Arya Samaj

Shishya · Posted: Thu May 18, 2006 1:51 am Post subject: Life Beyond Death

Life Beyond Death
by
Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant, VSM

Many years ago in the Kashmir valley, a Purohit of the Arya Samaj was blessed with a daughter. When she was three of four years old she told her parents that she belonged to a village in the valley and was the daughter of a senior officer of the Jammu and Kashmir government. She insisted on being taken to the village of her previous birth. Her parents obliged. On reaching the village, she identified her friends, relatives as well as property. However, relatives from her previous life as well as her present day parents chose to discourage her from visiting the old sites. Over a period of time, memories of the previous life were obliterated.

There is no scientific explanation to an event of this nature, such cases do happen but they are few and far between. However, this does not given an indication that our present life is not our first life and, in any case, not the last one. Lord Krishna, while boosting the morale of Arjun just before the start of Mahabharat, told him that this was neither this first life nor his last one. Even if a warrior is slain in the battle, it is only the body perishes not the soul. The soul finds another body sooner rather than later.

Lord Krishna said that he remembered his previous lives but a man in this mundane world does not. Otherwise, confusion would be worst confounded. Many a senior citizen, here and elsewhere, thinks of the other world, having played his innings in this world. Having lived beyond the Biblical 'three scores and ten', it would be in the fitness of things were the elderly to fathom the depth of our scriptures and find what these have to say about life beyond death. Let there be no anxiety about the fate that awaits senior citizens when they go into eternal sleep. The question of life beyond death has been addressed well in the Vedic thought.

Many a time senior citizens wish to know where does a soul go after leaving the body. Of course, the soul re-enters another body forming in the womb of a prospective mother. Depending on the good or bad Karma the soul takes another body and lives another life on this planet or another planet.

In the Yajurveda, the sixth mantra of the 39th chapter runs thus:

savita prathme ahann agni dwitiya vayu streetiyen aadityash chaturthe chandramah pancham rituh shashthe marutah saptame brihspatirshtme mitro navame varuno dasham indra ekadashe vishwe deva dwadashe

In his monumental commentary in Hindi on the Yajurveda, Swami Dayanand Saraswati gives a general exposition of this mantra:

"O Human beings! When these souls leave their bodies for quite some time they visit various celestial bodies like the sun, the fire, the wind, the seasons, the moon and imbibes the best qualities of the environment around before entering different bodies being formed in the wombs of their prospective mothers in accordance with their karmas."

The future prospects of lives to come are dependent on the good or bad karmas performed by the souls in various forms of lives. A question may arise whether the duration of these meanderings of the soul is measured by day and night as envisaged on planet earth. Different planets and different celestial bodies have their own system of calculation of day and night and, therefore, Maharshi Dayanand himself has used the words 'Kuchh Kaal',’ (for a while) when describing the meanderings of the soul after it leaves the previous body - the event which is termed as death.

Even to the point of committing the fault of over emphasis, it must be stated time and again that the soul itself is neither born nor does it die. When a soul enters a body it is termed as birth and when it leaves the body it is termed as death. The soul itself is Anaadi, that is, has no beginning and Annant, that is, has no end.

Jeevem Sharadah Shatam, is a man’s prayer to his Maker. Men and women beseech God for a Vedic life span of 100 years wherein they are not bereft of health and happiness. Men and women are encouraged in the Vedic way of life to be active in their respective spheres till the last breath so that they court death cheerfully when it arrives. Life is more than just passing time. Vedic prayers exhort human beings to even go beyond celebrating their centenary in this world. One who lives a full life will never be afraid of death, may it come in any form under any circumstances. A Ved Mantra describes a happy long life and a happy death:

Aum trayambakam yajamahe sugandhim pushti vardhanam, urvarukamev bandhanan mrityormukshiya mamratat.

Live a full life and court death when death knocks at the door of your life. Eternal separation from this mundane world will be as painless as that of a ripe musk melon from its twig. Indeed, this separation will be a step forward towards achieving the goal of Moksha, emancipation from the bondage of cycle of birth, death and rebirth.

"If winter comes, spring can't be far behind," says Keats at the height of his optimism. There is always hope for a better future, maybe in this world or maybe in the next world. Bad days are certainly to be followed by good days, like day follows night. This is why a pragmatist sounds a note of caution for the future and says: ye all, who have lived life, now should be prepared to court death. All major religions of the world agree on the inevitability of this life coming to an end in this world. One who is bound is bound to die.

Vedic philosophy says that the real self of a man is not his body but the soul. The phenomenon of birth and death pertain to the body and not to the soul. The soul is immortal. Na hanyate hanyamane sharire, that is, on being slain it is only the body that perishes and the soul survives, says Lord Krishna who based his pronouncements on the knowledge of the Vedas. The immortality of the soul as well as the transmigration of the soul is underlined time and again. There is equal emphasis on the present life as on life beyond death; let all men and women assure and reassure themselves: I am not the body, I am the soul. The soul is neither born nor does it die.

One may like to know what the blessed state of Emancipation or Moksha is. Maharshi Dayanand says in the Satyarth Prakash (Light of Truth – chapter IX):

"...It (the soul) retains its separate individuality (even in emancipation), for should it get absorbed into the Divine Spirit, who would then enjoy the bliss of Emancipation or Moksha? Absorption of the soul into the Divine Spirit is not Emancipation, but annihilation.’’

Thus it is crystal clear that even in the blessed state of Moksha the Jeevatma or the soul continues to enjoy its separate entity and does not end its existence. After enjoying the bliss of Moksha for the specified period of time, the soul returns to normal activity in an embodied form on this planet or elsewhere. Thus this cycle goes on and on.

William Wordsworth, the Nature poet, was bold enough to believe in a life beyond death. He succeeded in keeping pessimism at bay by drawing inspiration from the belief that the soul had its beginning elsewhere and lived endlessly.

Indeed, it is a cheering thought for the senior citizens that the sunset that awaits them will soon be followed by a sunrise.

Note: Many thanks to aryasamaj.org for making this article available to the public.

Prabhat · Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 10:34 pm Post subject:

Namaste,
Question, how many years dos one have to live. is that 80, 90 , 100 or much more?
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Namaste,
Prabhat