The Third place !

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The Sruti says that those who do not go by means of Vidya along the

path of Devayana to Brahmaloka or by means of Karma along the path of

Pitriyana to Chandraloka are born often in low bodies and die often.

The evil-doers go to the third place (Tritiyam sthaanam). The Sruti

passage says: "Now those who go along neither of these ways become

those small creatures, flies, worms, etc., continually returning, of

whom it may be said: `Live and Die'. Theirs is the third place. The

sinners are called small creatures because they assume the bodies of

insects, gnats, etc. Their place is called the third place because it

is neither Brahmaloka, nor the Chandraloka.

 

"The souls return the way they went, to the ether, from ether to air.

Then the sacrifices having become air becomes smoke; having become

smoke he becomes mist; having become mist, he becomes cloud; having

become cloud he rains down. The souls do not attain identity with

ether, air, etc. They become only like ether, air, etc. They assume a

subtle form like ether, come under the influence or power of air and

get mixed or connected with smoke etc. The soul passes through them

quickly.

 

"Having become cloud he rains down. Then he is born as rice, corn,

herbs, tree, sesamum and beans. From them the escape is beset with

most difficulties. For, whoever the person may be who eats the food

and begets offspring, he henceforth becomes like unto them."

(Chhandogya Upanishad: 10.5.)

 

The soul's journey through the stages of the ether, air, vapour or

smoke, mist, cloud and rain takes shorter time than its passing

through the stages of corn, semen, foetus, which takes a much longer

time of hard suffering.

 

Naradiya Purana says: "He who has begun to descend will enter the

mother's womb before a year passes since starting, though wandering

through different places."

 

The souls are merely connected with rice and plants which are already

animated by other souls and do not enjoy their pleasures and pains.

They become connected with those plants.

 

The souls use the rice and plants as their halting station without

being identified with them. They do not lose their identity.

 

Chhandogya Upanishad declares: "Whoever eats the food and performs

the act of generation, that again the soul becomes" (V. 10.6). The

soul gets connected with one who performs the act of generation. The

descending soul becomes again that food and that semen. The soul

remains in him in copulation only till he enters into the mother's

womb with the semen injected. He has a touch with the seminal fluid

created by eating such grain and ultimately attains a body in the

womb.

 

He attains a fully developed human body in the womb of the mother

which is fit for experiencing the fruits of the remainder of works.

The family in which he is to be born is regulated by the nature of

the remainder as mentioned in Chh. Up. V. 10-7: "Of these, those

whose conduct here has been good will quickly attain good birth, the

birth of a Brahmin, or a Kshatriya or a Vaisya. But those, whose,

conduct here has been bad will quickly attain an evil birth, of a

dog, or a hog, or a Chandala."

 

(as told by Swami Sivananda)