Why God Is Essential After DeathRead

The distinction between the soul and the body

The soul is without beginning; it is neither born nor does it die. But when it enters a body, it forgets its original nature, that is, God. This forgetfulness becomes the cause of birth and death. God is the soul's home. After death, when the soul merges into God, it is freed from the need to return. It needs neither heaven nor rebirth, because it feels that it has experienced its home, which does not happen.

The soul is never born and never dies; it is eternal, everlasting, has always existed and will always exist. This truth of the soul is hidden within every living being. When a human being looks at another creature, they see only its body, but fail to understand that the consciousness within that body, that glimmer of life, is the soul. The body is made of earth and will one day return to earth, but the soul has no end. Just as clouds come and go in the sky while the sky remains as it is, the soul always remains, changing only its body. Death is merely the relinquishing of the body, not the end of the soul's journey. It is invisible, yet it is the most real truth. It is like the energy flowing equally through every living being. One who understands this nature of the soul comes to know that life and death are merely a drama; the soul always remains alive.

Forgetfulness and the cycle of birth and death

When the soul enters a body, it forgets its original nature, God. This forgetting itself is maya, or forgetfulness. Because of this forgetfulness, the soul forgets its true home and regards the body, family, wealth and the world as its home. It begins to regard itself as the body: I am this body, I am a man, I am a woman, I am rich, I am poor, I am learned; all these identities are temporary. In reality, the soul is neither male nor female, neither rich nor poor; it is only a portion of consciousness that has arisen from God. When the soul enters a body, the five senses surround it: seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching. These senses draw the soul towards the outer world. It becomes caught in the body's pleasures and sorrows, hopes and disappointments, and forgets its real existence. This forgetfulness itself becomes the cause of birth and death.

When the soul forgets its divine nature and becomes entangled in worldly enjoyment, desire, anger, envy and greed, it becomes bound by the chains of karma. Unfulfilled desires in one life create the next birth. This is why life repeats again and again, sometimes in human form, sometimes as an animal, sometimes as a bird and sometimes as a deity. Until the soul remembers its true identity, it cannot become free from this cycle. God is the soul's origin and also its final destination. Just as a river emerges from the sea and ultimately merges into it, the soul emerges from God, travels through the world and eventually merges into God. That merging is called moksha, or liberation. God is within everyone; when the soul recognizes that Supreme Self within, all its suffering disappears. Then it needs neither heaven nor rebirth, because it has experienced its home, God. That is revealed only through God's grace and spiritual experience. This experience occurs when the mind is quiet, when desire, ego and fear come to an end. When the soul returns to its source, that is, God, it no longer needs to return again. It becomes free, as though the light of a lamp has merged into the sun.

God alone is the soul's home

This happens when the soul recognizes its divine nature. When the soul understands that it is without beginning, eternal and a part of God, it becomes free from the world's attachment and sorrow. God is the soul's home because it is a part of God. Just as a traveller finally finds peace on returning to their birthplace, the soul too finds peace when it leaves behind the weariness of the world and rests in God. That is a state of bliss, where there is no desire and no fear, only peace and love. This is its supreme abode, from which there is no need to return. The soul that becomes absorbed in God is not born again because all its desires have come to an end. It has reached its home; that home is not a place but a state of consciousness in which the soul and God become one. This union cannot be explained in words. Just as a drop of water merges into the ocean and becomes the ocean, the soul merges into God and becomes infinite.

The soul has always existed; it has neither a beginning nor an end. It is a part of God's own light. When it enters a body, it forgets that it is divine, and this very forgetfulness becomes the cause of birth and death. But when the soul recognizes God within itself, neither fear nor attachment remains. Then it can say that it is what it has always been: infinite, immortal and a part of the Supreme Self. God alone is the soul's home; it has come from there and must return there. When the soul merges into God, it needs neither heaven nor rebirth, because it has now found its home again: the ocean of infinite peace, truth and love, God Himself. The author has explained this in great detail in Parts 2 and 9 of the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita.