Subtle Body
When the soul leaves the body, a period of time passes before it enter another body.
During that period, the soul exists and can manifest itself, but its manifestations are totally different than the manifestations of the physical body- as the medium is totally different. These manifestations belong to the subtle body. You may be able to see them if you are in tune - the same way you tune the radio
The physical body, as we know it, does not last forever; one day it will be brought to the cemetery. But this is not our only body. Other bodies exist within us - layer upon layer. When somebody dies, the first body disappears. But body exists within us hidden, behind the physical body - it is called the subtle body. Or you can give it any name you wish, "astral body". This subtle body accompanies us even after death, and contains all our memories; our experiences, the memories of our actions, and all our conditionings.
In our journey from one physical body to another, other bodies are involved. If the subtle body did not exist, it would be impossible to enter another physical body. Using scientific language, we can say that the subtle body has a built - in programme, just like a blue print, which gives us the opportunity to find another physical body. All that you have been up to now, all that you have accumulated, all your conditionings, your experiences, your knowledge, your actions, whatever you have accumulated within yourself up to now, whatever your are - it is all part of your subtle body. If you have notices that your last thought, just before falling asleep, is the same thought that you have when you wake up in the morning. This thought was waiting within the subtle body, and it suddenly emerged , as you woke up.
This subtle body which had gathered all your desires, your passions, your lust, everything finds another physical body and it starts manifesting its potential through the physical body - wheever it finds the right opportunity.
But the subtle body may also dies, after which it is no longer with you. That death is liberation, that death is freedom - and what remains is simply existence. Ordinarily, when you die, the subtle body remains with you; but there is extraordinary death, which is the ultimate death of samadhi,. If you experience samadhi during your lifetime, you can let go of your subtle body while you are still alive, your built in programme is destroyed and your subtle body is dispersed.
Soul
The soul neither comes, nor goes; the body comes and goes. There are two bodies to be considered. The body which is visible to us originates from one's own father and mother. This body is born and has limitations; it has a certain lifespan, and eventually it comes to an end. This body is a medium, it is instrumental. One can only acquire it from one's own parents, who simply create the right environment, for the medium to be born from the mother's womb. The body which is visible to us begins with birth, and ends with death - it comes and goes.
There is another body which is the clothing of the soul. The physical body is part of your outer clothing, while the other body Is just like underwear, which you wear under your clothes. The second body is the subtle body, which originates from your previous life. The subtle body is made out of subtle substance, just like electricity - it is composed of minute electrical particles, comes from your past life. That body goes on a journey; that body can travel.
This second body, the subtle body, enters the physical body of the mother – it enters the womb. It is a natural process; just like water falling down the mountain side.
Normally, people are reborn immediately after they die, as millions of wombs are available the whole time on this planet. It is only the extraordinary individual waits to get an appropriate womb. It does not matter whether he is evil or virtuous. Both individuals like Gandhi and Hitler may take time, According to our time scale it may even be hundreds of years.
Mediocre individuals can immediately find wombs and can be reborn any day, without a big time gap.
Soul movement
Take an example of tram which runs with the help of electricity. Electricity runs through wires which run above their tracks, Trams move, but the wires are fixed; electricity is supplied from above and trams run
below the electric wires . Similarly, the soul is all pervading – just like electricity – it is everywhere. Only our subtle bodies keep changing. When the subtle body dissolves, it is as it a tram would stop running. Electricity keeps flowing, even though the tram stops. The tram comes to a halt; similarly, the subtle body dissolves; it is not that the soul becomes one with existence, as the subtle body disappears. The soul has always been one with existence; the wall which was created by the subtle body made it appear as it it was separate,. Now it does not appear to be separate anymore.
For example, we may switch on a light which has a hundred watt bulb. Other lights may have bulbs of fifty, twenty or even five watts – which look like glow worms. All the bulbs are illuminated by the same electric current, and each one of them uses electricity according to it wattage. Differences is supply vary according to the different appliances – the fan, the microphone, the bulb.
Existence is everywhere, all around us. We have a subtle body, a subtle instrument that uses the energy of existence in order to live according to its needs. Hence, if our subtle body needs only five watts, we take only five watts of energy from existence; if our subtle body needs fifty watts, we take fifty watts of energy from existence. Existence is not miserly. We use only the amount of energy that is within our capacity. If we wish, we can increase our capacity upto one thousand watts, and we can shine as much as Mahivira or Buddha. If I would like to have an infinite number of watts! Break the bulb, so that I can obtain an unlimited amount of watts!
Liberation simply means; you realize that all light bulbs, all appliances have limitations. You discard all light bulbs, in order to become one with the whole.
There is a fallacy in our language, therefore we say that an individual becomes one with the whole. Only the whole exists. The instrument is the hindrance; hence, there are limitations. When instrument is no more, only the whole is.
The soul never comes and goes. The subtle body comes and goes. The physical body comes and goes. The physical body comes from our parents; the subtle body comes from our past lives. The soul is eternal.
Without the subtle body, one cannot acquire a physical body. When the subtle body dissolves, one cannot acquire a physical body anymore. When the subtle body disappears – as soon as the subtle body is dropped – the journey of the physical body comes to an end. At the same time, all limitations are dropped. To embark on spiritual journey means to drop the subtle body – to let go of the bridge which connects our physical body to existence. Letting go of the bridge, that is the essence of spiritual journey.
