In fact Moksha = eternal birthless/ deathless state in Hinduism.
It’s equivalent in Islam, we can say, is life in Heaven. For a Muslim, life in Heaven is an eternal reward.
A ‘true Muslim’ is assured of the reward. Who is a true Muslim?
One who does all the right things that Koran dictates. (Having total faith in Allah, doing daily Namaz, ete etc)
One who does not do all the wrong things that Koran dictates (refraining from worshiping any other God, worshiping God with form or worshiping any human being; no drinking, no earning money through money-lending etc etc)
In Islam, there is no rebirth. This current life is just one. At the end of it, wait for the day of judgement in your grave. Allah would judge you based on your deeds during your lifetime and either you will end in heaven or in hell forever.
An Islamic heaven is a place of permanent enjoyment and merry making in the company of God. A Hindu’s heaven is not equivalent to Islam’s heaven. A Hindu’s heaven is not a moksha either. Hindu’s heaven is at the best a temporary stay of enjoyment of the fruits of good deeds till you exhaust them. It is said that there is no physical body for enjoyment, but only a subtle body (soul) where the enjoyment is only mental. You will have to return to earth afterwards. Coming and going will go on till you are freed of desires and wants and totally refine yourself— till you attain moksha. It is also believed that enjoyment in heaven is for extraordinary good deeds only. For not so great good deeds, the earth itself is the place of enjoyment (in the next birth).
An Islamic hell is a permanent and never ending place of suffering. There is no escape once one ends there. A Hindu’s hell is not equivalent to an Islam’s hell. It is just a temporary place of stay and suffering till you exhaust the effects of your evil karmas. Here again it is said that all the sufferings are mental only as there is no physical body. You then get a chance to take a rebirth in earth to refine yourself. Again, the punishment in hell is for any extraordinary acts of evil done in previous births. For other wrong doings, suffering comes in some way or other in the next birth. Any number of births may be there till you refine yourself completely and attain moksha.
A Hindu’s moksha is neither enjoyment equivalent to what you get in Heaven nor any suffering whatsoever. It is called Ananda — Bliss — total peace.
https://hinduismwayoflife.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/heaven-hell.jpg341707C.V.Rajanhttps://hinduismwayoflife.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Logo6-Hinduism-Sanatana-dharma-Way-of-life-340-×-140-px-300x124.pngC.V.Rajan2019-08-26 15:39:212019-08-26 15:39:21Can a Muslim attain moksha in the Hindu way?
Normally spiritual advice and wisdom come to us through scriptures, Gurus and Avatars. What if spiritual guidance on rightful living comes to us from the spirit world itself, through departed souls who live in higher realms of life?
That’s precisely what this book “The laws of the spirit world” purportedly offers.
It all happened after the gory death of two smart young men (by name Vispi and Ratoo) as a consequence of an automobile accident that they met with in the year 1985. The peaceful and happy life of Khorshed Bhavanagri and Rumi Bhavnagri, the parents of Vispi and Ratoo (who were living in Mumbai) got shattered overnight due to the accidental death of their beloved sons . The Bhavnagris were thrown into inconsolable sorrow and depression. The departed souls of Vispi and Ratoo could not bear watching from their abode in the spirit world the pain and mental suffering that their most loved parents were undergoing; they wanted to help them; . Through the help of a medium, they reached out to their parents.
Over time, Khorshed Bhavanagri learned the skill of communicating to the spirit world as a medium herself and she started regularly communicating with the souls of her children. She acquired the skill of Auto-writing (whereby the spirits dictate their messages and the medium writes down in a state of trance – and it could be in a language to totally unknown to the medium – in this case, in English that Bhavnagri didn’t know) .
It is in this way, that Vispi and Ratoo reportedly opened out the facts and realities about the spirit world, the different realms of existence of the souls there, how sinful souls have to undergo painful living at lower realms and good souls can enjoy “heavenly” bliss, the confirmation and validity of rebirth, the laws of Karma, the purpose of human birth in this world, the existence of God, the need for morality in life and so on. Bhavnagri’s auto-written notes came out in the form of this book after her death.
What is curiously interesting in this book is the description of the spirit world unfolded to us by (the souls of) Vispy and Ratoo. According to them, there exists 7 realms of life in the spirit world. While level 4 is the medium level where good and bad, dark and light co-exist (almost like our world), level 1 to 3 are darker worlds where sinners undergo punishment ; level 5 to 7 are holier worlds where good souls reap their rewards of leading a morally enriched worldly life through varying degrees of bliss and tranquility.
According to them, the goal of each soul is to raise from its existing ( lower ) realms to higher realms through acts of goodness, positive efforts, developing morally right behavior and then getting liberation once for all (free from birth and death) by transcending level 7. This process is reportedly very slow; the way to quicken is to take birth on this earth, which is truly a Karma Bhoomi (world to exhaust karma by indulging in it) . The souls can reportedly take the option of getting a re-birth in this world to parents of their choice. Once taken birth, they do not remember about their past, but their past memories are stored deep in their sub-conscious mind.
