Divine Comedy, Human Tragedy
Last month, I reread Dante’s 14th-century Italian poem, “The Divine Comedy” (Commedia). These are three works that were eventually blended into one to tell a fantasy of what occurs after someone dies. Inferno (Hell), Paradiso (Heaven), and Purgatorio (Purification) are the titles of the three books. While Hell and Heaven are well-known concepts, purification is a little trickier. The core premise is that a soul takes human birth to purify itself, and everything else one does in a lifetime except this one duty is pointless and amounts to squandering a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
There are four methods to purify: purging bodily desire, purification of the will, illumination of the mind, and unity of one’s existence or will with the Divine. Different religions use different phrases and techniques to communicate the same thing, but they all ask for control over “desires of the flesh” by the “reasoning faculty,” that is the intellect. The human body is described in the Katha Upanishad (I.iii.3-4) as a chariot drawn by the five horses that are the senses; the mind is the reins; and the driver or charioteer is the intellect, carrying the soul as a passenger.
आत्मानं रथिनं विद्धि शरीरं रथमेव तु।
बुद्धिं तु सारथिं विद्धि मनः प्रग्रहमेव च॥
इन्द्रियाणि हयानाहुर्विषयांस्तेषु गोचरान्।
आत्मेन्द्रियमनोयुक्तं भोक्तेत्याहुर्मनीषिणः॥
Know yourself to be the charioteer, and your body to be the chariot.
Know intelligence to be the driver, and the mind to be the controller.
The senses are called horses, and they go after the objects of this world.
The Self is the enjoyer using the senses, and the mind, thus says the learned.
So, one way to grasp the problem is to live by do’s and don’ts, which obviously does not work. People frequently find themselves powerless to control their senses. Emotions contaminate reason in a million ways. People flee from what their senses dislike and are drawn to what they enjoy. Thosewho are aware of the dangers of excessive consumption of oils, sugar, and salt continue to do so. They smoke, drink alcohol, and waste money on useless gratification of wishes, such as filling their closets with clothes in the name of fashion and collecting shoes, watches, and various toys in the form of electronics.
Dante’s method is another option. In Divine Comedy, Dante transports the reader to a fictional world and introduces them to great characters who explain why they are there. Their stories have the capacity to leave an impact that not only lasts longer but also leads to transformation, allowing people to stay away from dangerous habits and inclinations by choice and intent. Dante has constructed different levels in the three realms of Hell, Heaven, and Purgatory in a fairly magical fashion, and what effort is greater or inferior to the others comes out in a way that cannot be readily ignored. Hell’s souls have lost the ability to reason.
Dante begins the book by stating that he found himself in a dark wilderness midway through his life’s journey because he had strayed from the straight and true. This has an immediate resonance with the reader. Who doesn’t think so? Mid-life crises are well recognized – family, careers, businesses – there are always more people who feel stuck in their lives rather than that they are prospering.
Dante conjured three animals to obstruct his exit from the wilderness: a panther, a lion, and a she-wolf. These animals embody desire, pride, and greed. People live and die in suffering, as if eaten away by one of these three creatures. The Bhagavad Gita (XVI. 21) refers to them as the three portals to Hell.
त्रिविधं नरकस्येदं द्वारं नाशनमात्मन:।
काम: क्रोधस्तथा लोभस्तस्मादेतत्त्रयं त्यजेत्॥
This is the threefold gate of Hell, the destruction of the self.As a result, one should avoid lust, rage, and greed.
Next, Dante takes us on a great voyage guided by the soul of the first-century Latin poet Virgil. Virgil guides him through Hell and Purgatory, but he is unable to enter Heaven. Dante’s youth inspiration Beatrice, who has died before, takes over there.
