The journey of the Soul: This is the second & final part of this blog that is divided into the following topics:
Part 2 (Final):
5) Journey of the soul upon death – merger of the various elements.
6) Understanding the importance of Water & Fire during cremation rituals.
7) Conclusion
5) Journey of the soul upon death – merger of the various organs:
1) At first, Speech merges into the Mind.
Speech is the subtlest part of the fire element as seen above section and happens because of the following:
“An individual with a desire to speak encourages the mind. The mind strikes the heat (fire element) center at the navel, which then pushes the air (wind) which is the carrier of sound. The sound as energy (Naada) then gradually moves up through stomach, heart, throat, mouth (all these are Spaces within our body) as audible sound (Shabda)” – Ganarahasya Prakashini (Courtesy Prof M G Prasad).
When the speech merges into the mind, all the “functions” related to organs of speech ceases which are lungs, windpipe (trachea) and voice box (larynx) resulting in failure of voice. Merger of speech into the Mind cannot be taken in the literal sense, as it is meant to only convey the pulling back the functions related to speech as per Brahma Sutras. But the Mind continues to function.
2) Mind then enters into Prana or Vital Life force.
Mind which is obtained from food (earth element), includes Buddhi (Intellect) & Ahamkara (Ego caused by Maya or Ignorance), together with Chitta (which is buried subconscious mind). So in essence, our Mind is divided into four parts – 1) Mind (Manas) – faculty used to think 2) Intellect (Buddhi) — faculty that can interpret, know, understand & decide 3) Ego (Ahamkara) – caused by Maya that projects the image of “I” and 4) Chitta- storehouse of feelings, emotions & memory. This merger results in the stopping of all mental activities. Hence all the “functions” related to the mind merge into Prana or the Vital Life force. When a man goes to sleep or about to die, the mental activities cease, but the functions of Prana or Vital Life Force continues.
3) Vital force or Prana enters into the Soul.
When Maha Prana is about to leave the body, all its elements gather around the Jivatman or individual soul just like all subjects gather around the King who is departing. This soul together with the subtle body now has within it all the subtle imprints of the Maha Prana or Chief Prana, Karma, Vasanas, Mind & Intellect that includes Maya or Ignorance. When the gross body consisting of the Five Elements is finally consigned to Fire during cremation, the Causal Body also known as “Karana Sharira” or “Seed Body” stores these imprints in un-manifest form in the Cosmic Womb or Hiranyagarbha – “Womb of Light”. As mentioned in Part 1 of this blog (Click here to refer three part development of man). Water together with Fire or Light can be said to be the medium that carry these imprints from the body! (Refer Sl. No. 6 given in this blog below to understand the significance of fire & water).
The soul that passes away from the body is very subtle in nature & not visible to the human eye and hence the subtle body (Prana, Mind & Intellect) does not perish, only the gross body does. When the body becomes cold at the time of death, it is an indication that the subtle body is no longer active, because it is the subtle body that maintains the heat in the body. (So it clear that the body heat is not generated or maintained by the Gross Body). Causal body or Karana Sharira is however the subtlest, as it is the “seed” of the subtle body.
At the time of a man’s passing, his breath becomes very difficult and laborious. Man forgets that he exists in his current body. His Karmas then create a holographic image of the expected future body in his thought. The soul then attaches to this body of thought which is nothing but pure “unseen” light.
During re-birth of the body:
Causal Body (Karana Sharira) or “Seed” manifests first as Subtle Body (Sukshma sharira) (that generates thought, emotions & desires) and further manifests as gross body (Sthula Sharira) which perceives & acts. The Law of Karma states that this re-birth is according to the individual’s Karma or deeds. A person’s Karma depends on his conduct (Ācara) on earth. Re-birth happens because of Karmic residue (remainder of Karma). So a man is therefore stuck in the continuous cycle of births & deaths till he exhausts this residual karma.
The journey of soul until the time of departure from the body for both the enlightened & un-enlightened is the same. However, there is no re-birth for the enlightened man as he has merged in the Supreme Self or Brahman before his death. This is because he has discarded his vasanas or desires just like a snake that has shed off its skin.
Path followed by the soul during the departure from the body:
It is stated in the scriptures that the Jivatman or individual soul of an evolved being passes through the crown of his head, as he is already liberated through knowledge of Brahman. The departure for the unrealized soul is through other regions of the body (not the crown of the head). Chāndogya Upanishad 8.6.6 states that there are 101 Nadis (invisible channel or nerves) of the heart. Only one of these Nadis go to the crown of the head. Going through this Nadi channel, one becomes immortal. (Another version talks about 72,000 Nadis in the body).
This reason for this is the detachment from the material world. Also, certain meditation practices activate this one particular Nadi which is called the susumnā nadi. This Nadi is connected to the opening (suture) in the crown of the skull known as brahma-randhra – the point where life first entered. From here the soul follows the path of the sun rays to the sun which leads to the world of Brahma. (Brahmaloka – a place where there is no death).
