What is Death? Death is only a change, just as the sun sets on one side of the world and rises on the other. It is a very loving change to those who have got experience of the beyond. For others, they dread it. Why? For two reasons. One is that they do not know how to leave the body. At the time of death we have to leave the body. If you see a dying man you will see how much pain he has in the body. You may have been a witness to that. Generally people are very much in agony. This is one reason why we are afraid of death.
The other reason is that we do not know where in the beyond we have to go. In nature, death follows life and life proceeds from death. Death, as the cessation of life in one form is but a prelude to re-living in another and generally at a higher level of existence than before, and in better and more congenial environs.
I. Life on the Gross or Physical Earth Plane (the field of actions)
During our sojourn on the earth-plane, we work out our destiny or fate as planned with great precision and exactitude by what is called Prarabdh Karmas which determine in broad outline the general framework marking the duration and course of life in each case. So sages call it (the earth plane) the Field of Actions. As ye sow, so shall ye reap. Each thought, word and deed is measured and judged; however trivial and insignificant it may appear to be, rightly and justly, and justice is administered to each at the end of one's life-span.
Each one thus builds his own habitat not only here in the physical plane, but also in the hereafter; in the astral and mental or causal worlds, …all of which are the mind-zones of the universal mind with numberless planes and sub-planes including inter alia various hells and heavens with (as many) intermediate stages as one may create by one's senses, susceptibilities, likes and dislikes, loves and hatreds, prides and prejudices, all born of desires of one kind or the other. These linger in the soul in the form of general latencies of the karmic body and at the time of rebirth, a part of these prepares an etheric body. Thus 'destiny is cast into the mould before the physical vesture is prepared,' to work out the causes involved therein.
At the time of Death
At death, a soul withdraws to the "seat of the soul," a point behind and between the physical eyes, where the "window" opens into the Beyond. The departing soul carries with it all the life-impressions, and ruling passions deeply engraved on the tablet of the mind, which determine the course of its future destination in the astral and/or mental world of spirits. Stripped of the physical mantle, each soul displays its subtle individuality... Men may deceive themselves and others here (on the earth-plane); but none can play the hypocrite in the astral world where one is denuded of the solid outer covering.
II. The Astral or Subtle Plane (world of desires: Kam Lok: mind)
The astral world is the world of spirits or disembodied souls-souls having cast off the physical body and yet enfolded in the subtle and mental coverings. It is here that they work out the causes which they set going on the earth-plane, by undergoing certain purificatory processes..so as to make them worthy of the land of the shining ones after the dross is burnt off.
As the name indicates, it is a 'place of desires' and is said to contain seven sub-divisions in it, peopled by persons of varying natures and temperaments. To the first region go the vilest of the vile, the murderers, ruffians.. and persons with bestial tastes and appetites who, while living on earth, shaped for themselves bestial astral bodies, and now appear, after death, in savage forms.. In these gloomy and loathsome surroundings, they reap the harvest of their own sowing and learn the much-needed lesson which they failed to learn during their lifetime... Nature's lessons are bitter and sharp but merciful in the long run, designed, as they are, for their ultimate good.
To the next sub-plane go such souls as quit their bodies with some deep anxiety or desires for self-enjoyment and gratification weighing heavily on them.
Then there are two sub-planes for those who are educated and thoughtful people chiefly occupied with worldly affairs during their lifetime on earth..
From the fifth sub-plane onwards the environ changes considerably becoming astral in the true sense of the word, i.e., truly starry, studded as it is with stars and…cheerfully inspiring. These three sub-planes are euphemistically termed heavens-heavens of a lower type.
The religious and the philosophic busy-bodies find their way to the materialised heavens in the fifth region which they desired and coveted while on earth:(the Happy Hunting Grounds, the Valhalla, the joy-filled Bahisht or paradise of the Muslims, the golden Jewelled-Gated New Jerusalem or the Lyceum-filled Heaven).
The souls of the more advanced type like artists find a place in the sixth sub-division. and the seventh or the highest sub-division is entirely for the materialistically-oriented intellectuals….wedded to the ways of the world in acquiring knowledge.
The Astral plane is treacherous and tricky. Those who are initiated by a Perfect Master of the time into the divine mysteries of the Beyond are not permitted to tarry lest they be bewitched here. They are quickly led under cover through it, to higher regions for gaining maturity and stability so as to be able at a later time to face it with confidence.., and do not get stuck-up in their march upwards in the spiritual region.
