Preface.
Death is the only thing that's permanent in this life. This post of mine is not to glorify death but a personal journey to learn more about it in the aftermath of my mom's passing away on 04 Sep, last year. Did I not pray enough for her well being? I've this strong feeling that had I done the 'sayana pradakshinam' around Guruvayurappan within the sanctum sanctorum - I'd done it previously in '15 when mom wasn't well while we're on a short visit to Bangalore and she had got all right - she
wouldn't have gone. But why didn't that thought, the urge come to me then?
Having said that is there a cause to celebrate death? It's the release of the soul on its onward progression in the cycle of births before attaining the universal soul or God. So, however, much one is is close to the person who's passed away, it's important to understand that the departed is on an astounding journey that intrigues mankind. Hence the common refrain about maintaining a 'detached attachment' to avoid uncontrolled emotions!
Garuda Puranam helps us to understand this phenomenon. Some of the questions that have bothered mankind about death are cited below.
What happens after death?
* Is there life after death?
* What is death?
* Is death painful?
* What happens after death?
* How does rebirth happen after death?
These death related questions always fill our minds, especially when any of our near or dear ones die. We feel that suddenly a relationship has broken abruptly and wish there could be a connection again. In this quest, our journey to find answers to the above questions begins.
So, what happens after death?
*Disconnection of the earth sole chakras.
Approximately, 4-5 hours before death, the earth sole chakras situated below the foot soles get
detached, symbolising disconnection from the earth plane. Hence, you always notice that the feet
of the person, approaching death, is cold.
*Disconnection of the Astral Cord.
The astral cord is the one that connects the soul to the body. Once this gets cut, the soul gets
free of the body, moves up and out of it. As a soul, always, loves the body it held, it gets
back into the body and tries very hard to move it and stay in it. That's why there's sometimes a
subtle, slight movement of the face or hand even after the person has died. It's actually the
soul trying to get in because it can't believe it's dead! Because the astral cord has been cut, it
cannot stay there and is pushed out of the body. There's a magnetic pull to go up.
*End of the physical body.
At this stage, the soul hears many voices all at a time, which are nothing but the thoughts of
those present in the immediate vicinity. The soul, on its part, talks to its loved ones like it used
to do and shouts that it's not dead but, alas, it cannot be heard. Slowly and steadily, the soul
realises that it's dead and there's no way back. Generally, it will be there around the body till its
disposal. So, next time if you see a body being carried for cremation, understand that the soul
is also part of the procession, seeing, hearing and witnessing everything and everyone.
*Detachment from the body.
Once the cremation is done, the soul realises that the main essence of its survival is lost, the body
it held for so many years has dissolved in the five elements. The soul experiences complete
freedom, the boundaries it had while being in the body are gone, it can reach anywhere by mere
thought. For seven days, the soul moves about its places of interest like its favourite joint, the
garden, office, children's homes etc. By the end of the seventh day, the soul says bye to its
family and moves towards the periphery of the earth plane to cross over to the other side.
*The tunnel.
A big 'tunnel' needs to be crossed by the soul to reach the astral plane. The twelve days after
death are crucial in that we've to carry out the rituals properly, pray and ask for forgiveness from
the soul so that it does not carry negative emotions like hurt, hatred, anger etc, at least, from the
near and dear ones. At the end of the tunnel, it sees a huge bright light signifying its entry into
the astral world.
*On the 11th and 12th days, the soul is united with its ancestors, close friends, relatives and the
the guides. The soul is, then, taken for a thorough review of the life just completed. There is no
judge, there is no God here. It judges itself:-
- Asks for revenge for people who've troubled it.
- Experiences guilt for all its wrongdoings.
- Asks for self punishment to learn the lesson.
Based on this, a complete life structure is prepared by the soul called the 'blueprint'(For example
a person experienced severe headache in his present birth which had no antidote. On doing a
past life regression, he saw that he'd killed a person by hitting and smashing his head, in his
previous birth. In the life review, when he saw it, he became very guilty and asked for the same
pain which the other person had suffered and ended up with the 'never ending headache!)
