CHAPTER - IV PRABHUPADA ON LIFE BEYOND BIRTH AND DEATH

Transcription

1 121 CHAPTER - IV PRABHUPADA ON LIFE BEYOND BIRTH AND DEATH Dissolution of the body is no more than sleep. Just as a man sleeps and wakes up, so is death and birth. Death is like sleep. Birth is like waking up. Death brings promotion to a new better life. A man of discrimination and wisdom is not afraid of death. He knows that death is the gate way for a new life. Death, to him, is no longer a skeleton bearing a sword to cut the thread of life, but rather an angel who has a golden key to unlock for him the door to a far wider, fuller, and happier existence. Swami Prabhavananda in his Patanjali Yoga Sutras says: Ignorance is destroyed by awakening to knowledge of the Atman, until no trace of illusion remains. (92). From the teachings of Srila Prabhupada one can understand that the very first step in self-realization is realizing one s identity as separate from the body. One is not this body but a spirit soul is an essential realization for anyone who wants to transcend death and enter into the spiritual world beyond. It is not simply a matter of saying I am not this body, but of actually realizing it. This is not as simple as it may seem at first. Although human beings are not these bodies but are pure consciousness, somehow or other they have become encased within the bodily dress.

2 122 If they actually want the happiness and independence that transcend death, they have to establish themselves and remain in their constitutional position as pure consciousness. In his book Coming Back Prabhupada quotes from John Pfeiffer: Your body does not contain a single one of the molecules that it contained seven years ago. Our bodies change continuously, yet the person within the body I always remains the same. (xix). Death is painful to worldly man. A Yogi or a sage, or even a real aspirant, has no fear of death. A desireless man never weeps when he dies. A full-blown Jnani never dies. His Prana never departs. One s highest duty is therefore to prepare for a peaceful life hereafter. He must conquer the fear of death. Conquest of the fear of death and conquest of death is the highest utility of all Spiritual Sadhana. The one aim of all Yoga Sadhana is to meet death fearlessly and joyfully. From the teachings of Prabhupada it can be understood that everything in this material world has got a fixed time. And within that fixed time there are six kinds of changes: First birth, then growth, then to stay, then to produce by-product, then dwindling, then vanish. This is the law of material nature. For example a flower takes birth, just like a bud, then grows, then stays for two, three days, then it produces a seed, by-product, then dries up gradually, then finish. This is called avikara, or the six kinds of changes.

3 123 All the living beings have to undergo this ordeal and one cannot stop the process of the material laws. Living in the bodily conception, man s idea of happiness is like that of a man in delirium. Some philosophers claim that this delirious condition of bodily identification should be cured by abstaining from all action. These material activities have been a source of distress for mankind. They claim that one should actually stop these activities. Their culmination of perfection is in a kind of Buddhist nirvana, in which no activities are performed. In his book Patanjali Yoga Sutras Swami Prabhavananda quotes from Shelly: Life, like a dome of many coloured glass, stains the white radiance of eternity. (16). Buddha maintained that due to a combination of material elements, this body has come into existence, and that somehow or other if these material elements are separated or dismantled, the cause of suffering is removed. Beyond this combination of material elements, there is spirit, and the symptom of that spirit is consciousness. Prabhupada in his seminal books Beyond Birth and Death, Coming Back, Life Comes from Life, The Science of Self Realisation, A Second Chance, and Srimad Bhagavatam and Bhagavad Gita claims that Death is a continuous process, where only the body dies and gets another new body, but the soul continues to live changing from bodies to bodies.

4 124 His teachings deliberate humankind that consciousness cannot be denied. A body without consciousness is a dead body. As soon as consciousness is removed from the body, the mouth will not speak, the eye will not see, nor do the ears hear. It is a fact that consciousness is absolutely necessary for the animation of the body. Just as heat or smoke are symptoms of fire, so consciousness is the symptom of the soul. The energy of the soul, or self, is produced in the shape of consciousness. Indeed, consciousness proves that the soul is present. This is not only the philosophy of Bhagavad-Gita but the conclusion of all Vedic literature. Prabhupada, in his book Bhagavad-Gita As It Is, while discussing the perfection of human existence and as a result their failure to understand God, says: Out of many thousands among men, one may Endeavour for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth. (324). This body is not like a machine. When a part of a machine breaks down, it can be replaced, and the machine will work again, but when the body breaks down and consciousness leaves the body, there is no possibility of our replacing the broken part and rejuvenating the consciousness. The soul is different from the body, and as long as the soul is there, the body is animate. But there is no possibility of making the body animate in the absence of the soul.

