In the Bhagavad-Gita Krsna explains that we are not the body or the mind, but the soul. Together with Paramatma, we go from one body to the next the same way a person changes clothes, abandoning old and damaged bodies in favor of new ones. When a soul abandons one particular body, we call it “death”, and when he accepts a new body, we call it “birth”. This is a cycle that has been going on for a very long time.
How long? According to the Vedas, the particular universe we are in now was created about 155 trillion years ago and chances are we have been here since the beginning, and this may not even be all: chances are we joined other universes before this one. That’s why we are called nitya-badha or “eternally conditioned”. We have been here for so long that it is not possible to trace the beginning of it. Although Kala, or time is described as eternal, being an energy of Krsna, the effect of time over matter (what we may call material time) has a beginning. The trouble is that the soul is in contact with matter since before its beginning, therefore is not possible to describe when the soul came here in terms of years or centuries since the soul has been here since before the start of time.
The Vedas explain that there are 8.400.000 forms of life in this universe, amongst which there are 400.000 species of intelligent life, spread through different planets. Different from the modern scientific definition, which classifies species according to their capacity of generating viable offspring, the species described in the Vedas describe different levels of consciousness. A dog living on a different planet may have a different type of body, and thus not be able to mate with a she-dog from the Earth, but they still may still be considered one species, according to the Vedas, if their level of consciousness is similar.
The souls transmigrate through these different species of life according to their consciousness, actions, and desires in the cycle of samsara. But when was this started? When it’s going to end? How the spiritual soul enters into this material universe, and how he can leave?
It’s explained that every soul has an eternal relationship with Krsna, a spiritual identity that is eternal and unbreakable. This identity is the true ego or the real identity of the soul. That’s who we really are. How the soul can go from this position of eternal bliss to the perpetual struggle in the material world is a mystery. However, when this happens, the journey of the soul inside the material realm starts in the Karana ocean, on the border between the spiritual plane and the material energy. Just like to enter a country one has to pass through its border, similarly, the Karana Ocean is a border between the two words, a borderline position between the spiritual and the material.
The Karana Ocean contains the sum of the material energy but, in an unmanifested state. One way to see it is as an ocean, like is described in poetic language. Another is as a cloud, an unmanifested mass that covers part of the spiritual sky. It is described that the numerable material universes float in the Karana ocean just like balls floating on water.
The Karana Ocean is also called the Viraja River, another analogy that emphasizes that it works like a border between the material and spiritual words. If we could see outside of our universe, we would see this mass of spiritual water between our universe and the spiritual world, like a cosmic river that works as a border between the two words. To go from one side to the other, a soul has to cross this “river”.
In order to create the material universes, Krsna takes the form of Maha-Vishnu, Who lies down in the Karana ocean, creating the material universes and impregnating the material energy with the innumerable souls who desire to take part in the material creation. Maha-Vishnu never directly touches the material energy, this impregnation is done through His mere look, who becomes Lord Sadha-Shiva, who in turn transports all the souls to the material nature, and later expands himself as the many Shivas present in each one of the material universes.
In the Karana ocean, the soul is still in an almost pure state and enjoys a degree of spiritual bliss. However, desiring variety the soul assumes the covering of the false ego, which brings him to material designations. False ego means to accept an identity that is not one’s original spiritual position. Under the influence of the false ego, the soul accepts different temporary identities as human beings, demigods, animals, plants, and so on.
The false ego leads to the other coverings of the soul: intelligence, mind, and the subtle senses (that form the subtle body), and finally, the gross body composed of flesh, bones, and skin, containing the gross senses that allow us to enjoy the material world.
The Karana Ocean is the ultimate destination for followers of the Sunyavada doctrine (Buddhists), who call it Nirvana. This is a place where one is free from material duality but doesn’t have access to the varieties of the spiritual kingdom. Souls can stay for a long time there, in perfect peace, but the desire for variety makes them eventually fall into the material universes.
