CHAPTER 6, LIFE BEYOND DEATH IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD
THE PASSAGE BEYOND
The passage into the next life at the moment of death is a nearly
impenetrable mystery for us who have not yet experienced it. There are
published accounts of near-death experiences by people who have been
resuscitated from clinical death; they report a passing into another
world, meeting a being of light, and feeling great warmth and accepting
love. Perhaps they have experienced the first stages of the passage.
But the religions of the world are nearly unanimous in describing
another, less comfortable event: the individual undergoes a judgment
where he must review his life with unsparing honesty. Yet even at that
crucial moment the dying person may, by focusing his mind on God and
accepting the Light that seems to embrace him, leap to a higher realm.
Thus texts like the Tibetan Book of the Dead and the Bhagavad Gita give
counsel on the way to assure a safe passage. Jainism, above all,
emphasizes the importance of control in the transition from this life to
the next by the ideal of Sallekhana, the holy death, which is attained
by the aspirant as he exerts himself in fasting and meditation.
The Self, having in dreams enjoyed the pleasures of sense, gone
hither and thither, experienced good and evil, hastens back to the state
of waking from which he started.
As a man passes from dream to wakefulness, so does he pass from
this life to the next.
When a man is about to die, the subtle body, mounted by the
intelligent self, groans--as a heavily laden cart groans under its
burden.
When his body becomes thin through old age or disease, the dying
man separates himself from his limbs, even as a mango or a fig or a
banyan fruit separates itself from its stalk, and by the same way that
he came he hastens to his new abode, and there assumes another body, in
which to begin a new life.
When his body grows weak and he becomes apparently unconscious,
the dying man gathers his senses about him and, completely withdrawing
their powers, descends into his heart. No more does he see form or
color without.
He neither sees, nor smells, nor tastes. He does not speak, he
does not hear. He does not think, he does not know. For all the
organs, detaching themselves from his physical body, unite with his
subtle body. Then the point of his heart, where the nerves join, is
lighted by the light of the Self, and by that light he departs either
through the eye, or through the gate of the skull, or through some other
aperture of the body. When he thus departs, life departs; and when life
departs, all the functions of the vital principle depart. The Self
remains conscious, and, conscious, the dying man goes to his abode. The
deeds of this life, and the impressions they leave behind, follow him.
As a caterpillar, having reached the end of a blade of grass,
takes hold of another blade and draws itself to it, so the Self, having
left behind it [a body] unconscious, takes hold of another body and
draws himself to it.
As a goldsmith, taking an old gold ornament, molds it into
another, newer and more beautiful, so the Self, having given up the body
and left it unconscious, takes on a new and better form, either that of
the Fathers, or that of the Celestial Singers, or that of the gods, or
that of other beings, heavenly or earthly. 1.
Hinduism. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.3.34-4.4.4
Pre-recorded is the year and hour of nuptials:
Gather ye all to anoint the door-step.
Friend! utter blessing that with the Lord,
the departed be united.
In each home arrives this courier-packet,
Calls continually keep arriving.
Says Nanak, Contemplate Him who sends the call.
May the day of union for each arrive!
2.
Sikhism. Adi Granth, Kirtan Sohila, M.1, p. 12
O nobly-born... the body which you have now is called the thought-body
of propensities. Since you do not have a material body of flesh and
blood, whatever may come--sounds, lights, or rays--are, all three,
unable to harm you; you are incapable of dying. It is quite sufficient
for you to know that these apparitions are your own thought-forms.
Recognize this to be the Bardo (the intermediate state after death).
3.
Buddhism. Tibetan Book of the Dead
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Brihadanyaka Upanishad 4.3.34-4.4.4: Cf. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
4.3.11-14, pp. 333f. These verses deal with rebirth for those who have
not attained the highest. The Upanishad (4.4.6-7, p. 352) describes the
passage of those who will pass beyond the realm of samsara to unity with
Brahman. Kirtan Sohila, M.1: The passage to death is welcomed with this
Peal of Laudation, recited at the finale of the funeral service as well
as daily as an evening prayer. Union with Creator is likened to
marriage. Through absorption in praising God, the soul on departing the
body will find union with God and escape the wheel of transmigration.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Those who remember me at the time of death will come to me. Do not
doubt this. Whatever occupies the mind at the time of death determines
the destiny of the dying; always they will tend toward that state of
being. Therefore, remember me at all times....
Remembering me at the time of death, close down the doors of the senses
and place the mind in the heart. Then, while absorbed in meditation,
focus all energy upwards towards the head. Repeating in this state the
divine Name, the syllable OM that represents the changeless Brahman, you
will go forth from the body and attain the supreme goal. 4.