5 125 Because one cannot perceive the soul by one s gross senses, one denies it. Actually there are so many things that are there which one cannot see. Man cannot see air, radio waves, or sound, nor can he perceive minute bacteria with his blunt senses, but this does not mean they are not there. By the aid of the microscope and other instruments, many things can be perceived which had previously been denied by the imperfect senses. Just because the soul, which is atomic in size, has not been perceived yet by senses or instruments, one should not conclude that it is not there. It can, however, be perceived by its symptoms and effects. Swami Abhedananda in his book Life Beyond Death says: Whoever shall support the mythical presentation of the pre-existence of the soul, and consequently the wonderful opinion of its return, let him be Anathema.(62). In Bhagavad-Gita Sri Krishna points out that all of man s miseries are due to false identification with the body. There is always a link that goes between the philosophic and religious texts. The sacred deliberations in religious discourses always extend a helping hand for the philosophers to convince the humanity accept the beliefs through their writings. Prabhupada clearly makes it known that all feelings of distress and happiness are due to outgoing of the senses. Factually the human beings are hankering after happiness, for the soul s constitutional position is that of happiness. The soul is part and parcel of

6 126 the Supreme Being, who is sac-cid-ananda-vigraha the embodiment of knowledge, bliss, and eternity. The universe is divided into higher, middle, and lower planetary systems. The earth is considered to be a member of the middle planetary system. Sri Krishna points out that even if one enters into the highest planet of all, called Brahmaloka; there is still repetition of birth and death. Other planets in the universe are full of living entities. Prabhupada says in his book Bhagavad-Gita As It Is: According to Vedic opinion, there are two ways of passing from this world-one in light and one in darkness. When one passes in light, he does not come back; but when one passes in darkness, he returns. (390). People should not think that they are here and that all the other planets are vacant. Even the higher planets in this universe are subject to birth and death. Why do the great yogis strive for elevation to them? Although they may have many mystic powers, these yogis still have the tendency to want to enjoy the facilities of material life. On the higher planets, it is possible to live for incredibly long lifetimes. As a cloud has a beginning and an end, this material nature also has a beginning and an end. When the clouds disappear and the sky clears one sees everything as it is. Any kind of material phenomenon is subject to six transformations of material nature-it comes into being, grows, stays for a while, produces some by-products, dwindles, and then vanishes. Human

7 127 life is meant to understand reality and to be transferred into it. All Vedic literature instructs not to remain in this darkness. When there is birth after birth, there is no liberation. In liberation one either attains the spiritual planets or merges into the existence of the Supreme in either case, there is no question of rebirth into the material world. Man does not know when he is going to die, and he may die accidentally at any time. But for one who is a bhakti-yogi, who is established in Krishna consciousness, there is no question of chance. He is always sure. The purpose of all Vedic instructions is to achieve the ultimate goal of life to go back to Godhead. This has also been the message of all religious reformers or acaryas. In his book Coming Back Prabhupada quoting Socrates says: I am confident that there truly is such a thing as living again and that the living spring from the dead. (2). In the West, Lord Jesus Christ has spread this same message. Prabhupada observes that among the ancient Greeks, Socrates, Pythagoras, and Plato made reincarnation an integral part of their teachings. Man's desire to be deathless is realized only in the spiritual world. Desire for eternal life is a sign of dormant spiritual life. The aim of human civilization should be targeted to that end. It is possible for every human being to transfer himself to that spiritual realm by the process of bhakti-yoga. Man's desire to be deathless is realized only in the spiritual world.

8 128 Desire for eternal life is a sign of dormant spiritual life. The aim of human civilization should be targeted to that end. It is possible for every human being to transfer himself to that spiritual realm by the process of bhaktiyoga. Prabhupada says that there is life after death, and there is also the chance to free oneself from the cycle of repeated birth and death and attain a life of immortality. But because man has been accustomed to accepting one body after another since time immemorial, it is difficult for him to think of a life that is eternal. Prabhupada quotes from Bhagavad-Gita in his book Coming Back: Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be. (13). A close reading of the teachings of Prabhupada offers the chance of understanding the soul, accompanied by the chief vital air or Mukhya Prana, the sense-organs, and the mind, and taking with itself Avidya, good and evil actions, and the impressions left by its previous existences, leaves its former body and obtains a new body. When it passes from one body to another, it is enveloped by the subtle parts of the elements which are the seeds of the new body. The soul has a vision of the body to come. Just as a leech or a caterpillar takes hold of one object, the soul visualizes the body to come before it leaves the present body. Pythagoras claimed he could remember his past lives, and Plato presented detailed accounts of reincarnation in his major works.

