What is Birth and Death?

Questioner: What is birth and death?

Dadashri: Birth and death do occur, there is no question

about it. We all witness its occurrence. Death takes place when

all the accounts of karma of a person’s life are finished. Whatever

account he had bound for the current life, comes to an end and

therefore death occurs.

What is Death?

Questioner: What is death?

Dadashri: Death is like this: When you sew a shirt, you

can say that the shirt is created or born. Death is inevitable to

whatever is born. The Soul is free from the bondage of birth and

death. It is eternal; it has no death. Anything that is born has to

die, and because there is death, there will also be birth. So death

is connected to birth. Wherever there is birth there is death.

Question: Why is there death?

Dadashri: Birth and death are events. Every event has an

end. The inherent nature of any thing that begins i.e. an event, is

that it always comes to an end. Was it not a beginning when you

went to school and did that event not come to an end? Everything

has a beginning and an end. Do you understand?

Questioner: Yes.

Dadashri: All these things have a beginning and an end.

Who is the Knower of this beginning and the end? You are that

Knower.

Things that have a beginning and an end are all temporary.

Anything that has a beginning has an end. Who is the knower

of the temporary nature of everything? You the permanent are

that Knower. You are permanent because you see all as

temporary. If everything was temporary, then there is no need

to call anything temporary. Temporary is a relative word. It is

because of the presence of the permanent, that there is

something temporary.

The Cause Of Death & Birth

Questioner: So why does death occur?

Dadashri: There are three batteries: the mind, speech

and the body, at the time of a person’s birth. These batteries

begin to discharge, present their effect in the womb and continue

to do so throughout life. The effect will finally come to an end

with death. A person’s karmic account is exhausted through

these three batteries. When the effect of these batteries comes

to an end, it is death. These batteries will last until death.

However, as these batteries are discharging, new batteries for

the coming life are being charged simultaneously. In this manner

the charge (causes of karma) and discharge (effects of karma)

continue to take place. The charging or causes take place

because of the person’s ignorance of his real Self. As long as

his wrong belief, ‘I am Chandulal’ prevails, attachment and

abhorrence continue to occur, giving rise to new causes. Once

this wrong belief is replaced with the right belief, ‘I am pure

Soul’; attachment and abhorrence and consequently new causes

cease to occur.

Reincarnation

Questioner: Does the unliberated soul return after death?

Dadashri: Those who do not believe in reincarnation believe

that it does not return. Therefore according to the foreigners it

does not, according to the Moslems it does not, but for the rest of

Indians, the Hindus, it does return. This is the result of the grace

of your God that you believe in reincarnation. The moment you

die, the soul immediately enters another womb.

Now in fact, all souls do return. The belief of the nonHindus’

belief is that once dead they do not return, but they do

return. They do not understand this because they do not understand

the process of reincarnation. You understand reincarnation.

When the body dies, it becomes lifeless and from that one

can easily deduce that there was life within, which has now

departed and gone elsewhere. Those who do not believe in

reincarnation believe that the very life force (jiva) within was living

and is now dead. We do not accept this. We are spiritually

developed. It is because of this spiritual development that we

believe in reincarnation. It is because of this that we understand

the science of the Vitarag (the Omniscient) Lords. This science

states that it is because of reincarnation that we all come together.

Such is our belief and it is on the strength of this belief that we

believe in the Soul. How can reincarnation be supported without

the belief in the Soul?

Who is it that reincarnates? It is because there is the Soul

that there is reincarnation. We witness the death of the body,

which is burnt. So only the soul can come and go in different

forms.

When you understand the nature of the Soul, all puzzles are

solved. It is however, hard to understand. That is why all the

scriptures tell you to understand the Soul. Now without this

knowledge, anything done is done in vain. It does not help. First

realize the Soul, and then all puzzles will be solved.

Who Reincarnates?

Questioner: Who takes rebirth? Is it the Soul or the life

force (jiva)?

Dadashri: No, nobody has to take it, it just happens. This

whole universe functions automatically; everything just happens

on its own.

Questioner: Yes, but who makes it happen? Is it done by

the jiva (mortal entity) or the Soul?

Dadashri: No, the Soul has nothing to do with it. Everything

happens because of the jiva. This comprises of the Soul, the causal

body and the electrical body. This entity that desires worldly

happiness has the ‘right’ to enter the womb and when worldly

happiness is not desired, it loses the right for a rebirth.

Relationship Of One Birth To Another

Questioner: Is each successive birth of a human linked to

the next birth?

Dadashri: Every birth is the result of previous birth.

Therefore the link of every birth begins with the previous birth.

Questioner: But what is the relationship between this birth

and the previous birth?

Dadashri: This current birth is the result of previous birth

and the cause of the next birth.

Questioner: Yes, that is true but is there anything that

occurs in the previous life that has any relationship to this life?

