The other world is a very interesting topic that everyone thinks about at least once in their life. What happens to a person and his soul after death? Can he observe living people? These and many questions cannot but excite. The most interesting thing is that there are many different theories about what happens to a person after death. Let's try to understand them and answer the questions that concern many people.

"Your body will die, but your soul will live forever"

Bishop Theophan the Recluse addressed these words in his letter to his dying sister. He, like other Orthodox priests, believed that only the body dies, but the soul lives forever. What is the reason for this and how does religion explain it?

The Orthodox teaching about life after death is too large and voluminous, so we will consider only some of its aspects. First of all, in order to understand what happens to a person and his soul after death, it is necessary to find out what is the purpose of all life on earth. In the Epistle to the Hebrews of the Holy Apostle Paul, there is a mention that every person must die sometime, and after that there will be a judgment. This is exactly what Jesus Christ did when he voluntarily surrendered himself to his enemies to death. Thus, he washed away the sins of many sinners and showed that the righteous, just like him, would one day be resurrected. Orthodoxy believes that if life were not eternal, then it would have no meaning. Then people would really live, not knowing why they would die sooner or later, there would be no point in doing good deeds. That is why the human soul is immortal. Jesus Christ opened the gates of the Kingdom of Heaven for the Orthodox and believers, and death is only the completion of the preparation for a new life.

What is the soul

The human soul continues to live after death. It is the spiritual beginning of man. The mention of this can be found in Genesis (chapter 2), and it sounds something like this: “God created man from the dust of the earth and blew the breath of life into his face. Now man has become a living soul.” Holy Scripture "tells" us that man is two-part. If the body can die, then the soul lives forever. She is a living entity, endowed with the ability to think, remember, feel. In other words, the human soul continues to live after death. She understands, feels and - most importantly - remembers everything.

spiritual vision

In order to make sure that the soul is really capable of feeling and understanding, it is only necessary to recall the cases when the human body died for a while, but the soul saw and understood everything. Similar stories can be read in a variety of sources, for example, K. Ikskul in his book “Incredible for many, but a true incident” describes what happens after death with a person and his soul. Everything that is written in the book is the personal experience of the author, who fell ill with a serious illness and experienced clinical death. Almost everything that can be read on this topic in various sources is very similar to each other.

People who have experienced clinical death characterize it with a white enveloping fog. Below you can see the body of the man himself, next to him are his relatives and doctors. Interestingly, the soul, separated from the body, can move in space and understand everything. Some argue that after the body ceases to give any signs of life, the soul passes through a long tunnel, at the end of which a bright white light burns. Then, as a rule, for some time the soul returns to the body again, and the heart begins to beat. What if the person dies? What then happens to him? What does the human soul do after death?

Encounter with peers

After the soul separates from the body, it can see spirits, both good and bad. It is interesting that, as a rule, she is attracted to her own kind, and if during her life any of the forces had an influence on her, then after death she will be attached to her. This period of time when the soul chooses its "company" is called the Private Court. It is then that it becomes completely clear whether the life of this person was in vain. If he fulfilled all the commandments, was kind and generous, then, undoubtedly, the same souls will be next to him - kind and pure. The opposite situation is characterized by the society of fallen spirits. They are waiting for eternal torment and suffering in hell.

First few days

It is interesting what happens after death with the soul of a person in the first few days, because this period is for her a time of freedom and enjoyment. It is during the first three days that the soul can freely move around the earth. As a rule, she is at this time near her native people. She even tries to talk to them, but it turns out with difficulty, because a person is not able to see and hear spirits. In rare cases, when the connection between people and the dead is very strong, they feel the presence of a soul mate nearby, but cannot explain it. For this reason, the burial of a Christian takes place exactly 3 days after death. In addition, it is this period that the soul needs in order to realize where it is now. It is not easy for her, she may not have had time to say goodbye to anyone or say anything to anyone. Most often, a person is not ready for death, and he needs these three days to understand the essence of what is happening and say goodbye.

However, there are exceptions to every rule. For example, K. Ikskul began his journey to another world on the first day, because the Lord told him so. Most of the saints and martyrs were ready for death, and in order to go to another world, it took them only a few hours, because this was their main goal. Each case is completely different, and information comes only from those people who have experienced "post-mortem experience" on themselves. If we are not talking about clinical death, then everything can be completely different here. The proof that in the first three days the soul of a person is on earth is also the fact that it is during this period of time that the relatives and friends of the deceased feel their presence nearby.

Next stage

The next stage of the transition to the afterlife is very difficult and dangerous. On the third or fourth day, trials await the soul - ordeals. There are about twenty of them, and all of them must be overcome so that the soul can continue its journey. Ordeals are whole crowds of evil spirits. They block the way and accuse her of sins. The Bible also talks about these trials. The mother of Jesus, the Most Pure and Reverend Mary, having learned about her imminent death from the Archangel Gabriel, asked her son to deliver her from demons and ordeals. In response to her requests, Jesus said that after death, he would lead her by the hand to Heaven. And so it happened. This action can be seen on the icon "Assumption of the Virgin". On the third day, it is customary to pray fervently for the soul of the deceased, so you can help her pass all the tests.

What happens a month after death

After the soul has gone through the ordeal, it worships God and goes on a journey again. This time, hellish abysses and heavenly abodes await her. She watches how sinners suffer and how the righteous rejoice, but she does not yet have her own place. On the fortieth day, the soul is assigned a place where, like everyone else, it will await the Supreme Court. There is also evidence that only until the ninth day does the soul see the heavenly abodes and observe the righteous souls who live in happiness and joy. The rest of the time (about a month) she has to look at the torments of sinners in hell. At this time, the soul cries, mourns and meekly awaits its fate. On the fortieth day, the soul is assigned a place where it will wait for the resurrection of all the dead.

Who goes where and where

Of course, only the Lord God is omnipresent and knows exactly where the soul goes after the death of a person. Sinners go to hell and spend time there in anticipation of even greater torment that will come after the Supreme Court. Sometimes such souls can come in dreams to friends and relatives, asking for help. You can help in such a situation by praying for a sinful soul and asking the Almighty for forgiveness of her sins. There are cases when sincere prayer for a deceased person really helped him move to a better world. So, for example, in the 3rd century, the martyr Perpetua saw that the fate of her brother was like a filled reservoir, which was too high for him to reach. Days and nights she prayed for his soul, and in time she saw how he touches the pond and is transported to a bright, clean place. From the foregoing, it becomes clear that the brother was pardoned and sent from hell to heaven. The righteous, thanks to the fact that they lived their lives not in vain, go to heaven and look forward to the Day of Judgment.

The teachings of Pythagoras

As mentioned earlier, there are a huge number of theories and myths regarding the afterlife. For many centuries, scientists and clergy have been studying the question: how to find out where a person went after death, looking for answers, arguing, looking for facts and evidence. One of these theories was the teaching of Pythagoras on the transmigration of souls, the so-called reincarnation. The same opinion was held by such scholars as Plato and Socrates. A huge amount of information about reincarnation can be found in such a mystical current as Kabbalah. Its essence lies in the fact that the soul has a certain goal, or a lesson that it must go through and learn. If in the course of life the person in whom this soul lives does not cope with this task, it is reborn.

What happens to the body after death? It dies and it is impossible to resurrect it, but the soul is looking for a new life. In this theory, it is also interesting that, as a rule, all people who are in a family relationship are not connected at all by chance. More specifically, the same souls are constantly looking for each other and find. For example, in a past life, your mother could have been your daughter or even your spouse. Since the soul has no gender, it can be either feminine or masculine, depending on which body it enters.

There is an opinion that our friends and soul mates are also kindred spirits who are connected with us karmically. There is one more nuance: for example, a son and a father constantly have conflicts, no one wants to give in, until the last days two relatives literally fight among themselves. Most likely, in the next life, fate will bring these souls together again, as brother and sister or as husband and wife. This will continue until both of them find a compromise.

Square of Pythagoras

Supporters of the Pythagorean theory are most often interested not in what happens to the body after death, but in what kind of incarnation their soul lives and who they were in a past life. In order to find out these facts, the square of Pythagoras was drawn up. Let's try to understand it with an example. Let's say you were born on December 03, 1991. It is necessary to write down the received numbers in a line and carry out some manipulations with them.

1. It is necessary to add all the numbers and get the main one: 3 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 9 + 9 + 1 = 26 - this will be the first number.
2. Next, you need to add the previous result: 2 + 6 = 8. This will be the second number.
3. In order to get the third one, it is necessary to subtract the doubled first digit of the date of birth from the first one (in our case, 03, we don’t take zero, we subtract the triple multiplied by 2): 26 - 3 x 2 \u003d 20.
4. The last number is obtained by adding the digits of the third working number: 2 + 0 = 2.

Now write down the date of birth and the results obtained:

In order to find out which incarnation the soul lives in, it is necessary to count all numbers except zeros. In our case, the human soul, born on December 3, 1991, lives on the 12th incarnation. By composing the square of Pythagoras from these numbers, you can find out what characteristics it has.

