I.

The Eastern Spiritual Aspect on Death: Hidden Treasure

From the dawn of man, death has captured the interest of all spans of people including poets,

philosophers, artists, scientists, and laypersons alike attempting to integrate the concept of death

into an explanation of the meaning of life. Dorland's Pocket Medical Dictionary (1967) defines

death as: ''A state of complete and irreversible cessation or absence of bodily processes, such as

respiration and circulation, leading ultimately to dissolution of the organism." This is a state

characterized by a complete and irreversible cessation of vital functions for all kingdoms in the

biological spectrum.

We find three distinct understandings regarding about in the history of the human society.

The most common interpretation perceives death as devilish, serving as the enemy of life. The

second depiction is views death in a neutral light understanding death as a great rest or simple

cessation of life. The final view regards death as a mystical transition of the soul into a new life or

level of existence. In this regard, the soul remains intact but simply occupies another vessel in either

this or another spiritual realm.

Different cultures in the world take Death in different cultural notion. As every living thing

dies, both Eastern and Western cultures have adopted the idea of the existence of a soul as a

continuation of the self although there is great dissent regarding the destination or path the soul

takes after life. The major religions of the world have the most profound influence on cultural

beliefs creating worldwide ramifications.

Western religious influence on faith and belief on death spread with Christianity to the west

while exerting influence in Europe and the Americas. These Western cultures have accepted the

idea that the conduct on Earth and deeds of individual are the main factors in determining the path

of the soul in the afterlife. Western religion believes in the concept of heaven as an eternal place

inhabited by the pure and virtuous spirits coupled with hell, where all evil spirits reside. The
Catholic Church followers believe in a period of purgatory acting as a state between heaven and

hell, which allows purification of the spirit to enable them to travel to heaven.

In the Bible also death is depicted as a metaphor for the joyful living in heaven. Heaven

and hell in Bible are presented as:

And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with

men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people. God himself will be

with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes;

there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for

the former things have passed away.'(Revelations 21:3, 4)

"And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast in into the lake of fire." (Revelations

20:15)

Among the religions of the west, Judaism is one of the earliest and most popular religion.

However, not all Jews possess the same belief about an afterlife, although the majority believes

that after death the soul travels to a place similar to heaven or enters the wheel of reincarnation.

Jews are primarily concerned about life in the mortal world believing that the souls of bad and

wicked people suffer in the afterlife before being finally destroyed.

Similarly, according to the tenets of Islam, death marks the end of physical life and the

beginning of a period of rest that continues until the day of resurrection. During this resurrection, all

souls living and dead appear in front of Allah who judges their earthly deeds before deciding their

eternal fate. Muslims believe that life serves as a trial in preparation for the next realm of existence.

The Quran very emphatically states that the Day of Judgement must come.

But, those who disbelieve say, “The Hour (i.e. the Day of Judgement) will not come to us.”

Say, “Yes, by my Lord, it will surely come to you. [God is] the Knower of the unseen.” Not absent

from Him is an atom’s weight within the heavens or within the earth or [what is] smaller than that

or greater, except that it is in a clear register - That He may reward those who believe and do
righteous deeds. Those will have forgiveness and noble provision. But those who strive against our

verses [seeking] to cause failure (i.e. to undermine their credibility) - for them will be a painful

punishment of foul nature (Quran, 34:3-5).

In Muslim teaching, heaven is described as an exquisite place where all men will be adorned

with jewels while drinking holy water as they enjoy all earthy pleasures. Hell is seen as the

residence of evil spirits devoid of food and water where inhabitants lead a miserable and painful

existence.

Hinduism and Buddhism are major religions of the east that helped shape eastern cultures.

Hindus believe that the soul, or the "atman", is immortal and is trapped in a physical body while

undergoing the process of birth and death.

na jayate mriyate va kadacin nayam bhutva bhavita va na bhuyah

ajo nityah sasvato yam purano na hanyate hanyamane

(Translation: The soul never takes birth and never dies at any time nor does it come into being again

when the body is created. The soul is birth less, eternal, imperishable and timeless and is never

terminated when the body is terminated. (Bhāgvadgeetā,2:20))

By the nature of the Soul itself, the soul seeks to attain salvation, or "moksha", and free it's self from

the cyclical patterns of the world (samsara).Unlike the Western cultural belief, Eastern cultural

beliefs are inclined towards a psychological view of the afterlife. Belief in the afterlife is more a

belief in continuity through rebirth. Heaven and Hell are not viewed as final dwelling places, but

rather as places of judgement where on the basis of earthly deeds, punish or reward is granted,

which is reflected in the next life. The final destination of the soul is to become one with the

Almighty, with the creator of Universe (Brahman).

"The cycle of Life seen as the process of birth, death and rebirth is universal to living beings

until moksha, or liberation”. The law of Karma (cause of effect) is the cause for this perpetual
rebirth causing the soul to obtain different forms. Karma serves as an incentive permitting the soul

to progress closer to moksha with each rebirth.

In Hinduism, death is taken simply as another part of life. Death serves as a transition from

the physical world to the non-physical world. The physical body serves as a temporary vehicle that

is used to temporarily experience the physical world. The soul is regarded as eternal with no

creation or destruction.

acchedyo'yam adahyo'yam akledya'sosya eva ca

nityah sarva-gatah sthanur acalo'yam sanatanah

(Translation-The

soul is indestructible; the soul is incombustible, insoluble and un-withering. The soul is eternal, all

pervasive, unalterable, immovable and primordial. (Bhāgvadgeetā,(2:24))

Many Buddhist beliefs are rooted in the Hindu Ideologies of reincarnation and Karma, sharing the

ultimate aim to escape the cycle of birth and death. Gautama Buddha explained that desires keep a

being attached to the mortal world and are the reasons why people are bound to the process of death

and rebirth.

To escape this vicious circle of life, one needs to be desire less. Only then will a person

attain "nirvana", or liberation. When Buddha was asked on the verge of death-"will you be beyond

death?" he said-"he will drop out of existence as the" flame ceases".

In Tibetan Buddhism there is believe in Bardos (a three stage process undertaken by the

spirit of the deceased).It is believed that in the first stage the soul of the deceased person realizes

that its’ mortal existence is over, followed by stage two in which the soul experiences hallucinations

related to karma before being prepared for rebirth in the final stage. Tibetan Buddhism believes that

highly evolved intellects who have raised consciousness to the highest levels are able to completely

forego the process of Bardos and directly attain nirvana; the ultimate destination of all mortals.
 Basic differences between Eastern and Western beliefs regarding death exist."Western

culture constantly strives to seek and establish the Truth; while Eastern religions focus more on

accepting truth as given while finding the proper balance" (Dr Charles Osgood, American

Psychologist).

In Eastern culture reincarnation is a core belief where the aim of mortal existence is focused

to gain a permanent release from the cycle of life, while Western culture focuses on living a

virtuous and righteous life leading to heaven in the afterlife. In Western culture, there is only one

life and sin or good deed will be the ultimate determinant for afterlife. Eastern cultures take release

from ignorance, ego, and suffering as the key to finding the ultimate bliss in the form of nirvana, or

liberation. However, Western culture considers release from the mortal body as the main purpose of

afterlife. In Eastern cultures, reincarnation is taken as a means to reward or punish, but in Western

traditions, life’s deeds serve as the means to reward or punish dependent on those deeds.

Sri Krishna: Symbol of Legacy and Teaching

Sri Krishna appeared when an independent school of thought rose up in the Eastern world.

The notable six schools of philosophy brought the message of peace and reconciliation using the

reconciling of diversity to create unity. Each school in an attempt to find authority in the

Upanishads and divine scriptures supplied texts for all schools although which mistook these partial

truths as the whole truth.

Krishna's teaching stressed the performance of Vedic Sacrifice as the only path to "Svarga

Loka"(Heaven).If these sacrifices were deemed unworthy, we would continue our birth cycle on

“Bhur Loka”, our Earth. On Earth, we perform karma to give rise to other births. So long as man

remains self-seeking, he cannot transcend the limits of 'Triloki"(three astral planes).Sri Krishna's

message of liberation is a relative term. It is from the bondage of births and re-births of Triloki.

The belief established that those who worship only material objects remain chained in this

Earth; those who worship the dwellers of "Bhuvar Loka"(Bhutas,Pretas,Pischas and Pitris) or
cultivate aspiration for them become allied to them and those who worship "Devas'' go to Svarga

Loka (heaven) after death.

But Sri Krishna said that there is perishable and imperishable element in us. Karma or

actions appertain to the perishable elements; perishable element constantly changes, so it cannot be

taken as real Self or "Atman". From the stand point of Atman we can dissociate ourselves from our

actions, which relate to our transitory nature, but performance of actions cannot forcibly be stopped.

The actions are propelled by active tendencies that form an inseparable part of a beings present

nature, and by the necessity of beings very existence. For bare existence actions are also necessary,

thus performing of all actions cannot be stopped.

Human beings are to perform actions, unselfishly and from a pure sense of duty. Sri Krishna

said: "if the Vedas say that men attain Svarga by the performance of Vedic Karma; it is only by way

of inducement, and not as pointing out the Supreme End. This was the Karma Yoga as taught by Sri

Krishna.

The unselfish performance of karma is not all, it is only a negative virtue that purifies the

mind and frees it from the taint of Selfishness. The mind then becomes prepared for the higher

planes; becomes fit for the direct influence of Isvara.

Sri Krishna gave a true conception of Isvara to his disciples. According to his teaching,

Isvara is One, the source of existence, all knowledge and bliss. He told how one Isvara pervades the

whole universe and becomes manifested through the Universe. The Universe and Jiva were his

Prakritis, which is eightfold in character. Sri Krishna presented the concept of Isvara, as manifested

by his powers, and as manifested in Time and Space, and lastly as He is manifested in the human

body with four hands and the crown, symbolizing his Lordship.

Jiva and Isvara are one in essence but different in Prakriti that makes their difference,

which is the essence of Krishna's Teachings to Arjuna. When all the bonds of Prakriti are broken

the one reality remains, which is the final goal, the attainment of liberation.
 The being takes body after body under the action of karma. Death is certain this day or

hundred years hence. As in dream there is reflex perception of what is seen and heard in waking,

and as in the perception the man forgets his former self and becomes a reflex of that self, so a man

gives up his former body and becomes forgetful of it.

What else can be taken as beings birth but mere fancy on beings part, for even the birth-life

and death of Jivatmas(living beings) are but seeming things caused by their own Avidya(Ignorance).

Those that deem their body to be their own Atman or self , love that body more than anything else

but the body only becomes dear as it pertains to self, cannot be as dear as self. When the body wears

away, the desire to live on continuous strong. From Sri Krishna we learn that all movable and

immovable beings are but his forms.

The birth and death of men are shaped by their own karma. Happiness, misery, fear, well

being etc. are all the effects of karma. The eight prakritic principles in men, corresponding to eight

senses enable one to acquire experience from the outside. Anakhara, or the sense of egoism, enable

man to assimilate those experiences to his personal self and to make a small world of his own self.

