atraiva narakaḥ svarga iti mātaḥ pracakṣyate |
yā yātanā vai nārakyas tā ihāpy upalakṣitāḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.30.29)
“O mother, they say Naraka and Svarga exist [i.e., are experienced] here [i.e., in this plane] itself. Sufferings which are hellish are perceived here too.”
rājovāca
maharṣa etad vaicitryaṁ lokasya katham iti |
ṛṣir uvāca
tri-guṇatvāt kartuḥ śraddhayā karma-gatayaḥ pṛthag-vidhāḥ sarvā eva sarvasya tāratamyena bhavanti |
athedānīṁ pratiṣiddha-lakṣaṇasyādharmasya tathaiva kartuḥ śraddhāyā vaisādṛśyāt karma-phalaṁ visadṛśaṁ bhavati, yā hy anādy-avidyayā kṛta-kāmānāṁ tat-pariṇāma-lakṣaṇāḥ sṛtayaḥ sahasraśaḥ pravṛttāḥ, tāsāṁ prācuryeṇānuvarṇayiṣyāmaḥ |
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 5.26.1–3)
“The king said: ‘O great seer, why does the world have this variegatedness?’
“The seer said, ‘The destinations [reached by way] of actions are of different types in accord with the conviction (śraddhā) of the agent [of the actions] on account of [agents and their conviction’s] being constituted of the three guṇas. Indeed they all [i.e., the various destinations reached by way of actions] occur for all [agents] in a gradation. Thus, in this case in exactly the way [as a dissimilar result occurs for agents of dharma on account of a dissimilarity in their convictions (śraddhās)], a dissimilar result of an action occurs on account of the dissimilarity in the conviction (śraddhā) of an agent of adharma, the nature of which is a prohibition [in the śāstra]. I will describe extensively the thousands of determined destinations, the natures of which are transformations of [worldly] desires, for those who have acted upon those [worldly desires] as a result of beginningless (anādi) ignorance (avidyā).”
nivṛttiḥ paramo dharmo nivṛttiḥ paramaṁ sukham |
manasā vinivṛttānāṁ dharmasya nicayo mahān ||
manaḥ-pūrvāgamā dharmā adharmāś ca na saṁśayaḥ |
manasā badhyate cāpi mucyate cāpi mānavaḥ ||
nigṛhīte bhavet svargo visṛṣṭe narako dhruvaḥ |
(Mahābhārata: 13.213.41–43)
“Desistance (nivṛtti) is the ultimate dharma. Desistance is the ultimate happiness. Those have amply desisted by mind have a vast accumulation of dharma. Dharma and adharma are of prior appearance in the mind [i.e., dharma and adharma first arise in the mind and then manifest in the form of action]. There is no doubt [of this]. A human being is bound and also liberated by means of the mind. When [the mind is] controlled, Svarga shall manifest, and when released [i.e., left uncontrolled], Naraka is certain.”
bhukti-mukti-spṛhā yāvat piśācī hṛdi vartate |
tāvad bhakti-sukhasyātra katham abhyudayo bhavet ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛtā-sindhu: 1.2.22)
“As long as the fiend of desire for enjoyment or mukti remains in the heart, how can the emergence of the happiness of bhakti occur there?”
nārāyaṇa-parāḥ sarve na kutaścana bibhyati |
svargāpavarga-narakeṣv api tulyārtha-darśinaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 6.17.28; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.190; Bhakti-rasāmṛa-sindhu: 1.2.33; Prīti Sandarbha: 21, 47)
[Śiva to Pārvatī:] “All who are devoted to Nārāyaṇa do not become afraid under any circumstances. They are seers of the same object amid Svarga, liberation, and even Naraka.”
