Heaven and hell

The English word heaven was originally derived from a term of reference to the sky or firmament. As time passed, it assumed a deeper philosophical meaning as a state of afterlife. Subsequently, it came to refer to the place where God dwells.

Although there are as many different concepts of heaven as there are different religious faiths, I must say the opposite of heaven - hell - has pretty much the same connotation across all religious distinctions.

Whether they are Hindus, Christians or Muslims, people will agree that hell is a state or a place where God is absent.

When it comes to Hindu belief, heaven is not the highest goal we can achieve. In Hinduism, moksha, liberation, or mukti, release, is considered far superior to swarg lok, heaven, which, at best, can only give us rewards for all the good we have done.

For most Hindus, moksha is the highest goal. It means liberation and release from the world of sansar, the eternal cycle of birth, suffering, death and rebirth. It is a state of union with God. There is the path of light and liberation that will take us to the abode of the Highest, from where none return.

It is the abode of Brahmn, the abode of the Eternal. Here, you will touch the plane of the pure white Light, the radiance that casts no shadow, and you will be free, liberated from the cycle of birth and death.