Through the aspect of three "Gunas" that all beings come into existence, prosper and dissolve.

Spiritual bliss attracts Spirit unto it's self. It is the field for spiritual growth. The universe

itself is portrayed as the outcome of sacrifice and interdependence, the law of giving and taking.

Purusha (being) is one while Jiva Prakritis or Para Prakritis are many. The gist of what Sri Krishna

says is that there is an essential difference between Prakriti and Purusha, Purusha is void of Gunas

while the Gunas form the essence of Prakriti.

As the dream vanishes in the wakeful state, so the body and its surroundings disappear

with the transformation called Death. Body after body, surroundings after surroundings, are dreams,

as it wears in the mind that bears all through the bubbles arising in the ocean of existence. The body

is born only to die. Constant misery is its lot. Atman is One and constant. It is self manifest and it is

consciousness itself. Where Atman is described as doer, one who enjoys or so on; these attributes
really relate to the body that forms the phenomenal basis of Atman. Everything besides Atman is

transitory and formed of "Maya"(illusion). Therefore, one should free himself from all attachments

and should attain liberation by the knowledge of Atman. For the purpose of liberation (mukti)

Atman cannot transform itself without the help of senses and if Atman attains liberation, in the state

of Jada (unconsciousness), nothing is gained. There is constancy in the desire. One must form

attachments, have desires, that Atman be made fully conscious. There is nothing gained by this. If

Atman be left to itself, it will remain Jada or unconsciousness. All atmans have constant births and

other states, by connection with the body and by reason of the division of the time.

Sri Krishna refutes two assumptions that Atman is the doer and the Atman is he who enjoys.

The Gunas (elements), attributes of Prakriti give rise to all her manifestations. The sense and mind

create action. Our actions are all prompted by them not by Atman. Although it is said that senses

and mind are guided by Atman, it is not so. The primal attributes lead the senses and the mind. It is

not the nature of the prakritic transformations of men that determines his actions. The Jiva enjoys

the fruit of the karma, being connected with the Gunas. Jivatma dwells in the body, when the house

falls down, he occupies another house. When the houses are merely halting stations in his long

journey, he does not care much for the house itself, he does not identify himself with the house. The

bondage of Jiva is caused by ignorance (avidya) and its liberation by Knowledge (vidya).

Wakefulness(Jagrat), dream (Svapana), and dreamless sleep (sushupti) are states of mind,

caused by the Gunas. Jiva is beyond all the states. For it is the witness of all these states. The

bondage caused by mind imparts the actions of the Gunas to Atman. The bondage of Atman is

caused by Ahankara (the sense of I-ness) and this is the cause of all evils.

Implementation of Rebirth in Bhagavad Gita

The mind of men imprinted with karma moves with the five senses from body to body.

Atman accompanies the mind, the mind after death of body thinks of such seen and unseen objects

as the karma of men places before it. It awakes and fades away. The memory connecting the present
with the past dies away in consequences. When one loses all thoughts of one's body on account of

close application to another body, through some causes or other, that utter forgetfulness is his death.

Fecundation, foetal state, birth, childhood, grown up childhood, youth, ripeness, age and death are

nine states of the body. From the death of the body inherited from the father and the birth of another

child body, one can infer the birth and death of his body only, he the knower not being affected by

either birth or death.

Mind is the one cause, which causes the wheels of births to move. They make friends and

enemies, who do not conquer the mind. The connection with body is only an act of mind. Deluded

mind however think this is my body and they go astray. One man cannot be the cause of grief and

joy to another. Atman in all men is not the doer. All acts proceed from the gross and the subtle

body.

The Reincarnation system for Yogi's

When all desires in Yogi are controlled by meditation, S/he lost in the contemplation, sits in

proper posture pressing feet against the anus and perseveringly drawing the vital air upwards to the

sixth centre. He is to draw air in the naval centre to the cardiac plexus, thence to the plexus beneath

the throat thence gradually by intuition the roof of palate, thence he is to take air to Ajna chakra,

which is situated between two eyebrows. Then he is to control seven holes (the ears, the eyes, the

nostrils and mouth). Then he is to look steadily for half a muhurta(pproximately 24 minutes), and if

he has not a trace of desire left in him give up the body and the Indriyas(senses), pass out through

the Brahma Randhra(pivot). In the death of desire less yogi, there is no record of there, after, for

nothing is known beyond our cosmos. Then the yogi is believed to go in a astral plane where there

is no sorrow, no infirmity, no death, no misery, no fear of any kind but the yogi is believed to suffer

from mental pain caused by sympathy with those that suffer for their ignorance of the supreme in

the recurrence of births with their endless miseries.

Reincarnation form of Sadhu

Yoga directed towards Atman brings about Mukti. Chitta attached to the transformations of

Gunas causes bondage and attached to Purusha(self) causes Mukti. When the mind is pure and free

from distractions, man perceives Atman in himself by wisdom, devotion to Bhagavana.-passion and

devotion. There is no path so friendly to the Sadhus to be in constant devotion. Company of

Sadhus open wide the door of Mukt( liberation) to general people.. They are sadhus who have

forbearance and compassion, who are friendly to all beings, who have no enemies, who are free

from passions, and above all who have undivided concentration.

I am so and so; such concepts of the mind cause rebirth. The mind sows and the mind reaps.

The body is merely the vehicle of birth producing thoughts. The mind by its present characteristics

gives an insight into the past as well as into the future. When the mind is intensely calm, pure and

transparent; the universe is reflected on it.

When the person dies, the atman releases itself from the body. By some Atman is also called

'Mukhya Prana' without prana, there remains nothing imperishable. The non perishable that

remains is atman; which is believed particle of paramatma-the Primodial cosmic essence.

Peoples' Faith on Deity of Death

When Mother Earth in one of the era in the past became overloaded with life, she went to

Brahma-the Creator of the Cosmos to fill the complaint which made him angry. Due to his anger

from the centre of his eyebrows an intense luminosity, a white hot burning luminosity shot forth and

started burning up the entire world's life load. When Shiva and Vishnu pacified him calming down,

his anger pacified.

When Brahma was pacified, a female figure radiated forth from his body. The lady named

"mrityu" which means death refused the command of Brahma to go and kill life on Earth; instead

she went for penance. When she was given boon absolving of sins that occurs from destroying life,

she agreed and requested Brahma to sow the seeds of Kaama(desire), Krodha (anger), Lobha
(covetousness), Mada (arrogance), Matsarya (jealousy), the six cardinal enemies. Then after no

goddess was/is required to kill and the Mother Earth attains an optimized load.

But Traditionally the God of death is male, Lord Yamaraj the the brother of Saturn (Sri

Sanaiscarya). Yamaraj is the Lord of Dharma and the Lord of Death. He is often referred to in

Sastra as the officer who will judge life and grant next placement.

According to the Vedas, Yamaraj (Yama) is said to be the first mortal who died and went to

heaven, becoming its monarch. There is also a fake belief that Yamaraj is the ruler of the hell.

However, in the Vedic times, the conception of hell had not fully developed. Yama is the god of

death and holds charge of the several hells mentioned in the Puranas. He is regent of the South, or

Lower World. Yamaraj dwells in the infernal city of Yamapur or Yamalog, the place of departed

soul.

Yamaraj wears red robes, and plays a flute. At times, Yama is depicted with a bull's head,

flaming hair, and a club. Along with Yamaraj there are two dogs, each with four eyes to search the

souls in all four directions. The dogs assist him in dragging the unwilling souls towards the hell.

Yamaraj carries a noose on hand riding a he buffalo. He throws the noose for VIP's by which

victims body withers and dies. His servants for general do bidding at the right time.

Yama has a clerk named Chitragupta, who keeps record of the good and bad actions of

mortals. When a person dies, he is conducted to Yama who calls upon Chitragupta to read out the

account of his lifetime works. If the bad action wins the good, the person is taken to hell where he is

tortured under the supervision of Yama else the soul is sent to the heaven.
II. Dance of Prakriti as the Formation of the Universe

The question of the post-mortem continuity has

been considered by all cultures yet lacks a decisive

viewpoint and may remain a perpetual mystery. Generally,

people start with an inquiry into the mystery of death

resulting in an explanation on the meaning of life and

immortality of their own nature. The Eastern scriptures

including Kathopanishad, Bhagavad Gita and the

Bhagavad Purana amongst others has transitioned death

from unreal to real, from ignorance to light and from the

transient to eternal creating a sense of mysticism regarding

its nature.

Beings born die, yet the response of death is

shaped by beliefs and traditions prevalent in ones relative

culture. The study of death requires further examination of

secondary questions rooted at the centre of humanity and

earthly experience that cannot be logically answered and

must be discovered through personal experiment and

discovery.

Internal feelings of fear gave rise to current beliefs

regarding death a all people are inherently intimidated by

life’s uncertainty. Sigmund Freud developed his theme of

psychical origin of religious ideas in his thesis ''The Future

of an Illusion'' (Freud 37) which viewed religion, God and

other worldly cultures as ''These (religious ideas) are not

residue of experience or the final result of reflection; they

are illusions, fulfilment of the oldest, strongest and most

insistent wishes of mankind; the secret of their strength is

the strength of these wishes.'' (The Future of Illusion 52)

Freud writes to Carl Jung, his friend and fellow

psychologists regarding the development of faith and

beliefs insisting fear has played a significant role. Freud

writes ''It (religions) is important certainly, in what it has

done to shape our beliefs and fantasies, the history of

religion is that of shivering, frightened people who have

attempted to put a roof over their heads against the night

and the blackness and fears and terrors of unknown''

"Analysis Terminable and Interminable" (Freud 37).

Relief from fear of death seems to be the

motivation behind the invention of God by man. The

Bhagavad Gita starts with the worst abysmal conditions in

a battlefield, which teaches one to live in the realism of the

present moment rather than merely an idealism of human

aspiration. The conflict of the human society is presented

in the Bhagavad Gita and as a concentrated spiritual guide

book, it has played important role to shape faith/beliefs

system in the life of Hindus.

Nehru calls the Bhagavad Gita '' a poem of crisis, a

political and social crisis and even more so, of crisis in the

spirit of man" (Nehru 115). The psychoanalysis's H C

Ganguli depicts the Arjuna's situation of dilemma as ''

Battlefield breakdown'' as Arjuna shows love and hate

relationship at once to Kauravas . To an extent he did not

want them to live and then he thought '' but they are my

kinsmen, these are my nephews, my teachers, set of people

who have brought me up"-like Bhisma for instance on

whose lap Arjuna sat as a little baby and Drona who was

the master archer and also the guru. Sri Aurobindo has

analyzed the crisis Arjuna while realizes "The nature of

crisis which he (Arjuna) undergoes is an all embracing

inner bankruptcy which he expresses when he says that his

whole conscious being, not the thought alone but heart and

vital desires and all, are utterly bewildered and can find

nowhere the dharma (the valid law of action), that for the

soul of action in the mental being is the worst possible

crisis, failure and overthrown. For this alone he takes

refuge as a disciple with Sri Krishna ; give me , he

practically asks that I have lost, a true law , a clear rule of

action, a path by which I can again confidentially walk

(Sri Aurobindo 16). "The Bhagavad Gita starts with a

military issue as well as one wider human predicament''

(Radhakrishna, 79)

Arjuna said

Yeshaam arthe kaangkshitam no raajyam

bhogaah sukhaani cha;

Ta ime’vasthitaa yuddhe

praanaamstyaktwaa dhanaani cha.

(Translation: For I desire neither victory, O Krishna, nor

pleasures nor kingdoms! Of what avail is adominion to us,

O Krishna, or pleasures or even life) (1.32) where Arjuna

talks of the destruction of the family and clan as a result

the civil war expressed his genuine concern for them but

this concern also served as cover for his intense fear. By

intellectualizing the issue through superficially rational

arguments of the evils of the civil war, Arjuna was seeking

unconsciously to deny the extremely unfavorable military

situation he was facing.

 A question of debate is: is fear of death the basis of

faith/beliefs on Death? Psychoanalysis's like N Fodor,

Melanie Kline, Sigmund Freud hold view that fear of

death begins at birth and it is factor for shaping

faith/beliefs. ''The birth trauma and fear of death are

similar, the two are interchangeable symbols for the

unconscious and every fear we have is ultimately the fear

of death'' ( William Steele, Austrian Psychiatrist).

Sigmund Freud hypothesized a ''Death instinct''; opposite

to the Eros or the life instinct. Freud wrote in 1927;

''since death is the end of life; death is the goal of some

urge within the individual, the longing for the rest or

nirvana is an expression of the death instinct''.(psyche and

death, 1927 p.37). According to Freud ''death instinct is a

force that dominates life and the goal of life is discovered

in death; life is a circuitous way to death.(Psyche and

Death,1927.p37)
 Religion often is assumed to indicate need for

protection against death fear (op.cit.p.234). All

perceptions, all knowledge is a conditioned observation of

things through the mind and Sri Krishna's teaching to

Arjuna not only solves his problem; it has been a

foundational book to shape faith/beliefs about death on

Hindu mind in particular and people of the world in

general. It transcends the boundary of ''religious teachings''

of any particular religion or race and actually addresses to

mankind a knowledge to face and solve the ever present

problem of birth and death, of pain, of fear, of bondage, of

love and hate.

Sri Krishna's revelations draw upon several

spiritual and philosophical traditions including the Vedas,

Upanishads, and particularly Sankhya philosophy, one of

the six philosophical systems in the Easter tradition.

Sankhya posits an Ultimate philosophical dualism:

Purusha (spirit) which is consciousness but inactive and

without content and Prakriti (matter) which is

unconscious and active. Purusha neither produces nor is

produced; it does, however, 'entice' prakriti into activity

by 'dancing before it' with the result that prakriti is

induced to go from an un-manifest state of pure

potentiality into manifestation, pure activity of evolution

by using which metaphysics and epistemology Sri Krishna

puts forward the realities of birth and death, science of the

Soul etc. which has become the most foundational basis of

Hinduism.

For understanding about death, knowledge of the

structure of the universe, its constituents and it's way of

operation should be understood, and Bhagavad Gita gives

emphasis on such knowledge. Sri Krishna's teaching

finally is that no individual action is possible and all action

is cosmic action.

Sri Krishna says that "I am the source of all things.

The entire universe is originating from me. I am the abode,

the source, the very womb of all things. It is called Mahat

Brahma or equal to what is called Hiranya garbha, where

all the where all the seeds of creation are potentially lying.

The entire Mahat Brahma, through which I generate the

entire variety of creation is my womb.

Mama yonirmahadbrahma tasmin

garbham dadhaamyaham;

Sambhavah sarvabhootaanaam tato

bhavati bhaarata.

(Translation:My womb is the great Brahma; in that I place

the germ; thence,OArjuna, is the birth of all beings!)

(14.3)

All beings originate from this seed of creation.

Sarvayonishu kaunteya moortayah

sambhavanti yaah;
 Taasaam brahma mahadyonir aham

beejapradah pitaa.

(Translation: Whatever forms are produced, O Arjuna, in

any womb whatsoever, the great Brahma is their womb

and I am the seed-giving father.) (14.4)

Mahat Brahma is the field in which Sri Krishna

says he sows the seed of creation; the field is mulaprakriti

it's self which is all pervading in nature. The spirit called

Supreme consciousness here Sri Krishna referred to

himself pushes it forward to divide which has the potency

to manifest itself into variety because of the disturbance of

the three gunas –sattva, rajas, and tamas.

Sattwam rajastama iti gunaah prakriti

sambhavaah;

(translation: Purity, passion and inertia—these qualities,

born of Nature, ) (14.5). These elements are the very

constituents of the prakriti.

 The world is changing continuously because of the

change of characteristics of prakriti. It is a continuity that

is a flow consisting of sattva, rajas and tamas strands in a

cyclic order. There seems no solidity just the flux and

those three strands are the very essence of movement in

the world. These three gunas by permutation and

combination create a situation of transparency in the

cosmos. From the view point of Vedanta there is coming

down of consciousness to the state of Isvara , Hiranya

garbha and Virata or in the language of sankhya Prakriti

becomes Mahat and again becomes ahankara.

Mattah parataram naanyat kinchidasti

dhananjaya;

Mayi sarvamidam protam sootre

maniganaa iva.
(Translation:There is nothing whatsoever higher than Me,

O Arjuna! All this is strung on Me as clusters of gems on a

string.) (7.7)

Here Sri Krishna says that nothing outside him can

exist, not even the universe. Beyond him there is nothing,

outside him there is nothing, even the universe, (prakriti)

cannot be there without him and to show the connecting

link Sri Krishna further says as beads strung on a thread;

the whole universe strung o him and here the connecting

link can be taken as the Supreme Soul, when anhankara or

Virat gets divided into a three partite state as adhibhuta,

adhyatma and adhidaiva. The connecting link adhidaiva

set aside two as subject and object. The objectivity gets

continuous solidification into five elements. Sri Krshna

says that

Bhoomiraapo’nalo vaayuh kham mano

buddhireva cha;
 Ahamkaara iteeyam me bhinnaa

prakritirashtadhaa.

(Translation: Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intellect

and egoism—thus is My Nature divided in eight fold.)

(7.4)

Krishna says, My prakriti, the material out of

which I have created this cosmos can be classified under

eight principles as Earth, water, fire, air, ether are five well

known physical elements; gross manifestation of the

subtle substances behind them are tanmatras: sabda,

sparsa, rupa, rasa and ganda which are the principal

building bricks of the cosmos. Then there is subtle

rarefied matter called mind, then buddhi and which is self

conscious which all together make eight categories.

Sri Krishna says that he himself acts as a cosmic

vitality. This is named the cosmic Jiva tattva, Vedanta

calls this entry of consciousness into materials of creation

as Hiranyagarbha and Virat. The atman enters this body

and gives it life through the suskma sarira by which

cosmos becomes a living organic entity. This body is

sustained by the entry of the soul into the mind. It

becomes physically alive because of the atman inside. The

atman here does not directly interfere with the bodily

structure; it works incidentally through its permeation-the

mind, intellect and prana.

The whole universe is dance of prakriti. The soul

within is space less and timeless-avinashi (indestructible)

spread out everywhere. This soul which is deathless is

encased so beings are partly in the world of death and

partly in the world of immortality. Human beings have a

location space which restricts spread out everywhere. On

the other hand there is movement of life in the process of

time from birth; growth and decay until the day of perish.

This tabernacle of the deathless soul which is subject of

destruction is called death.

 We think in two ways: in terms of space, time and

object and also in terms of an aspiration for eternal

existence. It is known fact that living in this world is not

eternal. Everybody has to pass away. In spite of the

knowledge of the surety of the death of the body, people

fear it. There is something in living beings which does not

want to die. The fear of death implies the existence of such

thing immortality. Sri Krishna calls Arjuna, ''don't be a

coward, saying that one day you will die and afterwards

everything will be annihilated''. This is on emphasis that

there is possibility of the continuity of life after the

perishing of the body. Death is not the extinction of

individuality. Death is only shedding of a condition

imposed upon consciousness for given period of time, a

condition which is not necessary eternally. The body is

perishable as

Antavanta ime dehaa nityasyoktaah

shareerinah;
(Translation: These bodies of the embodied Self, which is

eternal, indestructible and immeasurable, are said to have

an end.) (2.18)

The soul is of course eternal but nevertheless; this

body is perishable. Prakriti and purusha are very

intriguingly juxtaposed n this experience of body

consciousness.

Further more, action is a must.

Karmanyevaadhikaaraste maa phaleshu

kadaachana;

Maa karmaphalahetur bhoor maa te

sango’stwakarmani.

(Translation: Thy right is to work only, but never with its

fruits; let not the fruits of actions be not thy motive, nor let

thy attachment be to inaction.) (2.47)

 Na hi kashchit kshanamapi jaatu

tishthatyakarmakrit;

Kaaryate hyavashah karma sarvah

prakritijair gunaih.

(Translation: Verily none can ever remain for even a

moment without performing action; for, everyone is made

to act helplessly indeed by the qualities born of Nature.)

(3.5)

This refers to the action we generally speak of,

which includes duty, the performance of obligatory works.

This injunction on action is born of the very structure of

prakriti, which never ceases from moving further; and, all

prakriti is potentially active. From the point of view of

karma death also can be taken as activity because nobody

can be without any kind of action. Total inactivity is not

possible because every cell of the body is active, the mid

is active, the growth which the body undergoes is an

activity where in micro level physically old dies and new

takes birth. And in the concept of Ultimate purusha, there

is no activity because it has no contact with prakriti

where is no flux, natural reaction or say vicious circle of

birth and death.

Believe that we ourselves are embodiment of the

three gunas of prakriti where, when we cannot

consciously and deliberately participate in the work of

prakriti, we will be forced to this by the very nature of

prakriti which is working inside us or let's say through us.

The body limits the experience of consciousness by

subjecting to the laws of nature as the laws f nature rule

the world. The perishable body is conditioned by every

law that is applicable to natural phenomena; therefore, the

beings consciousness seems to be conditioned by the

natural forces, geographical conditions, historical

conditions etc. It seems paradoxical that the more the

beings think that they are the body, the more they are
subject to the laws of nature and the more Karma binds

and compels to work for the sake of participation in the

work of prakriti.

The impulsion to act arises due to the compulsion

of prakriti's models, which always resolve and rotate in a

cyclic fashion. The gunas of prakrit-sattva , rajas and

tamas keep perpetually moving and never resting, as

everything is made up of prakriti, the mutation which

prakriti perpetually undergoes has a direct impact upon

individual existence which undergoes the same mutation

whether the being want to or not, it is forced to act in a

evolutionary way. The beings are in a world of prakriti or

let's say death and destruction.

