Page 28 - Hinduism

body to body according to its karma in the cosmic spheres known as the three lokas ranging from Brahmaloka or Satyaloka above to the Pātālaloka below. In the celestial worlds above, starting with Svarga, the quality of sattva is dominant and the Jīva enjoys pleasure. In the nether regions, starting with Atala, the quality of tamas is dominant and Pātāla is the lowest region of darkness and the Jīva suffers from pain. But the middle region called Karma Bhūmi is influenced by rajas. It is the moral world of man and it is here that he does good deeds and bad deeds and their effect is reaped in the worlds above and below. There are other Brahmāṇdas like this and they are countless like the stars and they are ruled by Īśvara according to the karma of the Jīvas. The worlds have no spatial meaning but they have hierarchical moral values. Good men ascend to higher regions according to their karma and enjoy celestial pleasures and when the effect is exhausted, they come down again and are born in different bodies, sub-human and human. Likewise wicked Jīvas suffer from pain and when it is exhausted, they have a new chance and are born again in this moral world.
Freedom
The scientific view of karma in terms of cause and effect is open to the objection that it leads to fatalism and pessimism and that it does not provide any hope of bettering the future. Since every man reaps 28