Descending from an almost pure state, the soul takes his first birth in Satyaloka (or Brahmaloka), the highest planet inside this material universe. There he lives a very long life, full of knowledge and free of miseries. In fact, it’s described that the only suffering the inhabitants there experience is compassion for the inhabitants of the lower planets, who don’t enjoy the same standard of living. Due to this, some of these inhabitants take birth in the lower planets, as philosophers and spiritual teachers to share their knowledge and thus help others to progress in the spiritual path.
The question is that although very long, the life of the inhabitants of Brahmaloka is limited. Time ticks for them the same way it ticks for us. When the time comes, they need to move out. The problem is that being Brahmaloka the most elevated planet in the universe, there are only two possibilities: To get out, and go back to the spiritual realm, or to go down, to some of the lower planets.
The souls that become further entangled with matter go down the second path, and take birth in one of the upper planetary systems, situated directly below Brahmaloka: Tapoloka, Janaloka, or Maharloka. These are subtle planetary systems where highly pious souls live. The ones who are very pure and attracted to meditation live in the first two, while the ones who are attracted to discipline and pious activities for the benefit of others live in the third.
Again, the soul has the choice of going up or down. The ones that are serious about self-realization may attain liberation and go back to the spiritual planets, or even take another birth in Brahmaloka, but others that become yet more entangled with matter go down, taking birth in Swargaloka, the celestial planets.
On these planets, pious souls live in great delight, having the opportunity to satisfy their sensual desires. The women there are called apsaras, and are just like angels, with exquisite beauty and irresistible feminine charms, while the men are extremely strong, intelligent, and handsome. Being pious, people are good-natured and innocent, there is very little anger or envy there. This planetary system matches very well the descriptions of paradise we have in other scriptures.
A common characteristic of all the upper planets, down to Swargaloka is that the inhabitants there live a completely natural lifestyle, in harmony with nature. They have mystic perfections that allow them to manipulate matter at will, and thus they don’t have the need for machines. They can even travel through space using their vimanas, and construct whole palaces just by their mere desire. They see machines as something dirty and unnecessary and therefore are not attracted to them.
Each of the celestial planets in Swargaloka is presided over by a particular demigod. The demigods are smaller controllers who have control over the material energies and execute chores related to the maintenance of the universe. They are like ministers who take care of the universal affairs, as well as maintaining the inhabitants of their own planets.
The problem with Swargaloka is that because of the practically unlimited opportunity for sense gratification, most souls use their time there to simply enjoy heavenly pleasures, instead of pursuing the path of self-realization. Therefore, after a long life there (10,000 celestial years, or 3,600,000 years of our time) the soul falls again.
The ones that have a little bit of pious credit left, take a last birth in heavenly conditions in one of the earthly kingdoms of Bhu-mandala, including Nābhi, Kiṁpuruṣa, Harivarṣa, Ilāvṛta, Ramyaka, Hiraṇmaya, Kuru, Bhadrāśva and Ketumāla, described in the 5th canto of Srimad Bhagavatam. There, the inhabitants have gross bodies (almost like us), but they still enjoy high living standards, not as good as the inhabitants of Swargaloka, but still quite comfortable.
These celestial locations are just like vacation resorts, where the ones that are falling from higher realms, or who performed pious deeds in the past are allowed to stay for some time to satisfy their remaining material desires. Instead of dollars or euros, the stay there is paid for by one’s good karma. However, just as one has to leave a resort when his money finishes, one has to leave these heavenly locations when his past merits are exhausted.
Having exhausted his pious credits completely, the soul takes his next birth on Earth. It’s described that the souls fall down to this realm with the rain. They get thus transferred to different plants that grow grains. Taking shelter in these grains, the soul is transferred to the semen of a man, and finally to a fetus when there is conception. This is the place we are now.
The next part will be dedicated to describing the lower planetary systems and how the soul goes back to his original nature, going this time upwards.