Anityamasukham lokam imam

(Translation: impermanent and unhappy world) (9.33)

Anityam is the word used in Bhagavad Gita for the

world. The world is not all permanent. Due to its

temporariness, it is engendered by sorrow from

beginning to end. This is the house of sorrow as Gautam

Buddha also had said the same thing.

The intention of prakriti does not seem allow man

to be only man forever. The superhuman character implicit

in human individuality has to be manifest through further

process of such evolution births and deaths; and in this

work of prakriti for manufacturing, producing higher and

higher forms of species. So participating in the work of

educating ourselves, one with this insight can recognize

that all movements in the form of activities of any kind

are only movements of the gunas of prakriti.

Na tadasti prithivyaam vaa divi deveshu

vaa punah;

Sattwam prakritijairmuktam yadebhih

syaat tribhirgunaih.
(Translation:There is no being on earth or again in heaven

among the gods that is liberated from the three qualities

born of Nature.) (18.40)

Not all creation will we find a single entity which

is free from the involvement in the gunas of prakriti so

wherever, the activities of the gunas of the prakriti. Due to

ignorance we do not know the relation between the gunas

of prakriti and action. By this beings are pulled in the

direction of self-destruction. The desires born through the

sense organs compel the individual consciousness to have

craving towards the object of sense.

In the Bhagavad Gita it is show that order of

communication and control from higher to lower level.

The universal Atman is communicated to buddhi, then

buddhi to mind, and the mind communicates the order to

the sense organ and puts check on their activities by which

the knowledge of subtle things like death are manifested to

those who root their self gradually by the process of self

analysis through which realization of the inter connection

of things is possible.

Bhagavad Gita gives the reason of Avtarhood. The

highest possibility of help is provided from a universal

intelligence which permeates through the entire material

universe and all the fourteen lokas; and whenever there is

disharmony among the parts of the cosmos, the power of

God descends as an avatar. This incarnation of God is

nothing but the cosmic intelligence operating through

required media at a given time in a given manner for a

given purpose.

Yadaa yadaa hi dharmasya glaanir bhavati

bhaarata;

Abhyutthaanam adharmasya

tadaatmaanam srijaamyaham.
(Translation:Whenever there is a decline of righteousness,

O Arjuna, and rise of unrighteousness, then I manifest

Myself) (4.7)

Paritraanaaya saadhoonaam vinaashaaya

cha dushkritaam;

Dharma samsthaapanaarthaaya

sambhavaami yuge yuge.

(Translation: For the protection of the good, for the

destruction of the wicked, and for the establishment of

righteousness, I am born in every age.) (4.8)

At every juncture of experience, whether created

knowingly or unknowingly, God manifests himself; just as

healing forces and Avatar of God, incarnation of God are

supposed to be perpetual occurrence. The followers of

Vedanta believe that it is the coming of God in a particular

form through our individuality, the cosmic operation

through the individual is some form unknown to the

individual, it is the reason for the very existence of so

called ego ridden individual.

Pasa Yukta bhavet Jiva

Pasa Mukta Sadashiva. (Tantric Mantra)

Bhagavad Gita describes the karma as the binding ties

which bind the soul and the process is so intricate process

of relativistic association in this world that it is not easy to

know what actually is happening when karma binds.

Kim karma kim akarmeti kavayo’pyatra

mohitaah

(Translation: What is action? What is inaction? As to this

even the wise are confused.) (4.16)

Learned people also seem bewildered as to what

karma actually is. The main teaching of the Bhagavad Gita

is the insight on what karma is and what akarma is.

 Karmano hyapi boddhavyam boddhavyam

cha vikarmanah;

Akarmanashcha boddhavyam gahanaa

karmano gatih.

(Translation: For, verily the true nature of action (enjoined

by the scriptures) should be known, also (that) of

forbidden (or unlawful) action, and of inaction; hard to

understand is the nature (path) of action.) (4.17)

Understanding karma seems puzzling here. The

difficulty is that karma seems working in a particular

intricate way. Karma is shown as a peculiar automatic

reaction set up by the cosmic forces in proportion to the

action performed by an individual. The reaction seems

exactly in proportion to the action performed. In a way it

looks like tit for tat. The thickest part of karma is in the

anandamaya kosha (unconsciousness) which things are

perceived each individuals dimly in the dreaming

condition so the way f karma is indeed very hard to

understand says Sri Krishna.

The body cannot be conscious; consciousness is

different from the body, therefore when there is bodily

action –which is nothing but the action of prakriti because

the body is made up of prakritis three gunas. Hence

karmaphala comes as a recompense for the feeling that

one is doing but one who knows that prakriti alone does

things and activity is part of prakritis nature and knower

of that is different from that activity; such a person can

only remain as a non doer.

Prakrityaiva cha karmaani kriyamaanaani

sarvashah;

Yah pashyati tathaa’tmaanam akartaaram

sa pashyati.
(Translation: He sees, who sees that all actions are

performed by Nature alone and that the Self isactionless.)

(13.30)

Anaaditwaan nirgunatwaat

paramaatmaayam avyayah;

Shareerastho’pi kaunteya na karoti na

lipyate.

(Translation: Being without beginning and devoid of (any)

qualities, the Supreme Self, imperishable, though dwelling

in the body, O Arjuna, neither acts nor is tainted!) (13.32)

The Universal Atman, has no beginning. It has no

qualities of any kind and it exists in the body as the

deepest self does; not involved it's self in any

contamination of the gunas of prakriti. He neither does

anything nor is he contaminated by the fruits of action. It

is very hard to understand that this Atman is responsible

for all the activities carried on through the body, but it is

not in any way contaminated by the activities carried on

through it.

Yathaa sarvagatam

saukshmyaadaakaasham nopalipyate;

Sarvatraavasthito dehe tathaatmaa

nopalipyate.

(Translation:As the all-pervading ether is not tainted

because of its subtlety, so the Self seated everywhere in

the body, is not tainted.) (13.33)

Yathaa prakaashayatyekah kritsnam

lokamimam ravih;

Kshetram kshetree tathaa kritsnam

prakaashayati bhaarata.

(Translation: Just as the one sun illumines the whole

world, so also the Lord of the Field (the Supreme Self)

illumines the whole Field, O Arjuna!) (13.34)

 As the sun in the sky illuminates the whole world

so does the Atman pervading all things illuminate the

bodies self. Consciousness and desire to survive are

implanted in all species in creation by the operation of

Universal consciousness. Due to this consciousness there

is an instinct in everyone not to die. It is the consciousness

inside that is actually responsible for fear of death. Due to

this everyone has desire to lengthen life as much as

possible. The instinct for survival and the longing to exist

always arise not from the body but from the Atman inside

which is invisible. The Atman's very existence is

obliterated from activity and perception of the being which

is conditioned by the sense organs which are said extrovert

in nature. Due to the lack of mind and senses to know that

there is Atman, being is caught.

Kshetrakshetrajnayor evam antaram

jnaanachakshushaa;
 Bhootaprakritimoksham cha ye vidur

yaanti te param.

(Translation: They who, through the eye of knowledge,

perceive the distinction between the Field and its Knower,

and also the liberation from the Nature of being, they go to

the Supreme.) (13.35)

Those who are able to distinguish between

purusha and prakriti, between self and object, between

consciousness and matter, they will be totally unattached

to everything in this world and after shall not reborn into

this world of prakriti.

At cosmic dissolution all of the beings are said to

get driven into the bosom of prakritis three gunas. In the

process of creation the three gunas as we said that remain

in the state of disturbance. At the time of dissolution the

three gunas are said to be in the state of equilibrium. It is

depicted as the state of complete darkness. The Jivas

(beings) who have not been liberated at the time of

dissolution are thrown are thrown into the vast sea of

prakriti which remain latent like seeds and when Brahmas

days dawns the sleeping jivas manifest themselves like the

seeds germinating from the soil under suitable conditions.

Mama yonirmahadbrahma tasmin

garbham dadhaamyaham;

Sambhavah sarvabhootaanaam tato

bhavati bhaarata.

(Translation: My womb is the great Brahma; in that I place

the germ; thence,OArjuna, is the birth of all beings!)

(14.3)

All beings originate from this seed of all creation

which Sri Krishna claims he himself.

The Three Gunas Sattva, Rajas and Tamas: The

Essence of Human Life

It has mentioned many a time that there are three gunas,

that prakriti has three properties sattva, rajas and tamas.

What are these?

Sattwam rajastama iti gunaah prakriti sambhavaah;

(Translatin:Purity, passion and inertia—these qualities, are

born of Nature ) (14.5)

Those properties are the very constituent elements of

prakriti. These qualities, these properties are the very

substance, the stuff of very prkriti which cause bondage to

the individual.

Rajastamashchaabhibhooya sattwam

bhavati bhaarata;

Rajah sattwam tamashchaiva tamah

sattwam rajastathaa.
(Translations: Now Sattwa prevails, O Arjuna, having

overpowered Rajas and Tamas; now Rajas, having

overpowered Sattwa and Tamas; and now Tamas, having

overpowered Sattwa and Rajas!) (14.10)

The gunas are changeable. There is coming and

going of the gunas. No particular guna can be operating

always in a person. They have cyclic moment which is

partly due to their fickleness and partly due to some

karmas that a person has done in a previous births. When

one guna rises up into action, it suppresses other two and

it does not mean that the suppressed qualities are

destroyed. The manner in which the gunas bind us is

Sattwam rajastama iti gunaah prakriti

sambhavaah;

Nibadhnanti mahaabaaho dehe dehinam

avyayam.
(Translation:Purity, passion and inertia—these qualities, O

mighty-armed Arjuna, born of Nature, bind fast in the

body, the embodied, the indestructible!) (14.5)

Tatra sattwam nirmalatwaat

prakaashakam anaamayam;

Sukhasangena badhnaati jnaanasangena

chaanagha.

(Translation:Of these, Sattwa, which from its stainlessness

is luminous and healthy, binds by attachment to

knowledge and to happiness, O sinless one!) (14.6)

When sattva is predominant, joy-happiness is

experienced; one becomes full of brilliance, in a state of

sharpness of understanding and clarity of perception

which are all qualities of sattva guna. Similarly when

rajas rises up into action and suppresses sattva , mood of

anxiety, worry, sleeplessness is felt and when tamas

comes it makes some one go to sleep.

 The vehemence of rajas is twofold. Rajas cut one

part away from another part. It segments the one Universal

existence into bits of individualities and prevents every

part knowing that it has any connection with another part.

Then secondly it compels the individual to be conscious of

the location.

Rajo raagaatmakam viddhi

trishnaasangasamudbhavam

(Translation: Know Rajas to be of the nature of passion,

the source of thirst (for sensual enjoyment) and

attachment) (14.7)

Desire, distraction, passion and attachment are the

qualities of rajas where as illumination, knowledge,

rationality and happiness are the characteristics of sattvas.