Hinduism. Bhagavad Gita 8.5-7, 12-13
If this thought occurs to a monk, "I am sick and not able, at
this time, to regularly mortify the flesh," that monk should regularly
reduce his food; regularly reducing his food and diminishing his sins,
he should take proper care of his body, being immovable like a beam;
exerting himself he dissolves his body....
This is the truth: speaking truth, free from passion, crossing
the samsara, abating irresoluteness, knowing all truth and not being
known, leaving this frail body. Overcoming all sorts of pains and
troubles through trust in this, he accomplishes this fearful religious
death. Even thus he will in due time put an end to existence. This has
been adopted by many who were free from delusion; it is good, wholesome,
proper, beatifying, meritorious. Thus I say. 5.
Jainism. Acarangasutra 1.7.6
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Bhagavad Gita 8.5-13: This teaches that one's prayer and attitude at the
time of death is all-important for the soul's subsequent journey.
Regardless of the quality of one's life, just remembering God at the
time of death can lead to liberation. Yet since death may come
suddenly, and may be accompanied by much pain and distraction, the habit
of remembering God should be nurtured throughout life. Some Hindus name
their children with divine names in order that, at the time of death,
the natural human desire to think of one's children will cause them to
meditate on the divine name and thus win beatitude. For instance, the
story of Ajamil in Srimad Bhagavatam 6.1 describes a dishonest man who
on his deathbed lay thinking of his youngest son called Narayana (a name
of Krishna), and hence inadvertently he found liberation. In contrast
to this view, see Qur'an 4.17-18, p. 907. Acarangasutra 1.7.6:
Sallekhana means to fast oneself to death while in the complete control
of the passions through meditation and in full mindfulness. Such a holy
death leads to Nirvana or to rebirth in the celestial realms. Lay
people and monks alike may aspire to the holy death when the body has
begun to deteriorate in old age or from a terminal illness. Then, under
proper supervision and according to established ritual, they make an end
that is at the same time a moment of purity, free of passion or
delusion. Cf. Uttaradhyayana Sutra 4.7, p. 741; Gittin 57b, p. 886.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
At the moment of death the sum of all the experiences of life on
earth comes to the surface of the mind--for in the mind are stored all
impressions of past deeds--and the dying man then becomes absorbed in
these experiences. Then comes complete loss of memory. Next there
arises before man's mind the vision of his life to come, a vision
regulated by his impressions of his past deeds; and he no longer
recollects his life on earth. This complete forgetfulness of his past
identity is death.
His complete acceptance of another state and identification with
a new body is said to be his birth. He no longer remembers his past
life, and, though he has existed before, he considers himself newly
born.
His next birth is regulated by the deeds of the present life--the
deeds which make up his character. If his character is dominated by
light, he achieves a higher birth, that of a deva or of a sage; if by
passion, he is returned to earth as a demon or as a man; and if by
darkness he is born from the lower wombs. 6.
Hinduism. Srimad Bhagavatam 11.15
Leaving the dead body on the ground like a log of wood or a clod
of earth, the relatives depart with averted faces; but spiritual merit
follows the soul.
Let him therefore always slowly accumulate spiritual merit, in
order that it may be his companion after death; for without merit as his
companion he will traverse a gloom difficult to traverse.
That companion speedily conducts the man who is devoted to duty
and effaces his sins by austerities, to the next world, radiant and
clothed with an ethereal body. 7.
Hinduism. Laws of Manu 4.241-43
He, having effected an activity of body that is harmful, effected an activity
of speech that is harmful, effected an activity of mind that is harmful,
arises in a world that is harmful. Because he has uprisen in a world that is
harmful, harmful sensory impingements assail him. He, being assailed by
harmful sensory impingements, experiences a harmful feeling, without exception
painful, even as do creatures in Niraya Hell. In this way, there is the
uprising of a being from what he has come to be; he uprises according to what
he does; when he has uprisen sensory impingements assail him. So I speak
thus: Creatures are heir to deeds.
8.
Buddhism. Majjhima Nikaya i.389-90, Kukkuravatikasutta
And every man's augury have we fastened to his own neck, and We shall bring
forth for him on the Day of Resurrection a book which he will find wide open.
"Read your book! Your soul suffices as a reckoner against your this day."
9.