Some facts

Many, of course, are interested in the question: is there life after death? All world religions are trying to give an answer to it, but there is still no unequivocal answer. Instead, in some sources you can find some interesting facts regarding this topic. Of course, it cannot be said that the statements that will be given below are dogma. These are just some of the interesting thoughts on the subject.

What is death

It is difficult to answer the question of whether there is life after death without finding out the main signs of this process. In medicine, this concept is understood as a stoppage of breathing and heartbeat. But we should not forget that these are signs of the death of the human body. On the other hand, there is evidence that the mummified body of a monk-priest continues to show all signs of life: soft tissues are pressed through, joints are bent, and a fragrance comes from it. In some mummified bodies, nails and hair even grow, which, perhaps, confirms the fact that certain biological processes do occur in the deceased body.

And what happens a year after the death of an ordinary person? Of course, the body decomposes.

Finally

Given all of the above, we can say that the body is just one of the shells of a person. In addition to it, there is also a soul - an eternal substance. Almost all world religions agree that after the death of the body, the soul of a person still lives, someone believes that it is reborn in another person, and someone that it lives in Heaven, but, one way or another, it continues to exist . All thoughts, feelings, emotions are the spiritual sphere of a person that lives, despite physical death. Thus, it can be considered that life after death exists, but it is no longer interconnected with the physical body.

The third month after the death of a loved one or after a divorce is the most difficult time. The shock and numbness passed, the loss came down with all its weight.

By this time, you can no longer deny the loss: if your spouse died, you filled out paperwork for insurance, for social security, received a death certificate. For 90 days you slept and ate alone. If you are divorced, your ex-husband may have found a new sympathy. After a while, you will adapt to this, but the third month will remain in your memory as the most stressful.

Laura was 35 years old when her mother died unexpectedly. They lived in different states - Laura moved after her marriage, but both women called each other every week and shared the news with pleasure.

90 days after her mother's death, Laura came to me because she was suicidal. She was sure that that night her mother came to her, complained of loneliness and asked Laura to be with her.

In the light of day, Laura realized that her urge to commit suicide did not make sense, but at night this feeling was very strong.

I explained to her that what had happened was normal for the third month of grief recovery. We scheduled a series of consultations and agreed that if the night seemed too hard, she would call.

After several interviews, I suggested to Laura that she write a farewell letter to her mother. She needs to tell her mother how much she loves her, how happy her years spent together, and the nature of their relationship. But now she must let her go. Laura must say goodbye and continue living with her husband and family. She will miss her mother very much, she will never forget her. She will express her gratitude to her mother by living a full-blooded life.

After writing this letter, Laura will have to read it aloud every day until she can read without hesitation. After that, she will bring it to me and read it again.

Laura managed to cope with a difficult task and thanks to this she got rid of thoughts of self-destruction. She realized the reality of her grief, learned what to expect from herself, and moved on with her life.

Mark on your calendar three months after the loss. When you notice a reaction in yourself that you didn't expect, check your calendar and you can say, "Oh, it's been three months since it happened, something like that was to be expected." Instead of panic, you will have a feeling of opening.

If you haven't joined a support group by the time of the third month, do so now.

At such a time, talking to a professional counselor or a priest is more useful than the advice of inexperienced friends.

Without exaggeration, we can say that every person from a certain age thinks about death and asks himself: When a person dies, what happens ...

What happens after death to a person

And, in general, is something going on? It is hard not to ask such questions simply because death is the only inevitable event in the life of every living being. Many events may or may not happen to us during our lifetime, but death is something that will happen to everyone.

At the same time, the idea that death is the end of everything and forever seems so frightening and illogical that it in itself deprives life of any meaning. Not to mention the fact that the fear of one's own death and the death of loved ones can poison the most cloudless life.

Perhaps partly for this reason, throughout the existence of mankind, the answer to the question: "When a person dies, what happens to him?" searched for mystics, shamans, philosophers and representatives of various religious movements.

And, I must say, there are as many answers to this question as there are religions and various spiritual and mystical traditions.

And today, information about life after death can be found not only in religious and mystical traditions. The development of psychology and medicine, especially since the second half of the 20th century, has made it possible to accumulate a large number of recorded, registered testimonies from people who have experienced clinical death or coma.

The number of people who have experienced separation from the body and traveled to the so-called afterlife or subtle worlds today is so large that it has become a fact that is difficult to ignore.

Books have been written and films made on the subject. Some of the most famous works that have become bestsellers and translated into many languages ​​are Raymond Moody's Afterlife and Michael Newton's Journey of the Soul trilogy.

Raymond Moody worked as a clinical psychiatrist, and over a long period of medical practice, he encountered so many patients who had NDEs and described them in surprisingly similar ways that, even as a man of science, he admitted that this could not be explained simply by chance or coincidence.

Michael Newton, Ph.D. and hypnotherapist, during his practice managed to collect several thousand cases where his patients not only remembered their own past lives, but also recalled in great detail the circumstances of death and the journey of the soul after the death of the physical body.

To date, the books of Michael Newton contain perhaps the largest and most detailed number of post-mortem experiences and the life of the soul after the death of the physical body.

Summing up, we can say that there are many theories and stories about what happens to a person after the death of the body. Sometimes, these theories are very different from each other, but they are all based on the same basic premises:

Firstly, a person is not only a physical body, in addition to the physical shell there is an immortal soul or consciousness.

Secondly, nothing ends with biological death, death is just a door to another life.

Where does the soul go, what happens to the body after death

In many cultures and traditions, the importance of 3, 9 and 40 days from the death of the body is noted. Not only in our culture it is customary to commemorate the deceased on the 9th and 40th days.

It is believed that within three days after death it is better not to bury or cremate the remains, because during this time the connection between the soul and the body is still strong and burial or even moving the ashes over a long distance can break this connection and thus disrupt the natural separation of the soul. with body.

According to Buddhist tradition, in most cases, the soul may not realize the fact of death for three days and behave in the same way as during life.

If you watched the movie "The Sixth Sense", then this is exactly what happens to the hero of Bruce Willis according to the plot of the film. He does not realize that he has died for some time and his soul continues to live at home and visit familiar places.

Thus, within 3 days after death, the soul remains close to relatives and often even in the house where the deceased lived.

Within 9 days, the soul or awareness that has accepted the fact of death, as a rule, completes, if necessary, worldly affairs, says goodbye to relatives and friends and prepares for a journey to other subtle, spiritual worlds.

But what exactly does the soul see, whom does it meet after the end?

According to most records of people who have survived a coma or clinical death, there are meetings with relatives and loved ones who have died earlier. The soul experiences incredible lightness and peace, which were not available during life in the physical body. The world, through the eyes of the soul, is filled with light.

The soul, after the death of the body, sees and experiences what a person believed in during his life.

An Orthodox person can see angels or the Virgin Mary, a Muslim can see the Prophet Muhammad. A Buddhist is likely to meet a Buddha or Avalokiteshvara. An atheist will not meet any angels and prophets, but he will also see dead loved ones who will become his guides to spiritual dimensions.

With regard to life after death, we can rely either on the views of religious and spiritual traditions, or on descriptions of the experiences of people who have experienced near-death experiences or remember their previous lives and post-mortem experiences.

On the one hand, these descriptions are as diverse as life. But, on the other hand, almost all of them have a common moment. The experience that a person receives after the death of the physical body is largely determined by his beliefs, state of mind and deeds in his life.

And it is difficult to disagree with the fact that our actions throughout life were also determined by our worldview, beliefs and faith. And in the spiritual world, free from physical laws, the desires and fears of the soul are realized instantly.

If while living in a material body our thoughts and desires could be hidden from others, then on the spiritual planes everything secret becomes clear.

But, despite the differences, in most traditions it is believed that before the expiration of 40 days, the soul of the deceased is in thin spaces, where it analyzes and sums up the life lived, but still has access to earthly existence.

Often, relatives see the dead in their dreams during this period. After 40 days, the soul, as a rule, leaves the earthly world.

Man feels his death

If you happen to lose someone close, then perhaps you know that often on the eve of death or the onset of a fatal illness, a person intuitively feels that his time of life is ending.

There may often be obsessive thoughts about the end, or simply premonitions of trouble.

The body feels the approach of its death and this is reflected in emotions and thoughts. Dreams that are interpreted by a person as a harbinger of imminent death.

It all depends on the sensitivity of a person and how well he can hear his soul.

So, psychics or saints, almost always not only foresaw the approach of death, but could know the date and circumstances of the end.

What does a person feel before death?

What does a person feel before death is determined by the situations in which he leaves this life?

A person whose life was full and happy or a deeply religious person can leave calmly, with gratitude, in full acceptance of what is happening. A person dying from a serious illness may even view death as a release from physical pain and an opportunity to leave the decrepit body.

In the case of an unexpected serious illness that happened to a person at a young age, there may be bitterness, regret and rejection of what is happening.

Experiences on the eve of death are very personal and there are hardly any two people with the same experience.

One thing is for sure, what a person feels before crossing depends heavily on what his life was like, how much of the desired he managed to realize, how much love and joy there was in life, and, of course, on the circumstances of death itself.

But, according to numerous medical observations, if death was not instantaneous, a person feels how gradually forces, energy leave the body, the connection with the physical world becomes thinner, the perception of the senses deteriorates noticeably.

