A controversial view of life and death

by L. Abeynaike

Life on this earth, be it human life, animal life or plant life, is transient; short lived and subject to decay. It follows the natural sequence of events viz: Birth, adolescence, old age, and finally death.

This process does not take long; within a space of the Biblical three score and ten years, Man has completed his sojourn on this earth and would have gathered unto his fathers.

With death, we lose everything on this earth; our personal effects, our material wealth which we so covetously accumulated and guarded, our loved ones, wife and children, and the kith and kin.

In point of fact, we leave behind all our earthly possessions, including the much revered and treasured identity of ours. You are no more the Mr. X you were in life. Your name too had died a natural death, unless one had male off-springs who would then continue to preserve and use that name.

On death, it is only the physical body that dies, but the Soul or Athma or Spirit, which the body housed, is indestructible; it will go on, for ever and ever. It will escape from the lifeless body and be drawn in to the atmosphere, where it will remain until a suitable body or sheath is available for it to take shelter in, and be reborn, as an entirely new entity, with a new name and identity.

The question now arises as to what happens to the good and bad deeds done by him during Mr. X's stay in this world. What happens to the experience, skill and knowledge that he had laboured and acquired in his past life? Is he not entitled to claim a higher position and status in life in his future births, in view of his past achievements? The trophies he had won and the accolades he had gained were a result of the hard work he had put into it, and he would expect credit for it.

The merits he had gained, should by right place him in the forefront. According to the laws of Universal Justice, those with high marks and in accordance with the order of merit, should be placed on a higher plane than those with lesser marks/merit.

This explains why there is a disparity in social standards amidst mankind. Why are some born differently from others? Why is there difference in the intelligence, wealth, health, economic stability, levels amongst peoples in the world? They are the results of our past actions being reflected in the present birth.

If we had led a good life, performing meritorious acts, without inflicting pain and hardship on others then, we too, should receive the benefits of such good action and be born into affluent and prosperous families, and enjoy a luxurious life, We, ourselves, are responsible for the present State of affair of our lives.

It is, therefore, pointless and futile to place the blame on others for the unfortunate condition we are born into. At the same time, we should not grudge or envy those who are living in happiness and comfort, because, it is their entitlement, coming to them in the form of a gift from Nature.

The common notion that the dead go empty handed is not true, because, material wise it may be so, but spiritual wise, the dead take with them much more valuable things like the merits and demerits earned, together with the essence of the skill and experience he had acquired during his past life, which accounts for the exceptional talent and dexterity displayed by certain individuals.

Our Mr. X is no more. He is dead and gone. He is not available to receive the results of his past performance and it will befall on his successor or the new owner of Mr. X's soul or Athma to reap the benefits of another's efforts and strivings. Even the ill effects of Mr. X's past existence will have to be borne by the new owner.

This means that the new owner of Mr. X's soul or Athma will have to suffer for the sins/good deeds committed by another individuals, which is unfair, unjust, improper and illegal.

This new theory of life after death, propounded above, contravenes and contradicts the accepted theory of rebirth, which most religious organisations have to offer. They have taught us that once we die, we are reborn elsewhere, as the same person.

The good we had done in the past life, will help us to lead a more comfortable and affluent life in the next birth, just as much as, if we had committed sin, we would end up in hell. If this was so, then Mr. X will be reborn as Mr. X, and he would have to face the consequences of his past deeds, which would be most fair and reasonable.

He should then be in a position to recall his past existence as well. But this is not to be; we know through experience, that no human being on this earth, has any knowledge of their past life. We can therefore safely conclude that the person who died is not reborn as the same person.

Of course, the new Mr. Y with Mr. X's soul or Athma will have no knowledge of his predecessor's past existence and will seem to think that, he, Mr. Y, is merely continuing the life's mission from where Mr. X left off. Even Mr. Y has no knowledge of his own past existence and will feel that this was his first life on earth and play his part on the life's stage and exit when his act ceases and the curtain falls.

A new Actor in the form of a new birth will take his place and the play will go on and on, non stop, with new players replacing the old. This process had gone on for donkeys years, and it is anybody's guess, as to how long it will go on in the future too.

From the above discourse, it is apparent, that one's soul or Athma is permanent and imperishable, and will continue relentlessly from one Birth to the next Birth until the world lasts. It is thus the soul or Athma that suffer for the past sins through the new physical body or sheath that houses it.

With death, is there a replacement for the resulting void, with a new birth occurring somewhere in the world? Or is there no relationship between Births and Deaths? My view is that there is a definite connection between the number of Births and the number of Deaths. It may not be in equal proportion, but nevertheless, it cannot distort or upset the world's population equilibrium.

We cannot forget the fact, that every new birth has to be provided with a means of existence; he must also have a roof over his head with a plot of land for his sustenance. If there were no restraints or constraints over the human production, the world's population explosion would over-run the limitations imposed by Nature or the Powers that be, and would result in the seizure of the world's machinery and bring about its end.

The extent of land available on this earth conducive to human habitation is limited and this too has already been allocated to the existing human population. We can assume the world's population as a conglomeration of family units. In such a family unit, it is usually the head of the family who owns land, and normally being the oldest member of the family, and under normal circumstances, will be the first to die.

His assets, including the landed property will pass on to his descendants (children), who in turn, will devolve on their children, and thus the land would remain within the family, and therefore, the need for new land for the new arrivals will not arise.

In conclusion, let us put in a nutshell, what we have discussed sofar.

1. On death, it is the body that dies but the Athma or Soul will continue to live.

2. The Athma or Soul or spirit will get hold of a fresh body and be born again.

3.It is not the same person who dies is reborn. It is an entirely new person.

4. It is the Athma or Soul or spirit, with the new body, that will have to face the consequences of its past actions.

5. Man's present plight on this earth, resulting in the "Haves and Have nots" is the outcome of Man's own handiwork.

6. The good are always rewarded, either in this life or in the lives to follow, just as much as the bad are punished, disparaged and degraded.

7. You, yourself, is responsible for the future (Life after death). The ball is in your court. It is upto you (Mankind) to make or mar your future lives.

8. The dead do not go empty handed. They take with them the essence of the skill and experience acquired in their past lives. This accounts for the extraordinary brilliance found amidst certain individuals with exceptional talent and uncanny dexterity.

The marvels of Nature or that of the Creator are evident from the manner in which problems such as the replacement for the dead and the limitation of Births in accordance with the availability of habitable land on this earth has been solved. The provision of the Ozone layer over the earth's surface to permit life on the earth, are indicative of Nature's intuitive and imaginative powers which are beyond Man's conception and comprehension.

As the subject matter is full of mystery and mysticism, no theory on Life and Death is fool proof. It can be cut and chopped and dissected at will. All are therefore, entitled to their own views on this matter.

The intolerable patience displayed in the perusal of this somewhat dull and dreary episode, is worthy of commendation.

May all Beings be happy and content.

The writer is a Retired Engineer