement to be adopted. If one takes recourse to these,
then one is saved from the aforesaid worlds of chastisement. However, if one is
hard nut, one must definitely undergo purification in one or the other of
“narakam”s, to cleanse one of the cloying stigma of sin— “pApa krit yAti narakam prAyaschitta
parAngmukha:”. We must remember that
atonement demands an appropriate frame of mind, the mind made sorrowful by the
act of sin committed and keen to make amends through atonement. Thus, “PaschAt
tApam” or remorse at having committed the sin, is an essential pre-requisite for
atonement. However, when we go through
the list of atonements prescribed by MaharshIs, we feel we might as well spend a
spell in hell and be done with it, for, the PrAyaschittams laid down for each
sin appear indeed impossible of performance, given our current physical and
mental state. Many of these atonal acts involve prolonged periods of fasting and
other forms of physical inconvenience, which appear much beyond frail mortals
like us. What then is our fate—is there no way for us to avoid the rigours of
hell? Are we destined to rot in hell forever, for, our predilection for the
forbidden act is proverbial and, in the absence of atonement therefor, what else
awaits us but hell? “Despair not!”, the Purana
tells us, showing us a way out and an easy one at that. Not only does it
prescribe an act that is a comprehensive PrAyaschittam for sins of all types,
but one that is sweet and pleasurable in performance. Can you ever find a
panacea, a sure-cure for all ills, which is simultaneously and incredibly tasty?
Sri Vishnu Purana tells us that of all types of PrAyaschittam, the best is to
think about the Lord, with a mind full of remorse for the violation of His
dicta— “PrAyaschittAni asEshANi
tapa: karmAtmakAni vai yAni tEshAm asEshANAm
KrishNa anusmaraNam param” What could be easier, what
could be sweeter to the mind and tongue, what could be more cleansing, than to
think of and utter the Krishna nAmA? Sri Kulasekshara Azhwar
wonders at the propensity of people to live lives steeped in sin, when there is
any number of the Lord’s names, which one could chant and think about, capable
of instantly cleansing of them of all sins. Why could one not say “Ananta”,
“Vaikunta”, “Mukunda”, “Krishna”, ”Govinda”, “Damodara”, “Madhava” etc., which
are incredibly sweet on the tongue and also act as purifiers, wonders
Azhwar— “ananta Vaikuntta Mukunda
Krishna GOvinda DAmOdara MAdhava iti vaktum samartthOpi na vakti
kaschit ahO! JanAnAm vyasana abhimukhyam!” Realising that we would
never consciously utter or contemplate the Lord’s holy names, Sri Periazhwar
suggests an easier way to ensure that we derive the benefit of the exercise-just
name your children after Emperuman, so that each time you call your child, you
accumulate merit and ward-off sin. Azhwar extends the categorical assurance that
this is the way to avoid the rigours of hell— ““MAnida sAdiyil tOndrittOr
mAnida sAdiyayi MAnida sAdiyin pEr ittAl
marumaikku illai VAnudai Madhava! Govinda!