According to the descriptions of people who have experienced clinical death as a result of an illness, death is very similar to falling asleep, but you wake up in a different world.

How long does a person die

Death, like life, is different for everyone. Someone is lucky and the end happens quickly and painlessly. A person can simply fall into a dream, experience a cardiac arrest in this state and never wake up again.

Someone who battles a deadly disease such as cancer for a long time and lives on the edge of death for a while.

There is not, and cannot be, any scenario. But the soul leaves the body at the moment when life leaves the physical shell.

The reason why the soul leaves this world may be old age, illness, injuries received as a result of an accident. Therefore, how long a person dies depends on the cause that led to death.

What awaits us "at the end of the road"

If you are not a person who believes that everything ends with the death of the physical body, then at the end of this path a new beginning awaits you. And it's not just about a new birth or life in the Garden of Eden.

In the XXI century, many of the scientists no longer consider the death of the physical body as the end of the soul or the human psyche. Of course, scientists, as a rule, do not operate with the concept of the soul, instead they often use the word consciousness, but most importantly, many of modern scientists no longer deny the existence of life after death.

For example, Robert Lanza, American, MD and professor at Wake Forest University of Medicine claims that after the death of the physical body, human consciousness continues to inhabit other worlds. In his opinion, the life of the soul or consciousness, unlike the life of the physical body, is eternal.

In addition, from his point of view, death is nothing more than an illusion, which is perceived as a reality due to our strong identification with the body.

He describes his view of what happens to the human consciousness after the death of the physical body in the book Biocentrism: Life and Consciousness are the Keys to Understanding the True Nature of the Universe.

Summing up, we can say that although there is no unequivocal answer to the question of what will happen after death, but according to all religions and the latest discoveries in medicine and psychology, life does not end with the end of the physical body.

What happens to the soul after death in different religions

From the point of view of various religious traditions, life after the death of the physical body definitely exists. Differences by and large only in where and how.

Christianity

In Christian traditions, including Orthodoxy, there are concepts of judgment, judgment day, heaven, hell, and resurrection. After death, every soul will be judged, where charitable, good and sinful deeds are weighed, and there is no opportunity to be reborn.

If a person's life was burdened with sins, then his soul can go to purgatory or, in the case of mortal sins, to hell. Everything depends on the severity of sins and on the possibility of their expiation. At the same time, the prayers of the living can affect the fate of the soul after death.

As a result, in the Christian tradition it is important to perform a funeral service over the grave on the day of burial and periodically pray for the repose of the souls of the dead during church services. According to the Christian religion, sincere prayers for the departed are able to save the soul of a sinner from an eternal stay in hell.

Depending on how a person lived, his soul goes to purgatory, heaven or hell. The soul enters purgatory if the sins committed were not mortal or in the absence of a rite of absolution or purification in the process of dying.

After experiencing unpleasant soul-tormenting sensations and gaining repentance and redemption, the soul gets a chance to go to heaven. Where she will live in peace among angels, seraphim and saints until the day of judgment.

Paradise or the kingdom of heaven is a place where the souls of the righteous are in bliss and enjoy life in perfect harmony with all things, and do not know any need.

A person who committed mortal sins, regardless of whether he was baptized or not, a suicide or just an unbaptized person, cannot go to heaven.

In hell, sinners are tormented by hellfire, torn apart and endure endless torment as punishment, and all this lasts until the day of judgment, which should take place with the second coming of Christ.

Descriptions of the hour of judgment can be found in the New Testament in the Bible, in the Gospel of Matthew verses 24-25. God's judgment or the great judgment day will forever determine the fate of the righteous and sinners.

The righteous will rise from the grave and gain eternal life at the right hand of God, while sinners will be condemned to burn in hell forever.

Islam

The concept of judgment, heaven and hell in Islam as a whole is very similar to the Christian tradition, but there are some differences. In Islam, much attention is paid to the rewards that a holy soul receives in paradise.

The righteous in the Muslim paradise not only enjoy peace and tranquility, but live surrounded by luxury, beautiful women, delicious food, and all this in wonderful gardens of Eden.

And if heaven is a place for the just reward of the righteous, then hell is a place created by the Almighty for the legal punishment of sinners.

The torment in hell is terrible and endless. For someone who is condemned to be in hell, the "body" is increased in size several times, to multiply the torment. After each torture, the remains are restored and subjected to suffering again.

In the Muslim hell, as in the Christian one, there are several levels, which differ in the degree of punishment depending on the severity of the sins committed. A fairly detailed description of heaven and hell can be found in the Qur'an and Hadith of the Prophet.

Judaism

According to Judaism, life is inherently eternal, therefore, after the death of the physical body, life simply passes to another, higher, if I may say so, level.

The Torah describes the moments of the transition of the soul from one dimension to another, depending on what kind of inheritance from the actions of the soul has accumulated during life.

For example, if the soul was too strongly attached to physical pleasures, then after death it experiences inexpressible suffering, because in the spiritual world, without a physical body, it does not have the opportunity to satisfy them.

In general, we can say that in the Jewish tradition, the transition to higher, spiritual parallel worlds reflects the life of the soul in the body. If in the physical world life was joyful, happy and filled with love for God, then the transition will be easy and painless.

If the soul, while living in the body, did not know peace, was filled with hatred, envy and other poisons, all this will go to the afterlife and intensify many times over.

Also, according to the book "Zaor", the souls of people are under the constant patronage and supervision of the souls of the righteous and ancestors. Souls from the subtle worlds help and instruct the living, because they know that the physical world is only one of the worlds created by God.

But, although our familiar world is only one of the worlds, souls always return to this world in new bodies, therefore, taking care of the living, the souls of the ancestors also take care of the world in which they will live in the future.

Buddhism

In the Buddhist tradition, there is a very important book that describes in detail the process of dying and the journey of the soul after the death of the body - the Tibetan Book of the Dead. It is customary to read this text in the ear of the deceased for 9 days.

Accordingly, within 9 days after death, they do not perform a funeral rite. All the while, the soul is given the opportunity to hear step-by-step instructions about what it can see and where it can go. Conveying the essence, we can say that the soul will feel and experience what it was inclined to love and hate in life.

What the soul of a person has strong love, attachment or fear and disgust will determine what kind of pictures a person will see during his 40-day journey in the spiritual world (bardo). And in what world the soul is destined to be reborn in the next incarnation.

According to the Tibetan Book of the Dead, during the journey in the posthumous bardo, a person has a chance to free the soul from karma and further incarnations. In this case, the soul does not receive a new body, but goes to the bright lands of the Buddha or the subtle worlds of Gods and Demigods.

If a person experienced too much anger and showed aggression during life, such energies can attract the soul to the worlds of asuras or half-demons. Excessive attachment to physical pleasures, which has not dissolved even with the death of the body, can cause rebirth in the worlds of hungry ghosts.

A very primitive mode of existence, aimed only at survival, can lead to a birth in the animal world.

In the absence of any strong or excessive attachments and aversions, but in the presence of attachment to the physical world as a whole, the soul will be born in a human body.

Hinduism

The view of the life of the soul after death in Hinduism is very similar to the Buddhist one. Which is not surprising since Buddhism has Hindu roots. There are slight differences in the description and names of the worlds in which the soul can be reborn. But the point is also that the soul receives rebirth according to karma (the consequences of those actions that a person performed during his lifetime).

The fate of the human soul after death - can it get stuck in this world

There is evidence that the soul can be stuck for some time in the physical world. This can happen if there is a strong affection or pain in relation to those who remain or if it is necessary to complete an important task.

Often this happens due to an unexpected death. In such cases, as a rule, death is too great a shock for the soul itself and for the relatives of the deceased. The severe pain of loved ones, their unwillingness to come to terms with the loss, important unfinished business does not give the soul the opportunity to move on.

Unlike those who die of illness or old age, people who die unexpectedly do not have the ability to make a will. And often the soul wants to say goodbye to everyone, help, ask for forgiveness.

And if the soul does not have any painful attachments to a place, a person, or physical pleasure, then, as a rule, completing all things, it leaves our earthly world.

Soul on the day of the funeral

The soul of a person on the day of the burial or cremation ceremony, as a rule, is present next to the body among relatives and friends. Therefore, it is considered important in any tradition to pray for the easy return of the soul home.

In Christian customs, these are funeral services; in Hinduism, these are sacred texts and mantras, or simply good and kind words uttered over the body of the deceased.

Scientific evidence for life after death

If the testimonies of eyewitnesses who have experienced a near-death experience, psychics who see souls and people who can leave the body can be considered evidence, then there are now, without exaggeration, hundreds of thousands of such confirmations.

A large number of recorded stories of people who have experienced a coma or near-death experience, with comments by research doctors, can be found in Moody's book Life After Life.

Several thousand different unique stories about life after death, received as a result of regressive hypnosis by Dr. Michael Newtan, are described in his books on soul travels. Some of the most famous are Journey of the Soul and Destiny of the Soul.

In the second book, The Long Journey, he describes in detail what exactly happens to the soul after death, where it goes, and what difficulties it may encounter on its way to other worlds.

