The journey of the Soul or Jivatman after death is a two part blog which is divided into the following topics given below:
Part 1:
1) Maha Prana or Chief Prana.
2) Karma.
3) Vasanas or Desires.
4) Evolution of Mankind.
Part 2:
5) Journey of the soul upon death – merger of the various elements.
6) Understanding the importance of Water & Fire during cremation rituals.
7) Conclusion
In order to understand the Journey of the Soul or Jivatman, we will first need to know about a few “key subtle elements and particles of light” that accompany the Jivatman or Soul when it departs from the body, as it does not leave alone! These elements or particles of light (wave & particle) are as follows and each of them are explained as given below:
- Maha Prana or Chief Prana: This Maha Prana is accompanied by the senses, the mind & intellect which also has Maya or Ignorance. (Ignorance is called “Avidya” – lack of knowledge caused by Maya).
- Karma: Consists of the results or consequences of past & present actions.
- Vasanas or Desires: Tagging along from the previous birth or past life and newly gathered again from the present life.
1) Maha Prana or Chief Prana:
The word “Śrēṣṭha” means “foremost” and is used to describe the Chief or Foremost Prana – Vital Life Force. Chāndyogya Upanishad V.1.1 states: “He who understands that Prana is the eldest or first born & the foremost, himself becomes eldest or first born & foremost”. Prana starts functioning from the very day a woman conceives. Adi Sankara says the breath is indeed the oldest when the child is in the womb and it is active much before the all senses come into being.
Prana is not mere air or any organ (it is particles of light). Chāndyogya Upanishad III.18.4 states: “Prana indeed one of the four parts of Supreme Brahman; it shines and disperses heat (becomes active within itself) caused by light present in air. Brahman has four parts, one of them is Breath or Prana (energized by light of air & Brahman). The other three parts mentioned are: Speech (energized by light of fire), Eye (energized by light of sun) & Ear (energized by light of directions). If Prana meant only air, it would not have been stated or discussed separately in the scriptures.
Maha Prana, after entering the body, takes on five kinds of Vayus or Airs, called Pancha Pranas (<click here if you need more details) with distinct characteristics that are not present in ordinary Air and then supports them. Pancha Pranas are: 1) Apana – outgoing breath with downward movement; Prana – incoming breath with upward movement, also used as a common term for in or out breath; Vyana – that which spreads or diffuses all over the whole body, also serves as a union between Prana & Apana, Udana – that breath which moves upward and in deep sleep is the link between the body & Brahman, also involved in guiding the soul after death and Samana – that which digests, equalizing duration of inward & outward breath. When Prana starts to depart, the organs of senses & perception become feeble & weak and this signals the possible death of the body. This shows that the body and organs are dependent on Prana and hence the name Chief Prana or Maha Prana.
Importance of Prana in sustaining the Body:
Prana supports the body is the following ways:
- It is Prana that controls either continuity or departure of soul. Adi Shankara says that Prana is Hiranyagarbha or Golden Womb where all souls exist in a subtle state and then they manifest as gross bodies in name & form, only to lose their name & form when they merge back into Hiranyagarbha. The word Hiranya means “Golden” which symbolically means “Light” as light is usually described as having golden hue or color (sunlight for example). Hence our souls that exist in the subtle state in Hiranyagarbha are nothing but “Light”. Physics has taught us about the duality of Light, which can exist either as a particle or wave, but not together at the same time!
- When organs are resting during sleep, the body is protected by Prana, while the Eternal Self wanders about. (A wave needs the ocean to exist, but the ocean does not need the wave for its existence. Both are in any case always connected by the common element of water).
- Controls the body & secures it in place through its five divisions called Pancha Pranas.
- Prana is the vital force & essence of the limbs of the body. So from whichever limb the Prana departs, that weakens or withers away first. It is said that the soul departs through the eye, or from the head or from other parts or other small openings of the body.
- Prana provides the necessary sustenance to the body & organs.
- Nourishment of both body & organs is accomplished through Prana.
2) Karma:
Brahman is called “Paramam” meaning “Supreme” and hence it is also known as “Supreme Consciousness”. It is beyond time, space & causation and also beyond senses & intellect, as we cannot comprehend it. Brahman is like a screen in a movie theatre and does not get affected by whatever is projected on it. Brahman has an intrinsic quality or nature that causes it to produce individual conscious beings or Jivatmans like us through Maya, just like fire that has an intrinsic nature to send forth heat & light. This “sending forth or visarga” that causes beings to be born is called KARMA or ACTION. It is Karma that is responsible for man’s creation, development, progress & well-being in life!
