Life beyond physical eath

Life is central. Considering “Death”- the cessation of function of physical body, as the end of life is great delusion. The soul (Atma), which is beholder of bio-energy in physical body, is ageless, timeless and indestructible. The fear of “Death” ensues from the misconception that with the end of physical existence, the individual loses its identity in totality. A firm conviction in the continuity of life in future absolves man from the fear of “Death”.

Man is afraid of many things. But the fear of death is supreme, the very thought of which makes him shiver. The reason for this unusual reaction is the ignorance about the environment of life beyond the physical death. In this book and attempt has been made to remove these misconceptions and enlighten man about the facts he is curious to know about the unknown future.

The task if educating one about the other world is, however, not easy, since the subject pertains to a para-normal phenomena and is, therefore, much beyond the reach of physical sciences. Sir Oliver Lodge –a well known authority on the subject too admits that it is not always possible to explain the laws of metaphysics in physical terms.

For readers, who consider the physical bodily senses as the exclusive means for finding the ultimate truth, the matter represented here may appear to be a utopian conceptual exercise. Others, who believe in the words of achieved saints and having paranormal vision, would find in it authentic material, which the writer has acquired and summarized.

Wheat is Death?

Life is like an eternal stream. Each of us has been living since time immemorial and would continue to do so for millions of years in future. Ignorance of facts makes us believe that life begins in the womb of mother during pregnancy and ends with cessation of functions of heart and brain. It is a myopic point of view- a misleading concept.

Modern medical science would make us believe that soul has no independent existence of its own, that the body itself is the totality of a living entity and the being is lost forever on death of the body, But Alas! Physical science themselves are even today in infancy. Take for instance the subject of velocity of electricity. So for, over three dozen theories have been advances in this context each contradicting the earlier ones. No doubt man has learnt to make use of electrical current, but he is still uncertain about its mode of propagation. To the material world the ever-changing theories of physical sciences may not matter much but it would be unfortunate for mankind to apply the same norms to research in spirituality. Whereas scientists consider body itself as the total existence of a living being, a research scholar of spirituality puts forward evidences of paranormal activities of the departed, defying explanation by material sciences. Then there are authenticated versions of small innocent children, who have identified places and people of their past lives proving beyond doubt that a being goes through cycles of birth and death again and again. Sucking mile from mother’s breast immediately after birth, itself indicates the presence in the infant of a memory from previous life. Extraordinary talents of many young children too are indicative of knowledge acquired in an earlier existence.

Soul (not mind which is recognized as soul in the west) and body are not one and the same entity. Just as one is required to change clothes according to the requirements of occasion, the soul too changes bodies. As it is not possible to wear the same clothes throughout one’s life, the soul with its infinite continuity in time, cannot dwell in the same body. That is why it seeks to find a new body again and again. Though, generally, one discards the old worn and torn clothes only, at times it becomes necessary to do so prematurely, when they are accidentally damages, torn or have become unusable on account of some other reason. Likewise, though the soul continues to live in the body till. the later becomes infirm due to old age or diseases, it may also leave it at a younger age in a contingency.

The Moments of death

How does one die?  In this context India Yogis (Saints) having paranormal perception hold the view, that for a short duration preceding death, man experiences a great deal of restlessness, pain and writhing. There are a few reasons for this phenomena. The event of death necessitates total withdrawal of the current of bio-energy (Pran) from all over the body, which before death, is accumulated at that particular part of the body, from where the soul is about to make its exit (discussed later), whereas, because of prevailing disposition of biological functions, this current tends to flow back to respective neurons. The impact of this struggle creates the agony or the spasm at the moment of death. The other reason for the misery preceding the moment of death are diseases, shock or other physiological factors rendering the body unqualified for retention of soul. Whether or not the dying person is able to express, the being does suffer for a few moments before death. However, soon thereafter, the person falls into a kind of coma and the soul departs in this state of senselessness. When death becomes imminent, all external functional powers of man become introverted and then cumulatively escape along with the soul through any exit in the physical body (Sthul Sharir). The Yogis of the West are of the view that the soul (Sukshma & Karan Sharir) of the being comes out of the body as a violet shadow, whereas the India spiritualists see it as a brilliant white aura akin to luminescence of a burning lamp escaping at the moment of death. Because of cumulative withdrawal, all forgotten memories of life lying buried and dormant in the finer cells of brain are stimulated and revived. This phenomena proves the extraordinary capability of human mind, when the dying person relives all experiences of life in a short moment like a playback of a cine-film, whereas while living it is impossible to remember even fifty percent of life’s events in a long time, Each activity of a person, whether mental, verbal or physical, leaves an imprint on the soul, The sum and substance of these events, deeds accompanies the soul as its Samskars (impressions) at the time of its departure from the physical body. In this process, it is said, one feels unimaginable pain-like that inflicted by a thousand scorpion bites. While looking at the activities of bygone human existence the soul feels extremely miserable-like a devoted father who beheads his own son by mistake and looks at his body writhing in pain. It is because the soul feels extremely repentant for not having utilized life’s precious moments fruitfully.

