I seek answers

Dear God,

You know I am a sucker for the unexplained, the mysterious, and the supernatural. I have often had questions that do not always seem to fetch convincing answers despite lots of reading up and talking to various people. One such question – What is Hell like?

The other day, I was reading an extract of Dante’s Divine Comedy. His clear and vivid imagination of what Hell might be like is truly outstanding.

I have always known (blame it on the upbringing!) hell to be a pot of boiling oil. Those that committed sin were dropped into that pot and left to burn till eternity or until another dimension relapsed. Our movies always depicted God as Almighty, The One and that just a mention of his name would reduce the evil to shambles. Some movies are still etched in my memory for the treatment that is meted out to the naughty, prankster evil when he ventures out during his night shifts in search of his conquests!

I wonder if that is actually true, Dear God. Is it true that your power is such that no evil is even light years close to being a match?

In sharp contrast, many an English movie I have watched depicts you and the evil on an even platform, bilateral if you will. Movies like The Exorcist required the High Priest to work hard in his profession. Movies like The Omen (and the series thereafter) depict the strength of your evil counterpart. As a matter of fact, the characters (the supposed “Know-alls”) fail to finally fell The Prince of dark.

So Dear God, why this difference in interpretation? If you are The One and The Force to reckon with, and if every corner of your creation that believes in you knows that, why this ambiguity?

Anyway, I think that is best left unanswered because I know I don’t have to worry about any other entity when The Force is with me. However, out of persuasion of curiosity and to maintain continuity of this dialogue, let’s move on…

So, back to the Divine Comedy… Dante describes Hell as a very cold region (not sure if that is a befitting word!) and that is a BIG deviation from what I had always known. What’s more, there isn’t a single pot for all crimes and all sinners!! While crime is organized, treatment to crime also seems to be more organized than outside the Indian context!

But wait, let’s talk more about Dante’s account. His articulation of the seven stages of Hell is nothing short of a treat. It is amazing how each crime is dealt with separately and in an organized fashion. Take for example, the Second Circle of hell – this one packs those who have sinned, overcome by lust. Sinners in this circle are blown about by violent storms with no sign of rest. It is amazing how Dante draws a comparison of their plight with their sin. This, he says symbolizes the power of lust to blow one aimlessly.

Similarly, he describes each circle of hell with a convincing precision of the sin and treatment thereof. Some of the text, when pictured in the head makes one want to truly explore regions beyond your borders. The timing of the account obviously has nothing to do with his imagination. However, what strikes me is the confidence he demonstrates during times when mention of evil was evil in itself.

As part of reviews on his work, it was hard to believe that it was originally not well-accepted until around the 19th century when it was drawn for inspiration. Sad, for an account of this epic proportions and colossal creativity.

Nevertheless, it made excellent reading and gave me an insight into the various possibilities with the power of imagination.