Soul's Journey After Death

The Jiva or the individual soul along with Pranas, the mind and the senses leaves his former body and obtains a new body. He takes with himself Avidya, virtues and vicious actions and the impressions left by his previous births.

Just as a caterpillar takes hold of another object before it leaves its hold of an object, so also the soul has the vision of the body to come, before it leaves the present body. Hence the view of the Sankhyas that the self and the organs are both all-pervading and when obtaining a new body only begin to function in it on account of Karma; the view of the Bauddhas that the soul alone without the organs begins to function in a new body, new senses being formed like the new body; the view of the Vaiseshikas that the mind alone goes to the new body and the view of the Digambara Jains that the soul only flies away from the old body and alights on the new one just as a parrot flies from one tree to another, are not correct and are opposed to the Vedas. The soul goes from the body accompanied by the mind, Prana, the senses and the Sukshmabhutas or elements.

The soul takes with it the subtle parts of the elements which are the seeds of the new body. All the elements accompany the soul.

When he departs, the chief Prana departs after him and when the Prana thus departs, all the other Pranas depart after it. They cannot stay without the basis or substratum or support of the elements. The subtle elements or Tanmatras form the base for the moving Pranas.

There can be enjoyment only when the Prana goes to another body. The essence of the elements is the vehicle of the Pranas. Where the elements are, there the organs and Pranas are. They are never separated. The soul could not enter into the new body without Prana.

The Pranas and the senses remain at the time of death quite inoperative for accompanying the departing soul.

The materials like milk, curd, etc., that are offered as oblations in sacrifices assume a subtle form called Apurva and attach themselves to the sacrificer. The Jivas then go enveloped by water which is supplied by the materials that are offered as oblations in sacrifices.

The water forming the oblation assumes the subtle form of Apurva, envelopes the souls and leads them to Heaven to receive their rewards.

Those who perform sacrifices give enjoyment to the gods in heaven and rejoice with them. They become serviceable companions to the gods. They contribute to the enjoyment of the gods by their presence and service in that world. They enjoy themselves in the Chandraloka and return to the earth at the end of their store of merit.

The souls that descend from heaven have a remnant of Karma which determines their birth. The souls return to the earth by the force of some unenjoyed remnants of Karma. When the totality of works which helped the souls to go to the Chandraloka for enjoyment of the fruits of good deeds is exhausted, then the body made up of water which has originated there for the sake of enjoyment is dissolved by the fire of sorrow springing from the thought that the enjoyment comes to an end, just as hailstones melt by contact with the rays of the sun, just as ghee melts by contact with fire. Then the souls come down with a remainder yet left.

We read in the Chhandogya Upanishad V. 107: "Those whose conduct during the previous life has been good presently obtain good birth, such as the birth of a Brahmin, a Kshatriya, or a Vaisya; those whose conduct has been bad presently obtain some evil birth such as that of a dog or a pig."

The Smriti says: "The members of the different castes and of the different orders of life who are engaged in the works prescribed for them, after leaving this world and enjoying the fruits of their works in other world, are born again owing to the unenjoyed portion of their rewards, in distinguished castes and families, with special beauty, longevity, knowledge, conduct, property, comfort and intelligence." Hence the soul is born with residual Karma.

Some capital sins like the killing of a Brahmin involve many births. The soul descends by the route by which he went to a certain stage and then by a different route.

The sinners do not go to Chandraloka. They go to Yama Loka or the world of punishment and after having experienced the results of their evil deeds come down to the earth.

Hells are places of torture for the evil-doers. The temporary abodes are Raurava, Maharaurava, Vahni, Vaitarani and Kumbhika. The two eternal hells are Tamisra (darkness) and Andhatamisra (blinding darkness). The seven hells are superintended by Chitragupta and others. Yama is the chief ruler in those seven hells also. Chitragupta and others are only superintendents and lieutenants employed by Yama. They are all under Yama's government and suzerainty. Chitragupta and others are directed by Yama.

Question is, since the concept of Hell differs from culture to culture, is it different for each person who "goes" there or is it just a different interpretation put on it while we are incarnate? (Rather like most cars are the same basic design and operate in the same way but vary in detail and performance from company to company.) The article's theories are Hindu in origin, but the caste system is an idea that has yet to really catch on in modern theories of soul evolution. Not to say it is invalid, but it sits at odds with ideals that are all-inclusive and also some Spiritualist interpretations.