It is important to understand the nature of the subtle body. It is made up of our desires, our lust, our wishes, our expectations, our actions, our non-actions, our thoughts – whatever we have done – all our thoughts, all our efforts, all our experiences, all our feelings. Our subtle body is a by-product of all these electrical currents.
When the subtle body disappears, there two consequences. First of all, the journey comes to an end, and you stop searching for a womb.
After his enlightenment, Buddha said, “You are my mind, and you have resided in many different bodies. No you can finally rest. Upto now you have created many different homes for me, but from know on, you do not need to create any more homes for me.
When Buddha was about to die, people asked him” when your soul will meet existence, where will you be?” Buddha replied: “If I am somewhere, how can I be one with existence?” Because in order to be somewhere, he cannot be everywhere. Buddha replied; “Do not ask, I will not be anywhere, because I will be everywhere”. But the disciples kept asking, “Tell us – where will you be?”He said like drops joining the ocean. Drop can only say “come to the ocean and you will meet me. But you will not see the drop; you will see only the ocean.
The drop has disappeared into the ocean, and you keep creating statues – it is paradox. There is no point in creating statues. If you want to meet the drop, you will have to come to the ocean.
If you wish to meet Buddha, Krishna, Mahavira, Jesus, Mohammed – you will not be able to meet the single drops. No matter how many statues you create, you will never be able to meet the single drop. The drop disappears and it is only ocean.
“The soul is never born and never dies” So what we call the soul is what is existence.
The clouds are formed in the sky, then they disappear; the clouds keep appearing and disappearing, but the sky is without a beginning and without an end. Consider the soul as the sky – the inner space, the inner sky.
It will be easier if we replace the word ‘soul’ with the word, ‘existence’. The word ‘soul’ appears to be connected to the “I”. We always believe that the soul is another name for the ego.. I is the name given to a wave which arises out of existence. This wave rises and eventually falls, You should put the “I” aside, as the soul is not related in any way to the ego – there is not even a remote connection. When you put the “I” aside, what remains is the soul.
Life and Death
If you walk continuously along a straight path, you will never be found again. But on a cyclic path, you come back repeatedly at the starting point and eventually cover endless distance, provided the energy and system remain intact. Interestingly, most phenomena occurring in nature favour a cyclic rather than straight path.
In a greater universe, we see planets cycling around stars, and stars moving, centring around the galaxy. The process has been going on in billions of other galaxies since creation. However, such movement is not without purpose.
Apart from gigantic celestial bodies, it is surprising that microscopic subatomic particles inside matter like electrons are also moving in orbits around the nucleus of the atom. These are all energy par4ticles and are responsible for matter formation and destruction.
Returning to our planet, one of the most important phenomena sustaining the life process is plants photosynthesis. It continuously converts carbon dioxide released by life forms to oxygen in the atmosphere through cycles so that there is never any dearth of any component. Apart from this, there are myriads other cycles occurring in nature that protect creating.
If the cyclic path happens to be so desirable both for the material and the living world, then it is highly probable that the most vital phenomenon on earth concerning ‘birth-death’ of human beings should also work in cycles and is very unlikely to be a one-off incident. How does it work then?
According to the Prasnopanisheda, at the time of death, the old body being incapable of sustaining the life process any longer perishes along with senses and buddhi or intellect, leaving mind and soul intact to space. While the should behaves as an onlooker only, mind stores all sanskaras like a computer’s hard disk. This soul-mind system acting as a link then enters a new embryonic body, the matrix of which is determined by the previous mind at the time of death. The soul-mind then directs the body as steam drives a steam engine away.
However, evolution from raw mind to enlightened mind is a long journey considering that change in mindset is undoubtedly a slow process. To effect this time-consuming transformation, continuous cycles rather than a single one are the right answer. Had it not been so, all souls should have required the same state of attainment at the end of a one-off cycle… With the path remaining the same and with changed system(new soul-mind), each time at the start the soul-mind combo can, therefore, repeat its journey afresh through a chain of cycles, which entails continuous cleansing of the fleeting mind from illusory bondage of negativity by selfless karma till it achieves liberation. This has been the purpose as also Divine Will, which the cyclic path delivers uniquely.
What dies?
(From Jaggi)
In a Sunday school, a teacher wanted to inspire the children to aim for the highest. In Sunday school, in a church school, the highest is heaven of course, not God. So the teacher asked the children, ‘If I give my wealth away to the church and serve the church, will I go to heaven?’ The children in unison said, ‘No!’ Then he asked, ‘If I serve the poor, wash the leper’s feet and wipe the tears of a child’s face, will I go to heaven?’ The children said, ‘No!’ Then he asked, ‘If I love my wife, love my children, take care of my family, do my duty to my nation, will I go to heaven?’ They said, ‘No!’ Then he asked, ‘Then what should I do to go to heaven?’ Little Tommy from the backbench said, ‘You got to die.’