Tamas is total ignorance, idiocy, lethargy, fatigue, and a

desire not to do anything.

 Tamastwajnaanajam viddhi mohanam

sarvadehinaam

(Translation: Tamas to be born of ignorance, deluding all

embodied beings; it binds fast) (14.8)

Tamas deludes the intellect; creates confusion and

illusion which spreads before the mind. Due to this

tendency we are unable to know what is proper and what

is improper.

The death and predominance of gunas have direct

relationship as

Yadaa sattwe pravriddhe tu pralayam yaati

dehabhrit;

Tadottamavidaam lokaan amalaan

pratipadyate.
(Translation: If the embodied one meets with death when

Sattwa has become predominant, then he attains to the

spotless worlds of the knower's of the Highest.) (14.14)

If a person leaves the body while sattva is

predominant then that person reaches or regions above and

similarly if a person dies while rajas is predominating the

mind; then S/he is then reborn into the condition of

extreme labour, work and attachment.

Rajasi pralayam gatwaa karmasangishu

jaayate;

Tathaa praleenastamasi moodhayonishu

jaayate.

(Translations: Meeting death in Rajas, he is born among

those who are attached to action; and dying in Tamas, he

is born in the womb of the senseless.) (14.15)

 If one dies while tamas is predominant, s/he will

reborn in sub-human species such as anima having no

understanding and consciousness of the purpose of life.

Not only the form but the location of the next birth

is also determined by the predominance of gunas as said

Oordhwam gacchanti sattwasthaa madhye

tishthanti raajasaah;

Jaghanyagunavrittisthaa adho gacchanti

taamasaah.

(Translation: Those who are seated in Sattwa proceed

upwards; the Rajasic dwell in the middle; and the

Tamasic, abiding in the function of the lowest Guna, go

downwards.) (14.18)

Those who depart while sattva is preponderating

go to higher planes, those with raja juna pravriti

(consciousness) die when rajas guna is predominant will

be reborn into this world and those who are predominantly

tamasic and die while tamas is preponderating will be

born in regions lower than Earth.

The knowledge about realities of gunas and it's

operational mechanism is very important. Person even can

get liberated even by the knowledge about this

mechanism. When a person can understand that all the

drama of life is only a performance of the three gunas, and

nobody does anything anywhere except the three gunas

and realizes something above this gunas, he is said to be

liberated getting unity with Brahma.

Naanyam gunebhyah kartaaram yadaa

drashtaanupashyati;

Gunebhyashcha param vetti madbhaavam

so’dhigacchati.

(Translation: When the seer beholds no agent other than

the Gunas, knowing that which is higher than them, he

attains to My Being.) (14.19)

 Sri Krishna says he attains to me, attains union

with me in my eternal state provided that there is a vision

perpetually maintained by that person that there is no actor

in this world, no performer of deeds other than the three

gunas of prakriti and one's real self is transcendent above

the three gunas. Such liberation is possible even in

lifetime it's self.

Gunaanetaanateetya treen dehee

dehasamudbhavaan;

Janmamrityujaraaduhkhair

vimukto’mritamashnute.

(Translation: The embodied one, having crossed beyond

these three Gunas out of which the body is evolved, is

freed from birth, death, decay and pain, and attains to

immortality.) (14.20)

He attains immortality; free from the sorrow of

birth, death, old age and like such. S/ he who has

transcended the three gunas and is unaffected by sattva,

rajas, and tamas; he attains to immortality.

III. Moksha the Goal of Human Beings

Moksa or mukti, both from the root muc, is the

liberation from samsara and the concomitant suffering

involved in being subject to the cycle of repeated death

and rebirth. Among Purusharthas of life according to

Hinduism, Moksha, the ultimate of purusharthas is

liberation from all the binds. That is to say, the attainment

of the ever-existing, ever-stable, ever-pure Atma tattva and

getting rid of the ever-changing, ever-unreal, impure deha

tattva is Moksha. Moksa is counted as the fourth and

ultimate goal of human life, preceded by the foundation of

dharma, artha and kama in this world.

Scriptures and Sages have declared that the

knowledge of the true nature of one's own self is the only

key to understanding the mystery of existence, and this

knowledge alone secures limitless and eternal happiness

(ananda), and ends the recurrent cycles of births and

deaths. This knowledge itself is moksa or mukti. Other

epithets for the liberated individual are: jnani,

sthitaprajna, yogarudha, gunatita. As Bhagavad Gita

states, the understanding of bondage and freedom depend

on the ‘satvika’ (pure) nature of the intellect. The bondage

refers to the ego's desires for actions (karma) that give

pleasures and avoid pain to the body and mind, through

contacts with objects (visaya). As objects are infinite, so

desires also seem to be endless. The pleasures, however,

are ephemeral, and alternate with the pain of either not

getting them or of losing them once they are achieved. The

thirst for their enjoyment can be overcome by the restraint

of senses and the proper performance of one's duties.

Moksa is freedom from bondage. The desire for

that (mumukshutva) is the utmost desire that one should

have to fulfil one's goal in life - that is to be absolutely

happy with no limitations of what-so-ever. Hence it is the

highest purushartha or highest human goal to be achieved.

Hence freedom from limitations is moksa. Hence Sankara

defines moksa as freedom from any body identification -

sthula, sukshma, karana sarira which are by definition

limited. Absolute limitless freedom (anantatvam) and

infinite inexhaustible happiness (anandatvam) are thus

equated with moksa.  

Since moksa involves limitlessness and

infiniteness; it cannot be gained or given. In this respect

Bhagavad Gita stands tall in comparison to other Vedantic

interpretations, where Moksha is given through the grace

of God and Lord Krishna alone has the capacity to give for

those who deserve – by complete surrender can gain

Moksha or by crossing over the insurmountable delusion.

The fulfilment of the life consists in the realization

of the atma (atma-sakshatkara). To get this realization,

one should be entirely free from impulses (vasanas).

Liberation (moksa) is, in the true sense of the term,

liberation from the bondage of these impulses. These

tendencies are of two types: beneficent and maleficent.

The beneficent tendencies are saturated with holiness; the

maleficent ones feed the mind and make it more and more

uncontrollable and unsteady; they spread and strengthen

the desire for objective pleasure. If the beneficent

impulses (subha vasanas) are encouraged and cultivated,

they will not go on multiplying and binding the mind

indefinitely; they become fried seeds, which will not

sprout.

The mind feeds on impulse (vasana) and breath

(prana). The giant tree called mind has two seeds, impulse

(vasana) and breath (prana). The seed becomes the tree,

the tree yields the seed. The breath moves because of the

impulses; the impulses operate because of the breath. If

one of these is destroyed, so is the other. So, if the mind

has to be free from their influence, ignorance (ajnana) has

to be transformed first. Ignorance exist in it's foundation

selfishness (ahamkara). And selfishness has two roots,

attachment or attraction (raga) and impulse (vasana); that

is to say passion and craving. Passion and craving are

closely inter-related. Through attachment, one gets the

feelings of my and mine, the feelings provoke desire, and

desires breed worry. Therefore, to remove ego

(ahamkara), attachment and impulse have to be

annihilated. That means ignorance has to be removed by

removing the ego. Through meditation one can destroy

ignorance and develop wisdom. The conquest of

ignorance, ego, attachment, and impulse brings about

liberation (moksa) for the individual.

The one who is a slave to impulses and tendencies

(vasanas) is devoid of wisdom (jnana). As soon as

impulses are uprooted, that person can earn back the

divine nature that was lost by neglect. The impulses

invade the realm of the heart; they cause endless trouble.

They remind of pleasures, agitating the memory of past

experiences. The cravings make the senses and their leader

the mind (manas), engage in brisk activities; there is no

escape from this. The impulses operate so subtly and so

powerfully. Just as the seed contains within itself the

trunk, branches, twigs, leaves, flowers and fruits, so too,

all this lie dormant in the impulses. The impulses are the

cause of all the objective happiness. If they are absent, the

mind is pellucid and pure. If they are present, all purity is

ruined; they are obstacles in the path of truth, of atma, and

of immortality. A mind free from impulses is transmuted

and is no longer mind. Nature (prakrti) is the world of

impulses (vasanas). The mind is attracted towards nature

and the external objects of the world by means of this

tendency for attachment and starts contemplating on the

objects and dwelling on their qualities because of these

impulses.
 The one who is a slave to impulses and tendencies

(vasanas) is devoid of wisdom (jnana). As soon as

impulses are uprooted, that person can earn back the

divine nature that was lost by neglect. The impulses

invade the realm of the heart; they cause endless trouble.

They remind you of pleasures, agitating the memory of

past experiences, and you start craving them again. The

cravings make the senses and their leader the mind

(manas), engage in brisk activities; there is no escape from

this. The impulses operate so subtly and so powerfully.

Just as the seed contains within itself the trunk, branches,

twigs, leaves, flowers and fruits, so too, all this lie

dormant in the impulses. The impulses are the cause of all

the objective happiness. If they are absent, the mind is

pellucid and pure. If they are present, all purity is ruined;

they are obstacles in the path of truth, of atma, and of

immortality. A mind free from impulses is transmuted and

is no longer mind. Nature (prakrti) is the world of

impulses (vasanas). The mind is attracted towards nature

and the external objects of the world by means of this

tendency for attachment and starts contemplating on the

objects and dwelling on their qualities because of these

impulses.

Without impulses, the mind will not be affected at

all by the objective world. The mind is shaped by the types

of impulses with which it is filled as Pure (satvic)

impulses make it white, restless (rajasic) ones change it

into red, while ignorant (tamasic) ones give it a black

colour. The mind is shaped by the type of impulses with

which it is filled. One has to undertake meditation and

concentration in order to destroy these impulses. The mind

is but a bundle of impulses.

The subtle body is the seat of ignorance. It is

saturated with impulses and traditions and experiences.

The Atma is free from all these. It is ever pure. It belongs

to neither sex and has no mind, no senses and no form.

Not only that; it has no breath (prana), even. It cannot be

said to be alive or dead. How can contemplation on such

an Atma be anything other than pure? How can light and

darkness co-exist? How can purity and impurity co-exist?

Of all the workshops in the world, the workshop of the

body is the most wonderful, because it is the tabernacle of

the Lord. In such a factory, the impulses are sublimated

into vows, the impurities are weeded out, beneficent

desires are shaped, and good imaginings are brought

about.

Man is encompassed by attachment to worldly

desires, which produce delusions of various kinds related

to the three attributes (gunas - sattva, rajas and tamas). To

attain liberation man has to rid himself of these desires.