The intermediate planetary system
We live on Earth, or Bharata Varsa, a planet that is part of the intermediate planetary system. The Sanskrit word for planet is Dwipa, that is often translated as “island”, but Prabhupada clarifies that this is a metaphor. The planets are like islands floating on space. “Just as there are islands in the watery ocean, these planets in the ocean of space are called dvīpas, or islands in outer space.” (CC Madhya 20.218)
According to the model of the Vedic universe, there are innumerable planets and stars in our universe, and they are organized into planetary systems according to the level of consciousness of their inhabitants. There are seven lower planetary systems, inhabited by materialists, the intermediate planetary system, inhabited by human beings, and the upper planetary systems, inhabited by demigods and great sages.
The soul is originally pure, being part of Krsna’s internal potency, but when the soul comes to the material nature it becomes propense to fall into ignorance. Srila Prabhupada compares our involvement with Maya with a fever, which can increase or decrease. The more the fever increases, the deeper a soul goes into the modes of passion and ignorance, and the deeper the soul goes in the sequence of planetary systems. Souls who are purer can stay in the upper planetary systems, while souls who are very sinful go down to the lower planets.
As one goes downwards inside the material universe, he becomes progressively more involved with lower qualities, like lust, anger, and greed. This degrades one’s consciousness and makes him go progressively deep in the sequence of different planetary systems. As Krsna explains in the Bhagavad-Gita (16.21): “There are three gates leading to this hell – lust, anger, and greed. Every sane man should give these up, for they lead to the degradation of the soul.”
Fortunately, our universe is composed of just 14 levels of planetary systems. There is a finite number of levels one can go down to. Eventually, the soul goes down to the last level, which is hell. Once the soul reaches this level, there is no space to further fall. The soul is punished for his past crimes and put back in the evolutionary cycle, starting from the lower species. Although animal life may sound something terrible for us, who are currently in a human body, it is actually a great mercy from nature. Souls who misuse their free will for many lives and become excessively sinful are eventually put in the body of a plant, insect, or some lower animal. In this position, the soul can experiment with different types of sense gratification, but at the same time have his freedom restricted. Animals simply act according to their natures, and because of that, there is no concept of sin for animals. They simply do the activities they are supposed to do under the guidance of the Supersoul and gradually accumulate pious credits by performing different types of services (like a plant giving fruits or a cow giving milk) which eventually qualify them to again obtain a human body, where again he can make a choice.
Souls can go downwards and upwards in this cycle for many lives, remaining forgetful of their original position. As Krsna (as Paramatma, in the form of the old Brahmana) says on Srimad Bhagavatam:
“My dear friend, even though you cannot immediately recognize Me, can’t you remember that in the past you had a very intimate friend? Unfortunately, you gave up My company and accepted a position as enjoyer of this material world. My dear gentle friend, both you and I are exactly like two swans. We live together in the same heart, which is just like the Mānasa Lake. Although we have been living together for many thousands of years, we are still far away from our original home. My dear friend, you are now My very same friend. Since you left Me, you have become more and more materialistic, and not seeing Me, you have been traveling in different forms throughout this material world, which was created by some woman. (SB 4.28.53-55)
This process of going up and down may continue for a very long period, but eventually, the soul comes in contact with spiritual knowledge, be it through a book, a friend, or a spiritual teacher, and decides to start his way back. That’s why devotees who preach are so loved by Krsna since they are the ones who give the opportunity for souls to remember Him, which is the real purpose of the creation. Devotees are actually the reason the material universe exists, working as a place where forgetful souls can be rectified.
Because the material world is not the eternal position of the soul, no one can stay here eternally, just like it’s not possible for an astronaut to remain eternally in orbit (eventually he has to go back to earth in one way or another), but still we may stay here for a very long time. In the Bhagavad-Gita (16.9) Krsna uses the word “ajasram”, which means continuously and for a very long time, practically forever.