That is all it is, you got to die. This is the only problem. It is just a reminder that what you think as ‘yourself’ is a make-believe projection of your mind. If you kill it, then everything is right here, life is a flood of ecstasy. You don’t have to kill the world; you just have to kill ‘this one’. You have no business to kill the body because you didn’t make it. You have every right to kill all that you have created; you have no right to kill what the Creator has created. Nobody has any business to kill anything that you cannot create. But the person that you call as ‘myself’ is all your making. If you just kill that one guy, everything, the whole universe is yours. This is a tradeoff – me or the cosmos? One who makes the deal is not asking for currency, just you. This is all the tradeoff is, this is all the whole business of enlightenment is. ‘God-realization’, ‘awakening’, ‘reminder’ – whatever you call it, this is all it is. Just kill what you have created; the Creator’s creation will explode within you.
What happens after Death?
Five Sheaths
Soul is the God principle within each of us and five sheaths are given below
· From a spiritual perspective, the human body is made up of five sheaths.
v The third is the Manomaya-kosha – This is the seat of emotions and desires.
v The fourth is Vidnyanamaya-kosha – This is the seat of the intellect.
v The fifth is Anandamaya-kosha – This is the seat of the Soul (Atma).
The Annamaya-kosha is gross while the other sheaths are subtle.
After death, a Jiva’s Annamaya-kosha and Pranamaya-kosha do not remain,
but Manomaya-kosha, Vidnyanamaya-kosha and Anandamaya-kosha remain with him.
What happens to each of these bodies after death?
kosha, Vignyanamaya-kosha and Anandamaya-kosha remain with him
· Physical body remains on earth
v The soul
v The mental body or the mind
v The casual body or the intellect
Super casual body or the subtle ego.From Many masters
· There are seven planes, each one consisting of many levels, one of them being the plane of recollection. One that plane you are allowed to collect your thoughts. You are allowed to see your life that has just passed. Those of the higher levels are allowed to see history. They can go back and teach us by learning about history. But we of the lower levels are only allowed to see our own life ....... That too the life that has just passed.
· We have debts that must be paid. If we have not paid out these debts, then we must take them into another life..... in order that they may be worked through. You progress by paying your debts. Some souls progress faster than others. when you are in physical form and you are working through, you are working through a life......If something interrupts your ability.... to pay that debt, you must return to the plane of recollection, and there you must wait until the soul you owe the debt to has come to see you.And when you both can be returned to physical form at the same time, then you are allowed to return. But you determine when you are going back. You determine what must be done to pay that debt. You will not remember your other lives.....only the one you have just come from. Only those souls on the higher level - the sages - are allowed to call upon history and past events.... to help us, to teach us what we must do.
· We have to pass through before we are returned. One of them is the plane of transition There you wait. In that plane it is determined what you will take back with you into the next life. We will all have a ....dominant trait. this might be greed, or it might be lust, but whatever is determined, you need to fulfill your debts to those people. then you must overcome this in that lifetime. You must learn to overcome greed. If you do not, when you return you will have to carry that trait, as well as another one, into your next life. The burdens will become greater. With each life that you go through and you did not fulfill these debts, the next one will be harder. If you fulfill them, you will be given an easy life. so you choose what life you will have. In the next phase, you are responsible for life you have.
From What becomes of the soul after death - Dr. sivananda
Q: I would like to know very much where a person’s soul is at present after his death and what happens to the soul from the time it leaves the body till it is reborn again.
A: Thy kind line. Do not allow yourself to be fascinated by spiritualism, mediumship, crystal gazing, etc. They will lead you astray. Communication with the dead and talking with the dead are all fads which have no connection with real spirituality. Purpose of life is different. The goal is to realise the essential imperishability of your Self. This alone will confer perfect bliss and peace.
The spirit is neither born nor does it die. Like a person passing from one room to another the soul passes from one plane of existence to another. In the period between death and rebirth the individual works out certain of his Karmas in subtler spheres. The description of the journey and return of the soul in the article mentioned by your goodself is meant to explain the idea how the spirit passes gradually from grosser to subtler states. The mention of ether, air, smoke, mist, cloud, rain is all made to convey the sense of successive degrees of subtlety. At the appointed time it takes up a new body again.
The best means of ensuring peace for the departed is to do Kirtan, increase your Japa, relieve other people’s distress by selfless service and charity and earnest prayer.
Do not try to commune with the departed soul of your husband. Communion with the departed soul will stand in the way of its onward march to higher, blissful regions and make it earth-bound. Do not try to drag him down. It will disturb his peace. The spirit-guide which controls the medium is ignorant and deceitful. It utters falsehood.
Q: Where Is Heaven? “Jiva moves to heaven after the physical body is cast off, stays there till the fruits of Karma are exhausted, comes down to the earth through the rains and gets mixed with the grains, enters the semen of the man and the womb with the semen. Further on soul enters the foetus in the seventh month.”
1. Where is the heaven where the soul goes and how does it reach there? Evidently it needs the support of raindrops to come down and therefore it must need some, thing to go up.
2. Raindrops can be available only from the cloud area. Apparently heaven does not coincide with the clouds. If so, how does Jiva come to the clouds from heaven?
3. I understand, our Samsara, is not only Karmasthana but also Bhogasthana. If so, how is it that Jiva is said to exhaust the fruits of his Karmas in the heaven and return to earth after exhausting them there.