Islam. Qur'an 17.13-14
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Srimad Bhagavatam 11.15: 'Light' (sattva), 'passion' (rajas), and 'darkness'
(tamas) are the three gunas, qualities of embodied existence; see Bhagavad
Gita 18.40, p. 383. This passage speaks of a new embodied birth, and is not
the way of the highest soul, who is no longer entangled in the fetters of the
gunas. Cf. Svetasvatara Upanishad 5.11-12, p. 696. Laws of Manu 4.241-243:
Cf. Laws of Manu 4.238-39, p. 338; Dhammapada 219-20, p. 338. Majjhima Nikaya
i.389-90: Cf. Qur'an 28.83-84, p. 339; Majjhima Nikaya iii.202-06, pp. 697f;
Garland Sutra 10, p. 188. Qur'an 17.13-14: Cf. Qur'an 39.47-48, p. 190.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Towards the wicked man and the righteous one
And him in whom right and wrong meet
Shall the Judge act in upright manner,
According to the laws of the present existence.
10.
Zoroastrianism. Avesta, Yasna 33.1
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it; from His presence
earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead,
great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also
another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged
by what was written in the books, by what they had done.
11.
Christianity. Bible, Revelation 20.11-12
After you depart this life, God shall demand a reckoning of your deeds
That in His ledger are recorded.
Those that are rebellious, shall be summoned.
Azrael, the angel of death, will hover over them,
And trapped in a blind alley they will know not any escape.
Saith Nanak, Falsehood must be destroyed;
Truth in the end shall prevail.
12.
Sikhism. Adi Granth, Ramkali-ki-Var 13, M.1, p. 953
At the gates of the land of the dead
You will pass before a searching Judge.
His justice is true and he will examine your feet,
He will know how to find every stain,
Whether visible or hidden under the skin;
If you have fallen on the way he will know.
If the Judge finds no stains on your feet
Open your belly to joy, for you have overcome
And your belly is clean.
13.
African Traditional Religion. Dahomey Song
They that are born are destined to die; and the dead to be brought to life
again; and the living to be judged, to know, to make known, and to be made
conscious that He is God, He the Maker, He the Creator, He the Discerner,
He the Judge, He the Witness, He the Complainant; He it is that will in
future judge, blessed be He, with whom there is no unrighteousness, nor
forgetfulness, nor respect of persons, nor taking of bribes. Know also
that everything is according to reckoning; and let not your imagination
give you hope that the grave will be a place of refuge for you. For
perforce you were formed, and perforce you were born, and perforce you
live, and perforce you will die, and perforce you will in the future have
to give account and reckoning before the King of kings, the Holy One,
blessed be He.
14.
Judaism. Mishnah, Abot 4.29
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Yasna 33.1: Cf. Yasna 48.4, p. 409; Book of Mormon, Alma 41:3-4, p. 190.
Revelation 20.11-12: Cf. Matthew 25.31-45, p. 990; Abot 3.20, p. 187; Qur'an
99.6-8, p. 190. Abot 4.29: Cf. Abot 3.20, p. 187.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Behold, two guardian angels appointed to learn [man's doings] learn and
note them, one sitting on the right and one on the left. Not a word does
he utter but there is a sentinel by him, ready to note it. And the stupor
of death will bring truth before his eyes, "This was the thing which you
were trying to escape!"
15.
Islam. Qur'an 50.17-19
Anything evil refrain from doing; all good deeds do! So will you be
released forever from the influence of evil stars, and always be
encompassed by good guardian angels.
16.
Taoism. Tract of the Quiet Way
The Good Spirit, who was born simultaneously with you, will come now and
count out your good deeds with white pebbles, and the Evil Spirit, who was
born simultaneously with you, will come and count out your evil deeds with
black pebbles. Thereupon you will be greatly frightened, awed, and
terrified, and will tremble; and you will attempt to tell lies, saying, "I
have not committed any evil deed."
Then the Lord of Death will say, "I will consult the Mirror of
karma." He will look in the Mirror, wherein every good and evil act is
vividly reflected. Lying will be of no avail.
Then one of the executive furies of the Lord of Death will place a
rope around your neck and drag you along; he will cut off your head,
extract your heart, pull out your intestines, lick up your brain, drink
your blood, eat your flesh, and gnaw your bones; but you will be incapable
of dying. Although your body be hacked to pieces, it will revive again.
The repeated hacking [symbolizing the pangs of the deceased's conscience]
will cause intense pain and torture.
Even at the time that the pebbles are being counted out, be not
frightened; tell no lies; and fear not the Lord of Death.
Your body being a mental body is incapable of dying even though
beheaded and quartered. In reality, your body is of the nature of
voidness; you need not be afraid. The Lords of Death are your own
hallucinations. Your desire-body is a body of propensities, and void.
Voidness cannot injure voidness; the qualityless cannot injure the
qualityless. Apart from one's own hallucinations, in reality there are no
such things existing outside oneself as Lord of Death, or god, or demon.
