Life After Life: Lifting the Veil on Death

By Rajendra Kher

Two great truths govern human existence: impermanence is the law of the Universe and therefore it is inevitable, but the jeewatma (soul) is permanent and lives forever. When one views human existence from the perspective of this knowledge, then the only certitude is that there is no death.

With the materialization of the Universe the wheel of time was set in motion, imprinting preordained impermanence. Yet, despite the world’s impermanence, Man is offered the opportunity of acquiring knowledge and achieving spiritual growth within his lifespan. The cosmic soul momentarily adopts a human body to experience advancement in human form. But when the jeewatma departs the physical body from one of the five koshas (sheaths), it is released from this confinement and bondage into the joyful revelation of its true nature. The soul experiences divine love and achieves a state of timelessness. The demise of the human body thus becomes the moment for joyful fulfillment – when the jeewatma achieves ultimate growth and eternal beauty. Though the human form and external body decays, the jeewatma or the subtle body/soul, remains intact in its true and original form.

Litterateur Rajendra Kher has spent long years studying the subject of death. He has researched both ancient and modern references, as well as the Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad-Gita, Srimad Bhagvatam and various mythological literature in his attempt to unravel and comprehend death and ‘life after life’. He has also analyzed the personal experiences of rishis, scholars, masters and yogis; adding his findings to the book to make it comprehensive.

The gift contained in these pages is the lifting of the veil on death. In so doing, it frees each of us from unknown fears and dread about death and dying, enabling us to experience instead, true happiness and the grace of living.

• Language: English
• Publisher: One Point Six Technologies Pvt Ltd
• Release date: Apr 18, 2019
• ISBN: 9789352016938

Book preview

PROLOGUE

Death! The little word evokes a mental shudder! One who is born must also die. No one can escape death. The idea of death makes life, with all it’s hustle bustle, seem futile. The thought of leaving behind all one’s hard earned achievements, gained through ceaseless effort, is deeply unsettling for many, as is the thought of departing from this world for an unknown destination. The mind begins asking questions: Is there life after death? If so, what will that life be like?

Based on thoughts nurtured during one’s life, every individual tries to gauge his role and draw conclusions about death. A category of individuals strongly disbelieve the existence of the Divine or that there is rebirth. But there is another category who equally strongly believes that divinity guides human existence, and there is indeed rebirth. The percentage of ‘faithful believers’ is very high. However, nearly everyone harbours uncertainty about life after death, rather like an anxious individual departing for an unknown, foreign land for the first time, having led a sheltered life at home. Just as such a person worries about the new environment and life in a new place, so also our minds are full of anxiety about life after death.

But a normal human brain has limitations since it has not experienced an afterlife. The idea remains unfathomable, mainly because the mind is designed to think on the basis of its own references and cannot judge anything beyond its perimeter. So a life after this life is a mysterious concept for the human brain. And yet, many thoughtful and studious individuals continue to ponder questions like: Does the Self exist after death? If it does, where will ‘I’ be? What will the afterlife be like?’ Will a material world exists just like the one on this earth or will it be a different state?’ Will there be someone to support and look after me or will I have to take on that unknown journey alone? In this way, a multitude of thoughts crowd the human mind.

However, common people submerged in the struggle of day-to-day living, in eking out a livelihood, often harbour no scary thoughts of death. They are eqully oblivious to thoughts of good and bad deeds or the concept of recompensing the same during one’s current life, as well as after death. Hence, an ignorance or careless disregard of such philosophy, about an unseen future, is often observed in ordinary people. In its place is an attitude of ‘enjoy today for who has seen tomorrow?’

Many people strongly experience the heart rending and inevitable reality of death on three occasions: one, when they witness the death of a loved one; two, when they observe someone battling for life in the Intensive Care Unit; and three, when they visit a cemetery or attend a funeral. But the intensity of thoughts about death slowly slip into oblivion as they once again become preoccupied with the chores of their day-to-day lives. This is then a major difference between ordinary people and learned sages, savants and ascetics.

In the 15th century, there was mystic poet-saint born in the Punjab called Kabir. A weaver by profession, he would become blissfully absorbed in meditation while weaving. In his trance state, he would compose inspiring poems, mainly lyrical verses in the form of couplets known as dohas. He acquired self-knowledge and was thus free of the fear of death. His dohas and philosophy made him widely known.

A man from a distant place once came in search of Kabir, whom he had never seen, only heard about. Kabir’s wife welcomed the traveller and told him Kabir had gone to attend a neighbour’s funeral and was at the cemetery. The man immediately said he would seek Kabitr there but asked, ‘How will I recognize him?’ Kabir’s wife replied, ‘A radiant aura constantly surrounds his head. Look for the aura and you will see Kabir.’

