The enlightened Lila said: O Goddess, kindly
enlighten me concerning death: is it pleasant or unpleasant, and what happens
after death?
Sarasvati said: There are three types of
human beings, my dear: the fool, one who is practicing concentration and
meditation, and the yogi (or intelligent one). The two latter types of human
beings abandon the body by the practice 'of the yoga of concentration and
meditation and depart at their sweet will and pleasure.
But, the fool who has not practiced
concentration or meditation, being at the mercy of forces outside himself,
experiences great anguish at the approach of death.
He wishes to express his suffering, but
is unable to do so. Gradually, his senses lose their power; and he is unable
even to think. Therefore he sinks in unwisdom and ignorance.
When there is cessation of the flow of
the life breath, the consciousness of the individual becomes utterly passive.
Please remember, O Lila, that consciousness is pure, eternal and infinite:
it does not arise nor cease to be. It is ever there in the moving and unmoving
creatures, in the sky, on the mountain and in fire and air.
When life breath ceases, the body
is said to be 'dead' or 'inert'. The life breath returns to its source—air—and
consciousness freed from memory and tendencies remains as the self.
After a momentary lapse of consciousness,
the jiva begins to fancy that it sees another body, another world and another
lifespan.
O Lila, there are six categories of such
'departed souls': bad, worse and worst sinners; good, better, best of virtuous
ones. Of course, there are subdivisions among these, too.
(In the case of some of the worst
sinners, the momentary lapse of consciousness may last a considerable time.)
The worst among the sinners undergo
terrible sufferings in hell and then are born in countless living species,
before they see the end of their agony. They might even exist as trees for a
long time.
The middling among sinners also suffer
lapse of consciousness for a considerable time; and then are born as worms and
animals.
The light sinners are soon reborn as
human beings.
The best among the righteous ascend to
heaven and enjoy life there. Later they are born in good and affluent families
on earth.
The middling among the righteous go to
the region of the celestials, and return to the earth as children of brahmanas,
etc.
Even the righteous among the departed
ones, after enjoying such heavenly pleasures, have to pass through the realms
of the demigods to suffer the consequences of the iniquities they might
have committed.
SARASVATI continued:
All these departed souls experience
within themselves the fruition of their own past actions. At first there is the
notion 'I am dead', and then 'I am being carried away by the messengers
of the god of death'.
The righteous among them fancy that they
are taken to heaven; and the ordinary sinners fancy that they are standing in
the court of the god of death where, with the help of Chitragupta (the
hidden record of one's deeds), they are being tried and judged for their past
life.
Love
