Science and Spirituality
By
Dr. Deepak Honale
5. The Death
Respected by few, and feared by many, but obscure to all; the death
is the most important event in human life. Everybody knows that one, who has born, is going to die; yet nobody (except a few)
wants to talk or think about the death. Many great philosophers have written abundant on the topic. Here we shall see only
the scientific and spiritual aspects of it.
As I have mentioned in the last
article, being a practicing doctor I have witnessed deaths of many patients very closely. Medical science has defined many
criteria for the confirmation of death. But the most commonly used ones by the doctors are -1.Stopping of the respiration. 2. Stopping of the Heart beats, and 3. Dilated pupils of the eye with absent of corneal
reflex.
Surprisingly
Mundak Upanishad has given the same criteria for the life as – 1. Ejat, - meaning movement, 2. Pranat, - meaning giving
and taking of Oxygen, and 3. Nimishat, - meaning opening and closing (of eyes etc.) the words and criteria used by Mundak
Upanishad are more accurate and applicable to all living beings including plants.
It
is believed that ‘life’ passes away at the time of death. But no body can define ‘’ life’ precisely.
Our physiology books say that “Life is a vital energy which cannot be defined”. Nobody knows where exactly this
life is in the body. There are about 2^32cells in adult human body, and this life is present in each and every cell of it.
The more interesting fact is that at the time of death, this life from all the cells does not go out at the same time. The
life in the most advanced organs like brain and nervous system goes first. Then after few minutes the heart stops functioning.
Liver and Kidneys remain viable up to about one hour after death. Cornea in the eyes remains viable up to 5 – 6 hours
after death. We all know that the cornea is removed from dead person (Eye Donation), and transplanted to other patient, who
can see with it throughout his life. Similarly kidneys and liver can also be transplanted in other patients, where they work
beautifully till that patient lives. Dr. Christian Bernard, world renowned Cardiac Surgeon, transplanted heart from the dead
body of a young girl to Dr. Bleiberg, who was a dentist by profession, and whose heart was almost nonfunctioning because of
disease. He did this operation, the first of its kind in the world in 1979. Dr. Bleiberg was alive for 18 months after this
operation. So the heart which was stopped in the young girl’s body started working again and continued to work for next
18 months in Dr. Bleiberg’s body. So if the criterion of stopping of the heart as the sign of death is to be believed,
how we can say that the girl was dead?
So
what ‘goes’ from the body at the time of death is not the ‘life’, but the ‘Atma’. It is
the most important thing to learn in human life. The Atma, the governing force, the master of this body, decides when to leave
this body. When it leaves, this body dies.
There
are many medicines, which are used commonly. Like Frusemide is used to increase the urine output, Dopamine is used to increase
the blood pressure of serious patients etc. But sometimes we observe that in the critically ill patients even the large doses
of Frusemide fails to increase the urine output, or the Dopamine fails to increase the blood pressure when required. So we
say that the patient’s body is not responding to the medicines. Usually such patients die within short span of time.
Why the patient is not responding to the same medicines which are effective in all other patients? The answer is that the
Atma present in that patient’s body has decided to leave it and so because of the lack of the power of Atma, mere body,
(even with the life in it), cannot respond to the medicines and is just waiting for the death.
Some
times the reverse can also happen. The patient is almost dead for few minutes, during which time the Atma goes out of the
body and remains nearby observing the body. When and if he feels that the body can be saved and used, he reenters the body.
These things do really happen and this was studied by Dr. Raymond A. Moody. He studied about 150 cases of the persons who
have seen the death from very near. They are called as the ‘Near Death Experience’. Dr. Moody constructed a model of experience of death,
for he found that there were remarkable similarities in all these cases. He has described this in his book ‘Life-After-Death’.
The model mentions as follows:
“A man is dying and, as he reaches the point of greatest physical distress he hears himself
pronounced dead by his doctor. He begins to hear an uncomfortable noise, and at the same time feels himself moving very rapidly
through a long dark tunnel. After this he suddenly finds himself outside of his own physical body, but still in the immediate
physical environment, and he sees his own body from a distance, as though he is a spectator. He watches the resuscitation
attempts performed by his doctors, from this unusual vantage point and is in a state of emotional upheaval.
