ENDLESS are the lokas and galaxies, and endless are the beings in those dimensions created by the Supreme Lord. "Lord of the innumerable universes" is the holy name used by the rishis for the Heavenly Father. Every universe has its own luminous beings, sun and moon, ocean and mountains, all fitted for that particular dimension, and there are devatas, or celestial angels, appointed to take care of those dimensions.
Once the god of death was questioned about this, and he gave a description which is found in the Katha Upanishad: "Ignorant ones, due to their deep attachment toward wealth and enjoyment, become deluded and think that this planet alone exists and that there are no other lokas, and that one need not think about any good actions or preparations for life after death, as this earth alone is everything. Such foolish ones come under my rod again and again by revolving in the birth-death cycle."
The Vedas and other religious scriptures of India describe these lokas, what happens to the soul after death, from where the soul descends and how and when it reincarnates.
These endless dimensions are broadly divided into fourteen lokas: seven upper, luminous ones and seven lower, smoky ones. The seven higher ones are called "Bhu," "Bhuvaha," "Svaha," "Maha," "Janaha," "Tapaha." and "Satya" lokas. The lower seven are "Atala," "Vitala," "Sutala," "Talatala," "Rasatala," "Mahatala" and Tatala." For every three dimensions there is a sun and moon corresponding to the luminous or the smoky levels. Therefore, it should not be thought that the sun and the moon which illumine our world are the only luminaries. Our earth planet, which is Bhuloka, extends as far as the sun's light illumines this planet. The space in between the earth and the sun is called Bhurloka, and the dimension that extends from the sun to the pole star is called Swargaloka; our sun and moon illumine these three dimensions only.
At the end of the Creator's day, which is equal to something like 4,320,000,000 human years, these three dimensions will be dissolved during a period called the cyclic rest.
Then, beyond these three--from Mahaloka up to Satyaloka--there are again two divisions where the suns and moons are of different luminosity. We can imagine the brightness of those suns only through their reflector, which is our sun. It is clearly described in the scriptures that when our sun is moving toward the northern and southern sides of the invisible Mount Meru--considered as the axis of the whole universe--a great light descends from the summit of Meru to repel, as it were, the rays of the sun.
It is believed that these lokas are all on this indescribably great and invisible Mount Meru, one part of which is one of the wonders of the world, the Himalayas. Through the poles one can imagine this invisible Mount Meru with the maxim, "As above, so below," and vice versa, i.e., that which is in the macrocosm is in the microcosm. The whole universe, with all the lokas and Mount Meru, is also in the human body, which is the microcosm; the spine itself is the symbol of Mount Meru as it is the axis of the body, and along the spine are the lokas in the form of chakras, or plexuses, which represent various planes of consciousness. The top of the brain is the place of Satyaloka, or the summit of mount Meru, which is symbolized by the thousand-petalled lotus which represents infinite consciousness.
The division of the lokas into fourteen should be thought of only as a broad division, for in between these fourteen are endless galaxies and countless constellations about which the highest of scientists have expressed their inability to explain. For example, to quote Dr. Albert Einstein:
"My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable, superior Spirit who reveals Himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble minds. That deeply emotional conviction of the presence of the superior reasoning power which is revealed in the incomprehensible universe, forms my idea of God."
It is said that below the waters are the nether regions and their lords; this is a smoky world where celestial serpents and rakshasas (demons) live. Below this are various hellish regions. Souls are passing through these higher and lower dimensions at different times and with different bodies. In other words, after suffering in hellish regions due to their sins, they will rise to the higher regions to enjoy the "punya karmas," or merits. Then, when they exhaust their merits or sins, they will come back to the earth to take rebirth.
"Deva yana" and "pitri yana" are the two paths (Milky Way and Smoky Way) through which souls move to reach their destination, but to go in either path they invariably have to reach the moon, or "Chandraloka." In a secret doctrine known as PANCHAGNI VIDYA or the SCIENCE OF THE FIVE FIRES, the secret of the movement of the souls and which gods or angels help the soul in its onward journey, are described. The sages of the Himalayas, through a seed mantra called "Surayan Chakshurgachatu," address the departing soul; the surface meaning of the mantra is, "Let the sun become your eye." According to this science there are five forms of fire called "dyuloka," "parjanya," "prihvi," "purpsha" and "voshita," and in these five esoteric, sacrifical altars are poured five oblations called "shraddha," "soma," "vristi," "anna" and "retah"; it is believed that these five fires prepare the various bodies for the departed souls in various realms until they return to the womb of a mother.