Quantum physicists and neuroscientists have now learned how to measure the energy of consciousness. They have not yet come up with a name for it, but have recorded a subtle difference in the movement of electromagnetic waves in a conscious and unconscious state.

And if it is possible to measure the invisible, to measure consciousness, which is often equated with the immortal soul, then it will become obvious that our soul is also a kind of very subtle, but energy.

Which, as you know, from Newton's first law is never born, will not be destroyed, energy only passes from one state to another. And this means that the death of the physical body is not the end - it is just another stop in the endless journey of the immortal soul.

9 signs that deceased loved ones are nearby

Sometimes, when the soul lingers in this world, it stays for a while in order to complete its earthly affairs and say goodbye to loved ones.

There are sensitive people and psychics who clearly feel the presence of the souls of the dead. For them, this is the same part of reality as our world is for ordinary people, without extrasensory abilities. However, even people without special abilities talk about feeling the presence of a deceased person.

Since communication with souls is possible only at the level of intuition, this contact often occurs in dreams, or manifests itself in subtle, psychic sensations, which are accompanied by pictures from the past, or the voice of the deceased, sounding in the head. In those moments when the soul is open, many are able to look into the spiritual world.

The following events may be a sign that the soul of a deceased person is near you

• Frequent appearance of the deceased in dreams. Especially if in a dream the deceased asks you for something.
• An unexpected and inexplicable change in smells around you. For example, an unexpected smell of flowers, despite the fact that there are no flowers nearby, or coolness. And if you suddenly smelled the perfume of the deceased or his favorite scent, then you can be sure that his soul is nearby.
• Unclear movement of objects. If you suddenly find things where they could not be. Especially if it's the things of the deceased. Or you suddenly began to discover unexpected objects in your path. Perhaps the deceased so attracts attention and wants to say something.
• A clear undoubted feeling of the presence of a departed person nearby. Your brain, your feelings, still remember what it was like to be with the deceased before they died. If this feeling becomes as distinct as during his lifetime, do not hesitate, his soul is near.
• Frequent and obvious violations in the operation of electrical appliances and electronics can be one of the signs of the presence of the soul of the deceased nearby.
• Unexpectedly hearing your favorite or significant music for both of you, while you are thinking about the departed, is another sure sign that his soul is near.
• Explicit sensations of touch when you are alone. Although for many it is a frightening experience.
• If any animal suddenly shows special attention to you, or persistently attracts you with its behavior. Especially if it was the beloved animal of the deceased person. It could also be news from him.

According to the cosmogonic concept set forth in the Vedic canons, the material world was created by God as the world of virtual reality. It consists of 33 thousand universal layers, packed one into another, and makes up one fourth of the spiritual universe, but not in a geometric or temporal sense, but in terms of its manifestations.

According to the cosmogonic concept set forth in the Vedic canons, the material world was created by God as the world of virtual reality. It consists of 33 thousand universal layers, packed one into another, and makes up one fourth of the spiritual universe, but not in a geometric or temporal sense, but in terms of its manifestations. The modern hypothesis of the parallelism of the worlds is very close to this concept. In the material universe there is only the past and the future, in the spiritual world there is only the present. The mind of modern man is not able to accommodate this amazing idea.

Only a fool thinks he is independent.Only a fool feels that he is irreplaceable.

In the spiritual world, each of us is connected with God by loving rasas (relationships). We strive to get closer to the Almighty, to achieve absolute perfection, but this is impossible in principle, since only God is ideal. Therefore, a virtual reality world filled with all kinds of illusions was created so that we can play any role, up to the position of the Lord, if we so desire.

Thus, one day we plunged into this illusory energy in order to enjoy our independence and to feel what the Supreme is experiencing by controlling other living beings.

In one of the famous Vedic canons, Srimad Bhagavatam, the material world is compared to a dense forest. When the jiva (living entity) enters it, it becomes completely entangled in its endless paths. It must be said that a living being has not only material, but also spiritual feelings, however, in the world of virtual reality, spiritual feelings are under cover, like the sky under thick clouds, and therefore a person cannot directly perceive God. Tired of these wanderings, experiencing constant suffering and dissatisfaction due to being cut off from the Lord, we fall into despair, and then the Almighty, always residing in our hearts, sends us a spiritual mentor or reveals knowledge through canonical literature. It is from this moment that our return home, back to Godhead, begins.

The spiritual evolution of a living being (jiva) in the material world is a very long process. According to the Vedic tradition, there are 8 million 400 thousand levels of consciousness, each of which is one coil of a large spiral of evolution, one step on the path to God. Only a part of these coils refers to the biological form of life (a certain mode of existence of purine and pyramidine bases). The rest have more subtle structures of material energy. In order to move to the next level of consciousness, it is necessary to work out a huge package of karmic tasks, go through many tests sent from above, and successfully pass exams. This is similar to the gradual washing away of dirty glass that does not let in the light of the Sun. It is impossible to accomplish this in one life - to take the fortress in one assault. It takes hard work and hard work. Therefore, it is also necessary to go through a small spiral of evolution, consisting of twelve stages, like studying at school. On each turn of this spiral, a person can incarnate from one to ten times, depending on the success of the tasks performed.

A person on each turn of the small spiral goes through four stages of birth and four stages of death.

Four stages of birth

After birth, a person goes through four stages of birth and four stages of death. They were described in the ancient tantras and puranas, and in the 20th century they were confirmed by numerous studies of psychologists. The issue of four stages of birth, or four perinatal matrices, on one of which the human consciousness is fixed during birth, was purposefully dealt with by Stanislav Grof. He actively used the regression method, plunging a person into a certain state in which he recalled his previous incarnations in the smallest details and details.

The Vedic shastras (canons) say that there are four types of suffering that are almost impossible to overcome in this world: birth, illness, old age and death. Oddly enough at first glance, the greatest of these sufferings is considered to be birth.

The path of a living being to the next incarnation begins with the death of his former body. At this moment, two outer shells of the soul are destroyed - anna-maya-kosha (physical or anatomical) and ipran-maya-kosha (etheric or energy-informational).

Further, a living being - jiva - in a "subtle" body, consisting of ahankara (false ego), buddhi (intellect), manas (mind) and indriyas (senses), passes through the cosmic corridor and, in accordance with its innermost desires and the most mature karmic program (prarabdha-karma) receives a new birth on a certain planet, in the corresponding country, city and family.

The script with which we come into this world is laid much earlier than the next birth. The choice of parents by a child is not at all accidental, and the moments of conception and birth are predetermined to a certain extent. The internal reason for our birth lies only in ourselves, and parents are given only those who can best ensure our development and help us fulfill the given program.

If a man and a woman fall in love with each other, then sooner or later they will create a single energy-informational field - a family egregor - a world like an amazing garden filled with beautiful plants of love. No friends, no relatives, no teachers should be admitted here; only children have this right.

When a man and a woman have reached full mutual understanding, have passed all the tests and are confident in their love, they can begin preparations for conceiving a child. Ayurveda recommends that this period last at least nine months.

At this time, future parents need:

• cleanse your body of exotoxins and cellular "slags" (it is best to take "soft" Ayurvedic preparations like triphala-guggul);
• put in order the neuroendocrine, immune and reproductive systems;
• take only clean food and water;
• completely refrain from sexual relations (it is necessary to accumulate a sufficient amount of shakti energy);
• do not take long baths in hot springs (hot water reduces the activity and viability of germ cells);
• regularly use rasayanas (rejuvenating Ayurvedic elixirs like "chyawanprash");
• devote more time to spiritual practices.

Two or three months before conception, a woman can feel a living being next to her, preparing to become her child. She gradually awakens her maternal instinct, in her dreams she sees babies and begins to treat children in a special way.

When the internal and external causes of birth are combined, the living being enters the sperm of the future father and at the moment of conception moves into the womb of the mother, losing consciousness and the ability to perceive the world around. In this state, called swapna, or dreamless sleep, the jiva will remain for about three months.

This stage is considered transitional. If at this time a woman, for one reason or another, has an abortion, the living being will again be in a state of expectation of the next incarnation and, most likely, will again and again try to enter the womb of her mother. But if it is constantly thrown out of there, then it will have the opportunity to be born in a different family egregore. True, for this, those who can provide him with appropriate upbringing and development must live on Earth - otherwise the jiva will have to wait in the subtle space of the Universe for as long as necessary. Sometimes it takes tens and even hundreds of years (for example, if someone has a unique development program that a strictly defined family can implement).

Therefore, from the point of view of the laws of the Universe, abortion is considered a more sinful act than murder, and a woman who has committed such an act consciously, in this or the next life, may lose the ability to have children. It may also happen that her offspring will die in the first years of their life or will be mentally and physically handicapped. Such a situation is not some kind of punishment of Fate, as some people think, but is given to develop a mother's instinct in a woman and teach her motherly love.

"Ocean Paradise"

Three months pass and the transition phase ends. The child’s consciousness turns on, and the first, longest stage of birth begins, which is called the “oceanic” (in the system of Stanislav Grof, it is called the “first perinatal matrix”). Despite the fact that this period, starting from the 12-13th week after conception, lasts about five to six months, that is, until the onset of labor pains, the individual, relative perception by a living being of its duration is equal to the entire subsequent life.