Kausitaki Brahmana 1.1 states: There are two paths after death. 1) Devayana: This is the path of Gods and those who go by this path there is no re-birth on earth. They merge into Brahman and attain liberation. 2) Pitryana: This is the path of our ancestors/manes/ fathers and they depart only to be born again on earth. (Scriptures mention about death being auspicious when the sun moving north after winter solstice known as Uttarayana and inauspicious when the sun is moving south after summer solstice Dakshinayana. Puranas also mentions soul traveling to different worlds or Lokas. This discussion is beyond the scope of this blog).
6) Understanding the importance of Water & Fire during cremation rituals:
I reproduce a short paragraph below from previous blog on Hindu Temples (<Click here for more information). Both Fire & Water are interconnected. When the combustion of fuel (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or PAH in the universe) in the presence of oxygen (Air) takes place, carbon dioxide & water are formed. In addition, when a person grieves or sweats, water is produced because of the heat or fire element existing in our body (Water emanates from the Fire element!). Again, water has Hydrogen & Oxygen. Intense heat can separate hydrogen & oxygen from water. Hydrogen is combustible at the right temperature & concentration and when mixed with oxygen causes Fire/Explosion. (Fire emanates from the Water element!). Fire comes from water but then water is also used to extinguish fire. This is the interaction or interplay of both Fire & Water.
Water creates life (as more than 70% of our body is made up of water) & Fire creates forms & energies (manifestations happen by thought & light). Therefore both fire & water are important elements that are used during “purification” rituals.
- Fire (Agni) – Sound, touch and form (Rupa) are the objects of perception.
- Water (Apah) – Sound, touch, form and taste (Rasa) are the objects of perception.
Water:
Man comes into the world after nine months of staying inside the womb of his mother which is surrounded by water or amniotic fluid. After about 5 months of pregnancy the fluid is mostly baby’s urine. Amniotic fluid has antibodies, hormones & necessary nutrients for the baby’s nourishment. Similarly, when man dies, water dipped in Tulsi leaves is given to him orally and his body bathed in water as a part of the purification ritual. Therefore man comes into this world enveloped in water and also departs the same way – enveloped in water! Water in this sense is like the seed of the body and the major component. Also, as mentioned in my first part of this blog (under the subject three part development of man), the subtlest part of Water becomes Prana or Vital Life Force!
The Chandogya Upanishad (V.3 to 10) narrates that the offering of water is called offering of faith and after it is offered comes to be called “Man”. The Yajna (sacrificial offering in fire) is compared to the heavenly space into which water as “faith” is offered by the Gods. From here arises Soma the moon. Soma is then offered to Fire from which arises rain. Rain is offered to the Fire that brings forth food and this process continues again that gives rise to Semen (Man) and Foetus (Woman).
This is a symbolic way of stating that “Water” is the dominating element and goes through a stage-wise development in Man, resulting finally in the birth of foetus. Faith (offered as water to Fire) – Moon (impacts rain) – Rain (impacts food production) – Food (impacts reproduction) – Foetus (Man – semen & Woman – foetus) is the sequence. Water element is common is all and thus comes to be called man in the fifth “oblation” (oblation means an offering to God) as per this Upanishad.
Note: When the soul departs, it is not surrounded by water alone. Water is only mentioned due to it being dominant in proportion to the others – earth & fire element. Water includes all subtle imprints of mixed elements (Maha Prana, Karma & Vasanas) mentioned earlier that constitute the seed of the body. Manifestation is the union of Sat (Brahman) with the three gross elements of earth, water& fire.
Fire:
It is well known that Fire requires three elements to burn: Fuel, Oxygen & Heat. Fire produces Heat & Light and we all know from Physics that Light, because of its wave – particle duality is considered a paradox. Pure light (which cannot be broken down into various colors) is not visible to our naked eye. Only when light falls on an object can we see it. So we see only objects and not light! Light is invisible. We can see only gross light which is a blend of three elements – Fire (Light), Water & Earth where light is the dominant portion. It can be therefore said that after creation happens, there is no pure or unpolluted light!
Moreover, both heat & light are essentially electromagnetic radiation that transmits energy through photons and physics has taught us that photons have dual properties of both wave and particle and they are known to carry some hidden information of which we currently know little.
Brihad-āranyaka Upanishad describes the final journey of soul at the time of death & afterwards. At the time of departure, the breath of the man becomes laborious, just like a cart with heavy load pushing uphill. In this situation the subtle body oscillates between waking & dreaming state and is about to disassociate with the body. The Maha Prana converges around him with all the other particles of light and moves down into his heart which lights up. The Jivatman or individual self from the heart then departs either through the eye, head or other small openings of the body. Finally, it is Prana that departs leading to death of the individual.