4. Jiva is said to enter the womb with the semen of man and then the soul is described to enter the foetus in the 7th month. How are the two facts to be reconciled? Is Jiva different from soul? If so, what is the difference; if not, how do these two statements arise?
A: The Jiva can travel in space. It need not necessarily have any physical support like raindrops, earth, etc. It finds entrance into this physical world through raindrops, that is all. There are seven planes which are interpenetrating one subtler than the other. Heaven is one of them.
Our physical world is meant for evolution through the performance of good Karmas and spiritual Sadhana. At the same time, the individual soul meets with pleasure or pain which is the result of his good or bad Karma. Bhoga is very negligible when compared to suffering. Suffering alone makes a man really wise and introspective. In Svarga there is only Bhoga and no pain.
Till the seventh month the Jiva remains in an unmanifested state. “The soul enters the foetus in the seventh month”—this does not mean that it newly enters. It only means that it begins to manifest in the seventh month when the formation of the physical body completes.
Q: What About Child?
1. Gita XIV, 14-15 describes about the next birth of those meeting death when Sattva, Rajas and Tamas are predominant. In the present state the child was senseless.
Gita XIII, 6 states that the last thoughts determine the next birth. Can a child of 5 years be expected to possess any thinking power in a senseless state?
So what birth is he likely to attain?
2. Can he or his soul be benefited through Japa and charity done on his behalf? I feel he has left this world without doing any Sadhana.
3. I believe the prayers have their effects, but there is a room for doubt on the ground that the man reaps the fruits according to his action. The Divine law is immutable.
4. Is the span of life fixed before birth?
A:—The boy has worked out some very powerful, bad Karmas of the last birth by meeting death at his 5th year. Now he is free from that evil Karma. He will get a good birth in which he will be in a position to do more Sadhana.
The essence of a man’s thinking in his whole life constitutes his last thought or Bhava. If a man is senseless, the last thought or Bhava which he has, just before entering the unconscious state, will determine his next birth.
Prayers have very beneficial results. Just as you can help your son in Germany with money and advice, you can help him in this and in the other world by your prayers. Good and sublime thoughts and prayers have a very soothing effect and they will help to mould one’s own nature and those of others around him.
The span of life is predestined. None can overstep the limbs of Kala (time). Time sweeps away everything in the world from the smallest ant to that of Brahma.
Q:—How long will the soul remain in heaven?
A:—It can remain for fifty years or five hundred years. It depends upon the nature and degree of meritorious actions done by the man on earth plane.
Q:—Is the year in heaven the same as in the earth plane?
A:—No. Ten years of the earth plane are equal to ten days for the Devas in the heaven.
Q:—What takes place just before death?
A:—The soul contracts and withdraws all the senses. The physical senses become dimmer just as the flame in a lamp becomes dimmer and dimmer when the oil gets exhausted.
Q:—How does it pass out of the body?
A:—The subtle body or Sukshma Sarira passes out of the physical body like a mist.
Q:—Through which opening does the soul leave the body?
A:—So long as Prana pulls up and Apana pulls down the life-forces, there is continuity of life. But the moment either of these becomes weaker, there is an exit of the life-force. If the Apana gives way then Jiva will pass out of the body through either the head or the nose or the ear or the mouth. If the Prana gives way then it will pass out of the body through the anus.
Q:—Will spiritualism help one to go beyond birth and death?
A:—Certainly not. Knowledge of the Imperishable Soul or Brahma-Jnana alone can destroy the cycle of births and deaths and confer on you immortality and eternal bliss.
Q:—Can a departed soul take birth immediately?
A:—It can. But such instances are rare. If the soul has an intense desire to be reborn, it will take its birth immediately. The soul has to reap its fruits of Karmas in heaven or hell. If it takes rebirth immediately it can remember many of the events of its previous life.
Q:—How long should the soul wait for getting a body?
A:—Nothing definite can be said on this point. Great souls will have to wait for a long time.
Q:—Can the departed spirit take the power of materialisation?
A:—Only advanced spirits who are endowed with psychic power are able to materialise. They take human form, sit in the chair in the séance and shake hands with those who sit in the séance. They talk also. The touch is as tangible and warm as that of a living human body. In a short time the hand of the spirit melts away. Photographs of the spirits also have been taken.
Q:—What is astral body?
A:—Astral body is the subtle body which is within this physical body like the bladder of a football. It is the exact counterpart of the physical body. It is made up of five organs of action, five organs of knowledge, five Pranas, mind, intellect, Chitta or subconscious mind and Ahankara or egoism. Some call it as “double”. It is this astral body that comes out of the physical body after death and moves to heaven. Death of this astral body through the knowledge of the Eternal frees one from the cycle of births and deaths.
Q:—What is the difference between Metempsychosis and reincarnation?
A:—Metempsychosis is transmigration of a human soul into an animal form. Reincarnation is the rebirth of the same ego in successive human bodies.
Q:—Why do we not remember our past lives?
A:—Such remembrance under our existing limitations would considerably complicate our present life. Therefore, the wise and beneficent Lord has so ordered our mental evolution that we cannot recall our past lives until such time as it is good and helpful for us to remember. Such instances may well form a cycle which is all clear to us when we have come to the end of it, when we shall see a whole rosary of lives threaded upon the one personality.
Q:—It has been said against reincarnation that there are more people in comparison with the past world population.
