Heaven And Hell

[sat_naam18]

Waheguru Jee ka Khalsa, Waheguru Jee Kee Fateh

Over the past few months I have become very interested in Sikhi and am hoping to take Amrit in the near future. I have been reading many books and have talked to many people about Sikhism in regards to heaven and hell. I know in Japji Sahib, Guru jee has written about the 5 realms. My question is, what is the purpose of having 5 realms? And who belongs to these realms? How is it determined which realm one goes to? (I know only God can determine this but is there anything we can do in this life that will determine which realm we go to?) And if one does not reach Sachkand, does this mean one will not "be" with God? Also in Sikhism, is hell an actual place? Or is this world we live in right now considered to be hell? (I have heard both of these views...so i'm just a little confused!)

I know I just asked like a million questions but any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Waheguru Jee ka khalsa, Waheguru Jee Kee Fateh

[sher_panjabi]

Heaven & Paradise: Story of Bhagat Kabeer Jee

Heaven & Paradise: Mere Talk

Hope their useful articles

[randip singh]

Waheguru Jee ka Khalsa, Waheguru Jee Kee Fateh

Over the past few months I have become very interested in Sikhi and am hoping to take Amrit in the near future. I have been reading many books and have talked to many people about Sikhism in regards to heaven and hell.  I know in Japji Sahib, Guru jee has written about the 5 realms. My question is, what is the purpose of having 5 realms? And who belongs to these realms? How is it determined which realm one goes to? (I know only God can determine this but is there anything we can do in this life that will determine which realm we go to?) And if one does not reach Sachkand, does this mean one will not "be" with God? Also in Sikhism, is hell an actual place? Or is this world we live in right now considered to be hell? (I have heard both of these views...so i'm just a little confused!)

I know I just asked like a million questions but any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Waheguru Jee ka khalsa, Waheguru Jee Kee Fateh

146940[/snapback]

There is no heaven and hell as such in Sikhism.

Those who dwell in the five vices live in hell of their making - the Munmookhs. Those who do not dwell in these dwell in Heaven. We can exist in heaven or hell now, and our legacy will decide whether future generations live in a perpetual heavan or hell.

The concept of Sikhism with regards to our passing is more akin to the laws of Physics i.e. matter cannot be created or destroyed but merely changes form.

The realms the Guru's talk about are much like the dimensions we exist it eg

1st Dimension - Forward Back

2nd Dimension - left right

3rd Dimension - Up and down

4th Dimension - Time

5th Dimension - Space

nth Dimension etc

God is described "Akaal Moorat" - Beyond Time and Space, i.e. something that exists out of this.

Btw love the quote from the above article:

One day a Jehavoh's Witness came to our house. He was very keen to sell his religion to me. “Are you happy with the world?” he said, “Yes, I am.” “Really? But there is war, crime and destruction. Jesus has promised us Paradise and Heaven. The Kingdom of God is to come soon.” I thought about what he had said and asked him, “Whose kingdom are you living in now? Is this your Kingdom? No. We are already living in God’s Kingdom, but you have not realised this, because you are too busy selling Heaven and Paradise to others, rather than making your own life like Heaven by cherishing and enjoying the Presence of God.” This idea of selling a ticket to Heaven and luring people with the hope of Paradise is used by many religions, in particular the Semitic religions like Christianity and Islam

[singh_khalsa]

why do some sikhs say there isnt a hell? there many hells (terrible punishments)and heavens in dharam khand.

[randip singh]

why do some sikhs say there isnt a hell? there many hells (terrible punishments)and heavens in dharam khand.

146985[/snapback]

They are here and now.

Read the above articles before making any further comments.

[amarjeet_singh_1699]

why do some sikhs say there isnt a hell? there many hells (terrible punishments)and heavens in dharam khand.

146985[/snapback]

They are here and now.

Read the above articles before making any further comments.

146988[/snapback]

read undithi dunyia

[Singhstah]

yes i have read the above, however i wud say that u are indeed correct but there are also actual realms. You can indeed make hevaen on earth and hell on earth however there is also a physical hell, these hells are split into different parts which have different punishments for different sins. And there are also many heavanly realms, they are:

dharam khand

gyan khand

Sharam khand

Karam khand

and then the greatest of all sach khand

this is a very interesting post to read

which khand you go to depends on how much bhagti you have done, and sachkhand can only be reached through simran of gurmantar naam.

http://www.tapoban.org/phorum/read.php?f=1...162#reply_47162

[sat_naam18]

Thank you Sher-panjabi for sharing those articles. I do believe that we can experience heaven here on earth by doing naam japna and being in the company of sadh sangat. However, in Japji Sahib it clearly states that there is a physical heaven and hell (i.e. in Daram Khand). Look at the link that has been provided above from the tapoban forum....it clearly explains this. I am going to post the question that has been posted by the individual who started the topic on the tapoban forum because I have also wondered the same thing. The question is,

if someone has reached Gyaan khand or any of the other khands...is it possible to be "promoted" to Sachkhand? And also, is it only in sachkhand where one's soul merges with God? Or can one "be" with God in the other realms?

[Kharkoo4Life]

I know in Japji Sahib, Guru jee has written about the 5 realms. My question is, what is the purpose of having 5 realms? And who belongs to these realms? How is it determined which realm one goes to? (I know only God can determine this but is there anything we can do in this life that will determine which realm we go to?) And if one does not reach Sachkand, does this mean one will not "be" with God?

146940[/snapback]

Fateh,

The "realms" you speak of are indeed listed in Jap Ji Sahib, however, the important thing to understand is that they are not some mystical places one goes to after death but rather they are spiritual stages one progresses through on the journey to unite as one with God.

Purpose

The purpose of listing these various "khands" or stages is to help man understand the journey he is about to take. One can consider it a navigation tool to help identify the road (stage) the person is currently travelling on and the roads (stages) which lay ahead.

Granted, if we decide to make a long trip to a different city we can try and wing it and there is a possiblity we may reach our destination. However, there is a very high risk we wont reach our intended destination and even if we do there is a very high probability the journey will be filled with many difficulties, mistakes, wrong turns etc. Thus to help avoid all these obstacles and make our journey as simple and enjoyable as possible the guru has provided us with a sort of 'spiritual map' to help us navigate our way to our final destination (union with God).

Belonging to these realms

Anyone who makes the appropriate efforts with a honest humble heart can make his way through these stages (with the grace of God of course)

Who determines this?

Which stage we reach is determined by our own initiative and actions. As man steps on the pathway he can choose whether to stay committed and work earnestly to travel the rest of the journey or he can choose to stop along the way (become sidetracked) and become preoccupied with other things.

For instance, many people who develop the initial desire to walk the paht of the Guru start off by following the "dharam" of the guru and questioning their own previous actions, the purpose of their life and a want to change it for the better and thus progress to 2nd stage of "gyaan" where they have a thirst to acquire spiritual knowledge and understanding of gurbani. But often they get stuck at this stage and become engrossed in unhealthy pride of religiousity (that i read this much paath, or i am such a good devoted sikh etc.) and never progress any further.

Being one with God

Being one with god is not a place we go to but rather a understanding, or inner realization that "hey, god is already within me". WHen one comes to this understanding that god permeates everywhre and in everyone, and ones thoughts and actions change to respect and honour His Presence everywhere, then that is when the person can be said to have reached the stage of Sachkhand.

[singh_khalsa]

yes you can apply it to stages of life, but these are reality in the afterlife.