Posted by Amrita Saxena on December 17, 2009 at 4:55pm
Title itself is so ironic......i know there is no life after death. But i have certain apprehensions about journey after death. Have listed them below:1. Is the journey post death till the judgment date very difficult (as in all depends on karma) but what happens exactly2. Does a person take human birth only once or he takes it multiple times3. Why is Crow's birth considered to be very low as compared to other species4. Can our mind conceive all our past burth and can a mind read itI know i am illetrate and i wanna completely surrender to Lord Krshna but these questions are adding to my doubts. Please clear themRegardsAmritaJai Shree Krishna
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u can read garud puran, same questions were asked by garuda to lord vishnu and he explained to him in great details about what happens at the time of death,after death-day by day.All questions are answered there.But i would suggest that u also talk to a senior devotee after reading it , they will help u practically regarding the application of this knowlegde. what we do after knowing this is very important.I hope this helps..
1. That depends on how much spiritual currency he has accumulated. After death of the body the soul is given an another body depending on the last thoughts of the soul before death. This is in itself a judgement. Of course if he has practised 'akarma' in KC then he ends his samsaara cycle
2. Does a person stay in the same class every year depends on what he is doing in the class. If he passes he will go to the next level & if he fails he remains in the same class. So if we understand the real goal of human life & execute duties accordingly then the cycle of birth & death stops. Remember Krishna says in BG as it is - Bahunam janma naamante jnaanavaan maam prapaadyante... here jnanavan can only refer to a human being & Krishna in this context is saying that this person can come to Him only after he has passed thru many such births of contemplation before he comes to the platform of surrendering to Krishna.
3. Crow is thought to be the vehicle of Shanidev - a demigod who is welcome nowhere. So it is considered inauspicious. Moreover it is one of the ugliest birds (God forgive me for saying that)
4. A trikaala jnaani can know the past, present & future of all events & people. Included in this list is Lord Krishna & His exalted devotees.
When I was a child we had a crow as a pet. They are incredibly intelligent and can even be taught to talk but they are remarkably disgusting in their eating habits.
With the permission of his divine grace, Srila Prabhupada, I will attempt to give you information
which will help you understand. These topics are a bit complicated but Srila Prabhupada has given
clear explanations. However, you must remember that our own ability to understand them
remains limited. And it might be a bit frightening at first. So I will quote only 2 verses but
if you wish to know further let me know or read Laws of Nature. As other devotees mentioned,
the path of Yamraja is mainly for non-devotees and/or those who somehow or other are doing
the 4 sinful activities.
1. Is the journey post death till the judgment date very difficult (as in all depends on karma) but what happens exactly
Quote from the Laws of Nature
TEXT 19: "At death, he sees the messengers of the lord of death come before
him, their eyes full of wrath, and in great fear he passes stool and urine."
PURPORT: There are two kinds of transmigration of a living entity after
passing away from the present body. One kind of transmigration is to go to the
controller of sinful activities, who is known as Yamaraja, and the other is to
go to the higher planets, up to Vaikuntha. Here Lord Kapila describes how
persons engaged in activities of sense gratification to maintain a family are
treated by the messengers of Yamaraja, called Yamadutas. At the time of death
the Yamadutas become the custodians of those persons who have strongly gratified
their senses. They take charge of the dying man and take him to the planet where
Yamaraja resides. The conditions there are described in the following verses.
TEXT 20: "As a criminal is arrested for punishment by the constables of the
state, a person engaged in criminal sense gratification is similarly arrested by
the Yamadutas, who bind him by the neck with strong rope and cover his subtle
body so that he may undergo severe punishment."
PURPORT: Every living entity is covered by a subtle body and a gross body.
The subtle body is the covering of mind, ego, intelligence, and consciousness.