A:—It is not necessary that the same persons are reborn, and none else. In the process of evolution into the human life many from lower births also come up to the human level. All these are controlled by superhuman powers or by the Divinity, God or Isvara Himself. Further rebirth need not necessarily be on this earth plane alone. It can take place anywhere in the Universe.
Q:—What account do you give for the origin of a person’s existence?
A:—Existence is the nature of a person. He is always existing. No proof is needed. His existence is endless and beginningless. Hence no origin can be traced of one’s existence.
Q:—Some men and women find their bodies awkward. Why?
A:—It is the past Karma of an individual that is responsible for the awkwardness or otherwise of one’s appearance.
Q:—With reincarnation is there turn about of sexes?
A:—Sex can change in rebirth, but need not always.
Q:—Do you think that Mahatma Gandhi might escape the necessity of a rebirth?
A:—It is a Divine Secret. The status of great men and great souls depends on the Divine Dispensation.
Q:—How long does it take for souls to be reborn?
A:—This is also decided by the Lord. It is not for man to guess or know such truths. It is beyond his realm.
Q:—Regarding reincarnation, Jesus Christ forgives our sins, so how can you explain that we come back to make amends?
A:—According to Hindu belief all Karmas have to be worked out. Even if sins are forgiven one has to work his way for salvation by practising Yoga and uniting himself with God.
Q:—How could we incarnate if women would not bear children any more?
A:—Such a contingency would never arise. You need not be afraid of that condition.
A Soul's
journey: 8 steps from earth to Yamloka!
We all know that we are not immortal and will
die one day. In the clock of kaal (death), be it a rich king or a beggar, all
share equal position. Whenever the topic of death comes up, the discussion
takes a very interesting turn as everyone wants to know more about it. So those
who love knowing about such things have landed on the right blog; let’s take a
look at some deep hidden secrets about death which have been highlighted in
Garuda Purana.
Where is the Yamalok?
Garuḍa asks the Lord (Vishnu) to explain
about Yama’s kingdom. The Lord not only begins to describe Yama’s kingdom, but
also begins to describe the procedure to be followed immediately after death.
The distance between the earth and Yama’s world is 86, 0000 kada (approximately
1,032,000 Kilometers. Distance between the earth and the moon is 384,000 kms
and the distance between the earth and the sun is 149,598,000 kms).
Rituals after death
Due to the effect of karma, a man falls sick
causing his death. The mode of one’s death also depends upon one’s karma. When
a man is dead, his body should be kept on the ground after purificatory
rituals. Salagrama (sacred stone) should be placed near the body and Tulasi
leaves (basil) should be placed in both the hands of the body and also on its
neck.
Pieces of gold should also be kept in the
nine apertures of the body. The body should be covered with two sheets of
clothing. The body should be carried through the back door. Sons and other
relatives should carry the body on their shoulders. While placing the body on
the pyre, head should be facing north. His son should perform ceremonies facing
the eastern side.
This is how the journey begins!
When the subtle body is leaving the gross
body, which is known as death, the messengers of Yama arrive on the scene. When
the subtle body finally comes out of the gross body, causing death of the gross
body, the subtle body is still able to see the entire universe. The departed
soul could see the messengers of Yama and the attendants of Lord Viṣhṇu. This
means that the soul can see both good and bad and the departed soul begins its
journey according to its karma.
This is when our Karma matter!
A subtle body which has a bad karmic account
feels for its sins at this stage. A soul has to travel the entire distance to
reach the world of Yama. The path becomes rough for the sinners and the path
becomes comfortable for virtuous.
How does Yama look like?
Lord Vishnu begins to describe Yama. He has
four arms holding a conch, a discus, a bow and a staff. He treats the virtuous
with respect and sinners with rudeness. He hits the sinners with iron rod and
club. He sits on a buffalo (Yama is called mahiṣa vahana; mahiṣa means buffalo
and vahana means vehicle). His body appears dreadful to sinners and radiant to
virtuous.
Soul versus the mortal body!
The soul is in the size of one’s thumb (it
means the subtle body. Soul and the subtle body always travel together. The
subtle body is pushed out of the gross body by air. The subtle body cries out
when it comes out of the gross body). It is said that one should not boast of
his body as it is liable to death and decay. The purpose of acquiring wealth is
charity; purpose of speech is to say the truth; purpose of a body is
spirituality.
Soul versus the mortal body!
The first step of the soul’s journey involves
leaving the mortal body and leaving with Yama’s messengers as per their Karmas.
The subtle bodies of those who do not follow the virtuous path are tortured by
the messengers of Yama on the way to Yama’s place. The Lord proceeds to explain
the purpose of six piṇḍas.
The Six Pindas
The first Pinda is offered at the doorway
where the departed soul is called as pāntha (pāntha means wandering). The piṇḍa
offered here satisfies those deities that dwell at the entrance door. It is
believed that some deities reside at the main entrance door of a house. It is
always ideal to offer incense sticks at the entrance door. A conch with anti
clock wise lines tied on a yellow cloth above the main door frame is said to
ward off evil spirits entering through the main door.