Our planet is described in the Vedas as Karma-Ksetra, a place where souls that exhaust their past karma go to execute different activities, and thus create a new baggage of Karma that is going to determine their next destination. In other words, this planet is a kind of cosmic crossroads, and the decisions we make here are going to have long-lasting implications. Here we can find both souls who are going downward, and souls who are going upwards, and is ultimately up to us to choose whom we want to associate with.
Being a place where we have a difficult life, and where we need to work very hard for any small amount of material success, this planet is considered an ideal place to cultivate spiritual knowledge and follow the path of self-realization. A soul can go back to Godhead from any planet (Vritasura and Gajendra when back from the celestial planets, while Prahlada Maharaja and Bali Maharaja achieved perfection although born in the lower planets), but from Earth, it is much easier. The amount of sense gratification one can have here is very small, and therefore there is little incentive to go on this path compared to other planets. On the other hand, the possibility of spiritual advancement here is very great. From Earth, a soul can go to any other material planet, or even directly realize his original spiritual nature and go back to Godhead.
However, there is also a great danger: the ones that misuse the opportunity become more and more materialistic. These take again the way down, going thus to the lower planets, where people are just after material comforts and there is little opportunity for self-realization. The planetary systems below Earth are described in the Srimad Bhagavatam as a dark hole because once one enters there, it’s difficult to come out.
The lower planets are described as being situated lower than Earth in the cosmic structure. It includes the planetary systems of Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Talātala, Mahātala, Rasātala, and Pātāla. All of them are subterranean realms where the natural light of the sun doesn’t enter. The inhabitants live underground on a perpetual night, depending on different arrangements of artificial lights.
Materialists who are very pious have the opportunity of taking birth in the Bila-Swaga, heavenly lower planets, where the inhabitants live in comfort, surrounded by material facilities, in cities created by the great architect Maya Dhanava. In terms of standard of living, the inhabitants of these planets are not worse than the demigods living in Swargaloka. The main difference is that in Swargaloka the inhabitants are God-conscious, and thus they have the opportunity to progress to higher realms, be it directly or after a stop on Earth. The inhabitants of the lower heavenly planets, however, are atheists. The law of Karma doesn’t discriminate between the two classes, and thus they are able to enjoy a similar standard of living, as long as they remain pious. The problem is that without good association they tend to gradually lose their piety, and thus sink into the lower levels.
The Bila-Swarga includes the planetary systems of Atala, Vitala, Sutala, and Talātala.
Prabhupada describes these planetary systems as follows: “Demons and Rakṣasas live in these lower planetary systems with their wives and children, always engaged in sense gratification and not fearing their next births. The sunshine does not reach these planets, but they are illuminated by jewels fixed upon the hoods of snakes. Because of these shining gems there is practically no darkness. Those living in these planets do not become old or diseased, and they are not afraid of death from any cause but the time factor, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”
Although most of the inhabitants of these planets are materialists, sometimes pure devotees like Prahlada Maharaja and Bali Maharaja take birth there to give them association. We hear how Prahlada was teaching Krsna Consciousness to his classmates in the Gurukula, for example. Therefore, even from the Bila Swarga there is opportunity of soul becoming a devotee and going upwards.
However, if a soul wastes this opportunity, one will eventually glide down as his pious credits are exhausted, going progressively lower.
In the third part, we will see more details about the planetary systems of Atala, Vitala, Sutala, and Talātala, as well as what is lower it.
The lower planets
In the 6th canto of Srimad Bhagavatam is described that Narada Muni instructed the Haryaśvas, the sons of Daksa with the following verse:
“There is a kingdom where only one man lives and where there is a hole from which, having entered, no one emerges. A woman there who is extremely unchaste adorns herself with various attractive dresses, and the man who lives there is her husband. In that kingdom, there is a river flowing in both directions, a wonderful home, made of twenty-five materials, a swan that vibrates various sounds, and an automatically revolving object made of sharp razors and thunderbolts.”
This enigmatic verse describes the material world. The only male is the Supreme Lord, who is the only enjoyer. The unchaste woman is the material intelligence, that goes everywhere, the object made of sharp blades is time, that destroys everything material, and the swam is a devotee who understands the nature of this word.