At this time, the embryo is most closely connected with its mother, not only through the umbilical cord, through which it receives oxygen and all the necessary nutrients, but also through psycho-emotional contact. The child feels as if in a "dissolved" state. Its existence at this stage is similar to the life of deep-sea fish, starfish or jellyfish. His ethereal body is harmoniously built into the mother's energy-informational matrix, and their "subtle" (psychic) ​​bodies are merged into one. The channels of the nadis of mother and child are connected with each other, intertwined, form a single system.

Never again will mother and child be as close as they are now. Their mutual love seems to flow from one to another without encountering any obstacles. A woman at this time can realize a lot, discover, change in herself. The child makes her look for a connection with the whole world around her. As never before, she feels like a particle of the Universe and plunges into a downward energy-informational flow, so pregnancy for a woman is a truly mystical period in her life.

The child at this time also feels like a cell of the Universe, a particle of God, a drop of the boundless Ocean. He perceives the world through his mother, and everything that she does at this time will correspond to his energy-information matrix. He "scans" the surrounding space that his parents have created for him, as well as all the mother's thoughts and her emotional states. He plunges into the memories of his past incarnations, recorded on the matrices of the mind (manas), and like a sponge absorbs information about the outside world. Mother's love envelops and protects him.

Depending on the thoughts of the mother, her experiences, actions, lifestyle and the physical condition of her body, the life of a child can turn into a heavenly or hellish existence.

Tantric texts indicate that a child who is able to scan the mother's mental field sees her good thoughts in the form of angelic beings. When the mother is in a sublime and peaceful state, the child experiences bliss, reaching ecstasy. He seems to fall on a heavenly planet and bathe in the rays of Divine light. He feels his infinite unity with the creations of the Most High. He “feeds” on this Divine light, and his development goes faster and more harmoniously.

When the mother's inner world is out of balance, and she experiences anger, irritation, envy, hatred, depression or fear, the views of the heavenly planets are replaced by pictures of destruction, natural disasters, hellish worlds filled with evil and insidious creatures devouring everyone and everything. Due to the fact that the mind of the mother is saturated with negative and destructive stereotypes, the child is faced with terrible demons, vampires, monsters, the likes of which can only be seen in horror films or computer games.

Ayurvedic advice for pregnant women. During pregnancy, a woman is very vulnerable to the negative impact of other people and various bhoots (spirits) that can be fueled by her energy. It becomes more vulnerable to various diseases, because during this period there is a programmed violation of homeostasis (balance of the internal environment of the body). The synthesis of cholesterol increases, since it is necessary for the construction of cell membranes. The level of glucose, which is the main energy substrate for maintaining the cells of not only the mother, but also the fetus, increases. The activity of cellular and humoral immunity (B-lymphocytes, T-killers, ECC, complement) decreases, because the fetus is perceived by the mother's body as a foreign body. Changes in the activity of many hormones and enzymes. The likelihood of developing so-called "ontogenetic" diseases after the end of pregnancy increases (this is possible if the woman's tuning fork system of the body - the energy-information matrix) is disturbed.

Therefore, Ayurveda recommends that women during pregnancy be especially careful in behavior, nutrition, and taking medications. Most of the time it is desirable to be in a clean and quiet place. If possible, one should not leave the house in the evenings (when harmful bhoots become more active), stay alone at night, visit cemeteries, crematoria, slaughterhouses, gambling houses and large crowds of people, read or watch films related to violence and murder. All this can negatively affect the psyche of not only the mother, but also the child. Do not stay near sources of high-frequency radiation (computers, TVs, mobile phones, microwave ovens and high-voltage transmission lines).

During pregnancy, it is best to eat only freshly prepared meals and not leave them even for the evening. It is advisable to eat at the same time four times a day in small quantities (no more than one to two glasses of solid food). Preference should be given to fresh cheese (“Adyghe”), natural (not reconstituted) milk and fresh (not peroxidized) biokefirs, since they are a source of not only complete protein, but also easily digestible calcium. You can supplement dairy products with soy milk (or shakes) and tofu. With intolerance to dairy products, dietary supplements containing a chelated (natural, or easily digestible) form of calcium should be included in the diet. Vegetables, herbs, fruits and berries, if possible, it is better to use those that do not contain preservatives and are grown without chemical fertilizers. It is recommended to use potatoes less often (especially the old crop), as it contributes to the accumulation of pathological mucus in the body; beetroot, as it adsorbs environmental toxins; radish and white cabbage, causing increased peristalsis of the large intestine. Of the legumes, you can only eat mung dal (mung), chickpeas, green beans, asparagus and fresh or frozen peas. It is not forbidden to include wild and brown rice, buckwheat, germinated wheat, oatmeal and barley in your diet quite often. You can cook milk porridge (add milk 5-10 minutes before the end of cooking). It is undesirable to use semolina and corn grits, products made from corn and refined wheat flour, as they contribute to the development of hyperinsulinemia, and this can subsequently lead to the development of obesity. For the same reason, sugar should be replaced with fructose. It is necessary to include seafood in your diet more often, especially seaweed, since the child's body needs more iodine and selenium during this period. It is best to cook with olive and ghee (the first should be 70% of the diet, the second - 30%), but margarine should not be used. Food can be baked, stewed or boiled; light frying is permissible only in ghee. Of the nuts, pine nuts are best suited, which are an excellent source of easily digestible magnesium. Peanuts and pistachios should not be consumed as they may contain aflatoxin, which can damage liver cells. You should also exclude the meat of cows, pigs, goats, sheep and rabbits from your diet. Nitrosamines (preservatives and dyes for red meat, sausages and offal), indole and skatole, which are formed in the intestines when eating meat, as well as the “fear hormone” that is released in the body of slaughtered animals (especially rabbits and cows), can cause great harm to a child.

If a mother during pregnancy consumes poor-quality food, alcohol, coffee, and also smokes, is in an unclean place or is sick and is forced to take various pharmacological preparations, then the fetus feels pain, suffocation, a feeling of pressure, nausea, the taste of iodine, blood or even rotten meat. . Toxic pollution of the "ocean" in which the child resides is fraught with severe suffering for him, if not a real catastrophe.

When a pregnant woman has such an opportunity, it is better for her to leave the city before giving birth and live in a clean, secluded place, on the coast of the sea, lake, river, or in a picturesque mountain valley. In the room where she spends most of her time, there should be a calm atmosphere, dim side or bottom lighting. It is very favorable to listen to psycho-relaxing music, ragas and mantras. It is very important that the whole situation in the room does not even have a hint of aggressiveness; the best interior will be wallpaper in pastel colors, as well as paintings and images that create a feeling of peace and tranquility. It is preferable for a woman not to remain alone, but to be close to her husband, who surrounds her with love and care, protecting, softening any negative experiences and situations that can cause numerous diseases and psychological problems in the child in the future.

Starting from the third month of pregnancy, a woman can enter into mental contact with her child, talk to him, read spiritual books to him and give appropriate instructions. To do this, it is not necessary to pronounce any words. It is enough to imagine this or that image or think about something. The child at this stage perceives any thought or feeling of the mother in the form of very real characters, the heroes of his play. At the first stage of birth, the scenario of the entire subsequent life of a given person is played out, i.e. prarabdha-karma (the program with which a living being comes to Earth in the process of life can be adjusted or even largely changed).

The child's consciousness is usually fixed on one of the four perinatal matrices, which is associated with the main vector of his karmic program. This is not a matter of chance, but of choice.

If the fixation of consciousness occurs at the first stage of a person’s birth, in later life he will most likely become open to the outside world, it will be very easy for him to feel like a cell of the Universe, realize his deep connection with nature and understand why people behave one way or another. Distinguished by pronounced empathy (the ability to empathize), he will be able to easily come into contact with animals (and maybe even understand the language of mammals, birds and plants). He will be characterized by softness of disposition and flexibility of perception. It will not be difficult for him to enter various meditative states. For all that, he will show some infantilism and a tendency to be under the influence of his parents for a long time, especially his mother. He will mature more slowly than his peers, and may even remain a “big kid” for life. Most likely, he will not want to take responsibility for any affairs or other people, and self-doubt will prevent him from making independent decisions. Such people can be good performers, but not leaders.

The first stage of birth, which may have seemed infinitely long to the child, will end with the onset of labor pains.

"Exile from Paradise"

The second stage (or the second perinatal matrix) is called "apocalypse", "expulsion from paradise". At this time, uterine contractions occur, but the birth gate (cervix) remains closed. For a child, this is a real catastrophe, a disaster comparable to the onset of death. He feels that each contraction of the uterus compresses the arteries and prevents the flow of blood between him and the mother, that the supply of oxygen and those nutrients that ensure his life is stopped. He is suffocating, he is seized with horror and feels that he is immersed in an ominous atmosphere filled with various dangers. Everything that happens around resembles devastating natural disasters - terrible earthquakes, epidemics or the death of the Universe. The child may have a vision of a giant whirlpool, which ruthlessly pulls him into the very center. It may seem to him that the earth has opened up and is absorbing an involuntary traveler, who is awaited by the labyrinths of a terrible underworld. He seems to fall into a trap and is absorbed by unknown external forces. The whole atmosphere resembles an apocalypse, destroying the calm intrauterine world and replacing oceanic freedom with agony. At this stage, a woman has pains that cause negative emotions that give rise to negative mental images in the form of bloodthirsty "demons" that gradually surround the child. He sees truly infernal pictures. Sometimes some of these scenes (not fictional, but taken from the subconscious, from visions that came at the second stage of birth) are reproduced by artists on their canvases.

The worst thing for a child is that he does not understand what is happening and does not know what to do. The familiar world is collapsing, and there is no way out. At the same time, time is very much "stretched", and suffering seems endless. What is left for a child in such a situation? Just endure. And he endures, no matter how hard it is for him.

There is a parable about two twins. When the birth began, one of them began to rejoice: “Look, soon we will gain freedom and begin to live independently. A huge world with extraordinary possibilities will open up before us.” The other began to convince his brother of imminent death: “Look, we were connected with our mother by the umbilical cord all the time. Through it we received oxygen and food. As soon as we are born, it will be cut off, and you and I will die ... "

If a child's consciousness is fixed on the second perinatal matrix, then in life, most likely, he will be distinguished by extraordinary tolerance and asceticism. He will be able to endure material hardships quite easily, but he will always be characterized by pessimism and depressive states, and sometimes claustrophobia. Already from childhood, such people begin to realize the frailty of this world and understand that any efforts can be doomed to failure if the higher powers so desire. These manifestations can be corrected in childhood, but, as a rule, most of these people remain “hardened pessimists” in the future.

The second stage of birth ends when the birth gate opens.

"Light at the End of the Tunnel"

The third perinatal matrix is ​​called the "breakthrough stage" or "light at the end of the tunnel." It is the shortest (lasts one or two hours, and sometimes only a few minutes), but at the same time it is extremely dynamic and rich in both positive and negative mental images.

At the biological level, it has some common features with the previous stage. The uterus continues to contract, and the baby still experiences choking and a feeling of constriction, as each contraction prevents its supply of oxygen. An additional source of sensation of suffocation may be the umbilical cord twisted around the neck or sandwiched between the baby's head and the mother's pelvic wall. There is much in common between this and the previous stages, but much is changed for the child. The birth gates finally open, and there is a "light at the end of the tunnel." The child continues to fight for survival, but now he has hope and faith that this struggle will come to an end. Imagine that you are moving in a dark gorge from which there is no way out, but, finally, you see a light in the distance, and then a narrow path along which you can go free. There is something symbolic in this, which reflects a certain spiritual light that helps the soul to get out of the material world. The head of the baby is squeezed into the opening of the pelvis, so narrow that even with uncomplicated childbirth, progress is slow and difficult.

Mother and child are still closely related to each other on many levels, and there is no separation between the physical and the psychological. The child experiences a complete confusion of feelings. He is suffocating, experiencing fear, pain, helplessness and at the same time aggressiveness, and even some kind of sexual arousal. Feeling like a baby involved in a cruel struggle for survival, realizing that now his birth should take place, he simultaneously feels like his mother is releasing from the burden. Since certain erogenous zones of the genital tract are quite strongly involved in the process of childbirth, sexual sensations can also be included in the experiences of the mother. Some of the women who have had normal labor describe this stage as the most intense sexual experience of their lives. Once Freud, declaring that sexuality does not arise during the period of a person reaching puberty, but even in infancy, shocked the entire scientific world. However, this position is confirmed by both ancient shastras and modern transpersonal psychology.

As soon as the frantic, on the verge of agony, struggle to get out of the birth canal begins to come to an end, tension and suffering reach their climax, followed by an explosion-like release - the baby finally breaks out of the birth opening to freedom and takes its first breath.

Fixation of the child's consciousness at this stage, as a rule, grants him an iron will and great inner strength. Such people are prone to struggle, to achieving goals, to risk and leadership. They will be distinguished by passionarity, fearlessness, temperament and emotionality, but along with this, perhaps cruelty, aggressiveness, increased sexuality, a tendency to violence and to condemn others.

"Liberation"

When a baby takes his first breath and his lungs open, the blood that supplied oxygen and nutrients to his body, cleared of endotoxins through maternal tissues, is now redirected to his own lungs, liver and kidneys. With the completion of this fundamental physical "act of separation", it begins to exist as an "independent anatomical unit". From the moment of cutting the umbilical cord and turning on the manifested karmic program (prarabdha-karma), the fourth stage of birth or the fourth perinatal matrix begins, which is called the stage of "liberation" or "symbolic unfolding of life" and can last from several days to several months.

After the birth of a child, an energy-information exchange continues between him and his mother, and its sudden termination can lead to an imbalance in the internal balance at the level of the etheric and physical bodies. That is why, in Vedic times, the mother, after the birth of a child, remained alone with him for one or two months. During this period, she, watching her child, could understand what his life would be like, because every day after his birth, after the first cry and cutting off the umbilical cord, symbolically corresponds to one subsequent year of life. For example, the third day after birth is equal to the third year of life, and the sixty-fifth day is equal to the sixty-fifth year. In ancient times, according to the gestures, postures or behavior of the child, parents determined the nature of his fate, possible future falls or ups, peaceful or stressful periods of life. Therefore, Ayurveda recommends that the mother keep a diary of observation, which will allow not only to better understand the "scenario" of the child's future life, but also to prepare him for possible periods of crisis and trials of fate.

You should not try to change your child's program. Too many parents create certain ideals. Often they are associated with their own failures in life or unfulfilled desires, which they are trying to realize at all costs through their children. But the child who came to the family has his own unique nature, which he wants to reveal. He has his own dreams and his own goals. You can’t break it, make it grow faster or develop in one direction or another - you just need to surround it with love and care. The child resembles a small fragile sprout, which in time can turn into a mighty tree, or it can wither, break or deform. Therefore, it is necessary to provide all the necessary conditions for its development. And when the first flowers appear, do not scream or get angry because they are white and not purple, as you would like.

Observation of a child during the fourth perinatal matrix can show which years will be prosperous for him, and which ones will be difficult or critical. On some days the child will become capricious, on others, on the contrary, it will be very calm and silent. Sometimes parents can determine a serious illness or even the time of his death - as evidenced by an unusually strong tantrum or a child getting injured. It is known, for example, that Adolf Hitler was dropped when he was 56 days old, and he seriously injured his knee. From the point of view of karmic astrology, the knee is a symbol of supreme power, the highest position in society, and such an incident could symbolically mean loss of power or even death (which, in fact, happened in the 56th year of Hitler's life).

When something like this happens to a child, parents can understand in what year his life may end. This moment indicates the end of the fourth stage of birth.

The second and third stages of birth were a huge stress for the child, a shock, a catastrophic break with the previous existence, when he was harmoniously merged with the entire Universe. During the fourth stage, the disturbed balance is gradually restored, the little person begins to enjoy the world around him again and learns about it as much as he may not learn in his entire subsequent life. Therefore, not only during pregnancy, but also within two to three months after the birth of a child, it is extremely important for a mother to control not only her lifestyle, but also her thoughts and feelings.

At the fourth stage of birth, there is an intensive energy-information exchange between parents and the child. At this time, he is not yet able to distinguish between good and evil, "living" and "dead" water. He, like a sponge, absorbs all the ancestral karma, the “pious” and “sinful” inclinations of his parents, whose actions and thoughts, even when hidden, penetrate his consciousness. In the first three months of life, the child's immune system is not yet formed, and he is not at all protected from various kinds of energy-informational infections.

It is no coincidence that in ancient times, until the 72nd, and sometimes even until the 108th day after birth, it was not allowed to show the child even to close relatives and friends, as well as draw a horoscope chart on him or evaluate the signs and lines on his hands and feet. All this unwittingly, on a subconscious level, could lead to unwanted interference in the child's prarabdha-karma.

For two or three months from the moment of birth, the consciousness of the child, his mind and feelings are identified with the outside world. There is an idea that a newborn in the first weeks after birth does not see or hear anything, because sometimes parents turn on a bright light or turn on loud music, which, it would seem, does not bother the child at all. In fact, a newborn simply does not yet separate himself from his body and his psyche from the room in which he lives, from his bed, from his parents, from a dove cooing outside the window, from the rustle of leaves or the rays of the setting Sun. Only at the end of the fourth stage of birth, by the second or third month of life, does he begin to distinguish himself (at first, his body) from the surrounding world: “I am within the framework of this body, and everything outside it is the external world that I do not is an".

During this period, proper nutrition is very important. It is known that if a child is fed formula milk in the first three days after birth, he may develop various autoimmune diseases, and the mother's production of the hormone prolactin, which regulates lactation, can be disrupted. Some women may lose milk completely. But with mother's milk in the first three months, while its own immunity is being formed, the child receives physiological and psychological protection.

If the consciousness of a child is fixed at the fourth stage of birth, he can become a very freedom-loving person, an explorer, a traveler, a founder of new teachings or traditions. But it is possible that he will be haunted by a fear of heights and open spaces, self-doubt and fear of falling under someone's influence.