III. The Causal or Mental Plane (world of thoughts or intellect)
From the astral world of desires, some of the souls pass on to another world, the world of thoughts, a mental zone created by the thinking mind. As you think, so you become. Thoughts have tremendous energy and each person, while on earth, creates his own dream-land.. and to this, the soul, after death, is gradually led on to experience 'the castles built in the air'..in one of the seven sub-planes or heavens. The past, the present and the future now present to him an integrated view of life, like an open book, with nothing to hide and withhold.
All in all, life there is richer, fuller and more advanced than in any of the foregoing regions, but it being the outcome of the mind-stuff, no one here can totally escape from delusion.
A sanctuary of special interest in the mental world is Dev Lok, the abode of the Devas or the shining ones - people highly enlightened in their time and greatly advanced... Here are located the Svargas and Baikunths of the Hindus, the Sukh Vati of the Buddhists, the heavens of the Zoroastrians and Christians, the Arshas of the less materialised Muslims and the Supernal Paradises or Pleasure-grounds of the later Jews. Here lies the garden of Eden from where man was expelled and excluded by God for his first disobedience of His commandments.
In this heaven-world, the lowest part is assigned to the least developed souls with sincere and unselfish love for their families and friends, an admiration for nobler, purer and better persons than themselves. The measure of their meed is accordingly narrow...and they are reborn after a while on this plane with improved powers and faculties.
Next, come in men and women of religious faith with hearts and minds turned towards God - the personal God of their own choice, to whom the Nameless and the Formless appears in the likeness in which they lovingly worshipped Him. The Divine veils Himself in the form familiar to His devotee. It is really strange that men forget that all deities reside in the human breast. "Formless is He and yet all forms are His; Nameless is He and yet all names are His; Call Him by any name thou wishest; And He turns to thee."
The devoted souls who see and serve God in man and worship Him in His manifested creation come to the third plane where they are perfected into great philanthropists of times yet unborn and endowed with a rich power of unselfish love for mankind.
Master-minds in fine arts (music, sculpture and painting), researchers and discoverers of the laws of nature; eager students …of knowledge, get an opportunity in the fourth sub-plane for developing into perfect Teachers of mankind in the ages to come.
Next, there are three lofty regions of formless heavens. Souls with deep thinking and noble living correctly and immediately perceive truths, see the fundamental causes and the underlying unities and learn of the changeless working of the divine law in all harmony..
Yet more advanced souls find their way to the sixth sub-plane and after garnering the riches of the divine mind (Brahmand), return as great pioneers of mankind to justify the ways of God to man and to glorify God.
In the loftiest sub-plane come the souls of the Masters of Brahma Vidya (most ancient scriptures) and their initiates for none but an initiate can find the 'strait gate' and the 'narrow path that leadeth unto life' and so the chosen few enter. They enjoy their self-consciousness to the highest point but are not yet endowed with cosmic consciousness.
IV. The Supercausal Plane
The run of mankind after death finds no rest in the three worlds. The souls freed from the physical vesture (body) are carried on, up and down, in the giant Cosmic wheel of life by the momentum of their own thoughts, words and deeds..as they advance on the path towards Perfection.
The causal or the seed-body of the human soul, the innermost vest, has yet two more very subtle linings underneath respectively called the (1) buddhic and (2) nirvanic (blissful). Only a brave soul like that of Jain Tirthankara, the Mahavira or Prince Sidharatha, may enter into Buddha-hood and become Buddha, the Enlightened one; and come to the earth-plane to give the Law - the Law of Dhamma or Dharma unto the world with emphasis on desirelessness…
But the stay there, however long it may be, is not eternal and it lasts only till the Brahmand itself dissolves, and the universal mind rolls up its life, absorbing all the souls in its fold wherever they may be. This drama of infolding and unfolding of life called Brahmand is repeated again and again ; and the grand play continually goes on in and through eternity.
V. The Spiritual or Cosmic Planes
All glory and beauty lie within you. The astral planes are more beautiful than the physical one. The causal plane is still more beautiful, and the spiritual planes beyond are the most beautiful of all.