Act so as to recognize this. 17.
Buddhism. Tibetan Book of the Dead
The self is the maker and non-maker, and itself makes happiness and
misery, is its own friend and its own foe, decides its own condition good
or evil, and is its own river Veyarana [the river in which hell-beings are
tormented].
18.
Jainism. Madaghishloka
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Qur'an 50.17-19: Cf. Qur'an 13.10-11, p. 190; 41.30-31, p. 368. Tract of
the Quiet Way: Cf. Abot 4.13, p. 338. Tibetan Book of the Dead: Cf.
Milarepa, p. 381. Madaghishloka: Cf. Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of
Life 4.28-35, p. 392.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
When we subject ourselves to the least discrimination or
particularization, transformation takes place; otherwise, all things
remain as void as space, as they inherently are. By dwelling our mind on
evil things, hell arises. By dwelling our mind on good acts, paradise
appears. Dragons and snakes are the transformations of venomous hatred,
while heavenly Bodhisattvas are mercy personified. The upper regions are
Wisdom crystallized, while the underworld is only another form of
ignorance and infatuation.
19.
Buddhism. Sutra of Hui Neng 6
Naturally every Hopi wants to join the spirits of his loved ones
who have passed beyond. To that end he keeps his heart pure and is kind
and generous to other people.
When a bad person, one who is known as "not-Hopi," dies, his fate
is very different. Witches called the "Two Hearts" take him by the hand
as soon as the breath is out of his body, and they lead him away to their
own country. The country of the Two Hearts is as bad as they are
themselves. 20.
Native American Religions. Hopi tradition
The Trumpet will be sounded, and whoever is in heaven and whoever
is on earth will be stunned, except for someone God may wish. Then
another [blast] will be blown and behold, they will stand there watching!
The earth will shine through its Lord's light and the Book will be laid
open. Prophets and witnesses will be brought in, and judgment will be
pronounced among them formally, and they will not be harmed. Every soul
will be repaid for whatever it has done; He is quite aware of what they
are doing.
The ones who disbelieve will be driven along to hell in throngs
until, just as they come up to it, its gates will swing open and its
keepers will say to them, "Did not messengers come to you from among
yourselves reciting your Lord's verses to you and warning you about
meeting [Him] on this day of yours?" They will say, "Of course!" But the
Sentence about torment has still come due for disbelievers. Someone else
will say, "Enter hell's gates to remain there. What an awful lodging will
it be for the overbearing!"
The ones who have heeded their Lord will be driven along to the
Garden in throngs until just as they come up to it, its gates will swing
open and its keepers will tell them, "Peace be upon you! You have been
good, so enter it to remain there." They will say, "Praise be to God who
has held true to His promise for us and let us inherit the earth! We shall
settle down anywhere we wish to in the Garden. How favored are such
workers' wages!"
You will see the angels clustering around the Throne hymning their
Lord's praise. Judgment will be pronounced on them formally, and they
will say, "Praise be to God, Lord of the universe!" 21.
Islam. Qur'an 39.68-75
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Qur'an 39.68-75: Cf. Qur'an 69.13-37, p. 1098.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Whoever, man or woman, O Wise Lord,
Shall give me what thou knowest is the best of this existence,
To wit--reward for righteousness and the dominion with the Good Mind--
And all those whom I shall induce to worship such as you,
With all those will I cross the Bridge of the Separator!
The sacrificers and the sorcerer princes
Have subdued mankind to the yoke of their dominion,
To destroy existence through evil deeds:
They shall be tortured by their own soul and their own conscience,
When they come to the Bridge of the Separator,
Forever to be inmates of the House of Evil.
22.
Zoroastrianism. Avesta, Yasna 46.10-11
God will then set up a bridge over Gehenna and intercession will be
allowed, and they will say, "O God, keep safe, keep safe." The believers
will then pass over like the twinkling of an eye, like lightning, like
wind, like a bird, like the finest horses and camels. Some will escape
and be kept safe, some will be lacerated [by flesh-hooks and thorns which
will rise up from Gehenna] and let go, and some will be pushed into the
fire of Gehenna.
23.
Islam. Hadith of Bukhari and Muslim
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Yasna 46.10-11: Zarathustra promises blessings for those who support him and
help the teaching achieve dominion in the world, and woe for the evil-doers
who practice false religion. The 'Bridge of the Separator,' where the
righteous and the wicked will be sorted out, is an image also found in popular
Islam, as in the following tradition. Compare also the Hindu theme of
crossing the waters: see Atharva Veda 12.2.26-27, p. 543. Hadith of Bukhari
and Muslim: This bridge is called Sirat.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
|