We all seek a better living condition than the current one we are in. And we work whole life to achieve that – to be in a better place to be with our loved ones, to raise our kids better than the way we were raised, to give them a better education than what we had, and to settle them, in a life better than the way we have lived. But unfortunately, all our efforts come to null and void at the point of death.

Are we prepared to put the necessary effort to find a place where we can exist with no such fear of temporariness and miseries? The place is Vaikuntha. How do the Vaikuntha planets look? Let’s find out.

The spiritual planets of Vaikuntha, the paraṁ dhāma, the supreme abode, are the eternal home to all the spirit souls. The material planets are not Vaikuntha; they are just kuṇṭha and anyone living in these planets is always full of anxiety. The major difference between the spiritual and material planets is that in the Vaikuntha planets, there is no such thing as anxiety. The Supreme Lord manifests in His various personal expansions such as Rama, Narasimha, Varaha, etc. on each of the Vaikuntha planets as the predominating Deity.

5 amazing Features of Vaikuntha planets

There are many features of the eternal planets of Vaikuntha like:

• The forests of Vaikuntha have wish-fulfilling trees, and in all seasons they are filled with flowers and fruits.
• In the Vaikuntha planets, the inhabitants fly in their aeroplanes made of lapis lazuli, emerald, and gold.

• The birds of Vaikuntha stop their own singing simply to hear the glories of the Lord.

But this kind of features are common, let’s discuss the features that set Vaikuntha apart from all the material and spiritual planets.

 Vaikuntha planets have no anxiety

The living entities in the Vaikuntha planets live with no anxiety. Vaikuntha itself means- ‘without any anxiety.’ In the material planets, everyone is in full of anxiety, He may be human or an ant, small, very insignificant. He may be a very rich man or a very poor man. The anxiety is there. Why? Sadā samudvigna-dhiyām asad-grahāt: [Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.5.5] “Because they have accepted this material body.”

No Māyā in Vaikuntha

In the spiritual planets of Vaikuntha, there is no influence of māyā or the departments of existence. Within the body, there are five different departments of existence, known as anna-maya (consciousness of food), prāṇa-maya (the consciousness of being alive), mano-maya (consciousness of one’s existence), vijnāna-maya (consciousness of mental platform) and, ānanda-maya (blissful life of knowledge and eternity).

As said in the Vedānta-sūtra, ānanda-mayo ’bhyāsāt, as long as the living entities are situated in the lower four stages of life— anna-maya, prāṇa-maya, mano-maya and vijnāna-maya—they are considered to be in the material condition of life, but as soon as one reaches the stage of ānanda-maya, he is a liberated soul.

No birth-death cycle in Vaikuntha 

No birth-death cycle means, no to the cycle of misery. In the Supreme abode, there is no birth, death, old age, and disease, thus the souls are free. In the material world, everyone is trying not to die, not to become old, not to get diseases. This is natural because, by nature, we are not subjected to these things, thus our endeavour, our activity, is struggling, to become death-less, birth-less and disease-less.  The Supreme Lord is sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha, eternal, blissful, knowledgeable, similarly, we, being part and parcel of the Lord are also of the same quality and we are suffering because we have accepted our association with this material world.

Vaikuntha, the abode of eternal bliss

In Vaikuntha, everyone is full of transcendental bliss. Ānandamayo ‘bhyāsāt (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12). By nature, they are ānandamaya, always jolly. Also, in this material world, when we become free from the material concept of life, and when one is aware of the fact that “I am not this material body; I am the spirit soul,” he becomes jolly because he acquires the spiritual quality. 

No desires, no lamentations in Vaikuntha

Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā, na śocati na kāṅkṣati: [Bhagavad-gita 18.54] “There is no desire, and there is no lamentation.” In the material world, one who is not God-conscious is always hankering, and if he loses something, he’s lamenting. But in the Vaikuntha, when you are under the surrendered state of the Lord, the hankering and lamentation end, because, where there is God, there is no question of lamentations.

Where is Vaikuntha?

As explained in the previous article, Vaikuntha planets are situated far away from the material world, beyond the boundaries of universes. However, Vaikuntha planets are not just that geographical location. When one is absorbed in the thoughts, feelings and activities related to the Supreme Lord and His service, one is no longer in this material world even though he may physically appear to be in the material world. In his consciousness, he is already in Vaikuntha. Thus ultimately, there is no such thing as the material world, but when one forgets the service of the Lord and engages himself in the service of his senses, he is said to be living in the material world.

But how to attain the Vaikuntha consciousness? Let’s find out in our next article.

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