In the courtyard of the building lives
Khecara, a gandharva. Third piṇḍa should be offered to Bhuta at the resting
place. Bhuta is considered as one of the demigods. Fourth piṇḍa is offered to
Pishacha (a flesh eating demon), Rakshasa (an evil demon) and yakṣha (a
supernatural being and said to be the attendants of Kubera). These three said
to preserve the sanctity of the dead body till it is completely burnt
The fifth piṇḍa is offered at the side of the
pyre where the dead body is placed. The dead body is now known as preta.
Because of these five piṇḍas, the preta attains purity to be placed on the
fire. Fire is considered as very sacred. Vedas worship Agni (fire) more than
any other gods. By satisfying the above referred non-human characters, preta
attains purity to offer it to the fire.
The funeral pyre should be lit from the
eastern side. Once the body is completely burnt, the remains of the bones are
collected and during this time the sixth piṇḍa is offered. The ashes are then
immersed in sea or river. At the southern part of the house, a pit is made and
for the next ten days, piṇḍas are offered here daily, along with milk and
water. There is no specific mantra or any specific rites while offering these
piṇḍas.
The piṇḍa offered during the ten day period
is divided into four parts. Two parts build up a new body for the dead. The
third part goes to Yama’s servants and the fourth is consumed by the preta. The
subtle body gets a proper shape in three days and three nights and on the tenth
day, the subtle body develops hunger.
A time to regret?
Irrespective of other offerings made to the
preta (the subtle body of the dead is always called preta), it gets satisfied
only by offering flesh (normally, a piece of banana is offered instead of
flesh). During eleventh day and twelfth day ceremonies, the preta eats as much
as possible. On the thirteenth day, the soul’s journey begins to the world of
Yama dragged by the servants of Yama. During it journey, the soul regrets for
every evil action it had done during the past birth.
The messengers of Yama
Yama sends his messengers to the world when
the Life period ends of a Jiva to bring him to Yama puri. His messengers are of
different types. Some have forms, which scares anyone who gets to see them.
Some have red shot eyes and fierce angry look. They have weapons like noose and
musalam, their clothes are jet black like the rain cloud.
The first step of the soul after death
When the life period ends of a jiva they tie
by noose and with the body form of the jiva converted to one like air, they
lock the same in a container and take him to Yamaloka. After reaching there
these Jivas who have form like ghost will be presented to the head of Yamapuri
the Kala deva, the Yamaraja.
The second step
The Yamadharma Raja will address thus his
messengers. ‘Hey Kinkara, take the Jiva again back and leave him in the house
where he has died and bring him back on 12th day from today and present him
again thus he will order.’ Immediately these Yamaduthas in a second tying the
jiva, crossing the 86,000 kada length once more will reach the jiva back to its
house.
The third step
Thus the jiva since he goes to Yamalok and
returns back again to Bhulok to its place, the dead person’s body should not be
immediately burnt or cremated. Only after a while such an act should be done.
The jiva who had been tied by the Yamaduth in his spirit form by the string of
pasa, as soon as it gets untied, the spirit form of that jiva goes to the
cremation ground and observes its body from above looking it being burnt.
The fourth step
It finds there is no way for it to enter it
again. It laments seeing his body thus getting destroyed, crying. However if
the jiva is a Good soul, it will feel happy that whatever happens is for the
good. Till the body which is in the pyre gets completely burnt and turned to
ash, especially till the head gets burned completely the jiva will not lose its
attachment to its body, its relations and other things connected with the life
in that body.
The fifth step
In the burning pyre as soon as the body gets
completely burned, the jiva will start acquiring the panda form of body. It
forms in a gradual process.
The sixth step
From the pindam offered by the son of the
dead person on the first day the head gets formed. From the pindam offered on
the second day the neck and shoulder gets formed. The third day pindam helps in
forming chest, fourth day pindam forms stomach, fifth day forms the buttocks,
sixth day forms `prishtam. ‘Seventh day forms `kayyam.’ The 8th day pindam
forms thighs, ninth day pindam forms legs and the tenth day pindam forms the
full body.
The seventh step
On formation of the Pinda body, the jiva
arrives to the house where it was living previously with its family. There
without entering the house, it observes the persons who enter and leave the
house and with great agony suffering from pangs of hunger and thirst it will
cry piteously. That jiva in the panda form partakes whatever its son offers
through the route of the Brahman.
The eighth step
On the 13th day, as per the order of
Yamadharama, the yamaduths arrives there and ties the jiva in panda form with
the chord of pasa (attachment) and drags him away. Vishnu says, “Garuda! The
jiva in his panda form tied by the chord of pasa, dragged by yamaduths has to
walk per day 247 kada distance day and night. At the same time the jiva has to
suffer pangs of hunger and thirst. It is indeed difficult to describe the
misery the jiva undergoes enroute.”
Heaven or hell?
To reach haven or to go to hell, good and bad
conducts are the yardstick, such information and thoughts are not conceded by
us when we stay in the mortal world with our body and life. We think that
whatever is told about sins and good karms are only flights of imagination.
Thus crying piteously the sinful jiva beaten and dragged by the yamaduthas is being
taken to Yamapuri. In the Garuda Purana, all this is said to be narrated by the
great Narayana Himself.