It is said in the scriptures that the constables of Yamaraja cover the subtle
body of the culprit and take him to the abode of Yamaraja to be punished in a
way that he is able to tolerate. He does not die from this punishment because if
he died, then who would suffer the punishment? It is not the business of the
constables of Yamaraja to put one to death. In fact, it is not possible to kill
a living entity because factually he is eternal; he simply has to suffer the
consequences of his activities of sense gratification.
The process of punishment is explained in the Caitanya-caritamrta. Formerly
the king's men would take a criminal in a boat in the middle of the river. They
would dunk him by grasping a bunch of his hair and thrusting him completely
under water, and when he was almost suffocated, the king's constables would take
him out of the water and allow him to breathe for some time, and then they would
again dunk him in the water to suffocate. This sort of punishment is inflicted
upon the forgotten soul by Yamaraja, as will be described in the following
verses.
2. Does a person take human birth only once or he takes it multiple times
TEXT 34: "Having gone through all the miserable, hellish conditions and
having passed in a regular order through the lowest forms of animal life prior
to human birth, and having thus been purged of one's sins, one is reborn again
as a human being on this earth."
PURPORT: Just as a prisoner who has undergone troublesome prison life is set
free again, the person who has always engaged in impious and mischievous
activities is put into hellish conditions, and when he has undergone different
hellish lives, namely those of lower animals like cats, dogs, and hogs, by the
gradual process of evolution he again comes back as a human being. In the
Bhagavad-gita it is stated that even though a person engaged in the practice of
the yoga system may not finish perfectly and may fall down for some reason or
other, his next life as a human being is guaranteed. It is stated that such a
person, who has fallen from the path of yoga practice, is given a chance in his
next life to take birth in a very rich family or in a very pious family. It is
interpreted that "rich family" refers to a big mercantile family because
generally people who engage in business are very rich. One who engaged in the
process of self-realization, or connecting with the Supreme Absolute Truth, but
fell short is allowed to take birth in such a rich family, or he is allowed to
take birth in the family of pious brahmanas; either way, he is guaranteed to
appear in human society in his next life.
It can be concluded that if someone is not willing to enter into hellish
life, as in Tamisra or Andha-tamisra, then he must take to the process of Krsna
consciousness, which is the first-class yoga system, because even if one is
unable to attain complete Krsna consciousness in this life, he is guaranteed at
least to take his next birth in a human family. He cannot be sent into a hellish
condition. Krsna consciousness is the purest life, and it protects all human
beings from gliding down to hell to take birth in a family of dogs or hogs.
3. Why is Crow's birth considered to be very low as compared to other species
I need to verify and I will let you know. I think I read something about this before
but I need to verify first.
4. Can our mind conceive all our past burth and can a mind read it
Yes, but let me check for exact quotes and I will let you know soon.
Hari Bol
Amrita Saxena > Jay Krishnan RamasawmyJanuary 16, 2010 at 12:12pm
Ok one more thing.....if a soul has reached vaikuntha.......then that soul will not take a birth again.
What does the soul do in vaikuntha??
You have a unique special personal relationship with Krishna called your siddha deha. Ideally you will go beyond Vaikuntha and rejoin Krishna in Goloka.Then you will enter into the unlimitedly joyful and blissful pastimes of the Supreme Being.
The Lord's
personal abode is called Goloka Vrndavana, and the abodes where His
plenary expansions reside are called the Vaikunthas, where the Lord is
present as Narayana. Love of Godhead is dormant in every living entity,
and the entire process of devotional service unto the Lord is meant for
awakening this dormant, eternal love of Godhead. But there are degrees of
such transcendental awakening. Those whose love of God is awakened to the
fullest extent go back to the Goloka Vrndavana planet in the spiritual
sky, whereas persons who have just awakened to love of Godhead by
accident or association are transferred to the Vaikuntha planets.
Essentially there is no material difference between Goloka and Vaikuntha,
but in the Vaikunthas the Lord is served in unlimited opulence, whereas
in Goloka the Lord is served in natural affection.
There are other more detailed explanations which I will look for and then send.