After a while, he collects himself and becomes more accustomed to his odd condition. He
notices that he still has a “body”, but one of a very different nature and with very different powers from the
physical body he has left behind. He glimpses the spirits of relatives and friends, who have already died. He starts recollecting
the most important events of his life. At some point he finds himself approaching some sort of barrier of border, apparently
representing the limit between earthly life and the next life. Yet he finds that he must go back to the earth, that the time
for his death has not yet come. At this point he resists, for by now he is so taken up with his experience in the afterlife
and does not want to return. He is overwhelmed by intense feeling of joy, love and peace. Despite his attitude, though, he
somehow reunites with his physical body and lives.”
It
should be noted that, in all cases, studied by Dr. Moody, Death was seen as a transition from one state to another. Some of
his subjects even likened death as escape from jail.
As
described above, the Atma leaves the body at the time of death. Actually Atma leaves the body if four conditions. 1. As mentioned
in earlier article, the Atma leaves this body during the sleep and gets energy from Paramatma or Parabrahma. This may not
happen every night, but mostly in deep sound sleep, Atma gets such vital energy. If we think body as a house and the Atma
as a person living in that house, this happens as the person goes out of house every day for routine work, and comes back
in the same day. 2. When the body is diseased or damaged, or poisoned (as at the time of surgical operations), the Atma goes
out of the body, and watches what is happening to the body. If the body improves, the Atma comes back in the body. This has
been described by many patients as “Near Death Experience”. This is like how the person goes out of the house
in case of earthquake, or fire, and returns back to the house if it remains alright after the calamity. 3. Atma leaves the
body permanently and goes away at the time of the death, as described above. This is like a person leaving his old house permanently
and going out. 4. In very rare cases an advanced yogi can enter another body and afterwards can come back again in his own
body. Jagatguru Shankaracharya has performed this fete.
Atma
is very pure form of cosmic energy, the same energy which is present in all the living and non living things. But the energy
cannot manifest alone. As the electricity can not be seen unless we use it in lamps or motors, or other gadgets, so the Atma
manifests through the body. In all the above discussions I have mentioned as the Atma goes out of the body at the time of
death. But actually the Atma along with the miniature body, or the cosmic body or the astral body leaves the physical body
and goes away. This miniature body is surrounding the Atma and it goes with it to the next physical body as rebirth or reincarnation.
All the emotions, desires, knowledge and sanskaras are stored in this miniature body and with all these things the Atma enters
the new body.
This
concept of the miniature body is discussed in details in the Taitteriya Upanishada. It says that this miniature body consists
of four Koshas, which look just like the physical body, and remain one inside the other. So including the physical body there
are total five koshas and the Atma is placed inside of them. At the time of death the Atma along with four koshas leaves this
body or the outermost kosha. This is the true definition of the death. We shall see more about of these Koshas in the next
article.
One who has taken the birth is sure to die, and after death one is sure to take birth
again. Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your duty, you should not lament.
Lord Krishna in Bhagwad Geeta chapter 2/27.
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Science and Spirituality
By Dr. Deepak Honale.
6. The Birth.
In the last article we have observed
that the death takes place when the Atma, along with the four koshas, leave the
body. The concept of these koshas is fully described in Taitteriya Upanishada.
1.
The body which we see, is called as Anna-Rasamaya Kosha. This is the first and outermost kosha. So actually at the time of death Atma along with the other four
koshas, leaves this outermost Kosha
and goes elsewhere.
2.
Inside the Anna-Rasamaya
Kosha and exactly of the same size and shape, is the Pranamaya Kosha. In this Kosha, the Prana, i.e. the life energy of the individual is situated.
3.
Inside the Pranamaya
Kosha, and exactly of the same size and shape is, the Manomaya Kosha, where all the emotions, feelings, thoughts, desires, ambitions, etc. are stored.
4.
Inside the Manomaya
Kosha, and exactly of the same size and shape, is the Dnyanmaya Kosha, where all the knowledge and intellect is situated.
5.
Inside the Dnyanmaya
Kosha, and exactly of the same size and shape, is the Anandamaya Kosha, where the pure joy, or the bliss is situated.
Out of all these koshas, only the Anna-Rasamaya is visible to our
eyes. Though the other inside koshas are of same size and shape, they are more
and more minute than the previous one and are not visible by our eyes.
