Merit can be earned in many ways. It can be earned through acts of charity, by performing religious rituals, by bathing in holy rivers or by dying in holy places. One such holy place which purged all demerit and provided merit was Kuru-kshetra. Another one is Kashi, on the banks of the river Ganga, which is why people still go to Kashi to die. Unlike Biblical traditions, Hindus have more than one heaven. There is Swarga and Vaikuntha. Swarga is the paradise of Indra where all desires are fulfilled. Vaikuntha is God’s heaven where one is free of all desires.
