![]() In chapter 16 it is clearly stated that those with demoniacal tendencies will be pushed into hellish lokas and cast into unintelligent bodies (moodha yoni, also in verse 15, chapter 14) where one does not have the easy abilities for spiritual development possessed by those with the human body that we now have. Their subsequent spiritual progress, in the next and future janmas, is described further in verses 42 to 45, chapter 6. In chapter 6 (verse 41) and chapter 9 (verse 20), Krishna states clearly that those who have accumulated puNya (performed good of 35 deeds, kalyana krut, verse 40, chapter 6) will enjoy time in swargam (heaven) and when their puNya account is exhausted they will return back to this earth and be placed in an appropriate family. The path taken after death is described by Krishna in chapter 6 (verses 40 to 45), and also in chapters 14 (verses 14 to 18), and chapter 16 (verses 19 and 20). It is not like out the door and in again, like a Congressperson (no more Congressman) turning into a lobbyist and returning to Washington a week later. The transition to the new body will NOT occur immediately, like we are often fond of thinking. The dehi is released from that deham and moves on as if nothing happened and will eventually come back with a new body. It is like a VERY BIG BIG debt that has been paid off in an instant. ![]() But, the dehi is actually better off! That karma is now gone and expended forever. When a person is trapped in a fire and dies, what happens? The person is gripped with fear, panics, even screams, but then what happens? What does adhaahyOyam (it cannot be burnt) mean in such a situation, when such a death occurs? That is the last of the prarabdha karmas that the dehi has to endure in this janma. s न s s च s ए च l न न ll AcchedyOyam adaahyOyam akkledyOshoshya eva ca l Nityah sarvagatah sthaaNuhu acalOyam sanaatanahaa ll 2.24 ll BG In our study of this sloka, this is exactly the question I have always posed. It continues to exist, it is permanent, it permeates all over, it is unaffected like a solid rock, it is immovable, it is forever! I have just given you here my translation of verse 24, chapter 2 of the Gita. It (ayam, the soul, the atma) cannot be cut in anyway, it cannot be burnt in anyway, it cannot be wet in any way (by water, or if death were to occur by drowning), it cannot be dried up in any way (by the wind). Within that body is a dehi – the atma – the soul and that dehi is in no way of 35 affected. Like Arjuna, we get deluded since we are only looking at the body (deham). But, even such a death, cruel and heart wrenching as it may seem to us who are still alive, is not to be grieved. The Indian community in Metro Detroit was in a state of shock. All four occupants of the north bound vehicle (the SUV), from the Telugu community of Metro Detroit, and the sole occupant of the car (a 23-year old from Ukraine) died in a fiery crash when the gas tank exploded. One vehicle (a car) was going the wrong way, headed south in the north bound lanes. O/Last-motorist-is-ID%E2%80%99d-in-fatal-Lodge-crash The two vehicles collided headon at about 4:15 am in the early morning hours. There were five deaths reported recently in a fiery crash on Lodge freeway in Detroit on Sunday October 23, 2011. Even akaala maraNam (untimely death) or apamruthyu (death under inauspicious circumstances) is NOT to be grieved and actually represents a “burning” of our karmas – a part of our prarabdha karma (see email exchange cited below). च l S न च ll Jaatasya hi dhruvo mruthyuhu dhruvam janma mrutasya ca l Tasmaat aparihaaryErthe naivam shocitum arhasi ll 2.27 ll BG And therefore (tasmaat, i.e., because birth following death is certain), O Arjuna, you should not be grieving in this way for something that is totally unavoidable (aparihaarya arthe) and for which there is really no remedy (aparhaarya). Still, we all grieve for the dead when all they are going to do is to come back with a new body, much like an actor returns to the stage of a drama with a new attire for each new act, or much like we of 35 change our clothes each day and for each occasion (chapter 2, verse 22). ![]() There is NOT a single scripture, or religion, in the world, other than the Gita that gives us this message - that we will be reborn! That birth follows death just as death follows birth. ![]() But, He also adds immediately thereafter in the second half of the same line of the same verse – dhruvam janma mrutasya ca – and equally certain is that everyone who dies will be born (again). Apamruthyu: Untimely Death or Death under inauspicious circumstances Dear All: Everyone who is born is certain to die – Jaatsya hi dhruo mruthyuhu – says Krishna in chapter 2, verse 27, of the Srimad Bhagavad Gita.
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