What exactly happens after death? (A Gist)

What exactly happens after you die? Here’s the tea.

While Srimad Bhagavad Gita has the basics, the most detailed analysis of death comes from Garuda Purana, which is a conversation between Vishnu & his vahana or vehicle of choice, the Eagle God.

After our death, our praan, which is the soul, leaves the stuhla sharira, which is the gross body.

Its difficult for us to detach from our body so we initially try to get back & feel a lot of pain.

We roam around this plane for 13 or so days, which is why its important for our families to perform the cremation, rituals & rites properly, so that we can free ourselves & gain some power for the journey ahead by eating the food they offer.

Next, as per the karma points we have, we get a tour of the entire universe from our ancestors, the Yamduta demons or Krishna himself to see what’s happening. We arrive in Yamalok, where Chitragupt & Lord Yama or Dharma Raj has an account of all the actions we’ve done.

Depending on the severity of our sins, we’re given punishments to cleanse our soul & restore some karmic balance. We’re sent back into insect, animal or human bodies to learn from our lessons & have the chance to do better again.

If we’ve done good, however, we move upward to the higher realms not to enjoy the bliss in heaven but to meditate more so that we can grow spritually to attain moksha or unity with the Bharman i.e. the Super Soul.

Basically, in Hinduism, death is not the end - it’s the beginning so we should actually not cry or mourn for our dead but wish them well.