Return Journey of the Soul

On Death and Thereafter

   The doctrine of karma (consequences of action) and the rebirth of the soul are inter-related; past karma (prarabhdha) has profound influence on the Hindu Mind from very early times. Even now, it is a dominant factor affecting the daily life of a Hindu who believes in karma, fate, and destiny. All the activities of a conscientious person are carried out with a conscious awareness of the fruits of action (karma phala) and dharma. The strongest force that runs in the subconscious mind is the fear of rebirth, especially in a lower degraded form!

  What happens after death is an eternal question and this is the most important question raised in the Upanishads like the Katha, Koushitaki, Atmopanishad, etc. Bhagavad-Gita has clearly explained this in a verse “antakaale...”

   A Zen Master was asked this same question: What happens after death? He said: I don’t know. Well you should know as the Master, said the devotee.

The Master said: I am not dead yet!

    Therefore, a living man would not understand the ‘hereafter’ even if he returns from death! There are many accounts of people who have had ‘near-death experience’ and temporarily ‘out of this world’ experience.

  Koushitaki Upanishad says, “The jiva has to spend all its karma kleshas if it has to attain to moksha, liberation. The account of good and bad deeds are diligently maintained by the assistants of Yama and carry on endlessly in rebirths deciding the nature of jiva, as its seeds, till the end; and, these seeds decide about the course of the jiva after of rebirth in different life-forms. For every good deed or bad deed the jiva has to take a birth, spend it, and nullify it.The journey will come to end only with divine intervention, grace of God.

   The path of the dead is described as deva yana (path of Light) and dhumra yana (path of smoke/darkenss) in the Bhagavad-Gita. God of Death, Yama says, “The jiva has to spend its good karma phala in the heavenly abode and return o earth again.” According to the karma theory and the theory of rebirth, the jiva as a soul is born again and again, high or low, depending on the merit or demerit of its actions, in conformity with the laws of action and reaction, cause and effect.

   But, it seems, the jiva is in eternal hell here on earth suffering hunger, sickness, old age and death and there is no other hell than this for an unfortunate jiva. The jiva has to run from illusion to illusion, from jagrata, svapna to sushupti and back to jagrata and svapna and sushupti endlessly!

   “That entity, the Self, after enjoying himself and roaming in the dream state and merely witnessing the results of merits and demerits, hastens back in the reverse way to its former condition, the waking state. Just as heavily loaded cart moves along, creaking, even so the self identified with the body, being presided over by the Self which is all consciousness (the supreme Self) moves along, groaning, when breathing becomes difficult at the approach of death. When this body grows thin, becomes emaciated, or disease-ridden, then, as a mango or a cucumber becomes detached from its stalk, so does this infinite being completely detaching himself from the body, again moves on in the same way it came, or to another body (if he so desires) for the re-manifestation of its vital breath. Just as, when a King comes, the ugras appointed to deal with crimes, the sutas and the leaders of the village await him with food and drink and lodgings ready, saying:

  “Here comes, here he comes”, even so, for the person who knows about the fruits of his own work, there wait all the elements, saying: “Here comes Brahman, here comes.” Just as when the King wishes to depart, all the ugras appointed to deal with crimes, the sutas, and the leaders of the village gather around him, even so do all the organs gather around the Self, at the time of death, when it struggles fot breath.”  (Yajurveda, Brih. Upa., IV-3- Investigation of the three states, pp.34-38).