9 129 Briefly, he held that the pure soul falls from the plane of absolute reality because of sensual desire and then takes on a physical body. First, the fallen souls take birth in human forms, the highest of which is that of the philosopher, who strives for higher knowledge. If his knowledge becomes perfect, the philosopher can return to an eternal existence. Plato believed that gluttons and drunkards may become asses in future lives, violent and unjust people may take birth as wolves and hawks, and blind followers of social convention may become bees or ants. After some time, the soul again attains the human form and another chance to achieve liberation. Prabhupada quotes from a Sufi poet Jalalu 'D-Din Rumi, in his book Coming Back. I died as a mineral and became a plant, I died as a plant and rose to animal, I died as animal and I was man. Why should I fear? When was I less by dying? (4). Some scholars believe that Plato and other early Greek philosophers derived their knowledge of reincarnation from mystery religions like Orphism, or from India. Many Westerners, in order to gain a deeper understanding about reincarnation, are turning to the original sources of knowledge about past and future lives. The teachings of Prabhupada explain that this particular form of human life is attained after an evolution of many millions of years in the cycle of transmigration of the spirit soul. In this particular form of life, the economic question is more easily solved than in the lower, animal forms.

10 130 Aurobindo in his book The Life Divine Quoting Swetasvatara Upanishad says, Two Unborn, the Knower and one who knows not, the Lord and one who has not mastery; one unborn and in her are the object of enjoyment and the enjoyer (499). According to one s desires and karma, the laws of nature give the human beings a suitable body. During this life they associate with various modes of material nature, and that association will decide what kind of body they are going to get in the next life. That is strictly under the laws of nature. Everyone is controlled by the laws of nature. People are completely dependent, but out of ignorance people think that they are free. They are all under the laws of nature. So, one s next birth will be decided according to his activities sinful or pious, as the case may be. The process is very subtle. The spirit soul is invisible to our material eyes. It is atomic in size. After the destruction of the gross body, which is made up of the senses, blood, bone, fat, and so forth, the subtle body of mind, intelligence, and ego goes on working. So at the time of death this subtle body carries the small spirit soul to another gross body. According to the condition of the mind at the time of death, the minute spirit soul enters into the womb of a particular mother through the semen of a father, and then the soul develops a particular type of body given by the mother.

11 131 It may be a human being; it may be a cat, a dog, or anything. As long as a man is in the full vigour of life, he forgets the naked truth of death, which he has to meet. Thus a foolish man makes no relevant inquiry about the real problems of life. Man thinks that he will never die, although he sees evidence of death before his eyes at every second. In his book Path of knowledge Pradeep quoting from the Prasna Upanishad says: Praana is born of Atman (Self). As a shadow is cast by a person, so this Praana is, by Atman. Praana enters the body at birth, so that the desires of mind, continuing from past lives may be fulfilled. (30). Birth, death, old age, and disease are external impositions on a living entity and are due to his contact with material nature and to his forgetfulness of his eternal, godly nature and qualitative oneness with the Absolute Whole. Human life is therefore meant for research into eternal life, and the Vedanta-sutra advises one to conduct this research now or never. If one fails to inquire now into these relevant matters about life, one is sure to go back again to the animal kingdom by the laws of nature. Prabhupada confirms through his discourse that undoubtedly the soul is present in the heart of the living entity, and it is the source of all the energies for maintaining the body. The energy of the soul is spread all over the body, and this is known as consciousness. Since this consciousness spreads the energy of the soul

12 132 all over the body, one can feel pains and pleasures in any part of the body. The soul is individual, and he is transmigrating from one body to another, just as a person transmigrates from babyhood to childhood, from childhood to boyhood, from boyhood to youth, and then to advanced old age. Then the change called death takes place when one changes to a new body, just as one changes his old dress to a new dress and it is called transmigration of the soul. Swami Paramananda in his book Four Upanishads says in the Isa Upanishad: He who perceives all beings as the Self, for him how can there be delusion or grief, when he sees this oneness everywhere? (23). Among all available literatures, the Sanskrit Vedas of India are the oldest on earth and present the most comprehensive and logical explanations of the science of reincarnation, teachings that have maintained their viability and universal appeal for more than five thousand years. The most fundamental information about reincarnation appears in Bhagavad-Gita, the essence of the Upanishads and of all Vedic knowledge. The Bhagavad - Gita was spoken fifty centuries ago by Lord Krishna to His friend and disciple Arjuna on a battlefield in northern India. A battlefield is the perfect place for a discussion on reincarnation. In battles men directly confront the fateful questions of life, death, and the afterlife. It is impossible to understand reincarnation unless one knows the

13 133 difference between the actual self (the soul) and the body. Consciousness is concrete evidence of the presence of the soul within the body. On a cloudy day, the sun may not be visible, but one knows it is there in the sky by the presence of sunlight. Similarly, the common man may not be able to directly perceive the soul, but one may conclude it is there by the presence of consciousness. In the absence of consciousness, the body is simply a lump of dead matter. Prabhupada in his book Bhagavad-Gita As It Is, says, The working senses are superior to dull matter; mind is higher than the senses; intelligence is still higher than the mind; and he (the soul) is even higher than the intelligence (188). From the teachings of Prabhupada the reader may understand that the soul falsely identifies with the body, carrying its different conceptions of life from one body to another as the air carries aromas. Just as an automobile cannot function without the presence of a driver, similarly, the material body cannot function without the presence of the soul. The soul is of something so subtle that it is not immediately verifiable by the limited human mind and senses. Therefore, not everyone will be able to accept the existence of the soul. Some look on the soul as amazing, some describe him as amazing, and some hear of him as amazing, while others, even after hearing about him, cannot understand