Soul is nothing but the Brahman Himself
Sins committed by a person do not affect the
Soul within. The suffering is only to the gross body when life exists in a body
and to the subtle body, when the subtle body leaves the gross body at the time
of death. Depending upon one’s karma, the subtle body also undergoes sufferings
and pains or happiness and pleasures. One’s karmic account is embedded in his
subtle body. Apart from karmic embedment, subtle body also has the impressions
of his subconscious mind.
Soul is nothing but the Brahman Himself
Karma affects, both the subtle body and the
gross body independently. Subtle body undergoes pains or pleasures in the hell
or heaven as the case may be and the gross body undergoes pains or pleasures in
the earth. For a single evil action, there are two types of sufferings, one for
the subtle body and another for the gross body. So, just watch out your Karma,
it isn’t too late yet!!!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From Vishnu Purana
A Soul's
journey: 8 steps from earth to Yamloka!
We all know that we are not immortal and will
die one day. In the clock of kaal (death), be it a rich king or a beggar, all
share equal position. Whenever the topic of death comes up, the discussion
takes a very interesting turn as everyone wants to know more about it. So those
who love knowing about such things have landed on the right blog; let’s take a
look at some deep hidden secrets about death which have been highlighted in
Garuda Purana.
Where is the Yamalok?
Garuḍa asks the Lord (Vishnu) to explain
about Yama’s kingdom. The Lord not only begins to describe Yama’s kingdom, but
also begins to describe the procedure to be followed immediately after death.
The distance between the earth and Yama’s world is 86, 0000 kada (approximately
1,032,000 Kilometers. Distance between the earth and the moon is 384,000 kms
and the distance between the earth and the sun is 149,598,000 kms).
Rituals after death
Due to the effect of karma, a man falls sick
causing his death. The mode of one’s death also depends upon one’s karma. When
a man is dead, his body should be kept on the ground after purificatory
rituals. Salagrama (sacred stone) should be placed near the body and Tulasi
leaves (basil) should be placed in both the hands of the body and also on its
neck.
Pieces of gold should also be kept in the
nine apertures of the body. The body should be covered with two sheets of
clothing. The body should be carried through the back door. Sons and other
relatives should carry the body on their shoulders. While placing the body on
the pyre, head should be facing north. His son should perform ceremonies facing
the eastern side.
This is how the journey begins!
When the subtle body is leaving the gross
body, which is known as death, the messengers of Yama arrive on the scene. When
the subtle body finally comes out of the gross body, causing death of the gross
body, the subtle body is still able to see the entire universe. The departed
soul could see the messengers of Yama and the attendants of Lord Viṣhṇu. This
means that the soul can see both good and bad and the departed soul begins its
journey according to its karma.
This is when our Karma matter!
A subtle body which has a bad karmic account
feels for its sins at this stage. A soul has to travel the entire distance to
reach the world of Yama. The path becomes rough for the sinners and the path
becomes comfortable for virtuous.
How does Yama look like?
Lord Vishnu begins to describe Yama. He has
four arms holding a conch, a discus, a bow and a staff. He treats the virtuous
with respect and sinners with rudeness. He hits the sinners with iron rod and
club. He sits on a buffalo (Yama is called mahiṣa vahana; mahiṣa means buffalo
and vahana means vehicle). His body appears dreadful to sinners and radiant to
virtuous.
Soul versus the mortal body!
The soul is in the size of one’s thumb (it
means the subtle body. Soul and the subtle body always travel together. The
subtle body is pushed out of the gross body by air. The subtle body cries out
when it comes out of the gross body). It is said that one should not boast of
his body as it is liable to death and decay. The purpose of acquiring wealth is
charity; purpose of speech is to say the truth; purpose of a body is
spirituality.
Soul versus the mortal body!
The first step of the soul’s journey involves
leaving the mortal body and leaving with Yama’s messengers as per their Karmas.
The subtle bodies of those who do not follow the virtuous path are tortured by
the messengers of Yama on the way to Yama’s place. The Lord proceeds to explain
the purpose of six piṇḍas.
The Six Pindas
The first Pinda is offered at the doorway
where the departed soul is called as pāntha (pāntha means wandering). The piṇḍa
offered here satisfies those deities that dwell at the entrance door. It is
believed that some deities reside at the main entrance door of a house. It is
always ideal to offer incense sticks at the entrance door. A conch with anti
clock wise lines tied on a yellow cloth above the main door frame is said to
ward off evil spirits entering through the main door.
In the courtyard of the building lives
Khecara, a gandharva. Third piṇḍa should be offered to Bhuta at the resting
place. Bhuta is considered as one of the demigods. Fourth piṇḍa is offered to
Pishacha (a flesh eating demon), Rakshasa (an evil demon) and yakṣha (a
supernatural being and said to be the attendants of Kubera). These three said
to preserve the sanctity of the dead body till it is completely burnt
The fifth piṇḍa is offered at the side of the
pyre where the dead body is placed. The dead body is now known as preta.
Because of these five piṇḍas, the preta attains purity to be placed on the
fire. Fire is considered as very sacred. Vedas worship Agni (fire) more than
any other gods. By satisfying the above referred non-human characters, preta
attains purity to offer it to the fire.
