Antti Savinainen – Finland
My presentation is based on the teachings of Finnish theosophist Pekka Ervast (1875–1934) on the afterlife in Hades, which is a limited and protected part of a much larger astral plane. Typically, Hades is referred to as kamaloka in Theosophical sources. Ervast used the Finnish term ‘tuonela’, which best corresponds to Hades in Greek mythology.
Underworld and the Dwellings of Hades
The lowest class of Hades is the underworld, where violent criminals and people with strong sensual desires reside. Ervast's description of the underworld is a very concrete account of a hell-like state (Marjanen et al, 2017, 67):
This first afterlife state can be called the underworld… it is really under the earth. It is dark and black. It is black soil in which he wanders. It is like great dirt and mud, which smells very bad, and the deceased falls into that dirt and mud. And the air he breathes feels heavy and is hard to breathe. It is suffocating; it is as if one’s chest is cracking when one breathes that air.
And when he has spent some time in that state, he starts to see a bit more clearly, but he cannot get into the light. This vision is not like seeing in the dawn; instead it is dusky. When compared to earthly life, it is like continuous night.
When he starts looking around, he sees peculiar things. He sees a large group of beings. But what kind of strange beings are they? There is not a single human being among them, so where is he now? He has truly ended up in the midst of devils and evil spirits. What is this? All the beings he encounters are strange... They are like monsters or animals…
Similar descriptions can be found in Tibetan Buddhism, which speaks of different bardos (see, for instance, https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/dawning-of-the-clear-light-a-comparison-of-the-tibetan-book-of-the-dead-with-theosophical-teachings-on-the-afterlife). Additionally, individuals who have had a negative near-death experience (NDE) have also had experiences similar to those described by Ervast (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6173534/). After the experience of leaving the body, these people describe their NDE as arriving in a dark or gray void where loneliness and despair reign. They may feel the presence of evil beings and hear frightening sounds or terrifying laughter. According to Ervast, these frightening and hideous-looking beings are deceased human beings or non-living beings composed of thought-energy created by evil human beings.
It is somewhat unsettling to realize that the people who appear in the form of monstrous animals in their immediate afterlife are, in fact, the same monsters they were during their lifetime. We often don't notice it because the physical body conceals a person's spiritual state. The difference, however, is that during physical life, there is at least a faint bridge to the higher self. In contrast, in the afterlife, the personality typically has no connection to the higher self before the heavenly state. However, there is something good in all people that saves and lifts them out of the underworld.
The underworld is followed by the dwellings of Hades, in which life is gray and miserable. If a person's consciousness is attached to the sensory aspects of life and everyday trifles, there is some correspondence in their soul to the dwellings of Hades. Those who have believed in practical and theoretical materialism find themselves in that state of the afterlife. People can be quite moral, but their commitment to physical life in their thoughts and feelings binds them to the dwellings of Hades. Ervast says that large numbers of people in that state seek to appear through mediums, typically as more distinguished and better deceased than they are. From one point of view, this is an understandable aspiration, because only earthly life feels like real life to them.
Interestingly, Ervast's description is compatible with some accounts of the afterlife outside theosophical circles. Jürgen Ziewe describes something like the dwellings of Hades as follows (Ziewe, 2008, 94): “These places were twilight zones: inhospitable, like damp foggy November days...the atmosphere is of sadness and depression.” Ziewe also says that the description in the film The Others (2001, starring Nicole Kidman) corresponds well with his experiences of the lower levels of the afterlife. Another movie I can warmly recommend in this context is What Dreams May Come (1998), in which the late Robin Williams masterfully plays the selfless and self-sacrificing protagonist who descends into the underworld to rescue his beloved. The film's screenplay was based in part on theosophical knowledge.
Not all people go through the underworld and the dwellings of Hades because they have no correspondence to these states of being. It is essential to notice that the suffering in Hades, no matter how severe, is only temporary. Moreover, the people who suffer in these realms receive help, which I will discuss later in this article.
Earthly Paradise
The next stage of Hades is the earthly paradise. Life there seems quite pleasant: people can enjoy sensual pleasures, art, and science. Ervast describes this state thusly (Marjanen et. al., 2017, 73):
When we investigate this state of the afterlife, it is as the person would be on earth, but he does not stay here in reality. He is somewhere higher. It is like earth, but fabulous and wonderful. It is never too cold, nor are there strong storms. There all dreams that a person can imagine come true. There are waters, lovely trees, birds; life is good and beautiful and much more diverse than on earth. People wander in their own groups there. If there is a group of people belonging together, they come to a beautiful building, church, or a meeting room. Everything there is just what they have dreamed of on earth: churches and temples in which they hear music and singing, places where priests preach. They think that a large and beautiful angel is speaking through the preacher. If there are friends nearby, nothing is more enjoyable.