Hell is a nine-level spiral of torture. Here, those souls languish in eternity who lived by animalistic desires shunning human reason and committing violence upon others. On the gate of Hell is an inscription that reads, “Abandon all hope, you who enter here.” What a strong message! We enter hell the instant we lose hope. As we progress deeper, we encounter people whose depravity grows inexorably, culminating at the centerof the Earth, where Satan is bound. He is up to his waist in ice, flailing his bat-like wings. Our misdirected passions are like a raging whirlwind that never stops.
I find the story of Count Ugolino della Gherardesca, a nobleman from Pisa, Italy, particularly compelling. He is kept at the lowest level, where sinners who betrayed those with whom they had close relationships are imprisoned. Ugolinowas a political traitor who harmed his country for personal gain. In retaliation, he is portrayed chewing Archbishop Ruggieri’s head, as a dog consumes a bone. Ruggieri had imprisoned Ugolino in a tower with his children and grandchildren and starved them to death. What could be more agonizing than seeing his four children die of famine before him, as he was the last to die? But, even if Ugolino must die for his crime, why are his sons put to death? This did not occur in Pisa’s renowned leaning tower, but rather, in a different building nearby. How much terror lurks behind some of these seemingly gorgeous structures?
Two ethical trips in this life are detailed in the Purgatory journey, which is depicted as climbing a mountain. One is the pursuit of happiness, which can be attained by adhering to the teachings of philosophers and dealing with fellow beings with loving-kindness. The other is a spiritual path to eternal beatitude through acts such as prayer, service, and penance. Purgatory, however, is more than just paying off the debts acquired when one sinned; it is also about reflecting on those sins and altering the psychological inclinations that lead to sin. The objective of life is to shed the baggage of previous lives and become a pristine spirit capable of merging with the One of this creation.
Journey through Heaven, Dante’s final and most beautiful section of his poem, has much to teach us about happiness, the perfection of the intellect, the nature of authentic liberty, the thriving of community, the role of love in learning, and the profound connection that the good and true have to aesthetics. It is especially pertinent for people who have dedicated their lives to education. This beautiful book struck me as Dante’s hymn of gratitude – a tribute to all his guides and to guidanceitself as a work of grace. The book is freely available on the Internet. You merely need to set aside some time to study this brilliant piece of work.
MORE FROM THE BLOG
Brothers in Excellence
For most people, the pursuit of happiness is the purpose of life. All actions and thoughts are fuelled by the desire to be happy. No one wants to be unhappy, yet unhappiness and dissatisfaction are prevalent. Perhaps serving others can be one’s higher purpose, leading...
The Mind in Solitude
Caves are inseparable from human imagination. When the Vanara army searches for Sita in the Ramayana, they are clueless and lost in the dense forest. Tired, thirsty, and hopeless, Hanuman sees some birds flying into a cave, which he infers is where water must be…
Prisoners of the Mind: How Don Quixotes Live Among Us
I learned about Don Quixote, a novel written in the early seventeenth century, through various articles. It is the most translated and best-selling Spanish novel by Miguel De Cervantes Saavedra. Still, I have only recently read its English translation by John Ormsby…
Wonderful blog on one of the greatest works of literature, Prof Tiwariji !
Your exposition of gripping and fascinating journey through the afterlife is amazing !!
Dear sir, Thank you very much for an enriching blog with the addition of your own flavour, conveying it in a very simple form. The very interesting and sad part is that most of us know what needs to be done but we never reflect on it. One who conquers his desires is the real winner. This blog will definitely, trigger the reader to look back and take corrective action in some form or the other. Thank you once again sir.
In this very interesting blog, I wonder about the imagination of the poet Dante. He wrote in Italian in the 13th century, translated it into English, then you found it interesting and posted a blog about him and I am reading and wondering. I can now understand how people become immortal through their work. I personally feel heaven and earth are right here and people are living them knowingly or unknowingly already. Thank you for introducing us to great literary works.