The analogy also describes a hole from which, having entered, no one emerges. This hole is the lower planets. Once one falls there, there is little possibility of coming out. Usually, the path is that one has to continue going progressively down until one reaches hell, and from there take birth as a plant or animal, from where one can gradually progress back to human life.
In this third part, we will learn more about these lower planets in the planetary systems of Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Talātala, Mahātala, Rasātala, and Pātāla,, as well as their inhabitants.
Atala is a planetary system where sex life is very prominent. Srimad Bhagavatam describes that it is populated by three classes of women: svairiṇī (independent), kāmiṇī (lusty), and puṁścalī (very easily seduced by men). These women engage the men who take birth there for sexual enjoyment, and thus they live there for a long period, completely forgetting their spiritual nature. Atala is one of the abodes of Lord Shiva, and Sutala is the abode of Bali Maharaja, which is described as being extraordinarily opulent. However, most of the inhabitants there are not interested in spiritual life, despite his good association. The last one is Talātala, where the great demoniac architect Maya Dhavana lives. His planet is extremely advanced technologically, but there is lots of pressure and competition. Not all have the same opportunities and everyone struggles to be on top of each other. It’s a standard of life that is similar to the way people live in most big cities nowadays. People there live completely artificial lives, disconnected from nature. Not exactly a good place to go, despite the material facilities.
The amount of happiness one can get is not just connected with the material facilities available, but also with what kind of association one has. On the celestial planets, one is surrounded by nice people, while on the lower planets, one is surrounded by violent, lusty people. Above all, in the lower planets, there is little opportunity for practicing spiritual life. That’s why the happiness present in the Bila-Swarga is actually illusory, just like the happiness of living in a rich city like New York or Dubai.
In the same way, there are pathways that connect our planet with the celestial planets, like the path in the Himalayas that was used by the Pandavas, there are also pathways that connect our planet with these lower realms. This allows the inhabitants of these lower spheres to sometimes visit our planet. There are many stories in the Puranas and the Mahabharata that describe the interactions of human beings as well as demigods with inhabitants of the lower planets. For example, once Maya Dhanava constructed three invisible spaceships that were used by demons to attack the celestial planets. These spaceships were so advanced that Lord Shiva had to personally destroy them.
Materialists who are impious, too much affected by lower qualities take birth in the lowest planets, which compose the planetary systems of Mahātala, Rasātala, and Pātāla. Here’s where things start to become quite dark. These planets offer progressively poorer living standards, more anxiety, and less peace of mind. The mentality of the inhabitants is progressively lower, and more lust, anger, and violence are present.
These three planetary systems are inhabited by serpentine demons who are very violent. Although originally they have the forms of serpents, the ones who are advanced can take other forms according to their desire. They can also visit Earth or even go to fight with the demigods.
The Vedas describe two types of nagas. One is the celestial serpents who live in Atala, Vitala, Sutala, and Talātala. These nagas are considered auspicious (they are even worshiped in many places in South India) and are very powerful. These nagas can visit our planet and assume the form of human beings. When the Pandavas were in exile, Arjuna married Ulupi, a naga princess, who was extremely dedicated to him. These nagas have jewels in their foreheads and are a source of illumination for these planetary systems.
Another type of nagas is less auspicious. They live in caves in the planetary systems of Mahātala and Pātāla. They are described as extremely angry and dangerous. They fight each other, with the weaker serpents being devoured by the stronger ones. They are also hunted by Garuda, who has the service of devouring them to check their population growth. Still, family attachment is present, and the serpents live there trying to enjoy family life, although always in great anxiety.
Prabhupada describes these abodes as follows: “The snakes in Mahātala are always disturbed by fear of Garuḍa, the carrier of Lord Viṣṇu, but although they are full of anxiety, some of them nevertheless sport with their wives, children, friends and relatives.”