The earthly paradise, even in its most beautiful forms, is a purgatory that purifies and frees people from their personalities. Let us now look at astral life from the perspective of purification.
Astral Life as Purgatory
In astral life, we revisit our past lives from beginning to end; at the same time, this is our dream life, where we have been honest about who we are as spiritual beings. It is a process of purification that involves suffering, as people must face the consequences of their actions, just as others have experienced them. Ervast mentions that the largest group of purgatory is connected with the abuse of sexuality. Perhaps this is the background to the sexual repression that has existed in Christian churches throughout history. Fortunately, the teachings of most contemporary churches are considerably more humane in this respect.
Ervast describes the purgatory process as follows (Marjanen et. al., 2017, 61):
In the first phase of [this life in purgatory], he makes judgments about all the evil within himself. He sees his mistakes and grows away from that evil. When he settles in Hades, he starts to meditate on purifying himself. He relives his life; he sees his life backwards and lives it again. He concentrates his attention on his weaknesses. This is not meditation. No, it is real life, but he experiences a lot at the same time. When he goes through his life in this manner, he encounters a time when he hurt somebody. He did not realize it at the time, but he now sees how it affected that person and is aware of all the feelings it aroused in the person he had insulted. Now he must suffer because of it. Those feelings ravage him. Now he notices that one must be careful.
Ethical teachings of great religions, such as the Sermon on the Mount, become clear during the purgatory phase. At that time, every person deeply feels that goodness, purity, truthfulness, forgiveness, and love are the laws of life. For example, if we have been angry with someone, we can see how it affected them and how they felt about it. If we have promised something and not kept our promise, we will feel the consequences within ourselves.
Let us next look at the work of the helpers in the astral life.
Help on the Astral Level
Help is given to people living in different states of Hades. Ervast describes how the help work is organized (Marjanen et. al., 2017, 76):
Such people as theosophists, occultists, or whatever term we wish to use, who have more or less the right conception of the afterlife, will be received with special care on the other side. This kind of person will be asked: “Now that you have entered here, would you like to spend your time with your own soul experiences, or would you like to start working in this world?” And then these people, at least most of them, will answer with elation: “There is nothing more wonderful than working and serving here; it is the greatest joy to me.” “Well, since you have such a good and sincere will to help, come to the school; when you have finished it, you can join a certain group of helpers, as we have many kinds of them here.
Helping work can also be done during earthly life, during sleep (Marjanen et. al., 2017, 78–79):
People with good hearts and whose minds are not chained by bigoted doctrines, who are full of a will to help and who help and serve living people on this earth, console and do good to others, can learn to help the dead while they are asleep. When in sleep, with no memory or knowledge of it, they leave the physical body in their astral bodies, and because they are humans who want to serve and help, they are accepted into a school. They are taught what they should do and in what way to help. This is an unspeakably great achievement that has taken place mainly in our own time. After the Theosophical message came in the world, these astral schools were organized in different countries in the invisible world, and living people are taught to serve during sleep. That is why there is a saying among the sages: all people, no matter how poor they are, can always serve and help one another as long as they search for truth, liberating their minds from the chains of dogmas and keeping their hearts compassionate and loving. Then they can learn to do good during the night. But let us keep in mind that no person is qualified to help during the night if he doesn’t help during the day when he has an opportunity to do so.
This is a powerful exhortation to all seekers of truth. Ervast advises reviewing the events of the day in the evening and evaluating them objectively, as if they had happened to someone else. Have I been good, truthful, and helpful in all my actions? Do I want to help even during my sleep, and at the same time ask not to remember anything? For there is a selfish motive behind the desire to remember.
After Hades
A purified soul will eventually lose its consciousness, leave the astral world, and awaken in a blissful state, known as devachan in Theosophy. Devachan has different stages like Hades. Ultimately, only the essence of human beings remains. The higher self has been enriched by the qualities of personality that are good and pure enough for eternal life. A new life and personality dawns, and the process of reincarnation, guided by the balance of karma, commences again. This entire cycle of life, afterlife, and reincarnation aims to create a perfect human being who will become a compassionate and wise helper of all sentient beings.
Sources
Marjanen, Jouni, Savinainen, Antti and Sorvali, Jouko (2017). From Death to Rebirth. Teachings of the Finnish Sage Pekka Ervast. Literary Society of the Finnish Rosy Cross. Available online at https://www.teosofia.net/e-kirjat/Pekka_Ervast-From_Death_to_Rebirth.pdf. Page numbers for the quoted extracts are provided to this e-book version. The book is also available as a print version (2022), published by the Literary Society of the Finnish Rosy Cross and manufactured by Books On Demand (BoD), Norderstedt, Germany.
Ziewe, Jurgen (2008). Multidimensional Man. An authentic eyewitness account of the world that awaits us after death. L https://www.lulu.com/