Hare Krsna
Amrita Saxena > Jay Krishnan RamasawmyJanuary 25, 2010 at 12:37pm
Replies
hare krishna,
all glories to srila prabhupad
u can read garud puran, same questions were asked by garuda to lord vishnu and he explained to him in great details about what happens at the time of death,after death-day by day.All questions are answered there.But i would suggest that u also talk to a senior devotee after reading it , they will help u practically regarding the application of this knowlegde. what we do after knowing this is very important.I hope this helps..
http://www.iskcondesiretree.net/group/krishnaconsciousness/forum/to...
Q. WHAT IS THE CYCLE OF BIRTH AND DEATH AND HOW TO STOP IT ? part 1.
http://www.iskcondesiretree.net/group/krishnaconsciousness/forum/to...
Q. WHAT IS THE CYCLE OF BIRTH AND DEATH AND HOW TO STOP IT ? part 2.
http://www.iskcondesiretree.net/group/krishnaconsciousness/forum/to...
Q. WHAT IS THE CYCLE OF BIRTH AND DEATH AND HOW TO STOP IT ? part 3.
http://www.iskcondesiretree.net/group/krishnaconsciousness/forum/to...
Q. WHAT IS THE CYCLE OF BIRTH AND DEATH AND HOW TO STOP IT ? part 4.
http://www.iskcondesiretree.net/group/krishnaconsciousness/forum/to...
Q. WHAT IS THE CYCLE OF BIRTH AND DEATH AND HOW TO STOP IT ? part 5.
1. That depends on how much spiritual currency he has accumulated. After death of the body the soul is given an another body depending on the last thoughts of the soul before death. This is in itself a judgement. Of course if he has practised 'akarma' in KC then he ends his samsaara cycle
2. Does a person stay in the same class every year depends on what he is doing in the class. If he passes he will go to the next level & if he fails he remains in the same class. So if we understand the real goal of human life & execute duties accordingly then the cycle of birth & death stops. Remember Krishna says in BG as it is - Bahunam janma naamante jnaanavaan maam prapaadyante... here jnanavan can only refer to a human being & Krishna in this context is saying that this person can come to Him only after he has passed thru many such births of contemplation before he comes to the platform of surrendering to Krishna.
3. Crow is thought to be the vehicle of Shanidev - a demigod who is welcome nowhere. So it is considered inauspicious. Moreover it is one of the ugliest birds (God forgive me for saying that)
4. A trikaala jnaani can know the past, present & future of all events & people. Included in this list is Lord Krishna & His exalted devotees.
Prabhupada Dasa
RadhaKrishna Sevak
With the permission of his divine grace, Srila Prabhupada, I will attempt to give you information
which will help you understand. These topics are a bit complicated but Srila Prabhupada has given
clear explanations. However, you must remember that our own ability to understand them
remains limited. And it might be a bit frightening at first. So I will quote only 2 verses but
if you wish to know further let me know or read Laws of Nature. As other devotees mentioned,
the path of Yamraja is mainly for non-devotees and/or those who somehow or other are doing
the 4 sinful activities.
1. Is the journey post death till the judgment date very difficult (as in all depends on karma) but what happens exactly
Quote from the Laws of Nature
TEXT 19: "At death, he sees the messengers of the lord of death come before
him, their eyes full of wrath, and in great fear he passes stool and urine."
PURPORT: There are two kinds of transmigration of a living entity after
passing away from the present body. One kind of transmigration is to go to the
controller of sinful activities, who is known as Yamaraja, and the other is to
go to the higher planets, up to Vaikuntha. Here Lord Kapila describes how
persons engaged in activities of sense gratification to maintain a family are
treated by the messengers of Yamaraja, called Yamadutas. At the time of death
the Yamadutas become the custodians of those persons who have strongly gratified
their senses. They take charge of the dying man and take him to the planet where
Yamaraja resides. The conditions there are described in the following verses.
TEXT 20: "As a criminal is arrested for punishment by the constables of the
state, a person engaged in criminal sense gratification is similarly arrested by
the Yamadutas, who bind him by the neck with strong rope and cover his subtle
body so that he may undergo severe punishment."
