The Hindu Vision

Jessica was dumped onto hard soil, and then lifted to her feet. She could feel someone tying her to something tall and sturdy. She instantly thought of a tree. Thinking that this surely couldn't be as bad as the liquid, she didn't try to ask questions or get away or scream. Jessica even relaxed a little.

Suddenly, her eyes popped open and she could see again, but then, she didn't want to once she saw what was in front of her. Small, red men, evil-looking men, staring at her, like the main course at a fantastic meal.

"Release." One of them said.

Jessica heard squawking before she could see anything. Before long, though, she saw birds flying toward her, madness in their eyes. Her mouth opened in a silent scream. The birds pecked at her eyes and left her to rot.

* * *

Hinduism is based on the idea of reincarnation. Because of this, hell is just a stopping point where souls burn off evil before going on to the next life. The number of hells vary, some accounts list a total of 136 separate underworld realms, each responding to a different sin. In hell, the spirit rids itself of bad karma (the sum of evil acts).

Tortures in the lower hells, the worst places of torment, include boiling in oil, being burned alive and being eaten by ravenous birds.

The final goal of salvation is to escape from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth. That could mean an eternal resting place for the individual in the arms of a personal, loving god; but it usually means the dissolving of all personality into the unimaginable abyss of Brahman.