Man, after being born into this world has no choice but to act and carry out his duty or Karma. No man can live in this world without indulging in Karma. But a man’s Karma depends on his innate characteristics or “Gunas which are Sattva, Rajas & Tamas” (<Click here for details from my previous blog, if required). Any action performed without attachment or desire for fruits of his action is termed as “Sattvika Tyaga”. (Tyaga is sacrifice or renunciation). Some do not want to perform Karma or action as it may cause harm to his body or mind or with the object of fulfilling his negative desires driven by ego. This is “Rajasika Tyaga”. Such a person needs to understand that when there is no pain, there is no gain. When someone abandons his obligatory duty due to his delusion or ignorance and without bothering about its consequence, then it is “Tamasika Tyaga”.
Five components involved in Karma as per Bhagavad Gita:
These are five components which are used by man to perform action:
- Body, Seat or Foundation: Any action requires a proper foundation from which it can function. Bodies are divided into three parts – Causal, Subtle & Gross bodies (<Click here for more details from my previous blog, if required). Causal or the Seed body is made up of un-manifest Vasanas or desires which manifests thought, desire & action. Thought & desires are contained in the Subtle or Astral body. Gross or Physical body then performs necessary action to fulfil these desires.
- Doer or Performer: The individual who performs the action.
- Different devices or instruments used in action: These are the senses that include mind, intellect, ego, organs of perception & organs of action.
- Various functions: Function performed utilizing the above devices or instruments.
- Deity or God: It is the supreme consciousness or Brahman that activates body, mind & intellect.
3) Vasanas or Desires:
Man is driven by vasanas or desires caused by his passions & greed. There are both good & bad vasanas! Our vasanas keep on changing as our life progresses. If not kept in check, it forces us to tread on the wrong path in life and be sinful. It is also vasanas or desire that creates anger in us. There cannot be anger without latent desire. Hence Desire is the root cause of anger! Each individual has all the three Gunas (Sattva, Rajas & Tamas) in different proportions with one of them being predominant. Tamasic desire is the most difficult to remove. As we succumb to desire, the stronger it becomes. As we feed our desires with sense objects, our mind wants more, just like a wealthy man desires more wealth all the time.
Vasana is Maya that veils the Supreme Self or Brahman and is located in our senses, mind & intellect. So it exists in all the three planes of the human body – physical, emotional & intellectual! It also masks knowledge and desires that are not fulfilled creates mental anxiety which in turn further reduces our ability to think rationally. Hence in Bhagavad Gita, it is called the “constant enemy” of man.
Controlling Vasanas:
The initial step is to control our “Ahankara” or Ego of our mind (that which makes us always think of only – I/Me/ myself). Ego impacts our senses and wants us to constantly possess sense objects. The solution is to use our intellect to control our mind. The mind is more potent than the senses. More potent than the mind is the Intellect and finally it is Self or Brahman that is superior to the Intellect. We need to realize that the supreme self is within us and conquer desire, as desire springs from ignorance of the supreme self!
But without Vasanas or desires there can be no Karma or Action! Moreover, without Karma no one can live in this world. Man cannot live without performing action. It is therefore essential to always take the right course of action based in the inputs received through our Intellect! Vasanas are subtle and their imprints are carried over to our next life by our individual soul or Jivatman after our death. It is the cause of samsara – the endless cycle of birth & death. If a man keeps his vasanas under control, there is no need to be born again as he has no desires to fulfill in his next life. For such a person and there is no re-birth. This indicates the ending and final merger into Brahman.
Now before we delve into the journey of the soul after death, we will first discuss the creation of our manifested world & mankind as per Upanishads and other scriptures.
4) Evolution of Mankind:
Before the Universe began, there was only Pure Being or Supreme Brahman in existence. Brahman is also called pure unconditioned consciousness. There was nothing else – just void/nothingness/cosmic waters. (This condition is mentioned in the Puranas as Lord Vishnu resting on the “endless” coiled serpent “Ananta”, floating on the cosmic waters. Modern cosmologists call these cosmic waters as “hot ionized plasma” that existed before the Big Bang).
Then a thought arose in this non-being or Brahman to manifest in name (Nama) & form (Rupa). Fire (Light or Tejas) manifested first. Fire then manifested water*. Water manifested food through rain. Food requires Earth to grow. (Manifestation requires mainly three elements of the Pancha Bhutas or Five Elements which are Earth, Fire, Water, Air & Space). These three are the Gross elements of Fire, Water & Earth. Subtle elements are Air & Space and that brings the total number to five. (Fire is always accompanied by subtle element Air, without which it cannot propagate. Earth is always surrounded by subtle element Space). During dissolution the reverse of the above happens. Earth merges into Water. Water merges into Fire. Fire into Air. Air into Space and Space into Brahman.
