Layers Of the Hindu World First Published in Sunday Mid-day Devlok on 2 !uly 2"The Hindu cosmos or Brahmanda is visualized as a skyscraper. In the centre stands Bhu-lok, earth. Above are realms of increasing happiness, the topmost floor being ev-lok, !here all day people do nothing but en"oy the song and dance of Apsaras, #ualifying it to be $!arga, or paradise. Belo! are realms of decreasing happiness, the lo!ermost floor being %atal-lok, the realm of Asuras, located belo! &tala' the feet &pa'. This realm is full of gold and gems, hence the city of Asuras is called Hiranyapura, city of gold. They also hold the secret of rene!al and regeneration kno!n as $an"ivani (idya that helps plants gro!. )veryone has to struggle hard to get the plants and metals from beneath the earth, !hich is necessary for sustenance. *earful that these treasures !ill be stolen by the residents of upper realms, the Asuras are in constant guard, never able to rest or sleep or have fun, making their subterranean realm nothing short of +araka, or hell.After death, Hindus believe, one goes to the land of the dead, %itr-lok, separated from the land ofthe living by the river (aitarni. Here, depending on the kind of life one has led, ,ama, god of death and destiny, determines the -ok !here one !ill be reborn. .ood deeds grants entry into theupper happy realms, even ev-lok if one has been really very good. Bad deeds, ho!ever, leads one to lo!er unhappy realms, perhaps even %atal-lok.It must be clarified that ev-lok is not Heaven, a concept that comes from /hristian and Islamic traditions. The notion of rebirth does not e0ist in /hristianity or Islam1 one has only one life, and hence only one opportunity to gain entry into Heaven. That is !hy /hristians and 2uslims believe only in one Heaven &spelt in capital and singular' !hile Hindus entertain the ideas of multiple heavens !ith different grades of happiness. There are even multiple hells.$ince Hindus believe in rebirth, there are ample opportunities to enter ev-lok, but the stay thereis temporary, limited by the balance of e#uity of past deeds in one3s karmic account. 4hen this runs out, one is out of ev-lok. The good ne!s is, stay in %atal-lok is also temporary. By doing good deeds, one can move up to a higher realm of more happiness and lesser !ork. Thus a eva can become an Asura and an Asura can become a eva.+aturally, Asuras crave access to ev-lok !hile evas do everything in their po!er to stay there eternally. Hence the intense yearning of the evas for the elusive Amrita, nectar of eternal youth and immortality. But !hile this nectar grants evas youth and immortality, it does not grant themcontentment. There is al!ays the threat of an Asura attack, making evas eternally insecure and restless, preventing them from en"oying the pleasures of paradise.This elaborate mythic geography clearly is trying to communicate a profound truth. The residentsof ev-lok have fun. The residents of %atal-lok have !ealth. But neither is content. Because neither fun nor !ealth is ever enough5 one al!ays craves more.That is !hy the Hindu !orld offers yet another destination, one that e0ists higher than ev-lok, !here there is no craving, only contentment. (ishnu-!orshippers call this realm (ishnu-lok !hile $hiva-!orshippers call it $hiva-lok. 6nlike ev-lok !hich is merely paradise, (ishnu-lok and $hiva-lok are heavens. And to reach it, one has to go beyond the practice of accumulating good or bad karmas. 7ne has to step back and appreciate life for !hat it is, !ithout pre"udice, notgetting upset by the problems and not getting e0hilarated by the solutions. This is moksha 8 blissful repose born of !isdom and love.At another level, the concept of -ok can be seen as the addressing of the issue of aura or personalzones that people create around them. It depends on their personality and their attitude.The -ok of some people are inviting and inclusive 8 !e seek the company of such people. The -ok of others is repulsive 8 !e avoid the company of such people. Thus the !hole !orld is full of innumerable creatures, each creating -ok. The scriptures suggest that !orking on our attitude, !e can change the nature of the -ok around us 8 !e can create Asur-lok, !here !e discuss only about possessing things5 !e can create ev-lok, !here all that matters is fun5 or !e can create $hiv-lok, !here peace and contentment reigns supreme.