Anonymous: Please tell more on state of soul after death. Can’t the soul view all the suffering happening after its body died? Can’t the soul see its parents and view it’s life all again? Please clarify.
Swami Ram Swarup: In this regard I paste my article below——-
After death
Yajurved mantra 3/55, says, “DEVAIYAH JANAH NAH PUNAH MANAH DADATU” i.e., by blessings (preach and true education of Vedas) may learned Acharya give us next birth of human being so that we may again be able to learn the truth of Vedas and to get salvation. So one must always adopt true path by which he gets rebirth of human being to continue the real spiritualism to get salvation etc., because Atharvaved mantra 9/10/16 further says that human being who has done pious deeds and adopted true path they get pious human body in the next birth, otherwise soul gets the lowest/contemptible body, like animals, birds etc. Mantra is APAANG PRAANGETI SWDHAYAA GRIBHITAH AMARTYO MARTYENAA SAYONIHI. TA SHASHVANTA VISHUCHINA VIYANTA NYA NYAM CHIKYURN NI CHIKYURNYAM.
Soul according to its good or bad deeds(APANGETI) takes bodies of animals, birds, insects etc., and (PRANG) bodies of Rishis, Munis, i.e., (uuch Yoni) best bodies after leaving the present body. The soul (SWDHAYAA GRIBHITAH) duly attached with its own power of taking birth according to pious deeds and sins, enters other bodies (AMARTAYAH) though the soul is away from death, being immortal but after death of bodies, takes new bodies. These ideas of Vedas has very well been mentioned in Bhagwad Geeta shlok 2/20 wherein Yogeshwar Shri Krishna says (AJO NITYAH SHASHWATOAYAM PURAANNO NA HANYTE HANYAMANNE SHARIRE ) i.e., the soul is (AJAH NITAYAH SHASHWATOH) never takes birth and is eternal (NAHANYATE HANAYMANNE SHARIRE) in fact after death of body too soul is never dead being immortal. (TASHASHVANTA) this process of death and birth of bodies and souls is eternal.
(VISHUCHINA VYANTA) soul and bodies go far away to different directions [soul goes to Savita etc., {given below} according to Yajurved chapter 39 and then takes birth and gets another body and five elements of body go to space and are mixed within air, fire etc., according to Yajurved mantra 40/15] (ANYAM NICHIKYHU) many learned know about this fact (ANYAM NICHIKYHU) another who lack knowledge of Vedas, do not know the fact, i.e., we mostly know our body but not ourselves, i.e., soul. Death is sure i.e., the body will have to be cremated one day.
In Atharvaved mantra 8/8/11 ‘Yamdut’ means = ‘YAM’ means God, and ‘dut’ means storm, cyclone, flood, earthquake, heavy rains, etc., etc., in mantra the air is Yam. So when a soul is to leave the body then by the power of God, sutratma air enters the body and takes the soul out of it then goes to Savita, etc.
In 39th chapter of Yajurved the process of this cremation is mentioned. This process is also called as “NARMEDH YAJYEN”, “PURUSH MEDH YAJYEN” and “DAH KARAM” and “ANTEYESHATI KARAM”. Atharvaved mantra 10/8/26 says “YEH CHAKAR SAH JAJAR” means He (God) who makes the body, He destroys the same one day. Sense of Yajurved mantra 39/5 is that when the soul leaves the body then the soul wanders in so many places, takes another body according to its previous deeds (karmas). Yajurved mantra 39/6 says that the soul after leaving the body, on the first day goes to Savita (sun), second day agnihi (fire), third Vaayu (normal air), fourth Aditya, fifth chandrma (moon), sixth ritu (seasons), seventh marutah, eighth brihaspati (tiniest air), ninth mitrah (breathing), tenth varunah (udan air), eleventh indrah (electricity), twelfth Vishvedevah (in all divine qualities). Then, after wandering in sky, gets body according to previous deeds. So these twelve days are completed, then after 13 days the soul takes another body. Rigved mandal 10 sukta 135 says that normally soul after getting body faces the result of its past lives’ deeds and under influence of illusion (duly attracted towards illusion) does sins and again gets birth to face the sins. The soul is immortal and always separate from body. When an aspirant meets with a learned Acharya and gets spiritual education, then the fourth mantra says that the soul gets salvation.