The visitor reached the cemetery. It was difficult to locate Kabir among the many attendee, each of whom had an aura around their heads. The visitor waited. As the people began to emerge from the cemetery after the funeral, the aura around their heads vanished! This was so because their realization of the truth was limited to their presence at the graveside, in the presence of death. However, Kabir being knowledge incarnate, his aura remained intact. The visitor thus recognized him as the wise sage.

This metaphorical story lucidly depicts that for most people, the heart-rending realization of death is temporary, confined to their proximity to the dead or dying. It is thus only when an individual emerges from the constricted cocoon of ignorance and analyses the meaning of life and death from a philosophical persepective that he begins to truly learn about life after death.

Sometimes, when an individual undergoes some mental trauma, the resultant frustration propels him towards philosophy, but in this process there is helplessness and inability. Individuals also turn to philosophy when they deeply experience the futility of the aimless rush of daily life in a material world. From such profound thoughts emerge a pair of questions, each with two sub-questions:

1. Who am I? From where have I come? Where will I go after I discard this body?

2. Why am I here? What is expected of me here? What will I take away when I depart from this world?

When such questions take shape in one’s mind, a person inadvertently gets drawn towards philosophy. He starts believing in rebirth, in life after death. For some people, the thought of re-birth is the outcome of mental necessity. There are some who actually experience a close encounter with death, widely known as NDE (Near Death Experience). Such individuals are totally entranced by the experience. The unbounded joy of this fleeting experience eradicates the fear of death from their minds. They unknowingly acquire the meaning and importance of human life. Such persons universally say that after that unique experience, they are able to spend the rest of their life without worry or fear.

If life after death is so beautiful and pleasant, the question arises: Why are ordinary people ignorant about it? A possible answer is that if ordinary people experience the blissful happiness and the ephemeral experience of that unique world, they will lose interest in their day-to-day lives. That is why this particular portion of human memory remains dormant. But, if one is genuinely interested in obtaining knowledge of the cycle of human birth and death or life after death, then, just as a person accesses password controlled folders and files on the computer, he has to search through the folders and files scientifically stored in his brain. The password to accessing the folders and files in the human brain is Yoga. Practicing yoga offers you the key to unlock the treasure trove of knowledge on this subject. As Sri Krishna tells Arjuna in the Bhagavad-Gita, Bhagwan: ‘Yoga is the master key to knowledge’.

I have neither practiced yoga nor have I had a Near Death Experience myself, but nevertheless I have travelled this path twice in my life. Twenty years ago, I suffered a bad attack of asthma and one day, I almost stopped breathing. I was rushed to the hospital and administered fifteen injections of Broncho dilators via a drip. Gradually I revived and my breathing returned to normal. In another incident, I became unconscious. When I recovered consciousness, I realized that I was undergoing a CT scan of my brain in hospital. Fortunately no abnormality was detected but it was observed that my brain had not functioned for a period of an hour. The doctor had jotted: ‘Temporary memory loss’. I do not remember anything about that hour but the fact remains that I continued to exist. I survived that hour with a non-functioning brain. My memory was blocked for the duration and none of my sensory organs sensed anything. Yet, it was a fact that I had walked on my own from the room in my house to the car at the gate, sat in the car, walked from the hospital gate to the CT scan room and lay down on the table.

During the CT scan I regained consciousness and got my memory back, except for the blank hour. At the time, neither was I suffering from any ailment nor did I have any injury to the brain. Perhaps the Divine had blessed me with some specific knowledge through these two experiences. I certainly realized that we exist on a different level besides the actions we execute and routinely perform by focussing our brain on physical and emotional reactions. Another thing I strongly realized is that there is a world beyond the boundaries of the human intellect, which cannot be fathomed by the human brain. The two are like parallel lines, which must be made aware of each other. To understand life after death is beyond the capacity of our normal intellect. Thus, if we wish to study that abtruse area with the intellectual power at our disposal, we need to take into account the following six factors, which transcend our own experience:

1. The knowledge and experiences detailed by ancient sages and rishis .

2. The experiences of harmony of the Atman (soul or self) and the Paramatma (the supreme principle), through yoga.

3. Near Death Experiences (NDE).

4. Automatic Writing.

5. Past Life Regression through hypnosis.

6. Revelation in the form of knowledge imparted to disciples by sages after their deaths and as reincarnations.

Based on these six, this book contains lucid information on death, the journey of the soul, rebirth, the various planes of heaven and purgatory, the reality of those unknown, obscure places, the age-old values of previous births and the karmic bond, the world of dreams, measures to breach the karmic bond, the Divine form and the beautiful universe, and the various ways to acquire self-knowledge. I firmly believe this book will help to eradicate negativity about death and act as a stimulus to the profound inherent spirituality within us; providing an impetus to lead a beautiful life and acknowledge it with gratitude.

*****

1

TRANSFORMATION:

THE LAW OF NATURE

When Life does not find a singer to sing her heart,

she produces a philosopher to speak her mind.

