The final doom

There are two classes of travelers, the noble and the wicked. Each class has its peculiar speed, path, and doom.

Noble souls are divided into ordinary noble ones, and the more advanced. The former attain heaven and the heavenly ranks by following the ascetic practices prescribed by religion. The more advanced approach purity by following the path of devotion.

The wicked, too, are divided into ordinary wicked ones, and the more degraded. The former include some of the believers, leading a sinful life, disobeying the divine injunctions, and addicted to sensual pleasures. They tread the path of transgression and go to hell. The latter are the unbelievers, solely attending to sensual pleasures and earthly gains, and wholly disbelieving in religion and the disembodied life. They risk the permanent for the sake of the transient, and finally lose this world as well as the next. The former suffer in hell temporarily, but finally escape it by virtue of their faith, albeit imperfect. The latter eternally suffer in hell owing to total absence of faith. There are different gradation in hell, as there are grades of unbelief to hypocrisy. There are thinkers and blind followers amongst unbelievers as well as amongst believers. As the faith of a thoughtful believer is superior to that of an ordinary believer, so the sufferings of a thoughtful unbeliever are intense than those of an ordinary unbeliever. Ordinary unbelief is inherited from ancestors and surroundings, and is punished in the first infernal region. Intellectual unbelief does not rest upon tradition, but upon researches carried on for long years, self-denial and discipline of the lower nature, all intended for and ending in skepticism and atheism.- letter 68.

There are two classes of travelers, the noble and the wicked. Each class has its peculiar speed, path, and doom.

Noble souls are divided into ordinary noble ones, and the more advanced. The former attain heaven and the heavenly ranks by following the ascetic practices prescribed by religion. The more advanced approach purity by following the path of devotion.

The wicked, too, are divided into ordinary wicked ones, and the more degraded. The former include some of the believers, leading a sinful life, disobeying the divine injunctions, and addicted to sensual pleasures. They tread the path of transgression and go to hell. The latter are the unbelievers, solely attending to sensual pleasures and earthly gains, and wholly disbelieving in religion and the disembodied life. They risk the permanent for the sake of the transient, and finally lose this world as well as the next. The former suffer in hell temporarily, but finally escape it by virtue of their faith, albeit imperfect. The latter eternally suffer in hell owing to total absence of faith. There are different gradation in hell, as there are grades of unbelief to hypocrisy. There are thinkers and blind followers amongst unbelievers as well as amongst believers. As the faith of a thoughtful believer is superior to that of an ordinary believer, so the sufferings of a thoughtful unbeliever are intense than those of an ordinary unbeliever. Ordinary unbelief is inherited from ancestors and surroundings, and is punished in the first infernal region. Intellectual unbelief does not rest upon tradition, but upon researches carried on for long years, self-denial and discipline of the lower nature, all intended for and ending in skepticism and atheism.- letter 68.