A graceful exit to Death

A Dialogue with the God of Death
From Kathopanishad

Vajashravas was a sage. Once, he decided to make a great sacrifice, and he wanted to give away all that he had. He had a son by the name of Nachiketa, who was still a boy but extremely intelligent and very pure in mind and heart. He saw that his father was giving away the lean and weak cows that were unable to give milk. “My father is not doing the right thing by giving the old cows in charity”, said Nachiketa to himself, so he went near his father and asked, “Father, I have heard that the kind of Yajna that you are performing, one has to give up all that one possesses. This being the case, to whom will you give me?” Vajashravas did not give any reply. After some time, Nachiketa asked again the same question, but in vain. He did not get any response from his father. Again for the third time, Nachiketa repeated the same question. Vajashravas could not control his temper; he burst out saying to his son, “I will give you to Yama, the God of Death.”

Nachiketa followed the words of his father and went to the kingdom of Death. However, during that time Lord Yama was not present. None dared to admit Nachiketa into Yamloka. So he waited near the gate for three days and three nights without taking even a drop of water. When Lord Yama returned and found Nachiketa at his doorstep he felt sad for keeping a Brahmin waiting for three days and three nights. He ordered his attendants to fetch holy water to invite and welcome Nachiketa. After the hospitality offered to Nachiketa, Lord Yama told Nachiketa, “Dear child, I have not done good by keeping you waiting for three days. So I request you to ask for three boons.”
Nachiketa answered Lord Yama by saying, “O Lord, let my father not be anxious about me, and let his anger against me vanish. When I go back to earth, let him recognize me and receive me back gladly.”
“Granted, son,” said Lord Yama. “Ask your second boon.”
“Dear Sir, teach me the proper ritual for the fire sacrifice. This I ask for my second boon” said Nachiketa.
Lord Yama agreed and taught Nachiketa the proper ritual for the fire sacrifice. Then he said, “Nachiketa, what is your third boon?”
Nachiketa said, “Is there indeed a life beyond death? Some say there is; others say life ends with this life. What is the truth?”
Lord Yama said, “Boy, do not ask me about matters of life and death. Even the gods are not clear on all points. Ask me something else. I will grant all your wishes other than this.”
Nachiketa persisted and said, “Oh Lord Yama, I only wish to know about the mysteries of life and death and nothing else.”
Lord Yama tries to offer Nachiketa worldly pleasures so that he may change the nature of his request for the third boon, but Nachiketa insists by stating that all worldly pleasures are short-lived and do not render long-lasting happiness. Nachiketa was bold enough to say that one can never reach the eternal through worldly possessions. Therefore, he has renounced all desires for worldly pleasures and has come here with the hope of winning the Eternal through the instructions of the God of Death.
It was too difficult for Lord Yama to change the mind of young Nachiketa. So finally, he agreed to tell Nachiketa about the mysteries of life and death with the following words:
“The Self is immortal. It was not born, nor does it die. It did not come out of anything, and neither did anything come out of it. Even if this body is destroyed, the soul is not destroyed.”
“The one who thinks that he is the slayer and the one who thinks that he is slain, both are ignorant. For the Self neither slays nor is it slain.”
“Smaller than the smallest and larger than the largest, the Self is living in all beings.”
“The knowledge about it can neither be obtained by discussion, nor by brain power, nor even by much learning. It reveals itself to the deserving one.”
“This body is a chariot, intelligence the driver, the senses are the horses, conscience the rein and the soul is the lord of the chariot. The Self is superior to the body, mind, and senses.

“Greater than the individual soul is the enveloping super consciousness, the seed of everything in the universe, still greater is the Ultimate Person than whom there is nothing greater. He is the goal of our aspiration. Once THAT (Supreme Self) is realized, death loses all its terrors, and the one who has realized becomes immortal.
“The path to realization is long and difficult, like the razor’s edge, narrow and sharp. Therefore, there is no time to be lost. Awake, arise, bestir yourself, and do not stop until the goal is reached.”