Also you have to figure in the idea of Hell as a man-made construct to scare people into being good and heaven for rewarding them after living well on this side. Since we are assuming nowadays that people reincarnate in all sorts of different cultures, there is a kind of logical difficulty with the idea that we go to the place we personally believe in, because "personal" in this lifetime may be a completely alien idea to the "personal" of another lifetime. I have been incarnated mostly in Europe, and this is my first lifetime for many centuries spent living in Britain. Thus I cannot assume because I am British in this lifetime that when I pass I will go to a British conception of Heaven or Hell, because my soul has no nationality and has been variously German, Czech, Polish, Russian...all of whose cultures have slightly different religious conceptions of God and the afterlife. The caste system also may be man's projection onto the soul realm, rather than an accurate representation of what really goes on; although enlightenment does increase in the soul realm, modern conceptions stress equality of opportunity rather than a rigid hierarchy. That of course may be equally biased in favour of Western ideals, but since the rise of Spiritualism in the 1800s we have had more contact with the soul realm and thus more opportunity for research.

Some modern communication with spirit (I'm thinking mainly of Hazel Courtenay's communication with the spirit of Princess Diana) suggests that Hell itself does not exist but that spirits either remain earthbound or consign themselves to a sort of purgatory in guilt at their mortal actions before becoming fully aware of their role in a spirit's "plan". Courtenay quotes Diana as suggesting that the Princess and Dodi, when they passed in the accident, knew that that was their "time", but that their driver, Henri Paul, who was also killed, felt such overwhelming guilt at his part in the drama that he literally sent himself to this "purgatory" and Di and Dodi had to rescue him and bring him towards the light. Of course we are relying on mere anecdotal evidence, but spiritualism is one long history of anecdotal evidence, so I suppose we have to accept Courtenay's testimony.

Some mediums insist that some spirits - like that which was once Hitler - have turned their back on the light altogether and are merely reincarnated straightaway after death without any assistance or planning from angels or spirit guides. Ironically Hitler himself was a strong believer in spiritual interventionism (having been saved from death in the trenches of WW1 by a premonition of a bomb hitting his dugout), and there are some people today who seem to be very strong psychically but to be using their powers without assistance from spirit or higher guidances. Not to mention any names, but someone very powerful in the United Kingdom at the moment seems to be meeting with very little real resistance, whereas the leader he is compared to seemed to be guided since she was constantly met with opposition from all quarters and almost died in a bomb attack (this might have been one of her exit points that she chose not to take, for example; many modern mediums have this kind of concept in their theories). She was also easily undone at the end of her career (though she is still currently incarnate), whereas every time this person seems to meet with disaster, he is saved at the eleventh hour from having to fall on his sword. I am no medium (my speciality is future divination, and I know that this person's time in office is almost at an end) but would be interested - from an academic point of view; I studied politics at university and find spiritualism and other "occult" techniques such as divination to have opened up a whole new field that might some day get me a big fat research grant! - to find out who surrounds this person, what he has done to keep people in line and why.

As you said, it just a different interpretation put on it while we are incarnate in different regions & cultures.

Hell & Heavens are also planes of existence just like ours. They are as real as the earthly plane. All the worlds (Lokas) and all the Tirthas (sacred rivers) are existent in the human being himself, if he has belief in the scriptures. One can enjoy heaven or hell in this birth if he so wishes. The greater the grossness, the more intense will be the torture and suffering till such time as the individual is refined and fit for the descent of the Lord’s grace by repeated calcinations or purificatory processes.

If you want to enjoy heaven on earth, go on purifying yourself by controlling the lower mind, the desires and cravings. All is bliss, all is joy, all is happiness then. If you allow a free rein to the horses of the senses and yield to the prompting of the devilish mind, if you follow the path of Adharma, hell itself will prevail, not elsewhere in some incredible region, but here on this earth itself.

God Bless All.

The nature of balance is to accept the earthly flesh but aspire to Heaven. As a human I have certain needs; many who are able to rise above the satisfaction of those needs are able then to pursue further enlightenment, just as societies who have risen above subsistence level are able to develop industry and technology far beyond the wildest dreams of all but their most intelligent/"aware" ancestors.

I am not suggesting give in to the desires of the flesh (hence the Seven Deadly Sins in Catholic theology) but withdrawing from the world and leaving others to their own fates is not the path that I have chosen in this life. One must be "in the world, but not of the world"...

But interesting ideas nonetheless. I take it you are a Buddhist or Hindu yourself and are not merely quoting someone else?