Hindu Karmic cycles: How to be at peace and smile amid adversities
Death shows us how to live and stop cursing; why ‘good’ people suffer and why revenge is unnecessary
The soul had chosen us; our body and life; we chose this life. Pic - MDDTimes
The philosophy for living a good life has been revealed by many spiritual leaders from time to time. And the readers with an interest in such subjects would often find that most of the sayings are mere repetitions: smile, accept circumstances, clean your karma, have no expectations, etc. But in this article, we look at the journey of the soul (nearest English word for Atma) after it leaves the body and what it teaches us about the hardships in life.
According to ancient Hindu customs, which is still followed by those that care about their traditions, the journey of the soul is an incredible one. What is well known is that the soul never dies, it just changes one life to another much like we change our clothes in a play. However, how exactly it transitions from one body to another is mentioned clearly in Hindu scriptures as if someone had actually seen it all happen.
The process starts even before the actual medical death. There are umpteen instances when people have felt strongly about the “end” hours or days in advance; in fact, at times, people close to them also feel an energy-sapping experience that cannot be explained to anyone. This is accompanied by a feeling of disassociation from everything and everyone.
When the end approaches, the soul is the last to leave the body, after the life (prana) had left. The soul is not just invisible energy but has senses (with new additions), emotions and intelligence, much like the living person it left. It also has the same identity, but bodily pains and joys aren’t there anymore.
The soul thus hovers around the body and wishes to communicate with the people wailing around – near or far (souls can travel instantaneously and be present at multiple locations at the same time – like the Siddhis). Some souls attempt to re-enter the body. It stays near the body through the journey to the cremation grounds where finally it becomes a Preta (soul that is still not liberated and could behave in a child-like manner). The first pinda (food, etc)is offered to the soul to make it happy and help it in its journey towards the Pitrulok (the world of the Atmas).
There are a several rituals to follow until the 10th day, with asthi (mortal remains) collection and lighting of the lamp that represents the soul being the important ones. The ancient rituals were followed for a year — the time the soul takes to travel to the Pitrulok, etc, and take a new birth, ie, enter a new body. However, the rituals are condensed because of several reasons, including safety of the Karta (the person carrying out the rituals) and his family, though several rituals/restrictions are still followed until one year.
On the 10th day, the soul is signalled to proceed to the other world – the Preta-atma is believed to turn into Atma on this day. Similar rituals are followed on the 11th (when the destination of the soul is revealed) and 12th days. Then we reach the 13th day – the day when the Atma actually leaves. This is the day when the near and dear ones get several signals that the soul is finally departing.
This is when a part of the soul starts travelling to its destination – Vaikunth, Shivlok, Krishnalok, Swarglok, etc. This is not to be confused with Pitrulok, which is a different realm entirely, where a part of the soul remains for three generations – with the old souls waiting to welcome, protect and guide the new souls of the family entering the Pitrulok – much like the real world. The Pitrus are believed to be closer to god and with several god-like powers, hence are worshipped by the family.
However, another part of the soul immediately reaches a place where it is shown his/her life like a movie, but with the repercussions of its actions — both good and bad. Given human life is considered the highest form, even above gods, the soul enjoys the happiness and sorrow, pain and bliss one last time. The evolved souls are believed to be fixated on their wrong doings, when they had hurt people intentionally and unintentionally. Hence, overcome with guilt, they choose their punishment, which is considered in total when a new life is offered to the soul. The soul then enters the foetus in the third/fourth month, and does not fully forget the past life and its journey into the new life until six months after birth.
So, all the hurt, all the injustice and all the pain that we face are linked to our previous births and aren’t meant to be avoided or cursed. There is also bliss in this life in tiny moments. Life is instead meant to be lived fully – living all the pain and happiness in the same manner, and knowing that our soul gets refined every time there is some kind of a hardship.
This could be elaborated significantly, but it is left for the wise reader to delve into this deep ocean of knowledge and find answers.
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