PURPORT: Every living entity is covered by a subtle body and a gross body.
The subtle body is the covering of mind, ego, intelligence, and consciousness.
It is said in the scriptures that the constables of Yamaraja cover the subtle
body of the culprit and take him to the abode of Yamaraja to be punished in a
way that he is able to tolerate. He does not die from this punishment because if
he died, then who would suffer the punishment? It is not the business of the
constables of Yamaraja to put one to death. In fact, it is not possible to kill
a living entity because factually he is eternal; he simply has to suffer the
consequences of his activities of sense gratification.
The process of punishment is explained in the Caitanya-caritamrta. Formerly
the king's men would take a criminal in a boat in the middle of the river. They
would dunk him by grasping a bunch of his hair and thrusting him completely
under water, and when he was almost suffocated, the king's constables would take
him out of the water and allow him to breathe for some time, and then they would
again dunk him in the water to suffocate. This sort of punishment is inflicted
upon the forgotten soul by Yamaraja, as will be described in the following
verses.
2. Does a person take human birth only once or he takes it multiple times
TEXT 34: "Having gone through all the miserable, hellish conditions and
having passed in a regular order through the lowest forms of animal life prior
to human birth, and having thus been purged of one's sins, one is reborn again
as a human being on this earth."
PURPORT: Just as a prisoner who has undergone troublesome prison life is set
free again, the person who has always engaged in impious and mischievous
activities is put into hellish conditions, and when he has undergone different
hellish lives, namely those of lower animals like cats, dogs, and hogs, by the
gradual process of evolution he again comes back as a human being. In the
Bhagavad-gita it is stated that even though a person engaged in the practice of
the yoga system may not finish perfectly and may fall down for some reason or
other, his next life as a human being is guaranteed. It is stated that such a
person, who has fallen from the path of yoga practice, is given a chance in his
next life to take birth in a very rich family or in a very pious family. It is
interpreted that "rich family" refers to a big mercantile family because
generally people who engage in business are very rich. One who engaged in the
process of self-realization, or connecting with the Supreme Absolute Truth, but
fell short is allowed to take birth in such a rich family, or he is allowed to
take birth in the family of pious brahmanas; either way, he is guaranteed to
appear in human society in his next life.
It can be concluded that if someone is not willing to enter into hellish
life, as in Tamisra or Andha-tamisra, then he must take to the process of Krsna
consciousness, which is the first-class yoga system, because even if one is
unable to attain complete Krsna consciousness in this life, he is guaranteed at
least to take his next birth in a human family. He cannot be sent into a hellish
condition. Krsna consciousness is the purest life, and it protects all human
beings from gliding down to hell to take birth in a family of dogs or hogs.
3. Why is Crow's birth considered to be very low as compared to other species
I need to verify and I will let you know. I think I read something about this before
but I need to verify first.
4. Can our mind conceive all our past burth and can a mind read it
Yes, but let me check for exact quotes and I will let you know soon.
Hari Bol
What does the soul do in vaikuntha??
Hare Krishna
The Lord's
personal abode is called Goloka Vrndavana, and the abodes where His
plenary expansions reside are called the Vaikunthas, where the Lord is
present as Narayana. Love of Godhead is dormant in every living entity,
and the entire process of devotional service unto the Lord is meant for
awakening this dormant, eternal love of Godhead. But there are degrees of
such transcendental awakening. Those whose love of God is awakened to the
fullest extent go back to the Goloka Vrndavana planet in the spiritual
sky, whereas persons who have just awakened to love of Godhead by
accident or association are transferred to the Vaikuntha planets.
Essentially there is no material difference between Goloka and Vaikuntha,
but in the Vaikunthas the Lord is served in unlimited opulence, whereas
in Goloka the Lord is served in natural affection.
There are other more detailed explanations which I will look for and then send.
Hare Krsna
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