Very interesting read. But for your blog, we would never know these literary treasures. I feel it is important to realize our spiritual nature and that there is a spiritual world as there is this physical world. We all sleep and experience the spiritual world as dreams every night, there are mood swings in waking life for no rhyme and reason coming from the spiritual world but we rather stubbornly ignore and keep going with the physical world like some animal. Thank you for making us reflect.
Dear Sir, The scene of Count Ugolino chewing Archbishop Ruggieri’s head, as a dog consumes a bone, is ghastly. But that Archbishop starved Ugolio’s four sons to death before his own eye sent a chill through the spine. Reading such books is indeed important. Most of us are wasting our time living through “sponsored” reality and unless we wake up and do something real for ourselves and the people around us, I don’t know what would be the fate of us in the afterlife. . . .running on a treadmill that never stops! Thank you, Sir.
Tauji, I remember you telling me once from this book about a crowd of ‘Opportunists’ gathered in the Vestibule of Hell, not allowed inside the Hell as they have not committed any sin. They were rather bystanders who said whatever was needed to get ahead in life. I can see so many around. Actually, most of them are like that.
The punishment upon the Opportunists involved is that they are eternally chasing a banner that they can never catch, symbolic of the ambition they so lustily chased on earth. They are also constantly being stung by wasps and hornets as in their lives they were envious of every other fate.
We experience hell and heaven both in our lifetime. As we swim through the waves of our life we come across different situations in life, sometimes stormy sometimes calm waters. It’s the situations in our lives which sometimes dictates our actions. As mere human beings we are dictated by our desires, wants, greed, lust, envy and many such emotions. If one can overcome these, he is able to reach a level above the mass. I believe that we experience heaven and hell within this life of ours. Purgatorio Or purification is a chance given to us by our inner conscience to make our life worthy. Leading a selfish, greedy and unethical life makes everything around us a hell while a life which is selfless, generous, kind and thoughtful makes life around us heaven.
Thank you sir for such a magnificent blog. Looking forward to your next blog.
I’ll get a copy for myself now. Highly expecting it to be a richly illustrated guide that’ll bring Dante and his world to my reach. Thankyou for your blog- a new book will be added soon to my library.
Dear Arun bhai,
Very very enriching and deep knowledge you possess on the subject.
As always, each time you write it is innovative with differed flavour and spirit.
Best Wishes.
Sir,
मानव जीवन सर्वोच्च है. श्रीमद्भागवत में कहा गया है (11.20.12):
स्वर्गिणोऽप्येतमिच्छन्ति लोकं निरयिणस्तथा ।
साधकं ज्ञानभक्तिभ्यामुभयं तदसाधकम् ॥
स्वर्ग तथा नरक दोनों ही के निवासी पृथ्वीलोक पर मनुष्य का जन्म पाने की आकांक्षा रखते हैं क्योंकि मनुष्य-जीवन दिव्य ज्ञान तथा भगवत्प्रेम की प्राप्ति को सुगम बनाता है, जबकि न तो स्वर्गिक, न ही नारकीय शरीर पूर्णत: ऐसा अवसर सुलभ कराते हैं। स्वर्ग में मनुष्य असामान्य इन्द्रियतृप्ति में लीन हो जाता है और नरक में वह कष्ट में डूबा रहता है। दोनों ही स्थितियों में दिव्य ज्ञान भगवत्प्रेम प्राप्त करने के लिए तनिक भी प्रोत्साहन नहीं मिलता। इस तरह अत्यधिक कष्ट या अत्यधिक भोग आध्यात्मिक प्रगति में बाधक हैं।
How about a simple authentic life…it eludes many and few others come to embrace it too late into their own story. But it is better than not to ever realize.
Amazing piece sir
I did read the book and it is truly human tragedy that we see each day .
Amusing comedy, indeed!
More serious is the lesson to live a worthy life on earth …
Dear Sir, Thank you for this beautiful, illuminating piece of writing. The various connections have been made and described very well, with the result that the reader’s interest in Dante’s work is piqued. We are enriched for your blogs – really grateful!