Inside of this Anandamaya Kosha, the Atma is situated. So when we say that, at the time of death the Atma leaves
this body, actually, the Pranamaya Kosha, along with inner three koshas ( Manomaya, Dnyanmaya,
and Anandamaya Kosha), and the Atma,
leaves the outer Anna-Rasamaya Kosha. It is very important to get this concept
very clearly, as it explains many obscure things about the life after death.
It is very interesting to know what happens to this Pranamaya Kosha (along with other koshas and Atma) after death. Usually it remains for some time in atmosphere where other Pranamaya
koshas are living. After the due time decided by the Karmas of the dead person,
the Pranamaya kosha takes another birth. We will see later how it actually takes
the birth later. When this Pranamaya Kosha is living it can be seen by some people.
As mentioned earlier, the Pranamaya Kosha has got the same shape and size of the
Anna-Rasamaya Kosha or the body of the dead person, so this Pranamaya Kosha is called as the Ghost of the dead person.
Two scientists, Dr. Hans J. Eysenck and Dr. Carl Sergeant have studied this subject in details. They have published
their research in the book titled as “Explaining the unexplained Mysteries of the Paranormal”. They have termed
these experiences as the “Out of Body Experience” (OOBE). They have proved the existence after the death. This
is called as Apparition. This Apparition can be of three kinds -1. Collective Apparitions: When many people see the same ghost at the same place independently. 2. Haunting: This is like the house of ghosts. Here many people see ghosts at different times. 3. Crisis Apparitions: When the dying person is seen at different place. This study has proved the existence of the
Pranamaya Kosha scientifically, and beyond any doubt.
After the decided term this Pranamaya Kosha takes the next birth.
The next birth is decided by the karmas he had done in the previous incarnation.
In very rare cases of the spiritually advanced persons, this Pranamaya Kosha has
not to take the next birth. It remains with other highly advanced Pranamaya koshas,
and after specific period, the Pranamaya Kosha falls out, leaving only Manomaya kosha. This Manomaya kosha also after specific time falls
out and there remains only Dnyanmaya kosha. In this way in case of these rare individuals,
all the five koshas fall out one by one, and the Atma goes and meets the Paramatma. This is called as the Moksha,
the most sought after stage by any seeker of the spiritual knowledge.
In almost all other individuals the Atma (along with the four covering
koshas) has to go to other body or the Ann-Rasamaya
Kosha. This may be human or any other living being, according to his karma.
So the Atma when takes the other body, it is like the new hardware of the computer.
The soft ware for the computer is the Atma itself, along with four koshas. As all the emotions, desire, intellect, knowledge, etc. is taken along with the Atma, the person in the new body has to live and suffer as per his doings of the past birth. In this way he continues
to live the same life as in the previous birth,(as the soft ware is same).
It is interesting to know that the body takes its shape, colour, size, and every other form from the genes of
the father and the mother. So the contour and structure and anatomy of the body is decided by genetic factors of father and
mother. But the mind, behavioral patterns, nature, personality, natural attitudes, etc. do not come from the genetic predispositions.
These things come along with Atma ( in side the four koshas as described earlier).
This explains the fact that many times we see vast difference in the nature, intellect, knowledge, and behavior of brothers
and sisters, though they look very similar in their appearance.
When the Pranamaya kosha has to take the birth, it goes in to the
drop of rain from the atmosphere. This rain drop goes into the soil and is taken up by the plant of food grain. In the plant
the Pranamaya kosha enters in to one of the food grain. This food grain is eaten
by the would be father, so the Pranamaya kosha enters the father’s body.
Here it remains for the minimum period of three months, because that is the period required to form the matured sperm (in
human beings). Then it comes in one of the sperms. Then this sperm becomes the special sperm. When at the time of the intercourse,
this sperm comes out of the father’s body, the First Birth takes place.
Once the sperm enters in the vagina it has to travel the distance of about 30 cms to reach the ovum ( the egg
from the mother). It reaches the ovum and enters in to it, fertilizing the ovum. There are about 250 million sperms per ejaculation
at the time of intercourse. Out of them only one sperm can fertilize the ovum. And only this special sperm, which has got
Atma on it can fertilize the ovum. No other sperm can do this job. Many times it is observed that the couple (Husband and
Wife), is perfectly healthy, and without any anatomical and physiological defect, still they do not get the child. The reason
is that no Atma has chosen them to take birth. So in spite of all the healthy sperms and ova, fertilization is not possible.
