What is the journey of a soul after an untimely death?

[Smt. Priyanka asked: Padanamaskaram Swami! Sometimes I wonder what the soul of a person goes through in a sudden death situation or akala mṛtyu. Do they also wait for 10 days like any other soul for judgement and go to respective worlds accordingly? Some people fall sick and get the time to eventually prepare for death to come, to make peace with the fact that they will die soon and they get to even make arrangements for their family members. Others have so many dreams to achieve, but they suddenly fall ill or meet with a fatal accident. Death does not come announced to anyone, but does a soul go through different experiences in that waiting period depending on how it died? How do souls cope and come to accept that their body met death? Where do they wait for those 10 days and whom do they meet for judgement? Do they ever get to meet their respective God directly or another form of God, no matter where the soul is being sent to for their reward/punishment? And what do souls go through if they have committed suicide?

Swami, I am very curious to know the journey of a soul, depending on how they died (suicide/murder/sudden accident etc). At Your feet, Priyanka]

Swami replied: There is nothing important in the nature of death. It is just the liberation of the soul from this gross body (sthūla śarīram) to enter the new energetic body (sūkṣma śarīram) that is arranged by God to go to the upper worlds. Souls leave this sub-world called Karma Loka (Earth), which is a material world and they go to enjoy the fruits of their good and bad deeds in heaven and hell respectively. Just above this world on our earth, there is a sub-world called Preta Loka, which is an energetic world. Above Preta Loka exist two other energetic sub-worlds called Naraka Loka or hell and Pitṛ Loka, which is a sort of inferior heaven. Pitṛ Loka is located on the moon. All these four sub-worlds put together are called Bhū Loka. Above it lies the Jyotir Loka of the stars and above it is the Svarga Loka which is heaven. In the Preta Loka, souls face the enquiry of their deeds. The enquiry is very formal because there is no debate between advocates there. All your deeds run before your eyes with the help of a divine audio and video facility, which is called Chitragupta meaning the witness that is protected through recording.

The person dying by accident need not become a ghost on earth. If the soul is very greatly attached to the fascinations of these worldly bonds, the soul becomes a ghost and wanders here for some time more. But it has no connection with the nature of death. Suicide is the greatest foolishness and the greatest ignorance because the soul is rejecting the golden opportunity of human life given by God in this world. Human life is the greatest opportunity to achieve the grace of God. People committing suicide enter a terrible hell called Asūrya forever, which is filled with the most condensed dark ignorance (Andhena tamasā vṛutāḥ…—Veda). The upward and downward journeys of souls have been well-described in the Brahma Sūtrams. There are three ways: (1) The way to God, (2) the way to heaven and (3) the way to hell. The souls going to heaven and hell will be reborn on this earth and remain entangled in worldly fascinations. The souls going to God will be reborn on this earth in the service of the contemporary Human Incarnation of God. Only those souls, who have reached God can identify the contemporary Human Incarnation of God on this earth, surpassing their ego and jealousy, without any trace of doubt in their minds.

Keywords:

| Shri Datta Swami | What is the journey of a soul after an untimely death? | Sthuula shariiram Suukshma shariiram Bhuuloka Andhena tamasaa vrutaah Brahma suutrams Pitruloka

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