*Once the review is done, the whole blueprint for the next life is ready and then, there's a
cooling period. It becomes the Agreement.
*The Rebirth.
We're born depending on what we'd asked for in the 'Agreement'. The soul chooses the parents,
enters the mother's womb either at the time of the egg formation or even at the last moment just
before birth. The universe is so perfectly designed that the time and place of birth constitute
the horoscope which is but the 'blueprint' or the 'agreement' that has been worked out!
Once a soul is reborn, for around 40 days the baby remembers its past life and laughs and cries
itself without anyone forcing it. The memory of the past life is completely cut after this and we
experience life as though we didn't exist in the past. In other words, the soul is completely back
in the earth plane.
"So, we don't die, we live on, death does not end it, it's just a break before we meet again".
Tailpiece.
1. Lekha and I'd gone to the Melpathur Auditorium to see the 'arangettam' of my niece, Gopika(aka as 'Thumbi' or butterfly among her friends and family) who is Sarala kunjamma's grand daughter. I find great potential in her, as an exponent of Bharathanatyam because she's nimble footed, graceful in her movements with clarity in the mudras and her expressions.
2. From there, I'd gone to the Geeyem Motors to collect my Chevy which needed a change of its right brake calipers. It was also the last day of Prasobh, my customer care adviser of the last, almost, four years who's shifting berth to the nearby Hyundai. Wished him luck in his endeavours but will miss his disarming smile and caring attitude when I go there from now on.
PS.
My doubts on the treatise, Garuda Puranam are:-
- On the 11th and 12th days, the soul comes across all its ancestors, friends etc.
How's that possible when every one of them is back in the earth plane leading a new life?
- We hold the 16th and the 41st days, after death, as auspicious.
I, myself, have experienced the 'zero watt bulb's explosion' on mom's 41st day. Her soul was
very much present there, I'd like to believe. If yes, how can that be explained? The cooling
period?
Death is the only thing that's permanent in this life. This post of mine is not to glorify death but a personal journey to learn more about it in the aftermath of my mom's passing away on 04 Sep, last year. Did I not pray enough for her well being? I've this strong feeling that had I done the 'sayana pradakshinam' around Guruvayurappan within the sanctum sanctorum - I'd done it previously in '15 when mom wasn't well while we're on a short visit to Bangalore and she had got all right - she
wouldn't have gone. But why didn't that thought, the urge come to me then?
Having said that is there a cause to celebrate death? It's the release of the soul on its onward progression in the cycle of births before attaining the universal soul or God. So, however, much one is is close to the person who's passed away, it's important to understand that the departed is on an astounding journey that intrigues mankind. Hence the common refrain about maintaining a 'detached attachment' to avoid uncontrolled emotions!
Garuda Puranam helps us to understand this phenomenon. Some of the questions that have bothered mankind about death are cited below.
What happens after death?
* Is there life after death?
* What is death?
* Is death painful?
* What happens after death?
* How does rebirth happen after death?
These death related questions always fill our minds, especially when any of our near or dear ones die. We feel that suddenly a relationship has broken abruptly and wish there could be a connection again. In this quest, our journey to find answers to the above questions begins.
So, what happens after death?
*Disconnection of the earth sole chakras.
Approximately, 4-5 hours before death, the earth sole chakras situated below the foot soles get
detached, symbolising disconnection from the earth plane. Hence, you always notice that the feet
of the person, approaching death, is cold.
*Disconnection of the Astral Cord.
The astral cord is the one that connects the soul to the body. Once this gets cut, the soul gets
free of the body, moves up and out of it. As a soul, always, loves the body it held, it gets
back into the body and tries very hard to move it and stay in it. That's why there's sometimes a
subtle, slight movement of the face or hand even after the person has died. It's actually the
soul trying to get in because it can't believe it's dead! Because the astral cord has been cut, it
cannot stay there and is pushed out of the body. There's a magnetic pull to go up.