After the fertilization, the Atma takes charge of the ovum, and prevents other
sperms to enter the ovum.
It is very difficult to believe all this. But it is true. The sperm has to travel such a distance that if we
compare it to our body size, it comes to about 30 miles. Can we travel about 30 miles in total dark and reach the exact destination?
The Atma can do it because it has got all the cosmic knowledge in it. It knows
exactly all the things to be done. This knowledge is there from beginning, and it remains ever with the Atma. The Atma in each and every person in this world has got this
knowledge. The problem is that we donot realize it. The only way when the Atma reveals
this knowledge is in deep meditation. We shall discuss this in subsequent articles.
After the fertilization the Atma gives complete knowledge about the
body to be prepared, to the fertilized ovum. As the body starts forming and taking shape, the soul watches its progress from
outside. This is exactly like how we give detailed instructions to the architect, regarding the construction of the house
and wait for its completion. After the completion of the construction, we go and occupy the house. Similarly the soul reoccupies
the body of the foetus at about 4 to 5 months of intra uterine life. By this time the body is almost completely developed
and all the organs are ready to take the commands from the soul.
When the body is formed completely to the satisfaction of the Atma,
it is ready for the birth. It is interesting to know that the time of the birth is also decided by the Atma. In spite of all the advances, no gynaecologist can tell you the exact time of birth. The process of the
birth itself, is started by the Atma. When the baby comes out of the body of the
mother, the Second Birth takes place.
At the time of death the Pranamaya kosha comes out of the body and
goes away. The Oxford Dictionary defines birth as ‘coming out of a new born from mother’s body’. If we consider
the same definition as coming out of the body is birth, the death becomes the Third
Birth. This great philosophy of the three births is explained in Aitareya Upanishad.
Which was written about 6000 years B.C. One who understands that the death is the third birth, will be free from the fear
of the death.
If you feel that the above described process of birth is very complicated and unlikely, let me tell you that
this is the simplest process seen in human beings. So many other species have very complex life cycle. The parasites in human
body always require two or more hosts to complete their life cycle. I shall give only one example of this complexity of the
process of birth.
Eel fishes live in the sweet water of ponds or rivers, for about 10 – 12 years. When they become adult
at that age, they change their color from yellow to silver. Then they start traveling from the ponds or rivers to the sea. European eels enter the Atlantic Ocean and go to Sargasso Sea near Bermuda Island near North
America. This sea is about 5000 Km. away from the European sea shore. In the Sargasso Sea they lay eggs about 300 meters deep.
After fertilization small ones, in the shape of the pumpkin seeds come out, and both, the male and female eels dye. These
small ones come up to 50 Meters deep water and enter the Gulf hot water sea-stream, to reach the European sea shore after
two years. From the sea they come to their respective rivers or the ponds. When they become adult, the same cycle repeats
itself once again.
There is one more point of interest. Like the European eels the American eels also come to the same Sargasso
Sea for laying eggs. They also dye after the laying and fertilizing of the eggs. But the American new born eels enter American
rivers, and the European eels go to the European rivers. There is no mistake whatsoever in this. This goes on years after
year. Who gives the geographic knowledge to the new born eels, and who shows them the directions? The answer is that the Paramatma, the all knowing, gives the cosmic knowledge to all the species in this
world for their survival.
So we have seen the process of birth and death, and how the Atma goes
from one body to the next body. During the subsequent articles we shall try to see how the Atma gets the body or the birth
according to his deeds or Karmas.
The learned person, who desires to enjoy various comforts, takes birth
at that place (according to his desires). Desires lead to the fulfillment of them, and the fulfillment leads to further desires,
and further births. This sequence goes on and on.
-Mundak Upanishad. 3/2/2.
The author hopes that this column will
create and promote interest amongst readers for obtaining Prosperity, Happiness and Peace of Mind, and leading a life of Higher
Consciousness.
dkhonale@yahoo.com
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The author hopes that this column will create and promote interest amongst readers for
obtaining Prosperity, Happiness and Peace of Mind, and leading a life of Higher Consciousness.
dkhonale@yahoo.com