Endru azhaitthkkAl NAnidai NAranan tam annai
narakam pugAL” Azhwar’s assurance appears
to be based on the story of ajAmiLa, who, when on his deathbed, called to his
infant son Narayana and was transported to Vishnu lOkam, despite his numerous
transgressions. We have seen how terrifying
hell and its keepers are. Azhwars speak of an occasion when the entire cruel
hell was transformed into a heavenly abode. How could this be possible, we
wonder. Azhwar elaborates in the following TirumAlai
pAsuram— “namanum Murkalanum pEsa,
narakil nindrArgaL kEtpa narakamE Svargam Agum
nAmangaL udaya nambi avanadu oor arangam ennAdu
ayartthu veezhndu aLiya mAndar kavalayuL padugindrAr endru
adanukkE kavalgindrEnE” In a glowing tribute to the
glory of the Lord’s holy names, Sri Tondarappodi Azhwar recounts the episode of
a conversation between Mudgala and Yamadharma rAjA. Mudgala was an extremely
wicked person, guilty of innumerable acts of sin. Quite unusually for him, he
gifted a cow to a Brahmin one day, accompanying it with the words, “Let this be
for Krishna” (“KrishNAya nama:”). When he died and reached YamalOka,
Yamadharmaraja himself received him with all honour and acclaim. When the
surprised Mudgala sought the reason for the unusual reception, Yama told him
that the single word “Krishna” uttered by Mudgala during the “GOdAnam” earlier,
had rid him of all evil. The beneficial effects of
the single utterance of the Krishna nAma did not stop with Mudgala. Those in
Naraka who listened to the conversation between Yama and Mudgala, and, in the
process, to the Krishna nAmA, were instantly absolved of their sins. What is
more, the entire hell was immediately transformed into heaven, lock, stock and
barrel. Such indeed is the efficacy
of the holy name of the Lord, which is capable of benefiting even those who
utter or listen to it, by sheer accident, without any instinct of devotion or
adulation. Azhwar’s pasuram is in turn based on the Sri Vishnu Dharmam, where
the episode is narrated in detail. For those who are unable
even to utter the short and sweet names of the Lord, Azhwar has another
prescription for saving them from the fires of hell. A mere mention of the
hallowed abodes of Emperuman would, by itself, ensure that none goes to Narakam:
indeed, if everyone were to just say the name of a divyadesam once, it would
render the hellish worlds uninhabited and desolate, says Azhwar in the following
pasuram— “arivilA manisar ellAm
arangam endru azhaippar Agil poriyil vAzh narakam ellAm
pullezhundu ozhiyum andrE” There is something worse than even Narakam, we are told by Sri Nammazhwar. Once we undergo punishment for the particular series of sins, we are freed from hell and are reborn on earth. Thus sojourn in hell is a time-bound thing. There is, on the other hand, an infinite prison sentence imposed on all Jeevatmas, which makes them hop from one body to another interminably and to remain imprisoned eternally in one mortal coil or the other. This is SamsAram, which makes people remain bound forever, unable to rid themselves of the powerful shackles of Karma. If Narakam can be compared to a long and dark night, Samsara is unending gloom, a permanent blackout, an interminable tunnel without a hint of light, says Sri Nammazhwar— “VidiyA
vennarakam”. We have seen that there are
ways of keeping out of hell—but are there ways of escaping the unending pall of
gloom that is Samsara? Instead of a PrAyaschittam
for each individual sin, is there a one-time, cover-all atonement, which would
serve as a massive cleansing agent, ridding us all of all types of sin? And is
there such a panacea, which would ensure that even in future, unintended
offences would not stain us with sin? Though this appears too much
to ask for, there is indeed a procedure for getting rid of our baggage of
accumulated misdeeds, while simultaneously ensuring that we remain untainted by
offences during the rest of our lives on earth. Prapatti or Sharanagati is the
universal atonement for all our sins past and present, and, when performed
through a benign Acharya, ensures that we never even peep into hell, however
major our sins be. Unlike other atonements, it is not hard of performance nor
anywhere as demanding. All it requires is the right attitude of mind, the
resolution to toe the right path henceforth, to avoid the path of sin and of
absolute conviction in and total surrender to our Lord and Master, giving
ourselves up to Him, heart and soul. If Tapas or Penance is prescribed as
atonement for major sins, this Sharanagati is rated even higher than Penance,
says the Upanishad— “TasmAt NyAsam EshAm tapasAm
atiriktam Ahu:” Once we perform Prapatti, we
can challenge the minions of hell with impunity and tell them, “To hell with
you!”,as does Sri Nammazhwar— “Poliga poliga poliga,
pOyittru valluyir shApam naliyum narakamum nainda namanukku ingu
yAdondrum illai”. Srimate Sri LakshmINrisimha
divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya
nama: dasan,
sadagopan
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