From earth up to the third dimension there are eleven angels in each sphere to take care of the departed souls and lead them toward their destinations, and these angels follow the law that is made by God. When the soul departs from the body, Agni, the fire god, and ten assistants help the soul in its journey. The assistant angels are named Jataveda, Vaishvanara, Dravinoda, Tanoonapta, Narashamsa, Twasta, Vanaspati, Gravana, Ratha and Apaha.
In "antariksha" or mid-space there are also eleven gods, according to this esoteric doctrine, who divide the souls into categories after the decision made by the god of death to send them to either the Milky or Smoky Way. These angels are called Sahakari, Varuna, Rudra, Indra, Parjanya, Brihaspati, Yama, Mitra, Ka, Vishwakarma and Savita. The head of these angels is Vayu, the wind god. The twelve gods of Swargaloka are Aditya, Ashvinaw, Usha, Surya, Uttama, Twasta, Savita, Bhaga, Pusha, Vishnu, Yama and Aja. These are the thirty-three species of gods described in the Vedas.
There are seven "parvas" (timings or steps) to reach "Pitriloka." The first four are "dhuma" (smoke), "ratri" (night), "krishnapaksha" (dark fortnight, or fifteen days from the full to the new moon) and "dakshinayana" (the southern course of the sun comprising six months). These are the environments and time conceptions given during which the sinful souls move; esoterically, it means that the presiding deities over smoke, night, etc., are helping the departed souls. At mid-space, where the division of the two paths takes place, the soul will be led toward "Pitri Yana." The fifth parva is Pitriloka, the sixth is ether, and the seventh is Chandraloka, or the sphere of the moon.
Just as there are seven parvas to reach Pitriloka, there are fourteen parvas to reach Brahmaloka through Deva Yana, the Milky Way. They are "archi" (light), "divasa" (day), "shukla paksha" (bright fortnight, or fifteen days beginning from the new moon to the full moon), "uttarayana" (the northern course of the sun comprising six months), "samvatsara" (a day of the celestials equal to one year on earth), "devaloka" (the celestial region), the sphere of the wind, the sphere of the sun, the sphere of the moon, the sphere of luminosity, the sphere of the progenitors of human beings, and lastly, "Satyaloka," which is at the summit of Mount Meru where the creative aspect of God, named Brahma, presides.
Another important portion of this great science discusses which departed soul goes to which loka. There are three types of souls, the jnani, the upasaka and the karmata. Among them the jnani is a one who has attained equanimity and is merged in the all-pervading Brahman; there are two divisions of upasaka, the one who worships and meditates on the five mystic fires (panchagni upasakas), and the one who meditates on Brahman (Brahma upasaka). Both these categories of souls go through Deva Yana and reach Satyaloka. However, the worshippers of the five mystic fires return to this earth again after one kalpa or cyclic rest of Brahma; Brahma upasakas never return. It is said that they will enjoy the bliss and peace of Satyaloka with the Creator. At the end of one period of Brahma, which is one hundred of his years or innumerable light years by earthly calculations, they are initiated by him. Through realizing Parabrahma, the highest Reality, they attain mukti. The third category, the karmatas, go through either Deva Yana or Pitri Yana according to their merits or sins, because karmatas have in them a mixture of good and bad karma.
Lord Sri Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita, "These two paths of the world, the bright and the dark, are considered to be eternal; proceeding by one of them, one reaches the supreme state from which there is no return. Proceeding by the other, one returns to the mortal world and becomes subject to birth and death once more." (Chapter 8, Verse 26)
When we said that Brahma, the Creator, together with the souls who live in his loka, attain the supreme Lord, it is understood that there is the abode of God that is higher than the highest which Brahma reaches after one hundred of his years. This is graphically described by Lord Sri Krishna:
"Beyond this unmanifest there is yet another eternal unmanifest, that supremely divine substance which does not perish, even though all beings perish. (Chapter 8, Verse 20)
"This unmanifest, spoken of as the indestructible, is called the supreme goal. This is My supreme abode, attaining which man does not return." (Chapter 8, Verse 21)
And in another verse, the Lord describes the way to reach it:
"Arjuna, that supreme Purusha, in whom all beings reside and by whom all this is pervaded, is attainable only by exclusive devotion." (Chapter 8, Verse 22)
The purpose of this description of the lokas is only to state in most positive terms that to reach the highest abode of God is the one purpose of life. All the other lokas, however luminous they are, being impermanent, cannot give immortality. Thus, knowing this secret of the two paths, a man of wisdom aspires after prem, or the love of God, to reach the supreme abode, the kingdom of heaven, which is the abode of immortality, bliss and peace.
(Essence of Bhagavad Gita and Bible, p. 83.)