“Beneath Mahātala is the planetary system known as Rasātala, which is the abode of the demoniac sons of Diti and Danu. They are called Paṇis, Nivāta-kavacas, Kāleyas and Hiraṇya-puravāsīs [those living in Hiraṇya-pura]. They are all enemies of the demigods, and they reside in holes like snakes. From birth they are extremely powerful and cruel, and although they are proud of their strength, they are always defeated by the Sudarśana cakra of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who rules all the planetary systems.”
“Beneath Rasātala is another planetary system, known as Pātāla or Nāgaloka, where there are many demoniac serpents, the masters of Nāgaloka, such as Śaṅkha, Kulika, Mahāśaṅkha, Śveta, Dhanañjaya, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Śaṅkhacūḍa, Kambala, Aśvatara and Devadatta. The chief among them is Vāsuki. They are all extremely angry, and they have many, many hoods—some snakes five hoods, some seven, some ten, others a hundred and others a thousand.”
Finally, there are the hellish planets, places where people who commit serious crimes go specifically to pay for the violence they committed against other living beings. Souls that arrive there listen while all their wrongdoings are described by Yamaraja, and are sentenced to different levels of punishment according to the severity of their crimes.
It’s described that one that lives by killing animals, for example, has his body pierced by the horns and teeth of the same animals he killed, and the ones that had lives centered around promiscuous sexual relationships have to embrace red-hot metal forms of the opposite sex. Persons that imprisoned and tortured animals have to live in caves where they are tortured by hellish beings. It’s not a place one would like to go.
The hellish planets are at the bottom of the universe. From there, there is no further way down. A soul that reaches this level has, after paying for his crimes, the opportunity to again take birth on this Earth or another intermediate planet, usually as a plant or animal, according to his consciousness, and from there slowly progress in the karmic evolutive process until he again can take birth as a human being, a position where he again has the choice of going up or going down.
To take birth as a human being on Earth is considered very fortunate, because here one has the chance to meet devotees who propagate transcendental knowledge, and thus start his way up, back to Godhead. This path is available in all ages, but it becomes especially easy in Kali-yuga due to the sankirtana movement inaugurated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Because our situation in this age is so desperate, He gives us the easiest and most powerful process. Just by practicing for a few years, we can achieve love of godhead, something that is extremely difficult for inhabitants of other ages.
Despite all opportunities, it’s easy to make the wrong choices and follow the path of materialism and sense indulgence, instead of taking the path of self-realization, which demands discipline. That’s why most souls end up staying in the material world for a very long time, going up and down in the cycle of samsara. It’s like investing money: One who has a certain capital, may invest his money and multiply it by making the right choices. This is going to bring him yet more money, that will multiply his opportunities for investment, up to the point he may become a billionaire. However, one that just spends his money in a decadent life, will eventually spend everything. He may then keep his artificial living standard for some more time by making debts, but eventually, his credit will dry out and he will not have other alternatives apart from doing hard work to pay his debts, and from there start again from the bottom.
Similarly, in our current life, we have the choice of cultivating spiritual knowledge and self-control and thus creating a brilliant path for ourselves by following the spiritual path, which will allow us to take birth on the higher planets or to go back to Godhead, or we may surrender to carnal desires and abuse the opportunity, creating a path that may not be so pleasant. That’s the beauty, and the danger, of human life.
In the Bhagavad-Gita, it is mentioned that “That which in the beginning may be just like poison but at the end is just like nectar and which awakens one to self-realization is said to be happiness in the mode of goodness.”
The material path involves instant gratification of one’s senses, thus it is a path that is pleasurable in the beginning, but painful in the long run. The path of progress on the other hand involves discipline and restraint. One who is studying to pass a test and enter a good university, for example, has to renounce many things he would otherwise want to do, and instead pass days and nights immersed in his studies. However, it allows him to achieve a much better position in the future. Similarly, the path of self-realization involves working on our bad habits, vices, and lower qualities, therefore it is a path that may present certain challenges in the beginning, but will bring us to the most sublime results in the end.