After taking birth here, the souls have to undergo trials and tribulations depending on their karmas that need to be exhausted, get purer, holier, acquire positive qualities and grow spiritually. The purpose of human birth is precisely that. Only through a human birth the karmas and vasanas get depleted fast to enable the souls reach up to higher realms. They get spiritual guidance by suitable means from the spiritual world as well as Gurus in this world. But the soul is endowed with free will and through it, one may lose track, get into bad company, immoral ways and lead a sinful life, thereby wasting this birth and after death, ending up at a sorry state at a lower realm and suffer in the spirit world.
According to this book, our conscience (or sub-conscious mind) plays a very important role to shape up our lives positively. The more we listen and act as per the voice of our conscience the more we grow spiritually. The more we ignore it, the more we suffer. If the voice of the conscience is constantly ignored , it goes dormant. Then one loses correct spiritual guidance from inside and he ends up doing more sins.
Many key aspects of spiritual wisdom that the souls of Ratoo and Vispy convey through this book are very strikingly in resonance with basic tenets of Hinduism; many things seem to have been in tune with what we grasp from several Puranas and Itihas (Ramayana and Maha Bharata) and Hindu scriptures.
There are ‘real life stories’ narrated in this book on how people lose track of their purpose of human life (and reincarnation) and get drifted away; how, for truly good souls, spiritual guidance for corrective course of action comes from spirit world and so on.
This book is essentially a spiritual book of guidance for positive living. Spiritual seekers can find very reassuring tips and guidance from this book that can reinforce their faith in God and help adhere to rightful and spiritually enriching life.
Other readers may find the reading a shade boring and repetitive. Rationalists may find this book a figment of imagination fostering blind faith and moral indoctrination.
But those who are neither spiritual seekers nor rationalists but who are concerned about the consequences of rights and wrongs that they have done in this life, this book can give lots of food for thought, introspection and assimilation.
https://hinduismwayoflife.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/spirit-world.jpg323518C.V.Rajanhttps://hinduismwayoflife.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Logo6-Hinduism-Sanatana-dharma-Way-of-life-340-×-140-px-300x124.pngC.V.Rajan2018-03-19 15:09:352018-03-19 16:20:53Book Review of “The Laws of the Spirit World” by Khorshed Bhavnagri
If we seriously analyse the interpretations given by staunch believers in Abrahamic religions (particularly Christianity and Islam), we will have to painfully conclude that a kind, loving, considerate, compassionate and law abiding person will have to end up in hell because he has not accepted Jesus Christ/God/ Creator.
WHAT CHRISTIANITY SAYS:
From whatever I understood from the explanations/ interpretations available on Bible scriptures (here in Quora and a few other sites) I gather the following ideas (knowledgeable Christians can correct me if there are mistakes in my understanding):
When a person dies, this physical body perishes but soul remains as if in sleep.
The soul remains in this state of suspended animation till the ‘Day of Judgment’.
There is an alternative interpretation available (again based on quotes from Bible) that the souls of those believers in Jesus Christ, immediately upon death, end up in heaven and remain there blissfully, but without their bodies. (both good people as well as sinners, who are believers, end up in heaven).As per the same alternative belief, the souls of non-believers (be it sinners or good people) end up in hell, suffering in blistering fire/ in darkness etc.
‘When the day of Judgement’ comes, (God only knows when), those believers of God will get their buried bodies resurrected and they will reach heaven (with a body) to remain in eternal joy in the presence of God for ever. It includes both sinners and good people. Sinners are cleared off all their sins purely based on their faith on Jesus Christ. He had already shed his blood on their behalf and that blood purifies the sins of all the believers.
On the day of judgement, those who are alive too will be judged the same way — Are you a believer or not believer? Your fate is frozen accordingly.
In case of non-believers, on the day of judgement, they too get the body resurrected, but they continue to suffer eternally in hell.
Man gets only one birth/ chance to live in this world. Soul lives for ever and it is either in heaven (in case of believer) or in hell (in case of non-believer, irrespective of whatever good qualities he possessed). So, better believe in Jesus Christ while you are alive! You are NOT entitled for any more chance.
WHAT ISLAM SAYS:
From whatever I understood from the explanations/ interpretations available on Koran scriptures (in a few other sites) I gather these ideas (Knowledgeable Muslims can correct me if there are mistakes in my understanding):
When a person dies, their body perishes but soul remains as if in sleep
Those souls who have done good deeds and have faith in Allah are taken royally to the heaven, and will enjoy being there till the day of judgment
Those souls who have done evil acts and have no faith in Allah will be painfully dragged out of their bodies and they will end up in hell to suffer
The souls with a mix of good and bad deeds remain in the state of suspended animation till the ‘Day of Judgment’, but in the grave they will undergo suffering for their evil deeds , waiting for the day of judgment.
