Chapter 16: Daivāsura-sampad-vibhāga-yoga: – Divine and Demonic CharacteristicsVerse 21
त्रिविधं नरकस्येदं द्वारं नाशनमात्मन: ।
काम: क्रोधस्तथा लोभस्तस्मादेतत्त्रयं त्यजेत् ॥
trividhaṃ narakasyedaṃ
dvāraṃ nāśanam-ātmana:
kāma: krodhas-tathā lobhas-
tasmād-etat-trayaṃ tyajet – 16.21
Three-fold is this door to hell, which spells destruction to one. It consists of passion, anger and greed. Therefore, one should shun these three.
Chapter 16: Daivāsura-sampad-vibhāga-yoga: – Divine and Demonic Characteristics - Verse 21
Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha
Krishna brings a new note to his discussion. He says hell is not a place of punishment, where people go after shedding their body, led by their evil deeds. All fictitious notions woven around such a hell are to be discarded.
Experiential and interactional life is here on this earth, now. Virtue and sin are earned and incurred by our life and actions on earth. We create heaven and hell here itself by our virtues and vices.
One has to win over passion, anger or wrath, and greed of the mind. If he does so, he avoids hell, and creates heaven. In other words, rajo-guna and tamo-guna together spin and weave the hell here and now.
With discretion, sublimate them by cultivating sattva-guna. Then you will enjoy heaven here undeterred. Think no further of hell or heaven in some other world. The seeker should have ample clarity in the matter.
