Chapter 8 verse 16
“In all the
worlds of this material creation, up to the highest abode of Brahma, you will
be subject to rebirth, O Arjun. But on attaining My Abode, O son of Kunti,
there is no further rebirth.”
For this verse, Swami Mukundananda’s commentary is so apt
(it is always great but I was trying to write my own interpretation for other
verses but this one needs to be shared with people who read this blog for
sure!), that I am going to repeat the same verbatim. I pray to Swamji that he
will understand intent of this share and accept my salutations to him.
The Vedic scriptures describe seven planes of existence
lower than the earthly plane—tal, atal, vital, sutal, talātal, rasātal,
pātāl. These are called narak, or the
hellish abodes. There are also seven
planes of existence starting from the earthly plane and above—bhūḥ, bhuvaḥ,
swaḥ, mahaḥ, janaḥ, tapaḥ, satyaḥ. The
ones above are called swarg, or celestial abodes. Other religious traditions also refer to the
seven heavens. In Judaism, seven heavens
are named in the Talmud, with Araboth named as the highest (see also Psalm
68.4). In Islam also, there is mention
of seven heavens with the sātvāñ āsmān (seventh sky) enumerated as the highest.
The different planes of existence are called the various
worlds. There are fourteen worlds in our
universe. The highest amongst them is the abode of Brahma, called Brahma
Lok. All of these lokas are within the
realm of Maya, and the residents of these lokas are subject to the cycle of
birth and death. Shree Krishna has
referred to them in the previous verse as duḥkhālayam and aśhāśhvatam
(impermanent and full of misery).
Even Indra, the king of the celestial gods, has to die
one day. The Puranas relate that once
Indra engaged Vishwakarma, the celestial architect, in the construction of a
huge palace. Wearied by its
construction, which was not ending, Vishwakarma prayed to God for help. God came there, and He asked Indra, “Such a
huge palace! How many Vishwakarmas have
been engaged in its making?” Indra was
surprised by the question, and replied, “I thought there was only one
Vishwakarma.” God smiled and said, “Like
this universe with fourteen worlds, there are unlimited universes. Each has one Indra and one Vishwakarma.”
Then Indra saw lines of ants walking toward him. He was surprised and asked from where so many
ants were coming. God said, “I have
brought all those souls here who were Indra once in their past lives, and are
now in the bodies of ants.” Indra was
astonished by their vast number.
Shortly after, Lomesh Rishi came to the scene. He was carrying a straw mat on his head; on
his chest was a circle of hair. Some
hair had fallen from the circle, creating gaps.
Indra received the sage, and politely queried from him, “Sir, why do you
carry a straw mattress on your head. And
what is the meaning of the hair circle on your chest?”
Lomesh Rishi replied, “I have received the boon of
chirāyu (long life). At the end of one
Indra’s tenure in this universe, one hair falls of. That explains the gaps in the circle. My disciples wish to build a house for me to
stay in, but I think that life is temporary, so why build a residence
here? I keep this straw mat, which
protects me from rain and the sun. At
night, I spread it on the ground and go to sleep.” Indra was astonished, thinking, “This ṛiṣhi
has the lifespan of many Indras, and yet he says that life is temporary. Then why am I building such a big
palace?” His pride was squashed and he let
Vishwakarma go.
While reading these stories, we also must not fail to
marvel at the amazing insight of the Bhagavad Gita regarding the cosmology of
the universe. As late as in the
sixteenth century, Nicholas Copernicus was the first western scientist to
propose a proper heliocentric theory stating that the sun was in fact the
center of the universe. Until then, the
entire Western world believed that the earth was the center of the universe. Subsequent advancement in astronomy revealed
that the sun was also not the center of the universe, but revolving around the
epicenter of a galaxy called the Milky Way.
Further progress enabled scientists to conclude that there are many
galaxies like the Milky Way, each of them having innumerable stars, like our Sun.
In contrast, Vedic philosophy states five thousand years
ago that the earth is Bhūr Lok, which is revolving around Swar Lok, and between
them is the realm called Bhuvar Lok. But
Swar Lok is also not stationary either; it is fixed in the gravitation of Jana
Lok, and between them is the realm called Mahar Lok. But Jana Lok is not stationary either; it is
revolving around Brahma Lok (Satya Lok), and between them is the realm called
Tapa Lok. This explains the seven higher
worlds; similarly, there are seven lower worlds. Now, for an insight given five thousand
years ago, this is most amazing!
Shree Krishna says in this verse that all the fourteen
worlds in the universe are within the realm of Maya, and hence their residents
are subject to the cycle of birth and death.
However, those who attain God-realization are released from the bondage
of the material energy. Upon leaving
this material body at death, they attain the divine abode of God. There, they receive divine bodies in which
they eternally participate in the divine Pastimes of God. Thus, they do not have to take birth in this
material world again. Some saints do
come back even after liberation from Maya.
But they do so only to help others get out of bondage as well. These are the great descended Masters and
great Prophets, who engage in the divine welfare of humankind.