As mentioned earlier, the body becomes insensitive to al feelings of pain and disease much before death when the energy of sense-perception becomes introverted. This all sufferings of body end before death. The bond between the body and soul with diseases, shock or old age begins to loosen. The fruit drops to the ground when it is ripen and its stem is unable to bear its weight. In the same manner, an individual dies when the body and its functional capabilities loosen their grip on the soul. The soul. The Soul generally departs from the apertures in the upper part of the body, principally from the mouth, eyes, ears or nostrils. Sinners have been found losing their souls through the anus or organs of sex. The soul of Yogi leaves through the Brahmarandhra (near top of cranium).

The Habitat of departed soul

On coming out of the body, the soul finds itself in a strange environment. Just as after a prolonged period of hard work one seeks a comfortable bed, in order to relax after the lifelong engagement with the body, the soul needs rest and sleep (a period of inactivity). This period of sleep provides the soul a great deal of rest. (Hence the prayer for the departed soul to rest in peace). However, the soul does not fall asleep immediately after death but takes some time in doing so. Generally, the duration lasts about a month. It is because the habits and memories of earlier bodily attachments (Vasna) are fresh and strong at the time of death and only gradually loosen their hold. As an analogy, consider the state of body after hard labor. The circulation of blood is fast and one cannot fall sleep even on a comfortable bed till it becomes normal.

After its separation from the physical body (Sthul Sharir) on death, the soul assumes  an astral body (Sukshma Sharir). The form of this body is somewhat similar to that of the physical body. The being is pleasantly surprised to find a sudden acquisition of levity. Now it can move freely in space like a bird and reach anywhere simply by willing to do so. After abandoning the physical body, the soul hovers around the mortal remains. Finding the near and dear ones mourning, it makes an attempt to communicate with them or re-enter the dead body, but does not succeed. The following narration of a departed soul illustrate the point. “After death, I found myself in a strange situation. On account of my previous attachments with my physical body and dear ones, I wanted to spirits have to make great efforts and carry out specific spiritual exercises. Persons dying of unnatural death, on the other hand, exist as spirits (ghosts) and they are unable to sleep because of troubles emotional state. Seeking opportunities for taking revenge or fulfillment of insatiated desires through the body of a living person, they hover around old “Pipal” trees, cave, ruins or some reservoir of water. They make their presence felt to the desired person or persons at opportune moments. The exorcists (Tantriks) bring such sprits under their control with help of witchcraft and make them work like slaves. The spirits, however, do not work willingly for the exorcists. They remain ever resentful and even kill their captors in unguarded moments. No one likes to be in bondage. The sprits perform like the caged lion in a circus. The spirits generally tend to stay at a particular place, and do not change their abode frequently unless there is some specifie reason to do so.

The rest before rebirth.

The souls of modest persons and of those having religious disposition severe links with the earlier worldly milieu after cremation and easily reconcile to the changed environment. Detaching themselves from the past, they easily fall asleep for recuperation. Nature has not specified any fixed duration for this period of rest. It depends on the state of spiritual health of the soul. As children and hard working persons need a longer period of sleep and rest, so do the souls in various states of spiritual health. Generally a duration up to three years is found sufficient for this rest. During the first year, the soul sleeps soundly within which it is able to recuperate from the exhaustion of earlier life and the finer perceptions of the new astral body begin to reach efficiently to the requirement of new levels of sentience. In the succeeding second year of res the soul recapitulates the wrong deeds (sins) of earlier existence and prepares itself for working in the new environment, in the light of past experiences. The third year is spent in looking for the milieu in which it desires to return to this world by taking birth in  a new body. The duration mentioned here are averages. Occasionally, in specific cases, persons have been found taking rebirth even after six months, whereas others have taken as long as five years. The maximum age (period of existence) of spirits (Prait) is believed to be twelve years. Thus the maximum gap between the death of a person and rebirth could be taken as twelve years.

Where is the world Beyond?

It would soon become clear that the world in which the soul live after the death in the material world is not remote existence somewhere far above in the space. We know for instance, that X-rays penetrate through solid objects, whereas for living person even a wall restricts movement. Heat and cold too pass through physical barriers to a great extent. That is to say, the movements of extra-sensory finer elements are  not restricted by physical objects. On the other hand, thogh material barriers obstruct our activities, we hardly ever feel the presence of the finer elements of nature surrounding us. Thus, without being conscious of it we move around freelylike a fish in this vast ocean of air enveloping us. The souls of the dead are composed of such extra-sensory finer elements and, therefore, have a total freedom of movement in this world. The world beyond does not have an existence in some remote part of space. It is a world within this world itself.The world of souls is omnipresent on this very earth and in the cosmic space beyond this planet. Residents of the world can choose their abode at will anywhere-on earth, in water, on hills, planets, stars or intervening cosmic space and make arrangements for their existence according to their convenience.

One must be aware that the soul also carries with it the ideas, traits, convictions and experienced of mortal life. Since while living, man is engaged in many activities of housing, clothing and food throughout life, habits and convictions pertaining to these functions take deep roots in his phyche, which is an integral part of the soul. It is difficult for a common man to conceptualize a life without a house, food and clothing. The soul assumes a body form –known in the spiritual parlance as Sukshma Sharir. It acquires sense-perceptions (Indriyas) Corresponding to those in use while living according to the totality of convictions also produce virtual house, food and clothes etc. as desired. The activities of living, eating and wearing clothes are, however, imaginary, since a non material being does not require material conveniences. Nor can it make use of them. The souls which assume the state of ghosts and spirits (Prait) because of strong worldly links, choose specific places (described later) for their stay. In the normal course, the other souls select any place for their living and have no specific choice.