Death – Reflection

Over the past few days, family and friends have asked me a few questions about death.  I would like to answer three of them below:

“What happens when we die?”

 From my limited understanding, I answer: “There are three planes of existence: the Physical; the Astral; and the Casual planes. In each of these the soul is encased in a body. At this present time, our souls are encased in a physical body. When the physical body “dies”, the soul then takes its place in an astral body, or a body of light.

The astral body bears similarity to the physical body; and so highly sensitive people (also known as psychics) are able to see the resemblance of our loved ones who have “passed away” and are now in their new form.

The astral plane is best described as a world of light, beauty and harmony. Soon, I will blog about the Astral plane and give and account of it as per the teachings of Sri Sri Paramhansa Yogananda.

 “Why must we reincarnate? If we all came from God, then, after death, why don’t we simply go back into Him?”

Paramhansa Yogananda answered this: “If our individuality were dissolved by death, we would do so indeed. But the ego forms the physical body. It is the cause, not the effect of physical birth.

The ego is an element of the astral body which is retained after physical death. The physical body is merely the ego’s projection into the material world.

“God cannot be attained by so simple an act as merely dying. To die is easy, but it is very difficult to attain that high level of consciousness in which the soul can merge back into Infinity.

“What indeed, would worldly people do if they found themselves confronted with such a possibility? What would they do in heaven? They would complain about everything and go on arguing and fighting amount themselves, just as they did on earth. And in the process, they’d only turn heaven itself into another kind of hell.

“After death, the basic tendencies of a person’s nature remain just what they were on earth. Al Capone, the gangster, didn’t suddenly become an angel by departing this plane of existence. Criminals retain their evil tendencies until they themselves work them out, perhaps after incarnations and after many hard lessons: until their avarice, for example, has been transformed into a desire to help others; their lawlessness into a desire to uphold the law; and their cruelty into kindness to all.

“What causes the ego to reincarnate?”

Paramhansa Yogananda again: “Desire. Desire directs energy. As long as a person desires the things of the earth, he must come back here, where his desires can be fulfilled.  If he longs for cigarettes, cars or money, the astral world can’t provide those things. He will have to return to earth where such things can be obtained”.

A disciple asked Yogananda: “Must every desire conceived on earth be fulfilled here also?”

Yogananda: “Not pure desires – not, for example, beautiful music or harmonious relationships. Such desires can be fulfilled better in the astral world than on this imperfect material plane.

In many cases, the desire to create beauty here on earth is due to the deeper- than- conscious memories of the beauty and harmony experiences in the astral world.