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asuryā nāma te lokā
andhena tamasāvṛtāḥ
tāṁs te pretyābhigacchanti
ye ke cātma-hano janāḥ

Synonyms

asuryā—meant for the asuras;nāma—famous by the name; te—those;lokāḥ—planets; andhena—by ignorance; tamasa—by darkness; avṛtāḥ—covered; tan—those planets; te—they; pretya—after death; abhigacchanti—enter into; ye—anyone; ke—everyone; ca—and; ātma-hanaḥ—the killers of the soul; janāḥ—persons.

Translation

The killer of the soul, whoever he may be, must enter into the planets known as the worlds of the faithless, full of darkness and ignorance.

Purport

Human consciousness is different from animal consciousness because it can express the full range of the faculties of the soul, including the highest states of self-realization, spiritual bliss and love of Godhead. The consequences of this fact include certain responsibilities, both to oneself and to others. One who has tasted the perfection of spirit contemplating his own nature automatically follows a markedly different path than one who is ignorant of the nature of the soul.

Self-realized souls, who use their intelligence to distinguish spirit from matter, know their eternal nature and accept that the primary responsibility of one who has received the gift of awakened consciousness is to awaken others. Those who dedicate their lives and work to that spirit are called paramahansas (swanlike saintly persons) or suras, and those who neglectful or even work against spiritual responsibility are called asuras (demons).

om tad visnoh paramam padam sada
pasyanti surayah diviva caksur-atatam
tad vipraso vipanyavo jagrvam sah
samindhate visnor yat paramam padam

“Just as those with ordinary vision see the sun’s rays in the sky, so the wise and learned devotees always see the supreme abode of Lord Visnu. Because those highly praiseworthy and spiritually awake brahmanas can see that abode, they can also reveal it to others.” [Rg Veda 1.22.20]

Intelligent people know the value of human life in this material world: the soul attains human form only after millions of births in the lower species. The material world is like a dangerous ocean, but the human form, and especially human intelligence, is a good boat especially designed to cross this ocean. The Vedic scriptures and the Master Teachers of the Esoteric Teaching are compared to a reliable captain and crew, and the human body and mind are like trade winds that help the boat sail smoothly to its ultimate destination of self-realization.

The Vedanta-sutra begins: athato’ brahma-jijnasa. Atha, or now, may be variously interpreted, and one of the most certain of these interpretations is “Now, in the human form of life, when we have the developed senses and intelligence to be successful, let us inquire into Brahman to attain eternal liberation from material suffering.” Vedanta-sutra is one of the greatest facilities the Lord provides to help us attain self-realization in this life. If, even with all these favorable facilities, an individual does not fully utilize this valuable opportunity for the ultimate personal good of self-realization, he is certainly atma-ha, the killer of his own soul.

A demoniac person is always against God’s supremacy. He has no faith in the scriptures, and in fact he is envious of both the scriptures and the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is puffed up by false material prestige and accumulation of wealth and strength. He does not know that the present life is a preparation for the next life. Not knowing this, he is factually envious of his own self. He commits terrible offenses, causing unnecessary suffering to others and himself. He flaunts the supreme control of the Personality of Godhead because he does not know that God loves him unconditionally and intends only the highest good for him.

The demoniac soul uses bad logic to make false arguments against scriptural authority. He thinks his power is independent, and that he can act in any way and no one can stop him. He concocts diabolical plans to eliminate anyone who might check his sensual activities. Sri Isopanisad clearly warns such a killer of his own soul that his evil purposes and nefarious activities destine him for a lower level of consciousness, full of suffering in material existence without relief.

Why is man given a better life than that of animals and plants? We see that this material world is full of species whose welfare is just as important to them as ours is to us. But by nature’s law, the necessities of the lower species are served under unpleasant conditions. Human beings get nice facilities and a relatively comfortable existence because the human form is more important and valuable than animal life.

For example, we see that an important government officer gets nicer quarters than an ordinary soldier. The officer deserves better facilities because he has to discharge more important duties. Similarly, human beings should perform higher duties than the animals, who are simply interested in food and other material concerns.

Modern materialistic civilization has made it seem like the only problem of life is to get more money. When we ask a modern civilized man about self-realization, he will sincerely say, “There is no need for that; I will work to satisfy my senses, and I have no need or hunger for self-realization.” The laws of nature are inexorable, however, and despite his denial of the need for self-realization, he still will have to face inevitable death.

We are not given the valuable human form of life to work hard like animals for material goals. The overriding purpose of human existence is to attain the highest perfection of life. If we do not pursue self-realization, the laws of nature force us to work, like the asses and bullocks that pull carts. This mantra of Sri Isopanisad reveals where the asuras are sent to work, according to their karma. If a human being fails to responsibly pursue the prime purpose of human life, he is forced by the subtle laws of nature to transmigrate to asurya worlds, or to take birth in lower species of life and work hard in ignorance and darkness.

The path of self-realization is so auspicious that even the unsuccessful student attains everything materially desirable:

“The unsuccessful yogi, after many, many years of enjoyment on the planets of the pious living entities, is born into a family of righteous people, or into a family of rich aristocracy. Or [if unsuccessful after long practice of yoga] he takes his birth in a family of transcendentalists who are surely great in wisdom. Certainly, such a birth is rare in this world. On taking such a birth, he revives the divine consciousness of his previous life, and he again tries to make further progress in order to achieve complete success, O son of Kuru.” [Bhagavad-gita 6.41–43]

One who sincerely attempts to realize his relationship with God by the path of the Esoteric Teaching, but does not complete it, can appear in the family of a spiritually advanced brahmana, or a wealthy member of the mercantile community. The Esoteric Teaching is so wonderful that even one who fails at self-realization gets a better chance in his next life. Even a fallen candidate is given a nice birth in a respectable family due to his sincere efforts in this life.

One is guaranteed birth in a wealthy or aristocratic family simply by attempting self-realization or God-realization. Thus it is hard to imagine the wonderful results attained by one who completes the path of self-realization. However, those who will not even make the effort, who want to remain in illusion, must enter into the darkest regions of hellish consciousness. This is not a mere legend or myth, since the destination of materialistic souls who are too attached to material enjoyment is described throughout the Vedic literature. Such materialistic asuras sometimes make a show of religion, but their ultimate aim is material prosperity.

The Bhagavad-gita (16.17–18) also rebukes such men, calling them atma-sambhavita, meaning that they are considered great only on the strength of their false ego. Devoid of self-realization and knowledge of isavasya, the Lord’s universal proprietorship, such asuras are certain to fall into the darkest regions of ignorance. Somehow we have been placed into material existence by the laws of nature. Human beings with advanced intelligence are not intended for working for economic advancement on the temporary material platform, but for permanently solving all the problems of life by getting out of this material world.

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