14 134 him at all. Man reincarnates even in the course of one lifetime. In his book World Scriptures - A Comparative Anthology of Sacred Texts, Andrew Wilson quoting the Chandogya Upanishad says: This body is mortal, always gripped by death, but within it dwells the immortal Self. This Self, when associated in our consciousness with the body, is subject to pleasure and pain; and so long as this association continues, freedom from pleasure and pain can no man find. (275). Any biologist will tell that the body's cells are constantly dying and being replaced by new ones. In other words, each one has a number of different bodies in this very life. The body of an adult is completely different from the body the same person had as an infant. Despite these bodily changes, the person within remain the same. Something similar happens at the time of death. The self undergoes a final change of body. According to the Vedas, there are 8,400,000 species of life, beginning with the microbes, rising through the fish, plants, insects, reptiles, birds, and animals to the humans and demigods. According to their desires, the living entities perpetually take birth in these species. The path of reincarnation does not always lead uphill. The human being is not guaranteed a human birth in his next life. If one dies with the mentality

15 135 of a dog, then he will in his next life receive the eyes, ears and nose of a dog and thus allowing him to enjoy canine pleasures. Human existence in the material world is due to the multiple karmic reactions of this and previous lives, and the human body provides the only loophole through which the materially conditioned soul can escape. By properly utilizing the human form, one can solve all the problems of life [birth, death, disease, and old age] and break the endless cycle of reincarnation. One can understand from the Upanishads that there is no pain at the time of death. Ignorant people have created much horror and terror regarding death. Prabhupada quoting Gandhi in his book Coming Back says: I cannot think of permanent enmity between man and man, and believing as I do in the theory of rebirth, I live in the hope that if not in this birth, in some other birth I shall be able to hug all of humanity in friendly embrace. (10) In the Garuda Purana and the 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 only to induce fear in the hearers and readers, and force them to work for Moksha. In spiritualism, there is unanimous report from the 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 by the dropping of this physical body, and that they enjoy perfect composure at the time of separation from this physical

16 136 body. Maya creates vain fear in the onlookers by inducing convulsive twitching in the body. That is her nature and habit. Swami Paramananda in his book Four Upanishads quotes from the Katha Upanishad: By mind alone this is to be realized. There is no difference whatever. He who sees difference here goes from death to death. (71). Swami Sivananda believes that from time immemorial human beings want to know the exact period that elapses between the time of leaving the body and being born again. Whether the soul takes a new body in one year or in ten years and the period of time the soul lives upon the subtler planes before reappearing on the earth plane. These are some of the questions haunting the human beings. Two main factors decide this issue, viz., the nature of the individual Karma, and the last impression before death. It may vary from hundreds of years to a few months even. Those that work out some of their Karmas in other planes in subtler regions take a considerable time before entering a fresh body. Swami Ranganathananda in his book Bhagavan Buddha and our Heritage, quoting the katha Upanishad says, This Self cannot be reached through the organs of speech or thought or sight. How can It be realized except through one who says It is. It must be comprehended as is (and not as is not ) (11). The interval is very long, for a year of the earth-period passes of as a single day on the celestial plane. There is an instance cited where, seeing

17 137 the amazement and admiration of foreign tourists at the imposing ruins of certain monuments, a saint present in the vicinity remarked that some of these very people had fashioned the monuments centuries ago. Prabhupada, through his deliberations in the form of books, makes his disciples understand that, sometimes, a very sensual individual with strong cravings, or one with intense attachment, is reborn quickly. Also in cases where life is cut short by a violent death, or by a sudden unexpected accident, the Jiva resumes the thread very soon. Usually in such cases of immediate rebirth, the Jiva often remembers many of the events of its previous life. It recognizes its former relatives and friends, and identifies old home and familiar objects. But such cases of immediate rebirth are not common. Generally, for an average individual, the interval between death and rebirth happens to be a considerable period measured in terms of earth-time. Persons who have done much good Karma spend a great deal of time on the Daivic plane before being born again. Great souls, spiritually advanced persons, wait for a long time before reincarnating. The difference between the transmigration of souls in animal bodies and the transmigration of human souls is that animals transmigrate in only one direction upward but human beings can transmigrate to either a higher or a lower form of life. The body is awarded according to the living entity s desire. The lower animals have one kind of desire, but the human being

