First of all, the term heaven is largely misunderstood as the dwelling place of God and His angels. Followers of different religions mistake heaven to be the Godly abode. The Vedas say that God's kingdom is very different from heaven, which they refer to as svarg or svarg-lok . There are seven levels of svarg: Bhuvah, Svah, Mahah, Janah, Tapah, Satah and Brahmlok.
Svarg, according to the Vedas, is a temporary abode of transient pleasures, albeit great pleasures. Svarg is included within the realm of Maya, and as such, it is not a Divine Abode. It is above the earth and it accommodates those who have fulfilled the requirements for gaining entrance. Popular belief says that if you have led a good life, without knowingly harming others, and if you have been kind and generous, there will be a seat reserved for you in svarg. And then there are those who believe that simply dying assures one space in svarg. This ignorance leads them to think that their deceased loved ones are dwelling there, awaiting their arrival.
According to the Vedas, if one wishes to attain svarg after death, he must perform the Vedic ceremonies known as yagyas. In the yagya, the officiating pundit recites Sanskrit mantras while offering pure ingredients to the fire with the view to appease the devtas dwelling in svarg-lok. This sounds easy enough until you hear about the six conditions that are to be fulfilled exactly in the performance of yagyas. Three are given below:
1.The recitation of the mantras by the priest must be 100% accurate. Even the slightest mistake made in pronunciation or intonation will greatly alter the meaning of the mantra, bringing great harm to the host.
2.The place where the yagya is hosted, must be a place where no sin has ever been committed.
3.The host must use white money in hosting the yagya. This means that he must have scrupulously donated
one dime out of every dollar that he has ever earned. Otherwise, his money is black money.
Fulfilling all the six conditions is nearly impossible, especially in the times that we are living in. But if the host does succeed in fulfilling all six conditions accurately, he will be sent to svarg after death, where he will enjoy material pleasures the likes of which do not exist on earth. He will become a devta in svarg, ruled by Indra. He will be given a very attractive body that never needs cleansing, since it is ever fresh and clean; a body that exudes fragrance at all times. He will be able to attain anything material by simply thinking about it, without making any external effort.
However, the Mundakopanishad says that only the highly foolish ones desire and reach svarg after death. (1.2.8) The reasons are the following:
1.The inhabitants of svarg-lok suffer from anger, greed, lust, pride, envy and hypocrisy, just like humans. The story of Indra's wrath is a popular one amongst Hindus. When Lord Krishna convinced the inhabitants of Braj to stop worshipping Indra, the king of svarg lashed out at the non-worshippers by wreaking havoc on them in the form of a horrendous rainstorm. It is said that every raindrop was equal to a baseball bat in size. Lord Krishna lifted the Mount Govardhan, providing shelter to all humans and animals. Indra observed all this and thought, "Who is this little boy? Oh, it must be God Himself. How foolish I have been!" Indra then begged forgiveness from Lord Krishna and was given pardon for his foolish behavior.
This story tells us of the material nature of devtas in svarg-lok. Indra suffers from pride, greed and lust. When he eyes the higher seat of Brahma, he feels envious.
Once Indra was visited by God, who offered to grant him a boon. Indra said, "Lord! Bless me with the most beautiful female in the three universes." God smiled and said, "Indra! Do not rush into anything. Think it over for some time." Indra could not think of anything better, and so God revealed to him hundreds of beautiful apsaras. Looking at the very first one in the lineup, Indra became infatuated and desired her. When Brihaspati, the guru to all devtas, heard about this, he scolded Indra. You have brought shame to your guru. Why did you not ask God for God Himself? Why did you ask for the most beautiful female? This story shows that Indra suffers from lust.
2.The Bhagvatam says that one lives in svarg-lok as long as his virtuous actions are intact, (11.10.26) and as soon as they are exhausted, says Mundakopanishad, the soul departs from svarg and is born in lower forms of life on earth. In the Bhagvad Gita, Lord Krishna tells Arjun that the pleasures of svarg are temporary. (9.21) Even after living in the seventh and highest level of svarg, one is born on earth in lower forms of life. Lord Krishna says, All abodes from Brahmlok downwards are subject to destruction. (8.16)
They who have attained enlightenment explain that svarg is a prison. Granted this prison is made of gold, yet it is verily a prison. While in svarg one cannot fulfill the purpose of life, which is God-realization. Though devtas possess far superior knowledge than humans, yet they are not given the privilege of fulfilling their aim in life. In this respect, devtas are equal to animals and other lower creatures who are merely reaping fruits of their previous actions, without enjoying the freedom of performing fresh actions that will bear fruit.
Going to svarg is like making a withdrawal at the bank. Suppose you have accumulated one million dollars. These are the virtuous actions performed by you. Going to svarg is equal to withdrawing funds from your account. As soon as the funds are exhausted, there is zero balance. If you still insist to the bank manager that you wish to withdraw more funds, you will be escorted out of the building. You may say that a person can make deposits to his account. Yes, but going to svarg-lok, you forfeit the right to make deposits, i.e. you forfeit the right to perform fruit-bearing actions when you go to svarg. This is the very reason that devtas plead with God to bless them with a human form. Humans are the only children of God who not only reap the fruits of previous actions (which we call destiney), but are allowed to perform ever-new actions with the purpose of creating a better destiny.
Now for the concept of hell. According to Hindu scriptures there are 28 hells, some of which are Aveechi, Kaalsutra, Raurav, Maharaurav and Kumbhipak. These are detailed in Garud Puran and Bhagvatam. Just as Svarg (heaven) is a temporary abode, so is Narak (hell). One is made to suffer the torments of hell as a punishment for one's misdeeds. When one is sent to hell after death, he is given a body that is fit to withstand the torments of hell. Needless to say, hell is not a comfortable place to live in. However, the situation is not hopeless. After finishing its term in hell, the soul is resent to earth in any one of the 8.4 million life-forms. It may be given the body of an insect, bird, tree or an animal. Then, based on the devotion it has performed in innumerable past lifetimes, the soul one day becomes deserving of the most desirable form: the human form.
Once in the possession of the human body, the soul once again has an opportunity to work towards the attainment of heaven, hell, earth or God's Abode.
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