Apr 26, 2011 12:15 PM
"Jatasya hi dhruvo mrityur, dhruvam janma mritasya cha"
("Death is certain for one who is born, and birth is also certain for one who is dead. ) Bhagavad Gita.II.27
In Hinduism, death is not the end of life. It is an event in one's life. Just as marriage, parenthood, retirement etc. are events in one's life, death is also another, but more radically transformative, event in one's life. In the Bhagavad Gita, it is more aptly described as a "stage" of life . Sri Krishna says: "dehinosmin yaha dehe, kaumaram yauvanam jara, tatha dehantarapraptir dhiras tatra na muhyati" "Just as childhood, adulthood and old age happen to this body, so also the embodied person acquires another body, and the sage is not deluded by these events". And Sri Krishna continues: vasamsi jirnani yatha vihaya, navani grhnati naroparani, tatha sarirani vihaya jirnany, anyani samyati navani dehi" "Just as we cast away worn out garments and wear new ones, so also after casting away worn out bodies, we encounter other new ones." Note here Sri Krishna does not say the new ones we encounter are the same or better clothes, He only says: "new". Sometimes they may be worse than the ones we are wearing!!!
What is the cause of rebirth? Why are we reborn? Though several anthropological religions and popular sentiment believe in some form of rebirth, what makes rebirth uniquely Hindu is that it is due to karma. It is impossible to exist in this world without performing karmas (actions). Actions are either good or bad. Good actions bring forth good consequences and bad actions bring bad results. A person who does evil, must suffer the evil consequences just as a person who does good actions must enjoy its results, either now or in a future life. We must be reborn to enjoy the results of good karmas, just as the person who does evil must also be reborn to suffer for his actions. In other words , we are condemned to rebirth whether we do good or bad actions. Only those who rise above good and evil will not be reborn. In the doctrine of nishkama karma (desireless action), the Gita suggests a way to go beyond good and evil.
How are we reborn? What is the process of rebirth? The two important constituents of a human person are (a) Atman ( Transcendental Self) and (b) Jiva (empirical self, ego). Atman is One, Undifferentiated, Imperishable, neither born nor dies. Atman (Transcendental Self) is Brahman (Absolute). As Atman is imperishable, it is the Jiva who is born, lives, dies and re-born. The Jiva again is constituted of a sthulasarira (gross body) and sukshmasarira (subtle body). Sthulasarira is what we ordinarily call physical body. It consists of material substances like earth, water, air, fire and akasa etc. The subtle body or sukshmasarira consists of the subtle elements (tanmatras) of the gross elemens - air, fire, earth water and askasa , mind (mans), intellect (buddhi), motor organs and vital energy. It should be understood that the sense organs like eye and ear are only instruments which will enable us to see hear things But they are not by themselves real senses. The visual organ is not the same thing as an eye ball. In addition to manas and buddhi, one’s subtle body also consists of samskaras (traces) and vasanas (impressions) which are accumulated by our karmic actions. When one dies, it is one's gross body which is cremated. The subtle body, not being 'material' cannot be destroyed. Just as in a dream, though our sense organs are not functioning, we are conscious and subject to dream-experiences, so also in a post-death state, the subtle body is conscious and continues to have experiences. Because sometimes our dream experiences are a carry-over of our waking experiences before we fall asleep, Hinduism recognizes that near-death experiences must be peaceful and tranquil so that the departed person retains his tranquil state of mind., Subtle body is what is called in modern psychology “psychic dispositions” and popularly known as the "soul".
The Vedic texts distinguish between two paths in which the jiva who is dead travels, the driving force behind these paths being one's karmic forces . There are three important lokas where the soul dwells. The Gita says: (tasya stanani drstani trivadhantha sastratah,karmabhumiriyam bhumiratra tisthantijatava. (According to Sastras, the soul dwells in three places, viz. Brahmaloka, Pitrloka and Manusyaloka But in ths world is the one where all living beings dwell). One is the path of the gods devayana, it also called the Northern Path which leads to the sun and the other is the path of the forefathers pitryana also called the Southern Path, which leads us to the moon. Those who have experienced Brahma-jnana or Knowledge of Brahman travel the northern path and are never reborn. They have attained Cosmic Brahmapuram. Those who have acquired enough merit (punya) through the performance of rituals, etc. travel the southern path leading to the moon. They have attained Mortal Brahmapuram. Those who have neither Brahman-Jnana or acquired punya in their life follow a third path called samnyamanam which leads to Yama's world. They are immediately reborn as plants, insects, small animals, etc. and experience the pain caused to them by other animals, humans etc. This is however a quick process after which they are reborn as humans. In passing we should note that the Vedic texts conceive of unity and continuity of life between plants, animals and humans, and that is the reason why animals are born as humans, According to the Brahadaranyaka Upanishad the Soul Travels from body to body like a caterpillar travels from leaf to leaf. It should be noted that the "paths" referred to above are not physical roads, or highways, they are states of consciousness.
Except for the few who travel the Northern Path and are never reborn, most of us travel the Southern Path or the path of the forefathers, which is the path to the Moon. Since moon is nearer to than the sun, it is also easier to follow the path of the Moon than that of the Sun. In the Sastric texts, the subtle body I is conceived as an astral body (lingasarira) which is in a dream-like existence with feelings of thirst, hunger, etc. similar to the thirst and hunger we feel in our dreams. The sraddha and tarpana ceremonies we perform to the departed people , expecially the first twelve days after death and the monthly ceremonies till the first anniversary is intended to satisfy the departed person’s (dream-like) hunger and thirst. In the Hindu tradition, because the Northern path (uttarayayana) is the path to Cosmic Brahmaloka, when wise people die during this time, they attain Brahman. Also, those who attain only the mortal Brahmapuram will be reborn after exhausting their punya, but those who have attained Cosmic Brahmaloka following the Northern Path attain Moksha without rebirth.