The funeral pyre should be lit from the
eastern side. Once the body is completely burnt, the remains of the bones are
collected and during this time the sixth piṇḍa is offered. The ashes are then
immersed in sea or river. At the southern part of the house, a pit is made and
for the next ten days, piṇḍas are offered here daily, along with milk and
water. There is no specific mantra or any specific rites while offering these
piṇḍas.
The piṇḍa offered during the ten day period
is divided into four parts. Two parts build up a new body for the dead. The
third part goes to Yama’s servants and the fourth is consumed by the preta. The
subtle body gets a proper shape in three days and three nights and on the tenth
day, the subtle body develops hunger.
A time to regret?
Irrespective of other offerings made to the
preta (the subtle body of the dead is always called preta), it gets satisfied
only by offering flesh (normally, a piece of banana is offered instead of
flesh). During eleventh day and twelfth day ceremonies, the preta eats as much
as possible. On the thirteenth day, the soul’s journey begins to the world of
Yama dragged by the servants of Yama. During it journey, the soul regrets for
every evil action it had done during the past birth.
The messengers of Yama
Yama sends his messengers to the world when
the Life period ends of a Jiva to bring him to Yama puri. His messengers are of
different types. Some have forms, which scares anyone who gets to see them.
Some have red shot eyes and fierce angry look. They have weapons like noose and
musalam, their clothes are jet black like the rain cloud.
The first step of the soul after death
When the life period ends of a jiva they tie
by noose and with the body form of the jiva converted to one like air, they
lock the same in a container and take him to Yamaloka. After reaching there
these Jivas who have form like ghost will be presented to the head of Yamapuri
the Kala deva, the Yamaraja.
The second step
The Yamadharma Raja will address thus his
messengers. ‘Hey Kinkara, take the Jiva again back and leave him in the house
where he has died and bring him back on 12th day from today and present him
again thus he will order.’ Immediately these Yamaduthas in a second tying the
jiva, crossing the 86,000 kada length once more will reach the jiva back to its
house.
The third step
Thus the jiva since he goes to Yamalok and
returns back again to Bhulok to its place, the dead person’s body should not be
immediately burnt or cremated. Only after a while such an act should be done.
The jiva who had been tied by the Yamaduth in his spirit form by the string of
pasa, as soon as it gets untied, the spirit form of that jiva goes to the
cremation ground and observes its body from above looking it being burnt.
The fourth step
It finds there is no way for it to enter it
again. It laments seeing his body thus getting destroyed, crying. However if
the jiva is a Good soul, it will feel happy that whatever happens is for the
good. Till the body which is in the pyre gets completely burnt and turned to
ash, especially till the head gets burned completely the jiva will not lose its
attachment to its body, its relations and other things connected with the life
in that body.
The fifth step
In the burning pyre as soon as the body gets
completely burned, the jiva will start acquiring the panda form of body. It
forms in a gradual process.
The sixth step
From the pindam offered by the son of the
dead person on the first day the head gets formed. From the pindam offered on
the second day the neck and shoulder gets formed. The third day pindam helps in
forming chest, fourth day pindam forms stomach, fifth day forms the buttocks,
sixth day forms `prishtam. ‘Seventh day forms `kayyam.’ The 8th day pindam
forms thighs, ninth day pindam forms legs and the tenth day pindam forms the
full body.
The seventh step
On formation of the Pinda body, the jiva
arrives to the house where it was living previously with its family. There
without entering the house, it observes the persons who enter and leave the
house and with great agony suffering from pangs of hunger and thirst it will
cry piteously. That jiva in the panda form partakes whatever its son offers
through the route of the Brahman.
The eighth step
On the 13th day, as per the order of
Yamadharama, the yamaduths arrives there and ties the jiva in panda form with
the chord of pasa (attachment) and drags him away. Vishnu says, “Garuda! The
jiva in his panda form tied by the chord of pasa, dragged by yamaduths has to
walk per day 247 kada distance day and night. At the same time the jiva has to
suffer pangs of hunger and thirst. It is indeed difficult to describe the
misery the jiva undergoes enroute.”
Heaven or hell?
To reach haven or to go to hell, good and bad
conducts are the yardstick, such information and thoughts are not conceded by
us when we stay in the mortal world with our body and life. We think that
whatever is told about sins and good karms are only flights of imagination.
Thus crying piteously the sinful jiva beaten and dragged by the yamaduthas is being
taken to Yamapuri. In the Garuda Purana, all this is said to be narrated by the
great Narayana Himself.
Soul is nothing but the Brahman Himself
Sins committed by a person do not affect the
Soul within. The suffering is only to the gross body when life exists in a body
and to the subtle body, when the subtle body leaves the gross body at the time
of death. Depending upon one’s karma, the subtle body also undergoes sufferings
and pains or happiness and pleasures. One’s karmic account is embedded in his
subtle body. Apart from karmic embedment, subtle body also has the impressions
of his subconscious mind.
Soul is nothing but the Brahman Himself
Karma affects, both the subtle body and the
gross body independently. Subtle body undergoes pains or pleasures in the hell
or heaven as the case may be and the gross body undergoes pains or pleasures in
the earth. For a single evil action, there are two types of sufferings, one for
the subtle body and another for the gross body. So, just watch out your Karma,
it isn’t too late yet!!!
Note : This is only a scribbling note. These are purely my understanding. These may or may not be the correct one. This is not to hurt anybody's feeling.
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