The first stage of death: the illusion of life

According to Ayurveda, a person begins to die 2-3 months after birth. After 2-3 months of a symbolic sweep of our life (when one day after birth is equal to the next year of life), we gradually begin to die. What we used to think of as life is seen as the first stage of death.

The stages of birth and death cyclically replace each other like day and night or the seasons. Subjectively, the 1st stage of birth and the 1st stage of death will seem almost the same in duration, although one will last 5-6 months, and the other - decades.

The second stage of death: exit from the physical body

When the time of our life is exhausted (from the point of view of Ayurveda, the moments of birth and death are considered quite fatal dates), the 2nd stage of death begins, which lasts nine days (hence the tradition to commemorate the deceased on the ninth day). It should, however, be remembered that under all the most favorable circumstances, it is practically impossible to postpone the time of death, since a certain duration of life is given to us to fulfill a specific program (prarabdha and dharma karmas). At the same time, if we do not fulfill our tasks, but, on the contrary, destroy our physical body in every possible way for the sake of sensual pleasure, we can very quickly shorten our lives.

At the beginning of the second period, when the heart stops and breathing stops, clinical death occurs. Deficiency of oxygen and glucose leads primarily to mass death of neurons in the cerebral cortex. A little later, subcortical and endocrine centers, bone marrow and other tissues die. At the moment of clinical death, our soul, along with "thin" shells and the ethereal matrix, is separated from the physical body, which, left without a vital principle, gradually begins to decompose.

Most of the "dead" in the first minutes and even hours after death, as a rule, do not see or realize anything. They seem to fall into darkness. However, some are able to observe their body and the place where they died almost immediately. Others gradually come to consciousness and, remaining in the etheric sheath, acquire the former activity of the senses, mind and intellect. The second stage of death resembles the second stage of birth - "the world is collapsing, and it seems that there is no way out."

At this time, we realize that everything that was connected with us - family, home, work, country, accumulated material wealth - is lost along with the physical body. Some call for help from relatives and friends, but they, of course, do not hear them. We do not know what awaits us next, so our soul is overwhelmed with fear. At the same time, those who have passed into the "other world" can read the thoughts of other people and immediately move to the one who thinks about him. Therefore, for the first nine days, thinking about the “dead”, you can send him good thoughts and thus really support him. And, of course, his perception of the world during this period will be mixed with the most vivid memories of a past life. The Bhagavad Gita says: "Thoughts at the time of death determine our future."

Some believe: "You can live as you please, but death will come, then we will think about God." However, they must know that at the second stage of death, the further path of the individual will be finally determined. And the way we lived, what we dreamed about, what we aspired to, what desires we cultivated and what actions we performed - will dominate in our minds and determine our future.

In ancient times, relatives invited a brahmana, who during the first nine days read the sacred canons, helping the soul with dignity, without fear to overcome the transition period; they convinced the "dead" that his existence was not complete, and he should calm his mind, concentrate on the spiritual and pray to God. The texts that were read described the subsequent stages of the transition that lay ahead of him.

Not later than the third day, the body, as a rule, was cremated, and the ashes were scattered over one of the sacred rivers. The rite of cremation helped the deceased to move away from attachment to the physical body and significantly reduced the time of his "otherworldly" suffering. Some, due to their ignorance, are trying to re-enter their already decaying physical body. Therefore, in cemeteries and morgues one can sometimes see ghosts, which in fact are the “thin” bodies of the “dead”, condensed with an ethereal shell (due to attachment, they cannot part with their physical body). Their ethereal matrix luminesces in a certain direction of moonlight and exactly follows the contours of the physical body of a person, animal, plant or other life form.

Sometimes one thinks that instant death is the most fortunate. This is not true. A person who suffers before death is morally more prepared for it than a person who dies right away, who, at its second stage, experiences a strong shock and cannot come to terms with its arrival.

There are six categories of people who are stuck in the second stage for more than nine days:

• Committed suicide.For example, according to the law of karma, a person was supposed to live 70 years, but committed suicide at 18. This means that he will remain in the etheric body for the “unfinished” 52 years, not being able to leave it. This time will be very difficult for him, since near the surface of the Earth the incompatibility of subtle and earthly energies is maximum and brings the most tangible physical suffering. Life is given to us to fulfill a specific individual program (prarabdha-karma and dharma-karma). If a person kills himself, then he, as it were, jumps out of the “train of life”.
• Those who committed bloody crimes against humanity, maniac killers, cruel dictators who gave orders for the destruction of thousands or millions of people "hang" in the second stage for hundreds and even thousands of years.
• Those who die in a state of alcoholic or drug intoxication wander in the etheric body, just like suicides, for quite a long time. Nevertheless, they can be helped by performing a special ceremony and ordering a funeral service in the temple.
• Dead in a dream. Sometimes we think that a person dies in their sleep, but most people wake up before they die. Only those who are deeply immersed in tama guna (a state of ignorance) and lead an animal mode of existence die in a dream.
• Violent deaths and missing. The relatives of these people hope for a "miracle" and keep them at the level of the ethereal plane. Of course, it doesn't matter much whether our body is buried, burned, or eaten by jackals or birds of prey. However, if one of our loved ones is too attached to us, he will not allow us to take a new birth.
• Those who worshiped bhoots (spirits) and consciously practiced "black" magic. These personalities are so strongly connected with the "World of Inorganics" that even after death they are unable to free themselves from its influence and continue to communicate with its essences.

All of these personalities have been around the living for a long time and wander around the world, causing them anxiety. After all, their sense organs were destroyed along with the physical body, so they cannot connect the senses with the objects of the senses and get pleasure from this, and therefore they suffer greatly. Sometimes they settle in abandoned houses or castles, and sometimes they try to enter the physical body of those who have a weakened will. This is how one of the forms of possession described in the Ayurvedic canons arises.

The third stage of death: passing through "hell" and "heaven"

The third stage of death - "the light at the end of the tunnel" - is associated with the exit of the soul through one of the 350,000 nadi channels. In accordance with the chosen program, which floats in the mind like air bubbles in water, we enter the channel that is illuminated by the Paramatma, the localized form of God, which accompanies us throughout our material existence. According to the level of our consciousness, we can see the appearance of the Paramatma or simply the light emanating from God. Each channel has its own hue - purple, blue, red, green, orange, etc. According to the Tibetan Book of the Dead, even by the shade of color, one can understand what form of life and what place in the Universe we are going to.

The third stage of death in the earthly chronology is 40 days, although subjectively it may seem like an eternity. It is wrong to commemorate the deceased on the 40th day - you need to add another nine days to 40. Only on the 49th day does the deceased end his earthly existence. At this time, the etheric body completely disintegrates, and all information is copied to one of the matrixes of the Universe. There is a space called Pitri-loka. No matter how many people live in the Universe, after their death, all information about their fate in a symbolic form is encoded in the "World of Pitri". Pitri-loka is called the planet of ancestors. All images of people who once lived in our universe, the duration of which is 311 trillion 40 billion years, take on a certain symbolic form in this space. After death, a person can come into contact with the information ("image") of their ancestors at will.

Remember Job's words, "The living envy the dead"? The fact is that neither "hell" nor "heaven" exists in the outside world. They are inside us and are like a dream. Someone chuckles: “So what? It's just a dream". But don't we wake up in a cold sweat and scream when we have nightmares?

So, we set off on a journey through one of the nadi channels in order to go through our inner "hell" and "heaven". What is better in the beginning? It probably depends on how godly or sinful the person has been in their life.

All our desires are first "feeded" by certain thoughts, and then "watered" by appropriate actions. This is how we generate the so-called elementals” (thought images). Pious elementals resemble angelic beings, while negative elementals resemble monsters like those seen in computer games or horror films. When we pass through one of the nadi channels, we find ourselves on various "stages" where all these monsters that we ourselves have created appear. For example, in the Vedic canons it is said that if a person eats meat, i.e. takes the flesh of a living creature killed by him or for him, he generates the corresponding mental image, which he will meet at the time of death. Meat in Sanskrit is called mamsa. It means: "In this life I eat you, in the next life you will eat me." Thus, we give the sanction that we ourselves will become food for others.

All this will take place during the third stage of death. Some say: “But I don’t kill myself!”. However, the Vedas indicate that those who kill, those who authorize the killing, those who trade in meat, those who butcher it, and those who cook or eat it, commit one sin.

If you condemned or hated someone, showed exorbitant greed or pride, know that you have created terrible monsters that can only be destroyed with special mantras or spiritual practices.

There is an ancient parable about how a spiritual teacher explained to his disciples the essence of the concepts of "hell" and "heaven" that are inside of us.

... The Sun was burning high in the blue sky. In its bright light, the water in the Ganges seemed dark, almost black. On the bank of the great river sat a teacher and several students.

So, now you know that all our desires are first "feeded" by certain thoughts, and then "watered" by appropriate actions. This is how thoughts are born. Once again I repeat to you: negative mental images are like monsters. When, dying, we pass through one of the nadi channels, we find ourselves on different "stages" where we meet with all these monsters that we ourselves have created.

There was silence. After a pause, the guru asked, "Did everyone understand what I said?" One of the students, quite young, with a long nose and lively, sparkling eyes, twitched his cheek.