The mind is the cause of both bondage and liberation. It is

only by controlling the mind that man can achieve

liberation.
      Ignorance covers the reality, it has been called

avarana. This avarana is of two kinds. One is called asat,

related to untruth, and the other is called abhava related to

wrong ideas. The idea that sprouts from the feeling that

the particular thing does not exist is represented by untruth

or asat. If there is a feeling that one does not know

whether that particular item exists or does not exist, it is

referred to as abhava. This type of abhava is responsible

for samsara. Vikshepa is the main path for liberation or

moksa.

Bondage is the delusion of beings identification

with the body. One needs to give up the false idea that one

is the body and imbibe the truth that s/he is the atma. Only

then one achieve liberation (moksa). Detachment from

body consciousness (deha virakti) will free from the grief

of bondage, and attachment of God (daiva asakti) will

give the bliss of moksa and merger with God. One cannot

get rid of body-consciousness (deha bhranti) by giving up

food and drink, reducing the body to a skeleton and

inviting death but by asserting with faith that “I am not the

body. The body, the senses, the mind, and the intellect are

all my instruments (upadhis).”

If so, how can we know about the entry into this world and

the exit from this world into another? It is the

antahkarana, the linga deha that moves from this world to

another, from one birth to another, according to the

accumulated merit. It is the limited lingadeha that has the

entries and exits.

Lord Krishna told Arjuna: “The highest stage of

liberation that is attained by samkhya yogis (those on path

of knowledge), adepts at jnana yoga, is also attained by

those who are adepts at nishkama karma yoga (the path of

renunciation of fruits of action). Both yield the selfsame

result. Know that this is the truth. There is no difference in

this between the grihastha and the sanyasi. What is

needed is unremitting practice and sincere endeavour. This

requires the renouncing of desire, the giving up of egoism

and the sense of possession, even the discarding of active

thinking and single-pointed contemplation of the

Brahmathattva. For one who has achieved this, there is no

grief, for there is no shade of ignorance. The wise man

who has won this height can never be deluded by the false

and the temporary. Even if at the last moment of his life

one is able to realize this jnana, he is certain to be

liberated from the cycle of birth and death.

       The atma is sat, cit and ananda; those are its

nature, if somehow it has to be indicated. This can be

realized only by purifying the heart, mind and intellect of

man. Persons, who have that purity, whatever their varna

or asrama, can attain moksa. When a person is beset by

attachment to some and hatred towards others even in the

solitude of the jungle, he will meet only evil. Even if one

is leading the grihastha life in the midst of the family, if

he has achieved victory over the senses he is a real

tapasvi. Engaged in karma that is not condemned, he is

entitled to become a jnani. For one who is unattached, the

home is a hermitage. Then, even by means of progeny, of

activity, of riches and of yajna, yaga and similar rituals,

liberation can be achieved. What is wanted for liberation is

just freedom from the impurity of attachment. Attachment

is the bondage.

Mukti and it's Variations

Worship, with fixity of consciousness and purity of

feeling and free of all extraneous thought, becomes itself

bhavasamadhi. As a result of this bhavasamadhi, the

Lord appears before the inner eye of the devotee, in the

form which he has chosen for worship. The vision is not a

matter of imagination; it is a 'face' experience. Without

difference of location, he can abide in the presence of the

Lord, in the self-same place. This is called salokyamukti.

Besides being always with the Lord, as in salokyamukti,

bhaktas realize all that they see as the glory of the Lord.

The experience is referred to as samipyamukti. Existing

ever with the Lord, witnessing always the glory of the

Lord, and becoming suffused with God-consciousness is

sarupyamukti. This is the final fruit of bhaktisastra. But, at

this stage, there is yet a trace of differential feeling, so the

advaitasiddhanta will not admit it as the highest. Simply

because the bhakta has sarupya or same rupa as the Lord,

we cannot take it that he has powers of creation,

preservation and destruction, which the Lord possesses. It

is only when all trace of difference disappears, and unity is

attained that the highest stage is reached. This is what is

called, sayujya. This comes of divine grace, won by the

essence of the sadhana of each; it cannot be claimed as the

fruit of effort. The bhakta will aspire for this merging

(aikyam). He wishes to serve the Lord as he pleases and to

experience the joy of the form which he has attributed to

the Lord. But, the Lord out of His grace, gives him not

only salokya, samipya and sarupya but also, sayujya.

Bhaktimarga results also in the attainment of

brahmajnana. Even if the bhakta does not crave for it, the

Lord Himself vouchsafes it to him. The sayujyamukti is

also referred to as ekanthamukti.

Means for Attaining Moksa

Every person possesses the desire of getting

moksha. The beings are tied with chain and there is way to

be freed from the chain. One way is to get the strength by

which to break the chain. There is a second way and that is

to make self tiny, smaller and smaller so that one can just

slip and get out of the chain which is binding you. These

two can be described as the devotional path

(bhaktimarga), and the path of knowledge (jnanamarga).

Hinduism speaks of many different means or paths

to reach God. Of them, three are considered major paths:

Karma-yoga—the path of action, bhaktiyoga—the path of

devotion and jnana-yoga—the path of knowledge.

Karma Yoga

      The karmayogi adopts the path of establishing

union with God-head by elevating and sublimating acts.

We meet in the world many who seem to have been born,

just to accomplish one particular mission or project. Their

intellect is not satisfied with mere imagination or

planning. Their minds will be full of actual concrete

achievements which they yearn to realize. Everyone in the

world is seen engaged in some activity or other, all the

time. Yet, very few know the significance and worth of

karma.Karma Yoga teaches man the awareness of this

significance and guides him along to achieve the

maximum benefit out of the activity. Where, when and

how karma has to be done, how spiritual urges can

reinforce strength of mind in the performance of karma,

and how karma is to be taken up so that spiritual

development can result are learnt here.

       In this context it may be pointed out that

karmayoga involves too much physical strain. But,

basically, it is the company that one keeps, decides the

strain and the stress that the mind and the body of man are

subjected to. "I like very much to engage myself only in

this task"; "I sought only to do good to him, but, he

ignored my desire and tried to injure me"; these are the

usual causes for the strain and stress mentioned above.

Such disappointment makes one lose interest in activity. It

wants to do good and it seeks to do good to someone in

some way, hoping to derive joy there from and distribute

joy. When such joy does not arise, despair sets in. But,

without getting attached, without being aware as to whom

the karma helps or how, the lesson that karma yoga

teaches is - do karma, as karma, for the sake of karma.

The real nature of a karma yogi is to fill his hands with

work. He feels that he is happy, while doing work. He

does not think of results; he is not urged by any

calculations. He gives, but never receives. He knows no

grief, no disappointment; for he has not hoped for any

benefit.

Bhakti Yoga

        BhaktiYoga is congenial for those who are

emotionally oriented. It is the path for those capable of

filling their hearts with Love. The urge is to have God as

the Beloved. The activities here will be different, for they

relate to incense-burning, gathering flowers for worship,

building shrines and temples where one could install and

adore symbols of Beauty, Wisdom and Power.

       The great saints and sages; spiritual leaders and

guides throughout the world have emerged just from this

devotional and dedicatory stage of spiritual endeavour.

Some tried to imagine God as formless, and described

worship of God through various such acts as blasphemy,

tried to suppress the bhakti cults and in the process, they

slighted the reality and its power and majesty. The belief

that God cannot be symbolized in a form is an evidence of

blindness; the charge that such worship is barren is a

hollow charge. The history of the world is the witness to

the efficacy of bhakti. It is not proper to ridicule these

activities, ceremonials and rituals and the descriptions of

the lives of sadhakas who adhered to them in order to earn

union with divinity. Let those who yearn after the joys of

worshipping the form do so; certainly, it will be a sin to

shatter their faith and treat it as in fructuous. ( please

check)

       The glory of the great heroes of the spirit, those

who have scaled the highest peaks of realization, and those

who attained spiritual fulfillment is exercising immense

influence on the mind of mankind. It is as a result of a

long line of such seers that the spiritual message of India

has attracted the attention of all nations. If India has been

able to earn the reverence of the world, the reason has to

be sought in the precious treasure that they have earned

and preserved. Here, love of God and fear of sin have been

the chief pillars of life and the everlasting guides for

living. India has won a name for being a holy land, a land

steeped in renunciation and in spiritual sadhanas aimed at

union with the Absolute, renowned for tyaga and yoga.

The urges that this culture encouraged were all directed to

the conquest of the vagaries of the mind.

The BhaktiYoga teaches the path of love without

any expectations. Love all; love all as you love yourselves.

No harm can come to you then. It will only spread joy and

happiness to all. God is present in all beings as love. So

love is directed to and accepted by, not the individual but

by God who is resident there. The seeker of God who

relies on the path of devotion and dedication soon

becomes aware of this fact.

       Some love God as the mother, some others as the

father, and some love God as their dearest friend. There

are others who regard God as the most beloved, the only

desired goal. They all endeavour to merge their love with

the Ocean of love that God is. Wherever love is evident,

take it that it is God's own love. God is the greatest lover

of mankind. Therefore, when any one decides to serve

man whom He loves, God showers Grace in plenty. When

the human heart melts at the suffering of others and

expands as a result of that sympathy, believe that God is

present there. That is the sign of the validity of the path of

devotion, the bhaktiyoga.

Jnana Yoga

        JnanaYoga is mostly devoted to the attainment of

knowledge. This Universe or Cosmos that we cognize as

outside ourselves can be explained by means of various

theories of knowledge, but, none of them can be

convincing to the uninitiated. The jnanayogi weaves many

such theories and hypotheses. He is not convinced of the

reality of any material object in the Universe, or of any

activity or even of anyone else who propounds any other

explanation. He believes that he should transcend the daily

chores of life and not be bound by social or other

obligations. In the vast Ocean sat, all objects are but

drops, in his view. They are all struggling to move from

the circumference to the centre, from which they

manifested through maya. The jnana yogi too yearns to

merge in the centre, the core of reality, away from the

tangle of apparent diversity. He exerts himself to become

the truth, not only to become aware of it. Of course, as

soon as he is aware of it, he becomes it. He cannot tolerate

the thought that he and truth are separate and distinct.

       The Divine is his only kith and kin. He knows none

other. He does not entertain any other urge, any other

attachment, any other desire. God is all in all. He cannot

be affected by grief or joy, failure or success. He sees and

experiences only one unbroken, unchallenged stream of

bliss-consciousness. For the person who is firmly

established in this state, the world and its ups and downs

appear trivial and illusory. In order to stay in that

consciousness, he has to counter the pulls of the senses

and face the fascinations of the world without any

agitation of mind. 

       The Jnanayogi is vigilant against the temptations

held before him by his senses, and turning them aside; he

approaches the Divine and seeks strength and solace there.

He realizes that the power and energy that vitalize the

tiniest of the tiny and the vastest of the vast is the same

Divine Principle. His actions, thoughts, and words reveal

this vision he has experienced. This is the Supra-vision

(Paramarthadrshti). It sees all elements - the earth, fire,

water, air and ether - as the Divine itself and all beings -
man, beast, bird, and worm - as emanations from God and

therefore fully Divine. 