With this the Maha Prana, Karma & Vasanas become united with the subtle body or Linga sharira. A man with un-fulfilled desires at the time of death, has to come back to earth (rebirth) to fulfill it. The analogy made here is of a caterpillar that has eaten most of one leaf and stretches itself to another leaf and holds it before letting go of the previous leaf. Similarly, man moves from one body to another after death! When there are no desires to fulfill, the mortal man becomes immortal (merges with the Supreme Consciousness or Brahman).
Brihad-āranyaka Upanishad 4.4.22:
This verse touches upon two aspects: 1) Jivatman, the controller of self, who is embedded within the space of the heart***, sometimes referred to as the cavity of the heart*** 2) This Jivatman or individual soul is the boundary that has to be crossed in order to merge with the Supreme Consciousness or Brahman (Paramatman). When the funeral pyre is lit up, the bridge used to cross this boundary is through Agni or Fire that carries the Jivatman or individual soul to Hiranyagarbha – “Womb of Light” or the “Cosmic Soul”.
Agni or Fire has always been known as a “carrier or bridge” between man & God, since Vedic times. Agni is worshiped as the primary God or Deity in the Rig Veda and 8 out of 10 Mandalas in Rig Veda are dedicated to Agni alone. It is said that the ancient sages never wanted offspring because desire for sons is a desire for worldly material pursuits. Their only desire was merger with “unconditioned” Brahman. With this just one thought in mind, they wandered around the world.
(*** These are terms used often in the Upanishads. In my next blog we will look at whether this space is actually within the heart or a space in the cavity inside our head. The master control system of our body is the nervous system consisting of nerves, spinal cord & brain).
7) Conclusion:
- Our world that includes us as humans are made up of 24 elements on an Individual or Microcosmic They are Five Sense Organs (Jnanendriyas), Five Objects of Perception (Tanmatras), Five Objects of Action (Karma Indriyas) & the Five Elements (Pancha Bhutas<click here for more details) + Ahaṁkāra (Ego – that is projected by Maya which drives a person’s individuality) + Manas (Mind) + Intellect + Jivatman or individual soul. On the Cosmic or Macrocosmic Level there is Supreme Brahman (<click here for more details), Hiranyagarbha (creates Subtle Bodies) & Virat which is sometimes referred to as Viraj (creates Gross Bodies).
- Maha Prana, Karma & Vasanas are not physical organs. They are “subtle elements or particles of light”. When the individual soul or Jivatman moves out of the body to obtain a new body, it goes surrounded by these particles of light which then becomes the “seed” of the new body. This seed is the Causal Body or Karana Sharira.
- The Noble Prize for Physics in 2022 was awarded on the subject of Quantum Entanglement. Particles that are entangled can have either the same state or opposite state, irrespective of their distance which could even be billions of light years from each other. It was proved by the prize winning scientists that two entangled particles far away from each other can communicate instantly. Similarly, the individual soul or Jivatman is in an interconnected or entangled quantum state with the one higher Cosmic Consciousness or Brahman!
- Double slit experiment (<click here for a short You Tube video, if required) proved that particle existed as a wave when no one was observing. Observation made the wave behave like a particle leading to the conclusion that light can behave both like a wave or particle. Hence the term wave-particle duality. This leads us to question whether the Universe is real at all or just an illusion because only the act of “observation” alone brings the particles into existence. No observer – No particle!
Giving back what we took from Nature:
Human body is made up of Five Elements that predominantly contains Water. (75% Water (Hydrogen + Oxygen), Carbon, Nitrogen, and host of other elements like Calcium, Potassium, Iron, Magnesium, Sulfur etc. (constituents found on Earth). Upon death, Hindus consign their body to flames (Fire), also known as cremation. The body requires Air to burn. The resultant smoke goes up into Space. The Sound of the popping of the skull (cracking due to heat which will at approx. 800-1000+ deg. C), signifies the final release of Atman or the individual Soul. While performing the last rites, the ashes (mostly minerals & salts) of the body are then made to flow into a river (Water) that later flows down and mixes with the Earth below.
The River finally meets the Ocean signifying the symbolism of the Jivatman (River) merging with the Paramatman or Brahman (Ocean). This merger causes the individual soul to lose it name & form just as river loses its name & form upon its merger into the ocean. Both the river & ocean are made up of only water. The Individual Soul & Supreme Brahman too are the same consciousness. Secondly, the manifested world is only a holographic image of the Supreme Brahman – an illusion! Thus, the gross body made up of Five Elements merges back into the Five Elements. The cycle is complete. We have to go back to where we came from! When we know that we live in an illusionary or a holographic universe, should there should be grief upon death of a dear one?
I end this blog with a video of “beings from a higher dimension” filmed by me in the night sky.