18 138 has thousands and millions of desires animal desires as well as human desires. Sometimes a dying man cries out, because according to karma those who are very, very sinful see horrible scenes at the time of death. The sinful man knows he is going to accept some abominable type of body. The devotees those who are pious, die without any anxiety. Prabhupada in his book Coming Back says: Foolish people say, you devotees are dying, and the non devotees are also dying, so what is the difference? (20). There is a difference. The mother cat may catch a rat and carry it in her mouth, and she also carries her kittens in her mouth. It is the same mouth, but the kittens are comfortable and safe, whereas the rat is feeling the jaws of death. Similarly at the time of death the devotees are transferred to the Spiritual realm, Vaikunta, whereas the ordinary sinful man is dragged down to the hellish regions by Yamadutas, the constables of Yamaraja. Although both devotees and non devotees die, there is a difference of feeling at the time of death just like the kitten and the mouse. Prabhupada believes that remembrances of past lives can be fascinating, but the real goal of understanding reincarnation is to become free from the painful cycle of birth and death. Before his birth man existed, in a different body; and after his death he shall continue to exist, in a different body. Man forgets things because he is changing his body at every moment. That is a medical fact. The corpuscles of our blood are changing

19 139 at every second. But the body is changing imperceptibly but I, the soul, the proprietor of the body, is not changing. This is to be understood. When death that separates the soul and the body, this material body composed of five elements -- earth, water, air, fire, and ether -- decomposes, and the gross materials return to the elements. Prabhupada in his book Coming Back quoting the Bible says, Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return. (92). The teachings of Prabhupada explain the transmigration of the soul from the gross body. He has made it clear from the sources he gathered from both the west and also his contemporaries who are little different from him. The gross body is made of matter, and anything material will eventually be finished. That is the nature of matter. But the spirit soul is never finished. The ultimate end of soul s settling in the other body is due to this tendency. There are different types of bodies because the living entity, the spirit soul, is contacting various modes of material nature. And according to what modes are influencing him, the living entity develops a gross body. So the soul has acquired the present body because of one s past activities. One gets a particular type of body according to his past karma, or material activities. Nature acts automatically, according to his karma.

20 140 Similarly, when the soul comes under the influence of the modes of material nature and perform karmic activities, it must transmigrate from body to body. Nature s law works so perfectly. Prabhupada in his book Srimad Bhagavatam (Vol.VI) says: As a sleeping person acts according to the body manifested in his dreams and accepts it to be himself, so one identifies with his present body, which he acquired because of his past religious or irreligious actions, and is unable to know his past or future lives. (67). Just as a goldsmith takes a little gold from here and a little gold from there and puts these pieces of gold into a melting pot, boils the pieces making them into one lump and gives a new shape to this lump, even so a new body is formed out of the ingredients collected from nature. The goldsmith does not create new gold. He only creates a new shape of the gold after melting it in a furnace. That is how he prepares ornaments, etc. Likewise, the material forces, earth, water, fire, air, and ether are the elements out of which bodies are formed. The Upanishads tells us that the bodies are made up of these elements. The future body also will be made up of these elements. A carpenter can arrange pieces of wood in such a way that these pieces form a chair. Or he can arrange these pieces of wood in another manner

21 141 to make a table. He can convert these pieces into a box, and so on. The carpenter can arrange these pieces of wood in various ways according to the need or the requirement of the time. But the wood is the same. It is not new wood that he is using. Likewise, they are the same elements that work wherever the soul goes, whatever is the birth that it takes, and whichever be the shape the soul assumes in whichever realm, in its new incarnation. This is how the Upanishad sums up its doctrine of ethical conduct and the psychological effect which our present way of life has upon our future incarnation. Swami Krishnananda in his Brhadaranyaka Upanishad says: Whatever one feels, that one thinks; whatever one thinks, that one speaks; whatever one speaks, that one does; whatever one does, that one reaps. (425). Whatever is the inclination within, whatever direction one s feelings take that will be the kind of experience that the soul will have in the future life. The same Upanishad also says, the deepest longings of the human individual are supposed to determine his future. Whatever is man`s deepest desire will decide the nature of our determination, of the way to act. The deepest longing of the soul, the desire of the mind or the urges of one's personal nature will influence the will, the volition. The will is nothing but the exoteric function of the desire within. As the desire is, so the will is, as the will is, so is the action. And as is the action, so is the consequence, or the result. Everything seems to be in man`s

