WILL MAHATMA GANDHI GO TO HEAVEN OR HELL? [PART – I]

A lengthy debate is going on between certain Hindus and Muslims on Jagannath Reddy Jannareddy’s timeline wherein he has put a direct question to me [Mohammad Alvi] whether Mahatma Gandhi would go to heaven or hell.

While discussing the subject with a Muslim who is of the view that Mahatma Gandhi won’t go to heaven, Jagannath Reddy Jannareddy says: “At the moment your beliefs say that People even as great as Mahatma Gandhi will go to Hell...just because they do not follow what you follow. You have read these discussions earlier in my discussions with another gentleman.
What do you say to this? This is very important benchmark. Will Mahatma go to heaven..or..Hell?
I say he will go to Heaven. Now..I want your view in simple words.”

Further he says that “Alvi bhai has read Quran thoroughly and also other holy books… and Vedas too...so...he is better placed than me or you to answer this critical question. The entire peace in the world is based on my question. So… let Alvi bhai answer it...and then you too answer it...

Simple question hai...so… simple answer chahiyey.....no citations...no returns....no lengthy indirect answers. Just one simple answer. Is Mahatma Gandhi eligible to go to heaven..or..not....? This Yes ..or No...is what the future of World is based on.”

And he said: “I feel that Good People from All Religions go to Heaven...and Bad people from All Religions go to Hell...And Worse people make Hell in this World.” And says that the present Muslim view amounts to saying that Mahatma Gandhi, Vivekananda, Mother Teresa, Pope, etc. will go to hell.”

Responding to this, I wrote on Jagannath Reddy Jannareddy’s timeline: “You people need to be praised for carrying the discussion this far within 24 hours since I last visited facebook. As regards to your 'yes' or 'no', Jagannath Reddy Jannareddy, the answer is conditional and cannot be given in 'yes' or 'no'. Gita has truly described who will go to heaven and hell but when Krishna couldn't say so in one sentence, leave alone, in one word, Mohammad Alvi who is at no level with Krishna, too cannot give the answer in merely a few words. But now that I have seen what answer you are seeking from me, I will definitely try to give my views, but you will have to give me some time for it.”

In response, Jaggu bhai wrote: “Aaahh...Alvi bhai style answer...God Bless You...”

And I further wrote in response to a friend’s comment during the course of the same discussion: “Ambreesh Mishra, I wish to know the logic of one thing. You are regularly quoting from Upanishad and Gita but at the same time you are saying 'there is no need to pray or defer to any God' whereas the Upanishads and Gita are asking us to do the opposite. If we believe in Upanishad and Gita to be Divine in origin, we shall not raise questions but if we do not believe so, then why quote it as authentic source to support your view. I believe that Upanishad and Gita are both Divine in origin and hence would like to believe in the content truly (it is another issue that the content may not have been understood properly). When you say that the Semitics will not go to heaven, kindly give me one written source on the basis of which you say so. If Semitic have been born Semitic, was it the Hindu God who gave them birth as Semitic or was it another Muslim God who gave them birth as Semitic? If it was the Hindu God who gave them birth as Semitic, then it was the Hindu God who acted unjustly and if it was the Muslim God who gave them birth as Semitic then I would pray to both Gods to fight it out between them and decide which of the two is to be worshipped? It is unfortunate that we are so hell-bent on proving the Hindu and Muslim religious scriptures from different sources that we go to extreme lengths without bothering to seek the true version. Till sometime back, lot many Hindu scholars used to say that there is no concept of heaven and hell in Hinduism. Now when it has been proved that the concept of heaven and hell has been described in Gita, Vedas and Upanishads, we are hell-bent on proving that this heaven and hell is different from Muslim heaven and hell. When I have shown that there are guardians of heaven and hell in Vedas and there are guardians of heaven and hell described by Mohammad as well, we are again bent on proving that there are two different heavens and hells. I have even shown that Vedas have talked of Kaaba and Makkah and Ali has talked of a direct relationship of himself with Krishna, but even then we turn a blind eye to the fact that there is One Creator of this Cosmos and there is One Path to Reach Him. All understandings that do not conclude on this One Path are either because of deviation or misunderstanding. Lot of dust and sand has been thrown on the true path and we will have to remove all heap of misunderstanding to come to the right path.”

Dear Jagannath ji, before I give my views I would like to clarify a pointed statement of yours as per which you said “At the moment your beliefs say that People even as great as Mahatma Gandhi will go to Hell”. I wish to tell that this is not my belief but the present belief of most Muslims. And I maintain, with conviction that Muslims are yet to understand several aspects of Islam just as those who say that Semitics won’t go to heaven are yet to understand the true teachings of Veda, Gita and Upanishads.

Here is my view on the subject. Pardon me that I am yet to learn the art of giving my view in only few sentences. Because if I merely give the conclusions drawn by me, you are bound to raise questions. Therefore it is better to elaborate the subject so that there is better understanding.

Let us seek the answer from Gita and conclude it with Quran.