       If a person has this knowledge of the immanence

of the Divine, and even of its transcendence, he cannot be

honoured as a jnani. For, the knowledge has to be digested

through actual experience. This is the crucial test. It is not

enough if the intellect nods approval and is able to prove

that God-head is all. The belief must penetrate and prompt

every moment of living and every act of the believer.

Jnana should not be merely a bundle of thoughts or a

packet of neatly constructed principles. The faith must

enliven and motivate every thought, word and deed. The

self must be soaked in the nectar of the jnana.

       The intellect is a poor instrument. For, what the

intellect approves as correct today is tomorrow rejected by

the same intellect on second thoughts. Intellect cannot

judge things finally and for all time. Therefore, seek for
the experience. Once that is won, the Atman can be

understood 'as all this'. That is the jnana yoga.

 Chapter Four: The Thought at the Time of

Death and Journey of the Soul

Vedaaham samateetaani vartamaanaani

chaarjuna;

Bhavishyaani cha bhootani maam tu veda

na kashchana.

(Translation: I know, O Arjuna, the beings of the past, the

present and the future, but no one knows me.) (7.26)

Rebirth is one of the major belief Hindu people

keep and in Bhagavad Gita Krishna talks about it. Krishna

says that I know everything, Arjuna but you do not know

anything. I know all that I was, all that is and all that will

be. Sri Krishna says ' I too have undergone many a form,

several incarnations I have taken, as you also have taken

several incarnations, Arjuna ''. He says the only difference

is that Sri Krishna knows that he have passed through

different stages of incarnations, but he says that Arjuna

does not know the stages of incarnations he have

undergone because of ignorance. The major difference

here between Krishna and Arjuna is that Krishna have

detached himself from the forms in which he appear to

people where as Arjuna is attached to the form that he

appears to his own.

Icchaadweshasamutthena

dwandwamohena bhaarata;

Sarvabhootaani sammoham sarge yaanti

parantapa.

(Translation: By the delusion of the pairs of opposites

arising from desire and aversion, O Bharata, all beings are

subject to delusion at birth, O Parantapa!) (7.27)

The moment we are born, we are born into

delusion. It is said in Bhagavad Purana that when a child is

born in the womb it knows it's previous existence. Once

the child comes out into the world, it forgets everything.

The moment we are born into this world, the maya of the

three dimensions, the prakritis, the gunas catch hold to

such a extent and forget everything realized in the womb.

One gets deluded from childhood itself because of

ignorance. We become extrovert and spend our life. The

evolution takes place and last minute of life comes.

Saadhibhootaadhidaivam maam

saadhiyajnam cha ye viduh;

Prayaanakaale’pi cha maam te vidur

yuktachetasah.

(Translation:Those who know Me with the Adhibhuta

(pertaining to the elements), the Adhidaiva (pertaining to

the gods), and Adhiyajna (pertaining to the sacrifice),

know Me even at the time of death, steadfast in mind.)

(7.30)
 In the eighth chapter of Bhagavad Gita it is

mentioned that what kind of consciousness is to take

possession. At the time of death, we are supposed to

meditate on the total concept of an inclusiveness of own

selves, the world outside and also the transcendent

superintending principle adhidaiva.

The teaching of Sri Krishna on the departure of

soul from the body seems very important subject. Death is

certain but nobody knows when and where the death will

come. Some people pass with physical ailments where as

some people die suddenly after good situation. Then how

to know when someone passes away and when to

contemplate upon own selves at the time of passing.

Anything is possible so it will be very hard to say that the

last minute can be made peaceful. Sri Krishna here means

to say that the whole of life should be taken as the

preparation of death, preparation for eternity. Every step

taken should be in the direction of final liberation of the

spirit. So it emphasis against the postponing of great duty

on everyone's part to a future date.

Antakaale cha maameva smaran muktwaa

kalevaram;

Yah prayaati sa madbhaavam yaati

naastyatra samshayah.

(Translations: And whosoever, leaving the body, goes

forth remembering me alone at the time of death, he

attains My Being; there is no doubt about this.) (8.5)

Krishna says whoever contemplates my glorious

being, while leaving the body will be inundated with that

being after death. This is because the shape that the mind

takes at the time of death will be the shape into which it

will enter after death. Thus the pattern of future life in the

other world is laid at the time of passing from the body,

depending on the state of thinking in which the mind is

lodged. Bhagavad Gita says we should bring mind to the

point of meditation while departing the body.

Aabrahmabhuvanaallokaah

punaraavartino

(Translations: (All) the worlds, including the world of

Brahma, are subject to return again) (8.16)

We will become after death whatever we have been

thinking in our life at the time of death. Here it is said that

the concept of god determines the afterlife. If particular

deity is meditated, S/he is to be reached at that world

where there is return after, even one who goes to the

abode of creator is likely to come back because of

creation's involvement in time and space.

Tasmaat sarveshu kaaleshu

maamanusmara yudhya cha;

Mayyarpitamanobuddhir

maamevaishyasyasamshayam.
(Translation: Therefore, at all times remember Me only

and fight. With mind and intellect fixed (or absorbed) in

Me, thou shalt doubtless come to Me alone.) (8.7)

Sri Krishna says think of me at the time of death

and also he says; "It is not enough if you think that you

will meditate on me at the time of passing". Every moment

you must be with me, in me; and in a total state of

surrender. In return Sri Krishna says he takes care of his

devotees.

Kavim puraanamanushaasitaaram

Anoraneeyaamsam anusmaredyah;

Sarvasya dhaataaram achintyaroopam

Aadityavarnam tamasah parastaat.

(Translation: Whosoever meditates on the Omniscient, the

Ancient, the ruler (of the whole world), minute than an

atom, the supporter of all, of inconceivable form, effulgent

like the sun and beyond the darkness of ignorance) (8.9)

Sri Krishna revels a secret, quaintness of Vedic

knowledge describing a abode where restrained tapasvins

and yogis enter. Sri Krishna clearly describes what the

imperishable seed is and how to meditate upon it at the

time of passing.

Sarvadwaaraani samyamya

(Translation: Having closed all the gates) (8.12)

Close all the gates of your body, the five senses of

perception; the windows of knowledge are to be closed

completely. Seeing, hearing, touching, and smelling,

tasting or any types of agitation should be stopped. Both

the sense organs of knowledge and organs of action should

be withdrawn into the mind by which mind becomes

intently potent. In general about fifty percent f the mind is

depleted through sense perception; but, when the activity

of senses is withdrawn, the holes through which energy

goes out in the direction of space and time are blocked

which is said sarvadvarani samyamya.

mano hridi nirudhya cha

(Translations: confined the mind in the heart)(8.12)

Then the mind is to be concentrated on the point

between the eyebrows. Now it is said that the mind will be

concentrated in the heart. It is believed that in deep sleep,

in death, and in the Samadhi state the mind goes to the

heart; at other times moves in the throat or the brain. By

meditation when the mind is made slowly descend to the

heart, said it ceases from externalized ways of thinking

and settles in the true abode.

Here Sri Krishna puts forward a difficult

technique.
 Moordhnyaadhaayaatmanah

praanamaasthito yogadhaaranaam

(Translation: fixed the life-breath in the head, engaged in

the practice of concentration) (8.12)

The pranas is to be raised to the centre of the head,

at the same time making mind concentrate on heart. Here

it means that merging of reason with deepest feeling. This

leads to the state of intuition, in which someone can

directly grasp the total essence of things. Thus being

absorbed n the highest mood of yoga/ meditation; OM is

to be chanted.

Omityekaaksharam brahma vyaaharan

(Translation: Uttering the monosyllable Om the Brahman

—remembering Me always,) (8.13)

It is said when chanted OM, the feeling of

soundlessness comes. The sound that is articulated in the

form of chanting OM, becomes rarefied into a soundless

universal equilibrium of energy where we get lodged as

the soul of the cosmos. The eternal Brahma it is, in his

form of vibration.

Omityekaaksharam brahma (8.12)

So whoever leaves the world quitting the

body, chanting OM, deeply concentrating

on the Supreme being reaches the eternal

abode.

sa yaati paramaam gatim.( Translation:

attains to the supreme goal.) (8.12)

What will happen after leaving the body is also described

in Bhagavad Gita. Sri Krishna says that despite some

conditions he is easily approachable. The conditions said

are Ananya cheetah (undividedly absorbed with whole

mind and soul) and sanatan (constantly absorbed

always).People if can die as said by Krishna reach to the

abode of him.
 Maamupetya punarjanma

duhkhaalayamashaashwatam;

Naapnuvanti mahaatmaanah samsiddhim

paramaam gataah.

(Translation: Having attained Me these great souls do not

again take birth (here), which is the place of pain and is

non-eternal; they have reached the highest perfection

(liberation).(8.15)

After reaching him, he absorbs into timeless state

of eternity, so no need to come back into the impure

world, the perishable world of sorrow.

Cosmological information is given in Bhagavad

Gita. The manner of going out of the body and ascending

upwards is described through the path called northern and

southern. The Purans, the Upanishads, the Yoga Vashista

and Bhagavad Gita describe varieties of description in the

conditions of the soul after it leaves the body. The

Bhagavad Gita describes the more glorious paths to the

higher realms. Those who are not spiritually awakened but

have done immensely good deeds are said to reach a lower

kingdom called chandraloka, the realm of the moon where

they stay invisibly and enjoy the fruit of their good deeds.

When the momentum of good deeds, charitable deeds etc.

is exhausted they come back into this world again. A

Spiritually awakened person but not merely charitable or

philanthropic, but is said to follow the different path. These

two paths are described as northern path and southern

path.

Yatra kaale twanaavrittim aavrittim chaiva

yoginah;

Prayaataa yaanti tam kaalam vakshyaami

bharatarshabha.
(Translation: Now I will tell thee, O chief of the Bharatas,

the times departing at which the Yogis will return or not

return) (8.23)

Now Sri Krishna tells about the path treading

which one returns and treading which one does not return.

The northern part is also called as jyotirmarga and

southern part called dhumamarga.

Agnijyotirahah shuklah shanmaasaa

uttaraayanam;

Tatra prayaataa gacchanti brahma

brahmavido janaah.

(Translation: Fire, light, daytime, the bright fortnight, the

six months of the northern path of the sun (northern

solstice)—departing then (by these), men who know

Brahman go to Brahman. (8.24)

Dhoomo raatristathaa krishnah

shanmaasaa dakshinaayanam;
 Tatra chaandramasam jyotir yogee

praapya nivartate.

(Translation:Attaining to the lunar light by smoke, night-

time, the dark fortnight or the six months of the southern

path of the sun (the southern solstice), the Yogi returns.

(8.25)

It is said divinity superintends the day time in

contrast to the night. If a person passes away during

daytime and during the bright half of the lunar month and

during the northern moment of the sun s/he is said to reach

the solar orb-suryaloka. From there s/he is said to be taken

up. If a person dies during night, dark night of the lunar

month during the southern moment of the sun; he is said to

reach the lunar orb-chandraloka.