22 142 hands. His weal and woe, his future, his destiny is actually operated upon by the deepest mechanism that is inside him. The switchboard of the cosmos, as it were, seems to be inside man s own heart. Swami Sivananda quotes from Mahabharatam, in his book What Happens to the Soul After Death says: Just as a calf finds out its mother among a thousand cows, so also an action that was performed in a previous birth follows the doer. (103). Prabhupada teaches that material happiness is like the mirage of water in the desert. In the desert there is no water, but when a thirsty animal sees the mirage of water in the desert, he runs after it and dies. There is no water in the desert that the water is just a reflection of the sunshine, but animals do not know this. Similarly, human life means to give up looking for happiness through sense gratification, which is just like a mirage in the desert, and to try for spiritual happiness. Karma will find one who stays from far and wide. One may go to the highest heaven, but the Karma is not going to leave him or her. Even as the laws of the government which has long arms try to catch the soul wherever the human beings are, laws of the cosmos catch that individual who has been responsible for the particular action. In some societies the body is burned, in others it is buried, and in others it is thrown to animals. Aurobindo in his book The Life Divine quoting Rig Veda says, Two are joined together, powers of Truth, powers of maya, -

23 143 they have built the Child and given him birth and they nourish his growth (499). Prabhupada believes that, as far as the soul is concerned, the evolutionary process is going on, and man is struggling for existence, struggling to come to the point of eternal life. That eternal life is possible. If one tries his best in this human form of life, in his next life he can get a spiritual body. His spiritual body is already within him, and it will develop as soon as he becomes free from the contamination of this material existence. This is the basic aim of human life. People do not know what actual self-interest is; it is to realize oneself, to realize, that they are a part and parcel of God. Prabhupada observes that the missing point of modern civilization is that there is no educational system to instruct people on what happens after death. He feels that they have the most defective education, because without this knowledge of what happens after death, one dies like an animal. The animal does not know that he is going to have another body; he has no such knowledge. The distinction is made when human beings become inquisitive and ask certain questions like the reason for their miserable condition and if there is any remedy for it. From the Upanishads, Vedas and from Srimad Bhagavatam the common men begin to understand what will happen to them after the souls leave this body. The Upanishad answers the question of the soul s departure from the body. Swami Krishnananda in his Brhadaranyaka Upanishad says:

24 144 If you do not know this, what is the use of your wealth; what is the use of your learning; what is the use of your kingship; what is the benefit you gain with the honour that you have from society? People may respect you, honour you, keep you on a high pedestal, but if you die the next moment, what happens to you? You do not know this. What then is the good of all this knowledge? (343). Every person's manner of death is different from that of others. But here the Upanishad gives an idea of the normal way in which people pass away from this world. Rarely do people like to leave their body. It is very dear to them. When the Pranas are withdrawn, the last connection that obtains between the subtle body and the physical body is snapped, and the two are separated. When the soul, with the subtle body, is about to leave the physical body, several phenomena take place. The physical body shows a tendency to disintegrate, and the mind shows reluctance to the maintenance of it. The Upanishads say the physical body is dropped, not because the desires have all been fulfilled, and there is no further need for a body, but because this body is unsuitable for the fulfilment of the remaining desires. And so, there is a handing over charge by one officer, as it were, to another one. The function is not finished, only the personality changes.

25 145 After death also, there is a continuity of the same activity of the mind. In his book A Primer of Hinduism D.S. Sarma quotes from the Bhagavad- Gita: The knower of Brahman who is established in Brahman, poised in mind and undeluded, is not elated on getting what is pleasant nor feels worried on getting what is unpleasant. (163). The entry into a new body is also a great mystery. It is a gradual condensation of material forces into solidified matter in the way in which it is necessary for the fulfilment of the desires present in the subtle body. And at that time, the Pranas that were withdrawn from the previous body are once again released into action. These elements become the new body. That is called rebirth. The manifestation of a new physical form by the gravitational force of the subtle body, which is determined by the intensity of unfulfilled desires, is the process of rebirth. It is not a totally new atmosphere into which one is taken. It is merely a continuation of the present potentiality. If man knows what the nature of the seed is, he can know what the nature of the tree will be that is to sprout from that particular seed. This is the body that he takes into which he will be reborn are nothing but his own thoughts which concretise themselves into particular shapes. They are not bodies manufactured by somebody else. It is his own needs, his own feelings, his own desires which are deep-seated, that go to form the new

26 146 body. Swami Bhashyananda in his book From the Unreal to the Real says: I am the machine, and Thou, O Lord, art the operator, I am the house, and Thou art the indweller, I am the chariot and Thou art the Driver, I move as Thou movest me, I speak as Thou makest me speak. (250). Every human being has this question in mind: What is it that goes with him when he leaves this world and enters the other world? Does he take something when he goes? He may have lot of property, many possessions and acquisitions. He may have cherished many values in this life. Do they all come with him? The Upanishad has a simple answer to this question. Whatever knowledge has become part of one s life that will come with him, not the knowledge that is in the books or in the libraries. This knowledge is not going to come with him. The knowledge that has become part a parcel of one s actual daily life through which he has been thinking and working, that knowledge will come with him. Man cannot take anything from this world which has not become a part and parcel of his own mind, his own feelings. Prabhupada quoting from his book Bhagavad-Gita as It Is says: The foolish cannot understand how a living entity can quit his body, nor can they understand