On the day of Judgment, Allah comes to the rescue of those locked in the grave yard. If the person had sinned but has faith in Allah, he is saved by Allah’s grace and sent to Heaven. For a non-believer, the fate is sealed. He has to suffer eternally in hell. His acts of good are of no avail to him.
People of all other faiths who worshiped any other God (other than Allah) are also doomed. They are all cursed to live in Hell.
Man gets only one birth/ chance to live in this world. Soul lives for ever and it is either in heaven (in case of believer) or in hell (in case of non-believer, irrespective of whatever good qualities he possessed). So, better believe in Allah while you are alive! You are NOT entitled for any more chance.
WHAT HINDUISM SAYS
Every human being is potentially divine. Only problem is people don’t know it (unless they go deep into practical spirituality) because of maya and ego.
Lured by maya and deluded by ego, man does lots of acts (karmas) which may be good or evil. A man naturally does both in varying proportions.
Every Karma creates a Karma phala (fruit of karma) which one has to enjoy or suffer. A bad karma’s effect does not cancel out a good karma’s effect or vice versa. Accounts of good and bad acts have independent existence.In this specific case, the man who is “kind, loving, considerate, compassionate and law abiding” has really accumulated good fruits (called Punya) because all these are essentially qualities that are part of Satva guna (pure and auspicious qualities). These qualities will be for his benefit irrespective of whether he is a believer or not.
Human birth does not end in one life. It is a continuous on going process : birth-live-die-next birth-live-die and so on. It is called Samsara. It is there because you have to enjoy or suffer whatever good or bad that you keep doing till you settle all your accounts.
It is by God’s will that the next birth takes place with a specific load of fruits of one’s previous karmas (from the total account done across may previous births). While the person enjoys or suffers by exhausting his previous fruits of karma, he keeps engaging in fresh karmas (good or bad, prompted by his likes and dislikes) too in this birth that will start adding to his karma loads leading to future births!
In between two births, the soul may also undergo a stint in Heaven (to enjoy the extraordinary punyas acquired in previous births) or in Hell (to suffer the extraordinary sins acquired on account of outright evil acts committed in previous births).
But it has to return to earth in any case to continue the process with the balance loads. Unfulfilled desires on account of all the experiences keep on goading the souls to to hopelessly engage in karmas and getting caught in the samsara cycle.
But where is the end to this maddening cycle? There are two ways – Bhakti or Gnyana. Understand the futility of samsara, understand the hopelessness of running behind fulfilling desires, shun the deluding maya, shun your ego — surrender to God. When the surrender is total, God saves you out of compassion on you from samsara and takes your soul to his eternal abode. This is the path of Bhakti.
In the path of Gnyana, you inquire: Who am I? Am I this perishing body? Who is true the enjoyer or sufferer? Is it the body, mind, ego, soul or what? I am atman; the witness; imperishable. This way, the soul further realizes that it is none other than the Almighty (Brahman), but getting all along deluded by maya and ego! When this self-realization happens (after many births), there is no more desire to fulfill. There is no fear of death. ‘I am eternal. There is no more birth and death for me.’ “Aham Brahmasmi” (‘I am Brahman”).
https://hinduismwayoflife.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Hell2.jpg419672C.V.Rajanhttps://hinduismwayoflife.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Logo6-Hinduism-Sanatana-dharma-Way-of-life-340-×-140-px-300x124.pngC.V.Rajan2018-02-03 16:41:102018-04-09 10:23:01If a person is compassionate, law abiding, kind, loving, considerate and leads a good personal life, but doesn’t believe in God, would he really go to hell?
This website has been conceived and being developed by C.V.Rajan. He is a retired Engineer and an ex-design consultant, now living with his wife in Ashram at Amritapuri, Kerala, spending his retired life in quest of spirituality under the holy feet of Amma, Satguru Mata Amritanandamayi.
He is an avid reader and a writer. Writing as a hobby started in him at the age of 20. As his interest turned to spirituality in his late thirties, he became an avid reader on the lives and teachings of great Mahatmas like Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Bhagwan Ramana Maharshi and his satguru Mata Amritanandamayi (Amma).
In his early fifties, he wrote at various blog sites on variety of subjects like Hinduism, spirituality, life & living, healthy living, Indian culture and so on. Now through this website (Hinduism Way Of Life), C.V.Rajan is consolidating and sharing all his writings on Hinduism under a single umbrella.
This website has been conceived and being developed by C.V.Rajan. He is a retired Engineer and an ex-design consultant, now living with his wife in Ashram at Amritapuri, Kerala, spending his retired life in quest of spirituality under the holy feet of Amma, Satguru Mata Amritanandamayi.