Could Saddam have a shot at nirvana?

The following is a report from my fellow Kansan Stan Cox, who spends winters in India with his wife Priti. All quotes were copied verbatim from the Jan. 7 edition of the Deccan Chronicle.

Here in India, there has been some debate over whether — through his hanging — Saddam has achieved nirvana. Noting that he died on Vaikunta Ekadasi, a highly auspicious day for Hindus, which also happened to be the last day of the Haj, The Deccan Chronicle newspaper asked several religious experts what this will mean for Saddam.

According to Sri Sri Sri Swaroopanandendra Saraswathi Maha Swami, “Even if Saddam harmed several people and committed many mistakes, his soul has been purified since he died on Vaikunta Ekadasi. We have to conclude that it is by the result of Saddam Hussein’s good deeds in his earlier births that he attained salvation. He died on this Vaikunta Ekadasi only because of the virtue he had accumulated over many births. … There is no second opinion on this issue . . .”

Actually, Sri Sri Sri, there is. According to another scholar, Puthamana Maheswaran Nampoothiri, Saddam “stands no chance of salvation. Salvation and freedom from rebirths are meant for people who die of natural causes like old age and diseases… He will be reborn as a ghost or a devil to torment the world.” According to Nampoothiri, salvation is assured only if one dies AFTER Jan. 15.

Vidhya Nrusimha Bharathi Swami argued that Vaikunta Ekadasi is irrelevant to Saddam’s case since he was Muslim: “It is a sheer coincidence that Vaikunta Ekadasi and Bakrid fell on the same day. Anyway, Saddam Hussein will go to heaven.”

Islamic scholar Hafiz Syed Shujad Hussein agrees: “It was an auspicious day for Saddam Hussein, as he died not only on the day of Haj but also proclaimed the Islamic kalmah movement before he was hanged.”

One of the more free-thinking Hindu scholars, Swamy Ashwathy Tirunal, stressed that the beneficial effect of ritual beliefs is mainly psychological. But, he continued, “Having said that, nobody can escape the effects of karma. Even if Saddam Hussein died on a holy day, he will have to bear the fruits of his karma. Likewise George Bush.”

So there you have it. There’s no consensus on Saddam’s fate. Gerald Ford or James Brown might know something, but they could not be reached.