Does Jainism believe in a heaven and hell?
Jainism believes that the universe (lokakas) consists of an upper world (heaven), a middle world (where humans are), and a lower world (hell). However, this does not correspond to the traditional Christian concepts of heaven, earth and hell. The upper world consists of what we traditionally consider a heaven. However, it contains several levels of heavens. There are either 12 of 16 devloks (levels) of heavens. The upper world also contains 9 graiveks, 5 anuttaras and Moksha- the place where liberated souls (souls that have broken out of the cycle of birth and death) reside. The middle world is where humans, animals and plants reside. However, it is important to note that this middle world extends far beyond what we conceive of as the Milky Way galaxy and other known galaxies. The vastness of the middle world is well beyond the scope of modern science. The lower world consists of what we traditionally consider hell. However, there are 7 levels of hells, each one becoming consistently wo
