Talk:Can Hatred Really Lead to Mokṣa
By Vishal Agarwal
Some texts seem to suggest that hating the Lord obsessively can also lead to Moksha-
Lo! This Lord Vishnu bestows Moksha – the difficult, supreme goal to obtain, even to Devas and Asuras who are shackled by a hatred of Him. How much more will he reward those who have perfect devotion towards Him? Vishnu Purāṇa 4.15.17
To the Devas who were speaking in this way, Narada said with a smile, “O Devas who know the secret of Dharm, listen! Ravana, on account of his antagonism to Rama, has always been talking about Him with his servants, besides ever anxiously thinking about Him. Fearing, that he would meet with death at Rama’s hand, he was in the habit of seeing the specter of Rama everywhere. Every night, in his dreams, he was seeing Rama. This anger of Ravana towards Rama has served him in a better way than teachers and relatives. In the end, being killed by Rama, he has been rid of all his sins. Released from all bondage thereby, he has become one with Rama. Even if a person is sinful, evil-minded, addicted to other people’s wealth and women, if he, be it out of love or fear, thinks of Rama, he becomes purified in mind and freed from the sins of numerous births. He thereby attains directly the eternal Vaikuntha, the highly coveted status of Vishnu who has incarnated Himself as Rama.” Adhyātma Rāmāyaṇa 6.11.83-88
Some texts eulogize hatred for the Lord over and above conventional Bhakti Yog-
It is my firm conviction that the deep absorption that a man obtains through uninterrupted hatred cannot be obtained even through Bhakti Yog. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 7.1.26
In this regard, the example of Shisupāla is often cited. He hated Krishna and transgressed against Him till at his hundredth transgression, Krishna killed him and granted him Moksha. But, some Rishi-s declare that hatred is the very antithesis of love for the Lord and it can never lead to Moksha in the path of Bhakti Yog[1]
Swami Harshananda however explains how a closer scrutiny of these examples reveals the deep love underlying this apparent hatred-
“….Shisupāla is the stick example that is often quoted in support of this view. The real motive behind Shishupāla’s apparent hatred was love itself. The story goes that he was the gatekeeper of Lord Vishnu at Vaikuntha born as Shishupāla due to a curse of some sages. Between seven births wherein he would love God and three births wherein he would hate Him and be killed by Him, he chose the latter because it was too much for him to bear separation from His Lord for seven long births! All statements such as those from Vishnu Purāṇa, Bhāgavata, or Atrismriti are only negative eulogies. If hatred can do this much, how much more can be achieved through love? That is what they try to arrive at. God being the inmost self of all, it is impossible to hate Him. Another reason for these scriptures making hatred of God also a virtue is that if at all anger has to be shown, let it be towards God so that it is sublimated through that remembrance of God inevitably associated with such a hatred….”[2] Bangalore
The second point made by Swami Harshananda is supported by the following texts-
He who directs passion, anger, fear, affection, feeling of identity, and friendship towards God is bound to attain absorption in Him. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 10.29.15 When the Bhakti has offered every activity to the Lord, he should even direct his anger, ego, desire, etc. towards the same Lord. Nārada Bhakti Sūtra 64
In his commentary on Gita 9.12, Madhvāchārya treats the concept of Bhakti through Dveṣha Bhāva in great detail, and in addition to the above arguments, he states that granting Moksha to one who hates you is contrary even to normal worldly behavior.
Why would a person in his complete senses favor someone who constantly hates him over others who love him? He also suggests that all the scriptural passages that seem to allow the hater of the Lord to get His grace are to be interpreted as eulogies of the infinite compassion of the Lord.