WHAT HAPPENS AFTER DEATH

Krishna says, “Like the wind carries scents from flowers, the Jivatma (SOUL) carries mind and the senses while leaving the body and migrates to the body which it acquires” (Chap 15- verse 8)

In the GITA, chapter 2, Krishna explains this in the following verse:

“As a man shedding worn-out garments, takes other new ones, likewise the embodies soul, casting off worn-out bodies, enters into others which are new.” (Chap 2- verse 22)

“Just as boyhood, youth and old age are attributed to the soul through this body, even so it attains another body. The wise men do not get deluded about this.” (Chap 2 – verse 13)

In fact, because SOUL moves from one body to another and life goes on, Krishna says

“There was never a time when I was not, or when you or these kings were not present. Nor is it a fact that hereafter we shall all cease to be.” (Chap 2 – verse 12)

Wise men do not sorrow over the dead or the living.” (Chap 2 – verse 11

In Garuda Purana and Atma Purana it is described that the pangs of death are tantamount to the pain caused by the stings of 72,000 scorpions. This is mentioned to induce fear (Bhayanaka Sabda) in the hearers and readers and force them to work for Moksha. In spiritualism there is the unanimous report from enlightened spirits that there is not even a bit of pain during death. They clearly describe their experiences at death and state that they are relieved of a great burden of this physical body and that they enjoy perfect composure at the time of separation from the physical body. Maya induces vain fear in the on-lookers by inducing convulsive twitchings of the body. That is her nature and habit. Don’t be afraid of death pangs. You are immortal (Amara).

Strive ceaselessly to live in God through Japa, Kirtan, service of the poor and meditation. Then only will you be able to conquer Time and Death.

When the God of Death comes to take your life, he will not accept your excuses: “I had no time to worship God in my life.”

Knowledge of Brahman, or Brahma-Jnana, alone can free us from the clutches of ignorance and death. This knowledge should come to us as a direct realisation through meditation. Mere scholarship or intelligence or study of religious books cannot help us to attain the summum bonum. It is a matter of direct experience and not of argument or reasoning.

Habitual study of abstract problems will result in another earthly life, in a well-developed power of abstract thinking, while flippant, hasty thinking, flying from one object to another, will bequeath a restless ill-regulated mind to the birth following this world.

Self-realisation will remove Avidya or ignorance, the root-cause of human sufferings, and produce in you the knowledge of oneness of the Self, which is the means for eradicating grief, delusion, the dire malady of birth and death, the concomitants of Samsara or world’s process.

The Sun of pure consciousness is shining in the chambers of your heart. This spiritual Sun of suns is self-luminous. It is the Self of all beings, that transcends speech and mind. If you realise this Self, you will no more return to this Mrityuloka, the world of death.

Birth and death are two illusory scenes in the drama of this world, created by the jugglery of Maya. In truth, nobody comes and nobody goes. Atman alone exists for ever. Destroy fear and Moha through enquiry and rest in peace.

“I know that mighty Purusha who, resplendent like the Sun, transcends darkness (ignorance). By knowing Him alone, one conquers Death. There is no other way to salvation” (Yajur Veda XXXI—181).

Every effort in the direction of Yoga never goes in vain. You will realise thereby the fruit of even a little Yogic practice. If you have succeeded in the practice of the three limbs of Yoga viz., Yama, Niyama and Asana in this birth, you will begin your practice in the next birth from the fourth limb, viz., Pranayama. A Vedantin who has acquired two means, viz., Viveka and Vairagya in this birth, will start his practice in the next birth from the sixfold virtues, viz., Sama, Dama, etc. Therefore, you should not be discouraged a bit even, if you fail to attain the Kaivalya or independence or final Asamprajnata Samadhi in this birth. Even a little practice for a short period will give you more strength, more peace, more joy and more knowledge.

You cannot die, because you were never, born. You are immortal Atman. Birth and death are two false scenes in the unreal drama of Maya. They concern the physical sheath only, a false product formed by the combination of the five elements. The ideas of birth and death are mere superstition.

This physical body which is made up of clay or earth is a toy for the Lord for His Lila or sporting. He is the Wire-puller or Sutradhara. He keeps His toy running as long as He likes. Eventually He breaks the toy and throws the pieces away. The game of two ceases. There is only oneness. The individual soul merges in the Supreme Soul.

The knowledge of the Self destroys all fear of death. People are unnecessarily alarmed of death. Death is like sleep. Birth is like waking up from sleep in the morning. Just as you put on new clothes, so also you put on a new body after death. Death is a natural incident in its course. It is necessary for your evolution. When the physical body becomes unfit for further activities and use, Lord Rudra takes it away and supplies a new body. There is no pain at the time of death. Ignorant people have created much horror and terror regarding death.

There is only one Reality—Brahman. This world and body are superimposed on Brahman, just as snake is superimposed on the rope. As long as the rope is not known and the idea of snake persists, you are not free from fear. Similarly this world is a solid reality to you until Brahman is realised. When you see the rope with a light, the illusion of snake vanishes and the fear disappears. Even so, when you realise Brahman, this world vanishes and you are freed from the fear of births and deaths.

You dream sometimes that you are dead and that your relatives are weeping. Even in that supposed death-state, you see and hear them weeping. This clearly indicates that even after apparent death, life really persists. You exist.