What happens to our lives after we die?

The next life starts immediately after we die.

Death takes place when all the accounts of karma of a person’s life are finished. Whatever account he had bound for the current life comes to an end; therefore, death occurs. After death, one is born anew immediately. Just like there is night between this day and the next day, similarly, there is death between this birth and the next birth.

Let’s understand in detail about birth and death, what comes along, and how the next life is decided…

When the body dies, it becomes lifeless. From that, one can easily deduce that there was life within, which has now departed and gone elsewhere. We witness the death of the body, which is burnt. However, the Soul leaves and goes to the destination where one is destined to be reborn.

After death, with the Soul, what else goes along?

Along with the Soul goes the karan sharir i.e. the causal body, and the sukshma sharir i.e. the subtle body, also referred to as the electrical body.

Every living being has an electrical body, which carries out the natural bodily functions, such as digestion and circulation etc. The electrical body is also responsible for your vision and other physiological activities. All karmas are charged and discharged only in the presence of an electrical body.

The Soul does not have any anger, pride, attachment and greed, but they are all mediated through the electrical body, although they are carried forward through the causal body.

How long does it take for the Soul to leave one body and enter another?

No time at all. The Soul is a receptacle of expansion and contraction, so it can stretch as far as it wants to. The Soul stretches itself to enter into the new body (where it has karmic ties) and simultaneously leaves the body over here. Just as a snake leaves its burrow, part of it is outside and the other part is inside; it is similar to that. When the time comes for the Soul to depart from one body, the circumstances of the union of the sperm and the egg take place at the other end. Therefore, after the body’s death, the Soul goes directly into another embryo. So there is no need to worry about what may happen in the time ahead. After death, another womb is acquired and upon entering that womb, all the nourishment and everything necessary for its life there is immediately provided for.

The new birth takes place as per the balance sheet of the entire life.

The balance sheet keeps updating at every two-thirds of the remaining life. For example, if a person is to live for seventy-five years, the first imprint, photograph (for next life) will be created at fifty years. The next imprint will be created at the age of 66.6 years and so on. In this regard, the good done in older age is much more effective and carries more weight compared to the same done in youth.

During one's entire life, one’s intentions during every action charge good or bad karma, which is counted in the balance sheet. As per the balance sheet, one can be born into four life forms. Those who have the intention to help others, with superhuman qualities, go to heaven. Those who are decent and humane will come back in a human form. Those who intend to deceive others go to the animal kingdom and those who intend to destroy people’s homes and lives for their gain will go to hell. And those who have no intentions other than the intention to get liberation, those who have realized their own self, do not bind any new karma. They take their next life at the feet of liberated ones and attain final liberation (Moksh).

The causal body is the reason for the next life

The causal body created in this life becomes the effective body in the next life. Thus, the next life begins with three fully-charged batteries, namely mind, speech and the body. These batteries begin to discharge, present their effect in the womb, and continue to do so throughout life. A person’s karmic account (the causes) continues to exhaust through these three batteries. When the total effect of these batteries comes to an end, it is death.

However, while these batteries are discharging, new batteries for the coming life are being charged simultaneously. In this manner, the charge (causes of karma) and discharge (effects of karma) continue to take place. As long as the new batteries are charged, the causal body, which includes the three batteries of mind, speech and body, along with the anger, pride, deceit and greed, is carried forward to the next life.

The causes take place because of the person’s ignorance of his real Self

As long as his wrong belief, ‘I am John (insert your name)’ prevails, attachment and abhorrence continue to occur, giving rise to new causes. Once this wrong belief is replaced with the right belief, ‘I am Pure Soul’, attachment and abhorrence, and consequently new causes, cease to occur.

Gnani Purush (One who has realized the Self and can do the same for others) alone can replace our wrong beliefs with right beliefs and can liberate us by the process of Self-realization.

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