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What happens after death?

Death is a reality that no one wants to talk about, but also something that no one can avoid. Some people believe that life is over after death, and this is the only life we have. However, the scriptures, which are the word of God and our guidebooks, say differently.

In fact, this is one of the first topics Lord Krishna discusses in the Bhagavad Gita (2.13):

debino 'smin yatha dehe kaumaram yauvanam jara
tatha dehantara-praptir dhiras tatra na muhyati

'As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. An intelligent person is not bewildered by such a change.'

He also says in the Bhagavad Gita (2.27):

jatasya hi dhruvo mrityur 
dhruvam janma mritasya cha
tasmad apariharye 'rthe 
na tvam shocitum arhasi

'One who has taken his 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."
The body goes through a change at every moment, and death is the final change after which the soul enters another body. But the type of body the soul gets will depend on one's actions in this life. 

According to Padma Puran, there are 8.4 million types of bodies:

jalaja nava lakshani, sthavara laksha-vimshati, krimayo rudra-sankhyakah, pakshinam dasha-lakshanam, trinshal- lakshani pashavah, chatur lakshani manavah

Jalaja (water-based) - 0.9 million 
Sthaavara (immobile, such as plants and trees) -2.0 million
Krimaayo (reptiles) - 1.1 million
Pakshinaam (birds) - 1.0 million
Paashavah (terrestrial animals) - 3.0 million Maanavah (human-like animals, including the human species) -0.4 million

Depending on the kind of activities we engage in, we develop a particular type of consciousness, based on which we get our next body. Once born as a human being does not necessarily mean we will always be born as a human being. 

Just as we have a system of justice, reward and punishment in this world, the same system is present on a universal level. When we engage in good karma, enjoyment in the heavenly planets and a resultant good birth is the reward. When we engage in bad karma, knowingly or unknowingly, suffering in the hellish planets and a degraded birth (human or non- human) thereafter in this world is the punishment.

And for someone who engages in the devotional service of Lord Krishna, the spiritual world, where there is no suffering where life is eternal with no old age, disease or death, is the reward.

How well or badly we lived in our previous life will decide where we begin. Due to this reason, everyone has a different starting point in life. Some are born rich and some are born poor, some are born healthy and some are born with diseases. some are born beautiful and some are not-so-beautiful and so on.

Thus, there is life after death, which is why the scriptures urge us to live responsibly and become mindful of our words and actions. And the righteousness of our words and actions should not be decided by social media, the majority or popular opinion, but by the scriptures, as ultimately everything will be judged based on what they say is right or wrong. 


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