This story of Nachiketa from kathopanishad helps us to understand the immortality of our soul. It helps us to realize that what dies during Death is just the physical Body; the eternal soul continues its journey further. This story helps us to realize the presence of Life after Death. The Story of this young, wise boy Nachiketa, in a way, helps us to transcend the fear of death, for there is actually no death to a soul.

What happens to the journeying Soul post-death? 
Kathopanishad describes these courses a soul takes depending upon how it has evolved during a particular lifetime and how a person lived his life:

1] Devyaan: For the evolved soul, one who has taken a journey leading towards awareness, from ignorance, one who has stayed occupied knowing, searching, for REAL, TRUTH, and always efforted towards such journey during its life course.
They follow a Northward movement – Uttarayan- it is like entering into Brahmaloka; nothing stops them, and no emotions of loved ones stop them. It is like they are ready, they know how is the course of a soul and they know its not for the first time – it is how a soul journeys through Life and death- and they choose
A path of no return, a path of Mukti, No obligation to come back –
Or one decides to come back if one wishes to serve/ have a play.

Brahmaloka has many layers (gati),  and a soul goes to a particular layer depending upon their levels of sadhna during their physical lifetime.

2] Chandraloka: Path that moves towards swargloka, our ancestors or gandharvaloka.
Like brahmaloka, there is chandraloka- a path of south- dakshinayan.  Again, there are many colonies in this loka.
A soul here enters Chandraloka with all that the soul has learned, along with desires and all that have been accumulated during a lifetime. We enter chandraloka to get the pleasure of good done – and once it is lived, a soul returns to earth because they have desires. Also, if a Soul is attached to a particular art/dance form, they searched for God within art/music during their physical life, they go to  Gandharvaloka  (a colony of swargaloka).

They go to these worlds and come back. They come back because they have desires.

3] Adhogati: Busy in violence, creating upheaval, busy in ignorance, in thoughts crushed in limiting belief and making their own life miserable as well as for others- they take this course/path. This is also called the lower world. A very materialistic person: this person is not a devotee. He has lived a
materialistic life. There is no spirituality within at all. Such a person, when he dies, goes to the lower
worlds depending on the type of person he was – indulgent, sensuous, cruel, wicked, crooked.
Depending upon the intensity of these impurities of the mind, he will go to one of the lower
worlds.

(Note: The Dakshinayan and Uttarayan mentioned above have nothing to do with the Seasons.)

This knowledge from Upanishada motivates us to lead a life with conscious choices for it is we and only us who decides the further course upon our death.

Is there a way to exit the physical body with grace? 

The answer is yes!
Meditation gives us a taste of death.
Because it helps us to learn surrender and death needs surrender.
If in the moment of death, one is not ready for surrender, it makes things tough.

Meditation helps us to surrender to breath, surrender totally.
It is said, if a meditator has learnt the art of surrender, the death embraces them with grace. The exit of our soul to the other world stays smooth.

Is there a way to experience death, experience the afterlife while in the physical body?

Yes! During a  Past life regression session, as well Life between Life regression, a person gets to experience phenomenon of death and experience it and offers the experience of the afterlife.  One of the objectives of past life regression sessions is to help a person experience the phenomenon of death that helps to transcend its fear as well learn how to exit gracefully. It is an extremely vital step for how we exit, for, it defines the further course of our journeying soul during the afterlife. If a person dies unprepared, in shock, suffering, or in pain, there are chances the soul will enter Adogati, the lower or denser world.

One of the eminent Psychologist and psychotherapist Carl Jung once said when Unconscious becomes conscious- suffering ends, healing starts.  During a past life regression session, one gets to experientially learn how is it to die, thus making unconscious conscious. The root of all fear is things lying unconscious -the moment it becomes  conscious and gets dealt with, the fear subsides.

Meditation, Past life regression, and life-between-life regression are a few of the available tools that can help transcend the fear of death and make one ready for one’s graceful exit to the afterlife!

So, here is a way to transcend the fear of death.

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