I'm sorry teacher. It turns out that "hell" exists within us, and this seems to be understandable. But how you want to see all this with your own eyes, find yourself in "hell", experience for yourself what it is!

Be your way, - answered the teacher, - but tell me, how much time do you need to properly feel what "hell" is?

Then the inquisitive young man remembered that his mentor was endowed with considerable mystical abilities, and shied away. However, it was too late to retreat.

I think fifteen minutes will be enough, - he muttered ... and immediately dusk fell around.

Before him stretched an endless desert. Here and there, hands clenched into a fist stuck out of the sand, sticking out to the elbow. Suddenly, the fists of several closest to him unclenched, revealing a wide-open eye in the middle of each palm. All eyes stared at the student and began to examine him. The looks, shameless and mocking, seemed to strip naked and turn inside out. A minute later, the rest of the hands opened, and toothless mouths were found in them, from which pus flowed mixed with words. Listening, one could understand that the mouths were discussing all the shortcomings of the newcomer, recalling individual episodes of his life, pulling out his innermost thoughts and mocking them. Unable to stand it, the student plugged his ears with his fingers, and then the nearest mouth spat pus, which hit right in the face and began to burn like molten lead. Howling in pain, horror and disgust, the student rushed to run, not understanding the road. He rushed under a hail of spitting, burning through his clothes, corroding his skin and muscles, and suddenly he felt that the sand under his feet had ended. Cautiously opening one eye, he saw that he was standing on the shore of a lake, from which it breathes freshness and coolness. Gasping with happiness, he entered the water up to his chest and began to wash off the fetid spit. Beside him, an alligator's head poked out of the water, inexplicably reminding the student of his own face, reflected in a large mirror at the moment when, as a teenager, he cruelly and caustically mocked his younger sister.

“Change of scenery,” the alligator squeaked. Immediately, long and thin brown worms crawled out of its mouth. The student saw with horror and felt that the creatures penetrated under his clothes, crept up to his head and began to crawl into all the natural openings of the body. Experiencing incomparable pain, the student with great difficulty crawled ashore and buried his face in the cold ground.

The ground parted before him, and the dead face of his mother peeked out. Scorpion tails protruded from his eye sockets. "Change of scenery," the face croaked. Pieces of flesh began to fall off of him, and finally the dog's skull was exposed. “Remember how you wanted to hit your mother in the face?” the skull barked and bit off the student's nose. Covering the ground around with blood gushing from his disfigured face, the apprentice knelt down on all fours.

"What is it, what is it?" he whispered silently, trying to hold back his sobs. Tears welled up from his eyes. In those few seconds that he cried, all his wounds and ulcers healed and stopped hurting. He rose to his feet. “You yourself know what it is,” the sand rustled under your feet, the wind whispered, the water in the river murmured. - This is your envy, anger, greed ... "

"Hello," a sonorous child's voice came from somewhere below, "change of scenery." In front of him stood a tiny, cubit-high, very pretty little boy. He smiled and the student saw that the boy had wolf teeth. “Torturing animals is not good,” the wolf boy said affectionately, and thrust a pickaxe that had come from nowhere into the student’s right knee. Sparks flashed in his eyes and he fell to the ground. “Yes, it’s not good,” the creature repeated and plunged the pickaxe into his head, “wow, it turns out that we have brains!” Suddenly, the little tormentor disappeared somewhere, and the wounds again began to heal by themselves. Before he had time to rejoice at this, as again - “Change of scenery!”, And he hangs upside down on an iron palm tree, and next to him, a chicken the size of an elephant is thundering like a thunder. “What a delicious worm I got for lunch! Let's gouge out his eyes first!"

He could not, even if he wanted to, calculate how many times this “Change of scenery!” sounded, how many terrible, grotesque, disgusting creatures passed before him, personifying meanness, hatred, arrogance, vanity, laziness ... How many times he was boiled in syrup, mixed not with sugar, but with lies, they burned out their eyes with red-hot clots of malice, forced them to swallow live piranhas of betrayal, tore out their nails and sprinkled their bleeding fingers with burning grains of theft and bribery ... Each time his flesh was restored, revived, to undergo new torments. In the end, he lost track of time.

"Change!.."

He could think of nothing but pain, for he felt nothing but suffering. He would be happy if his body, constantly experiencing hellish torments, would finally cease to recover, crumble to dust and cease to feel anything ... alas. He dreamed that his mind was clouded - if such a thing happened, the pain would recede. But even this was denied to him. It seemed like an eternity had passed since he had been here.

An eternity in hell... an eternity. Why, teacher? Why did you deceive me? I curse you and your deceit! Get me out of here!!!

Suddenly, the terrible creatures retreated to the sides, surrounding the student in a dense ring. The clouds parted in the lead-black sky, a sunbeam fell on the ground inside the circle of monsters, from which the figure of his spiritual master floated out. He smiled and approached the student.

Eternity? Not at all, my friend. You were only away for five minutes, less than you wanted. But maybe you still can't wait to watch the performance to the end?

Righteous activities, on the other hand, will give us "heavenly" pleasures. On our way, fabulous groves and gardens will appear, exuding amazing floral aromas and filled with beautiful birdsong. Amazingly beautiful men and women will meet along the blue lakes, and we will be able to experience "heavenly pleasures" that are hundreds of thousands of times greater than any earthly joys. However, this will end sooner or later, and we will have to part with the illusions of this wonderful world.

The fourth stage of death: a change of scenery

After 49 days comes the fourth stage of death - the stage of liberation. We feel like a completely free person, like an actor who has finally played his part in a play. During this period, we will be in a special state of consciousness, when we will be shown the future "scenario" of life, our new "cosmic corridor". We will find out what we have to do in the next incarnation, at the next stage of our evolution. We will be able to see our future parents, the place where we will be born and find out what obstacles and temptations will meet on our life path and what tasks we will have to solve. We are likely to experience both the joy of liberation and, perhaps, the fear of a new unknown fate. At this time, we realize ourselves as a spiritual person and we will pray to God that He never leaves us on our difficult path.

As a rule, the waiting period for a new incarnation does not take more than a few weeks or months.

The ancient tantras say: "When the soul leaves this physical body along with all the attributes of the surrounding world, a new place is already prepared for it." However, if you died prematurely (for example, being in a "dead end" corridor) - this stage may take several years. Sometimes, if a person has a unique developmental program that can manifest itself only under strictly defined social or temporal circumstances, the waiting time can be hundreds or even thousands of years. In this case, the soul enters the state of "svapna" (unconscious) and awaits its new birth. published

Fragments from the book of I.I. Vetrov "Fundamentals of Ayurvedic Medicine"

Death is a taboo subject for the vast majority of normal people. The end of the road scares us so much that we have created countless religions and beliefs designed to comfort, calm, encourage ...

Unable to accept the final verdict, people cannot completely exclude death from their thoughts. The wisest thing, of course, is to adopt the ingenious saying of Epicurus. Stoick quite reasonably remarked: “While I am here, there is no death, and when it comes, I will no longer be.” But stoicism is for the few. For everyone else, we decided to write a concise, medically based guide to what happens to our bodies after death.

Almost immediately after the moment of death, the body starts several irreversible processes. It all starts with autolysis, roughly speaking, self-digestion. The heart no longer saturates the blood with oxygen - cells suffer from the same deficiency. All by-products of chemical reactions do not receive the usual way of disposal, accumulating in the body. The liver and brain go first. The first because it is here that most enzymes are located, the second because it contains a large amount of water.

Color of the skin

Then comes the turn of other organs. The vessels are already destroyed, so that the blood, under the influence of gravity, goes down. Human skin becomes deathly pale. This is how popular culture presents the dead: remember the pale vampires and zombies attacking defenseless beauties from dark corners. If the directors tried to make the picture more believable, they would have to show that the rear of the dead aggressor is dark from the accumulated blood.

Room temperature

Nothing functions and the body temperature begins to gradually decrease. Cells do not receive the usual dose of energy, protein filaments become immobile. Joints and muscles acquire a new property - they become rigid. Then comes rigor mortis. Eyelids, jaws and neck muscles give up at the very beginning, then everything else comes.

Who lives in the house

In the dead body there is no longer a person, but there is a completely new, cadaveric ecosystem. Actually, most of the bacteria that make it up lived in the body before. But now they begin to behave differently, in accordance with the changed conditions. We can say that life in our body continues - only our consciousness no longer has anything to do with this.

Molecular death

The decay of the human body is an unpleasant sight for most normal (and still living) individuals. Soft tissues break down into salts, liquids and gases. Everything is almost like in physics. This process is called molecular death. At this stage, decomposition bacteria continue their work.

Unpleasant details

The pressure of the gas in the body increases. Blisters form on the skin as the gas tries to escape. Entire patches of skin begin to slide off the body. Usually, all accumulated decomposition products find their natural way out - the anus and other openings. Sometimes the pressure of the gas increases so that it simply tears the stomach of the former person.

Return to the roots

But this process is not completed. A dead body lying on bare ground literally returns to nature. Its fluids drain into the soil, while insects carry bacteria around. Criminologists have a special term: "island of cadaveric decomposition." He describes a patch of soil generously, ahem, fertilized by a dead body.