*When the Big Bang happened both Hydrogen & Helium were created. Then the universe over a period of time expanded & cooled. The gas & dust due to influence of gravity formed galaxies, stars, planets etc. Nuclear fusion in small stars causes hydrogen to fuse into helium & helium into carbon & nitrogen. Nuclear fusion in bigger stars produced heavier elements like oxygen (<click here for more) that is required for combustion of hydrocarbon (Hydrogen & Carbon) that in turn produces carbon dioxide & water.
Thought is Energy:
Thought is a form of energy and energy is required for manifestation. This energy in the Vedic scriptures is called “Tapas” which means “Creative Heat”. It is similar to the “heat of creation” which is produced by a hen when it hatches its eggs, thus bringing forth life. This essentially means that all pervading Supreme Being or Brahman resides in all the various elements and uses His in-built power of thought (Tapas) to produce diverse effects.
Now, in the Puranas, the creation story of the Universe is slightly different. In Brahma Purana, it is mentioned that God created waters and put his seed into it and so He came to be called “Narayana”. This water is called “Nāra” and “Ayana” means abode, so Narayana would mean “dwelling in water”. The seed grew into a golden egg from which Brahma was born due to his own power and hence He is called svayambhū. This golden egg was split into two halves by Brahma. The lower became earth and the upper became heaven. In Puranas as we know, stories are always told in a mythical manner.
In summary, creation of this world is narrated in the scriptures in three major ways:
1) Manifestation through “thought” by Brahman. He is only one – both un-manifest (non-being) & manifest (being)!
2) Manifestation through Hiranyagarbha or the golden womb which is a form created by Brahman, where all Jivas or beings go to in their subtle form to manifest later and come back in the endless cycle of “Samsara” (Cycle of birth & death).
3) Manifestation by Brahman through Virat or “Matter” which can be perceived through senses. On Brahman is Virat which encompasses the three gross worlds of earth (Prithvi), inter-space (Antariksha) & Heaven (Dyau). On Virat is Hiranyagarbha that contains the subtle mind (vital breaths & organs). So we have Brahman that contains “Virat” (Gross bodies) which in turn contains “Hiranyagharba” (Subtle bodies). The latent power of Brahman is not disturbed during the dissolution of the Universe. It remains in its entirety so that the next creation can continue and emerge from Brahman.
Three part development of Man:
Upanishads state that there are beings in our world that have four types of origins: 1) Those who are born out of eggs 2) Those born from womb 3) Those that are born from earth (plants) 4) Those born from moisture or sweat created by heat (this can be grouped under plant life as those born from either earth or water/liquids. Also, in the case of both 3 & 4 – offspring is born without mating). There are offspring born who do not have parents – by self-reproduction. (Examples from Mahabharata & Ramayana include Drona, Dhrstadyumna, Sita, Draupadi to name a few and certain animal species including cranes, sharks, algae and so on).
Thus, when Brahman or Pure consciousness (also called Sat) is united with the Gross elements of Fire, Water & Earth (called Devatas or Deities) the manifestation of different forms in our world begins. However, what we see of the three gross elements in our world are actually not in its pure form! Two thirds of each of the three elements of fire, water, and earth are mixed with one-sixth of each of the other two to form the three gross elements perceived by us. This process is called “trivrt-karana”).
When we consume food, water & fire or heat (consumed as butter/ghee/oil), it becomes threefold as stated in Chandyogya Upanishad VI.5 and as described below:
- Food becomes triple: Coarsest portion of food becomes Faeces or human waste; Medium portion becomes flesh; subtlest part becomes mind.
- Water becomes triple: Coarsest portion of food becomes urine; Medium portion becomes blood; subtlest part becomes breath or Prana.
- Heat or Fire become triple: Coarsest portion becomes bone; Medium portion becomes marrow; subtlest part becomes speech. (Speech has four types and the subtlest is called “Para”. Para is communication through consciousness and not words.
The mind is comprised of food; breath or prana is comprised of water & speech is comprised of heat or fire and thus the three elements exists in all. As seen from the three points mentioned above, the “subtlest” parts of food (earth element), water & heat (fire element) moves “upwards” and becomes mind, breath & speech respectively.
References: 1) Brahma Sutra Bhasya of Adi Shankaracharya 2) Bhagavad Gita
This concludes the first part of this blog – Journey of the soul. Below is a video filmed by me in the night sky titled “Beings of Light”. This is not Brahman or Supreme Consciousness. Brahman is non-being are cannot be perceived through our senses or through instruments. These are beings from a higher dimension.