The destination of a soul, where it originally belongs.
Tamil is a classical language which is told to be more ancient than Sanskrit. In that ancient language, liberation is called, ‘The Abode’.(VEEDU in Tamil)
This is what Lord Jesus has told too:
“In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:2-3)
The modern day , SNAKE AND LADDERS board game find its origin in an ancient Hindu game that illustrates this concept of the final abode of a soul.
A soul after a tiring journey of doing good and bad, finally reaches the abode by countless trials, tribulations and efforts.
Snake and Ladders origin lies in the Hindu Board game, “Paramapatha-sobana-padam’.
Literal Meaning: The ladder to Paramapatham.
Paramapatham: The ultimate destination.
Narayana = Nara + Ayana
Nara means humanity
Ayana means support, abode.
Lord Narayana is the abode of the souls who lives in a place which is INFINITY.
The very fact that Lord Narayana rests on a snake named Shesha. Shesha means infinity.
In Rig Veda( the oldest scripture in Hindusim ) it is told:
“tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padaṁ sadā paśyanti sūrayaḥ”
[ Meaning : Suras always look into the Vishnu Parama Padam. The ultimate destination. ]
That is Paramapatham. Even the deities are yearning to reach that place. But they have not reached yet. They are just viewing the place. That place is being viewed (denoted by PASYANTHI) only.
Suras means deities in Sanskrit. The opposite of Suras are Asuras. It means those who are negative. They are the dark force. Just, like how the Christians say anti-Christ. Asuras are negative forces which pulls us away from the truth. Suras will defeat the asuras eventually.
As it is to be remembered that total ENERGY cannot be created or destroyed. This is the scientific law.
But there is a plane that is above the battle of both negative and positive energy. That is the original place the supreme destination- PARAMAPATHAM.
The KINGDOM of HEAVEN told in BIBLE.
IMMORTALITY in ancient scriptures.
NIRVANA in BUDDHISM.
AL-FIRDAUS in ISLAM. Our life itself is like a game to reach the final destination of LIBERATION. Mistakes pull us down, but each success is like a ladder to climb to an ETERNAL place of INFINITE BLISS.
Suggested Readings:
Easwaran's Classics of Indian Spirituality (3 book series)
Heaven: Our Enduring Fascination with the Afterlife
[Both books are available as audio books. It is possible to sign up for the free trial , listen to one of the book and cancel it before the trial ends. If you feel that listening to quality books while doing work is worth of your time, you can subscribe to the membership of AUDIBLE]