Before we seek the answer from Gita, it is prerequisite that we have some idea of the prevailing conditions at the time of Mahabharata. Vedas were the most sacred books of the people. Vedic hymns were praising the Devas. Vedic hymns had got associated with rituals, so much so that different hymns were chanted on different occasions. There were hymns that were chanted on birth, on commencing something new, upon death and at the time of cremation, and so on. They were chanted while performing various rituals. Outside of these rituals, life was spent in entertainment, something that is confirmed by Krishna. People knew that Devas were the source of all knowledge, they were the bestower of food and rain, they were responsible for life, death and power, and they were the guides. But they had also associated several canards regarding Devas. These false believes can be seen in the Mahabharata which relates several absurd and even unethical acts to Devas. They were also confused about the relationship that exist between Devas with Manifest Self and between Manifest Self (Paramatma) with Absolute God. Some people had no notion whatsoever of Absolute God and considered Devas as gods. Instead of Karma and performing good deeds, various false beliefs had got associated. Beliefs such as dying in particular six months took the person to heaven and the other six months took the person to hell was widespread. Several such beliefs were present. There was no concept of chastity and the blame for any illegitimate child was thrown on the Devas, the Sun and the Moon-god. The priests commanded over the kings and Puranas have told how the king even used to send their wives to the priests in hope that a child with attributes of Devas would be born. The fact that the priests didn’t say that such beliefs were false shows that it was they who had propagated these beliefs for their own benefit. They were so powerful that an Upanishad has described a frail old priest even forced a king to marry his 50 daughters to him. And the king had no choice but to obey. They had huge wealth which can be seen from several instances of kings bestowing whole portions of forest to the priests. The aforementioned priest even built 50 grand palaces for the 50 daughters, which shows that they were filthy rich. Yajnavalkya, who was merely a few years prior to Krishna and with whom several Upanishads are attributed used to go to king’s durbar to meet the priests, which shows that they were mostly present in courts. We see that for every question that somebody would ask, the king would say that I would give a cow with horns of gold or so much of wealth to the person who gives the correct reply. This shows that the priests were merely worried about material benefits and had lost touch with the common people. I always maintain that spirituality cannot be understood by a person immersed in materialism and lust for material things. That is why the people of the time couldn’t understand the lofty teachings related to spiritual enhancement (which would eventually make the person Purushottam) and drew several wrong conclusions regarding the teaching of Krishna. Some even concluded that Krishna was against the teachings of Vedas. In my commentary on Gita, I have concluded that this inability to understand what Krishna was saying became the cause of the war of Mahabharata. Even today, a great majority does not understand Krishna’s teaching truly.

Initially Arjuna too couldn’t understand the true nature of Krishna’s teachings, which is evident from initial discussions which commence with chapter 1 (The Dialectical Conflict of Arjuna). Later Arjuna even confesses that there was a time when he used to make fun of Krishna’s teachings, which confirms our view that the real conflict was regarding ability or inability to understand Krishna’s teachings.

That the reason for war was far loftier than what we believe it to be should have been evident to the scholars from the very fact that Krishna and Arjuna spends a long time discussing the subject, that too in the middle of the two armies (I,21) and as the arrows fly (I,20) past.  This has often confused the commentators so much so that many believe that Sage Vyasa has given an artificial setting to the conversation and the Gita is primarily concerned with contemplation rather than with the actual events of the battlefield. Others claim that there was a small discussion between Arjuna and Krishna, which was at a later stage extended into eighteen chapters by Sage Vyasa.

Again, this means that they are casting aspersions at the authenticity of divine nature of Gita. Are they not belittling Krishna and his cause? If they have doubts about Gita being God’s word or Krishna’s word, how could they be expected to give it the treatment it deserves?

Since the battle between Pandavas and Kauravas enjoys a historical status and we are aware that Krishna and Arjuna did actually fight the Kauravas at Kurukshetra, there is no reason to believe that this discussion, in its entirety, may not have taken place. On the contrary, you will find, as you progress, that there exists a valid reason for Krishna and Arjuna to engage in conversation right in the midst of flying arrows. In fact, you will see that the matter being discussed is far more important than life and death of an individual. Unless the subsequent chapters are studied in detail, we will never know the significance of their stance. Then we will realize that they were fighting for a cause, which was so important that they were ready to sacrifice their lives for the attainment of that cause. Only when we will read the subsequent chapters will we realize the importance of Krishna’s wordings as he repeatedly asks Arjuna to “stand up and fight”.

Arjuna wanted to know the truth as he had no intention of fighting his relatives, friends and teachers on the other side. They were the most revered Gurus like Dronacharya and Bhishma Pitamaha who were the head-priests of the entire Kaurava State.

Arjuna says in I-33-35:

“They for whose sake kingdoms, enjoyments and pleasures are desired by us, are standing here in the battle, having renounced their interests in life and wealth.

Teachers, fathers, sons and also grandfathers; maternal uncles, fathers-in-law, grandsons, brothers-in-law as well as (other) kinsmen:

These I do not want to kill, though (they kill me), O Madhusudana (Krishna), not even for the sake of dominion over the three worlds – how then for the sake of the earth?”