Where all the philosophies of the world end, there the true religion begins. It is only after soul, the 'dweller in the body,' sheds … the three vehicles of body, mind and intellect, and becomes an entity in its pristine simplicity, an undivided whole… ever fresh in its native essence, it can (then) break through and escape into the Beyond. One has to be born anew like a new-born phoenix, arising out of the ashes of its own previous self with renewed youth and vigour, so as to be able to live through the life of the spirit that lies ahead.
(But) To cross the mental world is not so easy as it may seem to the untrained in the mysteries of the Beyond. It is the most delusive world where even the Mahatmas (great souls) ..with all their learning fail to hold on to their own ground. At every step, be it in the physical world, the astral or the mental, Brahman (Lord of the Physical, Astral and Causal realms) tries to block the way of the aspiring souls who try to escape through his domains and reach the true Home of their Father!. The great Prophets and Messiahs and all others have given their experiences of the fierce encounters that they had with Satan, Mara, Ahirman; the evil spirits, - Asuras, Demons and their agents ..whereby they try to obstruct the way, to win over the seekers after Truth by assurances of worldly kingdoms and if they do not succumb to these temptations, then by threats of violence. It is in predicaments like these that one can only stand these trials and tribulations when one has by his side, his Guru or Murshid, for the Guru-power then draws and absorbs the disciple soul into Himself and takes him along the path of 'Ringing Radiance.'
His is the path not of hells and heavens, nor of toils and sorrows, but one of flowery boulevard 'studded with heavenly lights and soul-stirring strains of Divine Harmonies;' and above all, He himself as an unfailing friend and an unerring guide comes, in all his glory in full radiance, and accompanies the pilgrim-soul into the great Beyond, instructing in the life of spirit, as he proceeds along, explaining the beauties and mysteries of the way, guarding against pitfalls and warning us of the sharp turns and twists that lie en route.
A Satguru or Perfect Master is verily Truth personified, God in the garb of man. His mission is to lead human souls to the True Home of His Father (Sat or Truth) called Sach Khand or the abode of Truth, the first Grand Division that came into being by His Will and hence the region of pure Spirit, eternal and indestructible.
Finally, the soul reaching Sach Khand - the abode of Truth, realizes in fullness, complete oneness and harmony according to His Will - 'All hearts filled with God, they live Beyond the reach of death and of delusion This arising of the soul into Super-conscious awareness is termed as said before, life everlasting from which there is no return.
How the Master helps the soul conquer death
After death, each one of us has to go blindly in a state of utter destitution and helplessness. (Thus) The scriptures, all the world over, place a high premium on crossing the borderland between life and death on this side of the world and then death and life on the other side:
Where thou hast to go after death, Why not gain a foothold while alive? Sri Rag M.I
A Perfect Master is all the scriptures combined and something more. In the company of a Saint, it is said, God comes nearer to man, for God Himself speaks through Him. The Master takes full advantage of these different scriptures which come in handy to him as aids in his work of spiritual regeneration to lead different types of people aright along the line of least resistance in each case.. He gives a practical demonstration of what he says and therein lies his greatness. One who cannot grant on soul-level some actual experience (before death) of what he asserts on the level of the intellect, is not a Master in the true sense of the word and his words cannot carry weight and conviction.
(So) The disciple, from the very beginning is taught how to withdraw from the body and rise above body-consciousness into higher regions.. We will benefit in two ways. First, we will know how to leave the body, as we have learned to do so daily; and when death comes there will be no pain and no fear. Secondly, by traveling frequently in the higher regions and returning to the earth at will, the fear of our unknown destination will vanish and we will develop an unwavering conviction about the true life; its mystery will be revealed. It is no use waiting for death to discover the facts of life.
Salvation or life-everlasting cannot be earned by deeds howsoever righteous or commendable in themselves they may be or in the eyes of the world. It is purely a gift of grace from a God-man with the Power of God working in him to the full. "For by grace ye are saved ... and not by yourselves; It is a gift of God; Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9). "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy…
If we learn to leave the body and traverse in the Beyond, which is also called "life after death," then that experience will make us familiar with our future home where there is happiness and peace, and then where will be the fear of death.. Through His mercy we can learn to die while living. He never leaves you, either here or hereafter.
Life is continuous, unbroken, unbreakable; 'unborn, eternal, ancient, constant,' it perishes not with the perishing of the bodies that clothe it.
- Sant Kirpal Singh
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