Khalil Gibran

It is appropriate to first acquire knowledge of life before one explores ‘life after life’, the unknown territory of life after death. As a matter of fact, unless we acquire such knowledge of human life, the study of life after death remains incomplete.

The study of, not only human life but also the tangible world, begins from the birth of the universe. The Big Bang theory professes that the universe was the outcome of a huge explosion. There is also a belief that this vast universe is the result of the expansion of a microscopic particle. Renowned scientist, Stephen Hawking, has stated in his book, A Brief History Of Time, that the universe does not owe its creation to Divine intervention. ‘One could still imagine,’ he writes, ‘that God created the universe at the instant of big bang, or even afterwards in just such a way as to make it look as though there had been a big bang, but it would be meaningless to suppose that it was created before the big bang. An expanding universe does not preclude a creator, but it does place limits on when he might have carried out his job!’ Many people uphold Stephen Hawking’s statement. One of our ancient Hindu texts, the Padma Purana, puts forth the theory of the creation of the universe that is similar to the Big Bang. It mentions tht a huge golden egg broke open and the central void transformed into the sky and on the two halves, the world of living creatures and water reservoirs were formed. Some questions immediately arise: Who made the golden egg? Who made the microscopic particle expand? Who stimulated the Big Bang (explosion)?

Scientists, with the help of the theory of evolution, principles of physics and mathematical calculations, may perhaps arrive at the scientific cause of creation, but the fact remains they have yet to grasp the answers to the most basic questions! We cannot vouch for the veracity of the creation of the universe till we find the reason behind all reasons, addressing the basic questions. Besides, human intelligence, as well as mathematical principles, are incapable of reach the answers to these basic questions. In the tangible world there are many unanswered questions. Instead of pondering on the entire universe, it is perhaps more worthwhile to contemplate the creation of all living creatures, including human beings. This will help us tremendously in studying life after death and life after life.

Many scholars, including Charles Darwin, who have put forth the theory of evolution, believe that the living world originated in water. They have supported their theories with deep analysis. But, then again, the question arises: How were the first living creatures born in water? From where did they originate? One point of view is that it was the outcome of the fusion of two atoms or some chemical reaction, whilst another point of view is that the first living creature came from space. Again, a string of questions arise: Who created the two atoms? Who brought about the chemical fusion?

In fact, it ought to be feasible to create a human being who can talk, walk and think by mixing together the basic elements, chemicals and minerals available in the human body, but it does not happen. Perhaps a being can be replicated and programmed to act like a human, using the power of electricity, but ‘life’ cannot be added into it. This seems to prove beyond doubt that the element which induces the physical and mental capabilities in the human body is something entirely different to the body itself.

Whether the first living creature was born in the water or appeared from space, the question remains: What was the element that made it possible to multiply into a billion lives, including human beings? From the seed of a banyan tree only a banyan tree can germinate, not a mango tree. Then how did one or two microbes introduced the capacity of reproducing into billons of lives and species? To answer this, only philosophy can help.

There are two words in Sanskrit which always follow each other – Rutam vachmi, Satyam vachmi; they have a profound meaning. Rutam means the fundamental invisible concept of an object and Satyam is truth – the visible manifestation of Rutam. This means Satyam, the one which gets expressed, becomes visible only because of the in-built presence of Rutam, the fundamental invisible element. Butter and ghee are both processed from milk. Hence they are already present in milk, in invisible form. By the process of conversion they take visible form. Similarly, the seed of the banyan tree already contains the miniscule form of the huge, preordained banyan tree. Hence the conclusion is: When the tangible world manifests before our eyes, the cause is Rutam, the basic element.

The next question is: Who is the virtuoso who has the skill to create this microscopic basic element, Rutam, which is capable of producing of billions of living creatures by integrating into atoms and microbes? Or do we assume this basic element also came into existence automatically, all by itself? In short, the universe was somehow triggered on its own. Since the derivator and its prime mover are invisible, many are of the opinion that all of nature began functioning by some accident of creation. This illusory thought is nothing but ignorance.

Even if one sets aside other living species, the human brain itself is unfathomable. Just as someone claiming that advanced computers just came into existence on their own, faces ridcule, the claim that the human brain, which is much more complex and unfathomable than any computer, came into existence on its own, is equally ridiculous. This universe is a significant, meaningful creation and its Creator is also extant. This knowledge is accessible only to those few scholars who have sought refuge in divine resources. These mysteries are unravelled only when the intelligence is guided by emotion; when the brain and the heart are in harmony. Arid intelligence alone goes astray in reasoning and reckoning.

It has thus to be acknowledged that behind the creation and management of this multidimensional, multifaceted universe, there is a phenomenal and incredible Intelligence. The universe itself has three main characteristics: Virtual, Variable and Constant. Having once understood these three characteristics, we can then arrive at a decision regarding the state of the human body and soul while assuming the body and on departing it.

I VIRTUAL UNIVERSE

Many thinkers and scholars consider