In II-4, Arjuna even confirms that Bhishma and Dronacharya were considered equivalent to those ‘WORTHY OF WORSHIP’. Such was the respect that they commanded. See:

“Arjuna said: How could I, O Slayer of Madhu (Krishna), encounter with arrows in battle Bhishma and also Drona who are WORTHY OF WORSHIP, O Slayer of Foes (Krishna)?”

And then Arjuna confirms his belief in the Devas (who were in heaven at that time) when he says in II, 8:

“I cannot visualize either what could rid me of this distress which dries up the senses in this way – even should (it transpire that) I obtain unrivalled dominion of the earth’s plenty or over-lordship of the Devas in heaven too.”

Thus, it is evident that Bhishma and Dronacharya were the most revered people of the time so much so that Arjuna couldn’t think of killing them even if he got the greatest of wealth in return. Now see what Krishna says about Bhihma and Dronacharya later in Gita.

See verses XI, 26-29:

“All these sons of Dhritarashtra, with hosts of rulers, Bhishma, Drona, and that son of a charioteer (Karna), with our warrior chiefs

are rushing into Your fearful  mouths terrible with teeth; some are found sticking in the gaps between the teeth with their heads crushed to powder.”

As many rushing torrents of rivers race towards the ocean, so do these heroes in the world of men enter Your flaming mouths.

As moths speed into a blazing fire to be destroyed, just so do these worlds also speed into Your mouths unto their destruction.”

Krishna shows to Arjuna that all those on the other side are on the path of destruction which eventually is fire (hell). This realization dawns upon Arjuna slowly, as Krishna’s teachings progresses and he shows the image to Arjuna. Arjuna realizes that all those in the opposite camp, who had come to fight Krishna, were on the wrong.

Likewise, in verse XI, 33-34 of Gita Krishna says to Arjuna:

“Therefore do you arise and gain fame. Conquering your foes, enjoy the realm of abundance. By Me even they have been already slain. Be you the incidental cause only, O Left-handed One (Arjuna).

Drona and Bhishma, Jayadratha, Karna and other great battle-heroes, these are all slain by Me. Do not be distressed. Fight on, you shall conquer in battle your rivals.”

I fail to understand why, despite such clear verses, people still have praises to shower upon Drona and Bhishma.

We stop here for a while to give answer to your query, dear friend. A person does not enter heaven because of his apparent goodness in the eyes of fellow human beings. Howsoever chaste a person may appear to be, howsoever good he may seem to be doing, howsoever great he might be considered by other people, Gita says that this is not the parameter to judge who will go to heaven or not. After all, who could be fit for heaven than Drona and Bhishma who were considered ‘worthy of worship’ by nearly entire population, with the exception of Krishna alone who too knew the truth owing to his Divine Relationship! From this logic, we can say that Divine Plan regarding who will go to heaven is based on certain other parameters and hence the perceived greatness or apparent virtuous character is not a surety for heaven. From this logic, it may be inferred that even Mahatma Gandhi could go to heaven or hell; we say so because the parameters are different and we do not have the capacity to judge those parameters. However, from what we know of Gandhi, he was a person of values and we hope and pray that he is in heaven today.

Quran too is saying the same. We wish to say in clear words that from Quranic logic, even if a person has not accepted Islam, we are in no position to say with certainty whether he would go to heaven or hell. Quran says ‘al-amaal bin niyaat’, i.e. the fruit of action depends on the inherent intention and we are nobody to judge a person’s position through apparent deeds. There is a concept of Gheebat and Bohtan in Islam, as per which we are not allowed to talk of anyone’s evil deeds or cast aspersions about his intention. We are solely responsible for our act. This is exactly what Gita says which tell that any action can be performed in three modes viz. sattvik (pure or under the influence of Force of Noor/Light), rajasik (materialistic) or tamasik (dark or under the influence of Force of Darkness). How would you know how many acts/s were performed in which mode?

As per my understanding of Quran, whoever is searching for truth is not Kafir, even if he reaches truth or not. Kafir is one who knows the truth and denies it for some reason. God has given each of us the capacity to unite with Force of Light or Force of Darkness. Howsoever pious and great we may appear to be from outside, it cannot be said with certainty at what level our spirit/self is united with the Force of Light and with what intensity we are searching the truth. Whoever feels the presence of Divinity within his soul, believes in final judgment, does good deeds and loves humanity, is trying to excel in life towards the path of truth and is working towards betterment of world, he will either go to heaven immediately after death or will get birth at a higher stage, as per Gita, from where it is easier to attain salvation.

On the other hand, even if a Muslim is against truth and quest for truth, who has such negative thinking where there is little chance of his spirit attaining the level of purity and who has gone to such depths that he has become a nuisance and detrimental for well-being and peace of humanity, who kills humanity and tramples human values every day, he is a Kafir and will never go to heaven. As per Quranic teaching, such people have reached the nadir, from where there can be no coming back. They are described as blind, deaf and dumb in Quran and the worst punishment has been ascribed for them, even so if they call themselves to be Muslims.

I hope that my answer on Mahatma Gandhi is clear both from Gita and Quran. In Part – 2 of this series, I will mention the Divine parameters (both from Gita and Quran) based on which a person attains salvation or not.