*End of the physical body.
At this stage, the soul hears many voices all at a time, which are nothing but the thoughts of
those present in the immediate vicinity. The soul, on its part, talks to its loved ones like it used
to do and shouts that it's not dead but, alas, it cannot be heard. Slowly and steadily, the soul
realises that it's dead and there's no way back. Generally, it will be there around the body till its
disposal. So, next time if you see a body being carried for cremation, understand that the soul
is also part of the procession, seeing, hearing and witnessing everything and everyone.
*Detachment from the body.
Once the cremation is done, the soul realises that the main essence of its survival is lost, the body
it held for so many years has dissolved in the five elements. The soul experiences complete
freedom, the boundaries it had while being in the body are gone, it can reach anywhere by mere
thought. For seven days, the soul moves about its places of interest like its favourite joint, the
garden, office, children's homes etc. By the end of the seventh day, the soul says bye to its
family and moves towards the periphery of the earth plane to cross over to the other side.
*The tunnel.
A big 'tunnel' needs to be crossed by the soul to reach the astral plane. The twelve days after
death are crucial in that we've to carry out the rituals properly, pray and ask for forgiveness from
the soul so that it does not carry negative emotions like hurt, hatred, anger etc, at least, from the
near and dear ones. At the end of the tunnel, it sees a huge bright light signifying its entry into
the astral world.
*On the 11th and 12th days, the soul is united with its ancestors, close friends, relatives and the
the guides. The soul is, then, taken for a thorough review of the life just completed. There is no
judge, there is no God here. It judges itself:-
- Asks for revenge for people who've troubled it.
- Experiences guilt for all its wrongdoings.
- Asks for self punishment to learn the lesson.
Based on this, a complete life structure is prepared by the soul called the 'blueprint'(For example
a person experienced severe headache in his present birth which had no antidote. On doing a
past life regression, he saw that he'd killed a person by hitting and smashing his head, in his
previous birth. In the life review, when he saw it, he became very guilty and asked for the same
pain which the other person had suffered and ended up with the 'never ending headache!)
*Once the review is done, the whole blueprint for the next life is ready and then, there's a
cooling period. It becomes the Agreement.
*The Rebirth.
We're born depending on what we'd asked for in the 'Agreement'. The soul chooses the parents,
enters the mother's womb either at the time of the egg formation or even at the last moment just
before birth. The universe is so perfectly designed that the time and place of birth constitute
the horoscope which is but the 'blueprint' or the 'agreement' that has been worked out!
Once a soul is reborn, for around 40 days the baby remembers its past life and laughs and cries
itself without anyone forcing it. The memory of the past life is completely cut after this and we
experience life as though we didn't exist in the past. In other words, the soul is completely back
in the earth plane.
"So, we don't die, we live on, death does not end it, it's just a break before we meet again".
Tailpiece.
1. Lekha and I'd gone to the Melpathur Auditorium to see the 'arangettam' of my niece, Gopika(aka as 'Thumbi' or butterfly among her friends and family) who is Sarala kunjamma's grand daughter. I find great potential in her, as an exponent of Bharathanatyam because she's nimble footed, graceful in her movements with clarity in the mudras and her expressions.
2. From there, I'd gone to the Geeyem Motors to collect my Chevy which needed a change of its right brake calipers. It was also the last day of Prasobh, my customer care adviser of the last, almost, four years who's shifting berth to the nearby Hyundai. Wished him luck in his endeavours but will miss his disarming smile and caring attitude when I go there from now on.
PS.
My doubts on the treatise, Garuda Puranam are:-
- On the 11th and 12th days, the soul comes across all its ancestors, friends etc.
How's that possible when every one of them is back in the earth plane leading a new life?
- We hold the 16th and the 41st days, after death, as auspicious.
I, myself, have experienced the 'zero watt bulb's explosion' on mom's 41st day. Her soul was
very much present there, I'd like to believe. If yes, how can that be explained? The cooling
period?
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