27 147 what sort of body he enjoys under the spell of the modes of nature. But one whose eyes are trained in knowledge can see all this. (641). There is an activity, taking place in the other realm at the time of the departure from this body. This is compared to the activity of a caterpillar or a leech when it moves from one leaf to another or from one spot to another on the same leaf. Likewise the old body is not left unless proper arrangement is already made elsewhere. They spontaneously work, and the preparation that is being made there to receive him to another realm is the foot that he has kept there already before he lifts the other foot from this world. It is not a physical foot that he has placed, but a feeler which has connected him with the future realm in a very subtle manner. This shows the interconnectedness of all things. People are not cast into the winds by forces of which they have no knowledge. Everything is connected with him, and all the forces of nature keep an eye over him. Exactly in the manner in which it is necessary for Man to have experiences in the future life, in that particular manner alone do the forces of nature work. Prabhupada in his Sri Isopanishad says: Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and owned by the Lord. One should therefore accept only those things necessary for himself, which are set aside as his quota, and

28 148 one should not accept other things, knowing well to whom they belong. (17). In India, the Hindus burn the body, and thus the body is transformed into ashes. Ash is simply another form of earth. Christians bury the body, and after some time in the grave, the body eventually turns to dust, which again, like ash, is another form of earth. There are other societies -- like the Parsee community in India -- that neither burn nor bury the body, but throw it to the vultures, and the vultures immediately come to eat the body, and then the body is eventually transformed into stool. So in any case, this beautiful body, which is taken care of so nicely will eventually turn into stool, ashes, or dust. Prabhupada, through his discourses on death and the concept of life, make the readers understand the significance of the terms life after death, and there is also the chance to free oneself from the cycle of repeated birth and death and attain a life of immortality. At death, the finer elements (mind, intelligence, and ego) carry the small particle of spirit soul to another body to suffer or enjoy, according to one's work. But the souls have been accustomed to accepting one body after another since time immemorial, it is difficult to think of a life that is eternal. Prabhupada quotes from W.Somerset Maugham in his book Coming Back:

29 149 Has it occurred to you that transmigration is at once an explanation and a justification of the evil of the world? If the evils we suffer are the result of sins committed in our past lives, we can bear them with resignation and hope that if in this one we strive toward virtue our future lives will be less afflicted. (103). The world is full of disparities, blatant inequalities that often provoke questions like how could providence be so unfair? The principle of reincarnation allows man to view life with a much broader perspective from the standpoint of eternity. From this point of view, one brief lifetime is seen not as the beginning of man s existence, but as nothing more than a flash in time, and one can understand that an apparently pious person who may be suffering greatly is reaping the effects of impious activities performed in this or previous lives. With this broader vision of universal justice each individual soul is alone responsible for its own karma. All his actions are compared to seeds. All actions which were initially performed, or planted, and over the course of time they gradually fructify, releasing their resultant reactions. Such reactions may produce either suffering or enjoyment for the living being, and he may respond by either improving his character or by becoming increasingly animal like. In either case, the laws of reincarnation operate impartially to award each living

30 150 being the destiny he has earned by his previous actions. Wilson in his book World Scriptures - A Comparative Anthology of Sacred Texts quoting from Corinthians says, For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. (388). If anyone, however, does remain forever away from God, it is not because of vengeance on the part of God, but because of the individual's own repeated choice. According to the doctrine of reincarnation, God recognizes and preserves even a small amount of good done by an otherwise evil person. It is rare to see anyone who is one-hundredpercent sinful. Therefore, if a living being makes some slight degree of spiritual progress in his present life, then in his next life he is allowed to continue from that point. The soul may thus develop its inherent spiritual qualities through many lives, until it no longer has to reincarnate in a material body, until it returns to its original home in the spiritual world. This is the special benediction of human life -- even if one is destined to suffer terribly for impious acts performed in this and previous lives, one can, by taking up the process of Krishna consciousness, change his karma. The soul in a human body stands at the evolutionary midpoint. From here the living being can choose either degradation, or liberation from reincarnation. Prabhupada in his book Coming Back makes use of a

31 151 quotation from Sir William Jones to substantiate his idea about Hindu and Christian faith on vice and the effect: I am no Hindu, but I hold the doctrine of the Hindus concerning a future state (reincarnation) to be incomparably more rational, more pious, and more likely to deter men from vice than the horrid opinions inculcated by Christians on punishments without end. (107). He goes on to say that out-of-body experiences are one tangential aspect of reincarnation that has been widely publicized. While many of these outof-body reports may well be true, they do not provide any really new information. Reports of such occurrences may help to convince readers that there is indeed another reality beyond the body -- consciousness, or the soul. But this is not new information, for this knowledge has been available for years. The Vedas explain that consciousness is a symptom of the soul, and therefore has a separate existence from the body. From even a cursory study of the more than five-thousand-year-old Bhagavad-Gita and other Vedic literatures, the existence of the soul as distinct from the body becomes obvious. It is not surprising to a student of Vedic science to hear that the soul, carried by the subtle body (consisting of mind, intelligence, and false ego) may temporarily go beyond its