The Upanishads describe many more stages than

the ones mentioned here. And at a particular stage beyond

the sun, a superhuman entity is supposed to come and take

the soul by its hand. Up to the solar orb or even a little

beyond is called the realm of lightning. That is, beyond the

sun, the lightning of Brahmaloka flashes forth. The

individuality consciousness of the soul slowly gets

diminished at that time, and it is not aware of any self-

effort. It does not know that it is moving at all, inasmuch

as the ego is almost gone. It is said that at that time an

amanava purusha deputed by Brahma himself comes

down in a luminous form, and leads the soul to the abode

of the creator, Brahma. This is the path of karmamukti, or

gradual liberation, in which the soul is supposed tobe in

the glory of Brahmaloka until such time as Brahma

himself is dissolved at the end of time – the end of a

hundred years of his life – and then the Absolute Brahman

is reached.

But there is a possibility of immediate salvation without

passing through all these stages – a hundredfold promotion, as
it were. It is the dissolution of the soul in the supreme
Brahman at this very spot. It need not have to travel in space
and time because it is jivanmukta purusha, one who has
attained to a consciousness where there is no distance to be
travelled. For him, there is no solar orb or anything else. He
has spread his consciousness everywhere in all beings:
sarvabhuta hite ratah (12.4). He is the soul of all beings, like
Suka Maharishi, Vyasa, Vasishtha, etc. When his soul spreads
itself everywhere in the cosmos, where is the question of
moving? Na tasya prana utkramanti: His pranas do not depart,
as is the case of other people. Atraivasamavaliyante: They
dissolve here, just now. That is, the moment the soul departs
the body, it enters the supreme Brahman, the Absolute, then
and there, without having to pass through all these stages. But
in the case of krama mukti, the graduated steps mentioned in
the Bhagavadgita, the caseis different. The divinity of fire, the
divinity of daytime, the divinity of the lunar month’s bright
half, and the divinity ruling over the northern movement of the
sun will take care of the soul and bring it up. In the Moksha
Parva of the Mahabharata there is the story of a great ascetic
who rose up from his body, and a little flame rising up through
the sky could be seen. It rose higher and higher until it reached
the orb of the sun, and a divine being emerged from the solar
orb and received it.

According to our tradition, the sun is not a material

substance. It is a divinity – Hiranmaya Purusha – in which

a golden-colored Narayana is seated. Just as a human

being is not a body, the sun is also not a body; and just as

we see only the body of a person and do not see what the

person is on the inside, we do not see divinity of the sun.

We see only its outer appearance, which we call helium,

atomic energy, etc., in just the same way as we call a

person bone and flesh, nerves, blood, etc. – which is not a

correct description. Hence, there is something beyond the

human concept here.

 IV Conclusion

The Bhāgvadgeetā establishes the basic principles

of life and death while revealing the difference between

the body and the self. The essential nature of an individual

can be realized through Sankhaya Yoga or Jyana Yoga as

explained in the Bhagavad Gita. According to

interpretation of theBhāgvadgeetā, death can be regarded

as a holistic and complex approach to understand

individuals, organizations, connections and the universe.

The Bhāgvadgeetā treats to purification, development,

natural attraction to Iswara and assimilation of human to

Iswaric life as a defining law of the universe.

The deliberations on life and death in the

Bhāgvadgeetā provide concepts on death. The

representation of Arjunas mind can serve as a personal

inquiry on life and death in our own context. One who is

born ultimately dies resulting in perpetual reincarnation

until final liberation from the vicious circle of birth and

death is achieved. Those who understand these truths find

no purpose lamenting death as the Bhagavad Gita clearly

emphasizes that only the body serving as a vessel dies.

The absolute self is immortal and limitless but the

bodies are temporary. The self is continually manifested in

new bodies until final liberation is achieved much like

people changing clothing. The self is presented enduring,

without creation or destruction and eternally shapeless.

Due to eternal nature of soul, it cannot be destroyed by

any weapons, burnt by fire, soaked by water or dried by

air. The perishable body expires but the self withstands.

The body may kill but the self plays no part and kills

nothing.

The sensory pleasures are experienced by the body

but not the Self. The pleasures are as transient as the body

itself. The self is ever the experience and never the

experienced so it remains immobile and reaps no action.

Understanding death creates dutiful people as Arjuna

became after Sri Krishnas proper guidance. The

knowledge and understanding of death helps people live a

life in solidity and freedom. This understanding helps

people live a life of moderation choosing the middle path.

People living lives aware of death become less egotistical,

less extreme and less greedy. These are the qualities that

disintegrating the value of universal brotherhood and unity

of all. The Bhāgvadgeetā deals with death in a positive

manner which in a way directs people to a higher spiritual

life.

Works Cited

Buitenen J. A. B. Van. Trans. The Mahabharata. Chicago:

Chicago UP. 1973.

Easwaran, Eknath. The Upanishads. Mumbai: Jaico. 2010.

Holy Qur'an. Trans. M. H. Shakir. Elmhurst, NY: Tahrike

Tarsile Qur'an,

n.d.

Jung, C. G. Psyche and Symbol, Nework 1958.

Krishnanda, Swami. Commentaries on the Bhāgvadgeetā,

India: The Divine Life Society Sivanada Ashram,

Rishikesha, 1992.

Mascaró, Juan (tr.) The Bhagavad Gita; translated from

the Sanskrit with an introduction. London: Penguin

Classics, 1962

Mascaró, Juan (tr.) The Upanishads: translations from the

Sanskrit with an introduction. London: Penguin

Classics, 1965

Radhakrishnan, Sarvepalli and Moore, Charles. A

Sourcebook in Indian Philosophy. Princeton:

Princeton University Press, 1957.

Rambachan, Anantanand, ‘The Hindu way of death’ p

640-648 In Handbook of Death andDying ed.

Clifton D Bryant. London: Sage Publications, 2003

Vol. 2

Ray, J. C. Ancient Indian Life. Calcutta: Motilal

Banarasidass, 1984.

Schweitzer, Albert. Indian Thoughts and Its Development.

London: A. & C. Black, 1951.

Sinha, Purnendu Narayana. The Study of Bhagvata Purana

or Esoteric Hinduism, India, 1901

Smart, Ninian.The Philosophy of Religion. New York:

Random House, 1970.

Stcherbatsky, Theodore. The Conception of Buddhist

Nirvana. London: Mouton Co, 1965.

The Bible. Revised Standard Version. New York: New

American

Library, 1962.

Warren, James. Facing Death : Epicurius and His Critics.

Oxford: Oxford University Press 2004.

Wilson, Edward O. Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge.

New York: Vintage Books, 1999.

Woodroffe, Sir John. Introduction to Tantra Shastra.

Leads: Celephaïs Press, 1952.

Zimmer, Heinrich. Philosophies of India. New York:

Meridian Books, 1957.

The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989. Print.

 TRIBHUVAN UNIVERSITY

Concept of Death: Assessing Death in the Light of The

Bhāgvadgeetā

A Thesis Submitted to the Central Department of English

in Partial Fulfillment for

The Degree of Master of Arts in English

 By

Bijaya Ghimire

Central Department of English

Kirtipur, Kathmandu

July 2012

Tribhuvan University

Central Department Of English

Letter of Recommendation

Bijaya Ghimire has completed his thesis entitled

"Concept of Death: Assessing Death in the Light of

''Bhāgvadgeetā ", under my supervision. I recommend this

thesis be submitted for viva-voice.

…

i
k

v
i

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 Tribhuvan university

Central Department of English

Letter of Approval

The Thesis entitled "Concept of Death: Assessing

Death in the Light of ''Bhāgvadgeetā " Submitted to the

Central department of English, T.U by Bijaya Ghimire has

been approved by the undersigned members of the

Research committee:
_______________________ ____________________
______
______

Internal Examiner

_______________________

______
____________________

______
_______________________
External Examiner
______

_______________________ ____________________

______ ______

Head of the Department

_______________________
Central Department of
______
English

Date:
_______________________
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______
 Acknowledgements

I would like to express my profound gratitude to

my respected advisor, Dr.Baikuntha Poudel without whose

pertinent and abundant knowledge of life, literatureand

world, my thesis would not have been able to get this

shape. Living his passion, he inspired me to explore all

aspects of religious principles and view points while

incorporating his unbiased philosophy and inspirational

attitude.

Without Dr. Poudel's support, I would not have enough

courage to take this challenge. It is Dr. Poudel who

advised me a lot for this paper about a tiny endeavor to

find out the association between we human, and our

surroundings. To deal with ancient Sanskrit scriptures as

an English student became pain for me and receiving

tremendous knowledge about own tradition, custom and

origin became a wonderful pleasure in this exploration.

Also I am indebted to the professors of the Central

Department of English who knowingly or unknowingly

helped me to accomplish this work. I would like to show

my appreciation and gratitude to the Head of Department

of English, Dr Amma Raj Joshi for aiding me in the

formulation of this thesis.

Last but not the least I am humbly indebted to my

parents whose incessant encouragement and blessings

have been instrumental to make me who I am today. The

credit of this thesis should also be shared with my friends

Pawan Pradhan, and Sarita Baral for their wonderful help

in collecting materials. For me their companion became a

great support during research in Bhāgvadgeetā and books

written about death. At last I would like to remember my

brother Raj Ghimire for his financial help during these

research months and sister Sapana Adhikari who helped

cook food smilingly during my busy hours.

Bijaya Ghimire
 Abstract

The state of Arjuna's mind served as the basis of

the Bhāgvadgeetā and Sri Krishna's approach to Arjuna's

problems are in a way an approach of our problems

concerning death, immortality and other practical

problems of life. No one can avoid death but the

excruciating fear of death can be greatly alleviated. As

clinging to continuity creates fear of death, this fear will

remain as long as the desire for continuity persists.

Through the understanding of life, we understand death, as

the two are not separate but parts of the same path of

existence. Jiva and Isvara are one in essence but different

in Prakriti (nature) that makes their difference, which is

the essence of Krishna's Teachings to Arjuna. When all the

bonds of prakriti are broken, there remains one reality that

is the pursuit of one final goal, the attainment of liberation.

Contents
I. The Eastern Spiritual Aspect on Death: Hidden Treasure

Sri Krishna: Symbol of Legacy and Teaching

Implementation of Rebirth in Bhāgvadgeetā,

How to Die?

The Reincarnation system for Yogi's

Reincarnation form of Sadhu

Peoples' Faith on Deity of Death

II. Dance of Prakriti as the Formation of the Universe

The Three Gunas Sattva, Rajas and Tamas: The Essence of

Human Life

III. Moksha the Goal of Human Beings

Mukti and its Variations

Means for Attaining Moksa

Karma Yoga

Bhakti Yoga

Jnana Yoga

IV Chapter Four: The Thought at the Time of Death and

Journey of the Soul 44

V Conclusion