32 152 material tabernacle during dreams or near-death experiences. Prabhupada quoting from his book Srimad Bhagavatam (vol.iii) says: When you are free from the conception of gross and subtle bodies and when your senses are free from all influences of the modes of material nature, you will realize your pure form in My association. At that time you will be situated in pure consciousness. (420). Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) are really nothing new. Everyone has had them, for dreams are nothing less than an out-of-body experience. During sleep, the human beings enter the dream state when the subtle body (consisting of mind, intelligence and ego) leaves the gross form and enjoys a different reality on the subtle plane. The subtle body is the vehicle which carries the soul out of the body and into another, new body at the time of death. A fairly common type of OBE has been documented in cases of near death, when subjects describe how they seemed to hover above their own bodies at the scene of an accident or over the operating table, observing their own bodies without feeling physical pain or discomfort, although many had been declared clinically dead. Even while the gross body is inactive, the subtle body is active. As already noted, the subtle body sometimes carries us into dreams while our gross body lies sleeping in bed. Prabhupada handles the words of Sri

33 153 Krishna, who during his convincing lecture to Arjuna in Mahabharatha teaches the distinction between karma and incarnation, to explain the difference in an ordinary way in his book Bhagavad-Gita As It Is: This material nature, which is one of My energies, is working under My direction, O son of Kunti, producing all moving and non-moving beings. Under its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again. (411). The laws of karma and reincarnation are so perfectly ordered that when each material body dies, nature has already arranged, exactly according to the soul's cumulative karma, another appropriate material body into which the departed soul will enter and take birth anew. A self-realized soul who enters the eternal, spiritual world would certainly not have an obligation, nor desire to reappear in this temporary material world of birth, death, disease, and old age. After death, the disembodied soul, unhindered by a physical body, is able to travel at the speed of the mind. Therefore, there is a negligible time lapse between leaving one body and entering another. However, only fully self-realized souls can attain the spiritual world beyond the cycle of reincarnation. Every soul has the potential to reach the spiritual world after undergoing the necessary spiritual practices which make this possible. There is a way out of the

34 154 cycle of birth and death. The first step is the knowledge. The reincarnating soul is drawn, quite without volition on its part, to the newly forming body, the life circumstances of which will fairly, rightly, justly, perhaps retributively, bring its own tendencies and characteristics into objectivity. In the vast complexity and volume of human life on earth, the laws of heredity are constantly giving rise to the production of forms with all the varieties of characteristics and capacities required to meet the necessities of, perhaps to provide the required penalties or discipline for, the human spiritual entities, coming into incarnation. Prabhupada in his book Coming Back says, I am not this body. The Vedas declare, aham brahmasmi: I am pure spirit soul. (121). The physical universe is governed by laws. Other sets of laws govern the subtle universe, including the laws of transmigration of the soul and karma. It is under these subtle but stringent laws of nature described in the Bhagavad-Gita and hundreds of other Vedic literatures that the actual process of reincarnation operates. These laws did not spring into existence whimsically, but function under the control of the supreme controller. In order to become free from reincarnation, one must thoroughly understand the law of karma. The human form of life is very rare; the soul gets a human body only after evolving through millions of lower species. And it is only in the human form that the living entity has the intelligence to understand karmic laws

35 155 and thus become free from reincarnation. There arise the innumerable questions on the infinite when one gets into the world of Brahman. Ultimately the soul anticipates a journey every time it gets out of a body. It may end in fruit as the soul finds a solace after getting a new environment and feeling. Aurobindo in his book The Life Divine quoting the Upanishads says, From Ananda all existences are born, by Ananda they remain in being and increase, to Ananda they depart (109). Prabhupada explains this journey through his teachings that the Gita and other Vedic literatures are instruction manuals that teach man the real goal of life's journey. By understanding the science of reincarnation, man frees himself from the forces of karma and return to the antimaterial regions of knowledge, bliss, and eternity. The sages of ancient India tell that the goal of human life is to escape from the endless cycle of reincarnation. Body is not the truth. But with the help of this untrue, mortal body, the human beings realize the immortal truth. Body is immortal and subject to death. Atman is immortal. Once the soul departs, the body becomes empty. It attains a Nirvana which is real absolute. Both Prabhupada and many of his quoted thinkers in texts view this in distinction and merit and explain Nirvana to the humanity. This body subject to decay and death should be used to realize the Atman. It is apt to quote Wilson who in his