Dadashri: A tremendous relationship! Seeds sown in the

previous life, result in a full-fledged fruit in this life. So is there not

a difference between the seed and its fruit? When we sow a seed

of wheat, that is the previous life, and the plant, which grows from

it, is this life. Now from this plant, the seeds that are shed is the

current life, will grow as a plant and that will be the new life and so

on. Did you understand this or not?

Questioner: From many that are walking a snake bites

only one person. Is that the result from a previous life?

Dadashri: Yes, that is precisely what I am trying to explain.

That is reincarnation. And that is why the snake bites him. If it

were not for reincarnation, the snake would not have bitten him.

In essence, the man is being paid back from the account of his

previous life in the same way that a debt gets paid off. Through

spiritual development we can understand all these accounts and

their repayments. This is why people in India believe in

reincarnation, but they are not able to categorically state that indeed

there is reincarnation. They cannot prove that it does in fact exist.

But based on the experiences in their lives, their faith in reincarnation

has strengthened.

A woman may ask why her friend was blessed with such a

nice mother-in-law, whereas she is not so fortunate. So there will

be all kinds of circumstances based on accounts of previous life.

What Else Carries Forward?

Questioner: When life enters another body, do the five

senses and the mind go with it?

Dadashri: No, nothing like that whatsoever. The senses

become exhausted and die; the senses do not carry forward. Only

the anger, pride, attachment and greed carry forward. Only the

causal body, which is the subtle body and it includes anger, pride,

attachment and greed, is carried forward. It remains with the soul

wherever it is born, until final liberation is attained.

The Electrical Body

The soul alone does not leave the body. The causal body

composed of all the karmas and the electrical body leaves together

with the soul at the moment of death. As long as there is worldly

life, the electrical body will be present in every living being. The

electrical body is always present when the causal body is formed.

Every living being has an electrical body, which carries out the

natural bodily functions, such as digestion and circulation etc. The

electrical body is also responsible for your vision and other

physiologic activities. The soul does not have any anger, pride,

attachment or greed. These anger, pride, attachment and greed

are all mediated through the electrical body, although they are

carried forward through the causal body.

Questioner: So is the electrical body active in the process

of charging karma?

Dadashri: Karmas are only charged if the electrical body

is present. Nothing will work in the absence of the electrical body

and the same applies to the soul. Even if the soul was absent, but

the electrical body was there, it would not work either. These are

all a collection of causes.

When Does Life Enter a Womb?

Questioner: Life only comes into existence when it takes

a breath. That is what is written in the Vedas.

Dadashri: No, such statements are not based on

experience. They are not true. That understanding is a worldly

understanding. An embryo never develops without the presence

of a life. Prior to that it is like an egg, it remains in a state of

dormancy.

Questioner: Does life enter the egg of a chicken through a

hole?

Dadashri: No, that is all worldly thinking. Such statements

are written because of inadequate understanding. For the embryo

to form multiple evidences are necessary, including time. These

are all scientific circumstantial evidences.

Life matures during the nine months it lives in the womb. At

seven months, it is considered premature; the brain, the limbs and

all other organs are inadequately developed. So a baby born at

seven months is considered premature because it has not

developed fully. And those which are born at eighteen months –

they are something else! They have extraordinary brains. Those,

which go beyond nine months, have a very highly developed brain.

What’s wrong? Did you not know that? Why are you not

saying anything? Have you heard the saying, ‘This baby is eighteen

months old’? Have you not heard such a saying? They’ll say he

is very smart; he would not come out of his mother’s womb – for

eighteen months he carried on pompously!

Time Between Births

Questioner: How long does it take for the soul to leave

one body and enter another?

Dadashri: No time at all. As it is leaving one body, it is

also simultaneously present in another womb. This occurrence is

in concurrence with the moment of the union of the sperm and the

egg. When the time comes for the soul to depart from one body,

the circumstances and the event at the other end is also taking

place the reception of the soul. Therefore after the body’s death

the soul goes directly into another embryo. So there is no need to

worry about what may happen in the time ahead. After death

another womb is acquired and upon entering that womb, all the

nourishment and everything necessary for its life there is

immediately provided for.

The Three Travelers

The world is full of illusion and it always looks at external

actions. It does not consider the inner intentions or meditation.

The inner meditation is the real endeavor (purushaarth), for the

next life and will bring forth fruits in the next life. During meditation,

the subatomic particles of matter from the outside are pulled inwards

into the body. They take on the form of whatever kind of meditation

is in progress and accumulate subtly. This is how the causal body

is created. Because of connections from the past life, it enters the

mother’s womb and this is where the effective body forms. Upon

death, the soul, the subtle body and the causal body all go together.

The subtle body is the same for everyone, but the causal body is

different for each person, depending upon his causes from his

current life. The electrical body is the subtle body.

The Chain of Cause and Effect

There is birth after death and death after birth. Why

does this cycle continue relentlessly? It is because of ‘causes and

effects, and effects and causes’ that the cycle perpetuates. If causes

were destroyed, effect too would come to an end and another

birth would cease to occur.

A person creates causes during his entire life. What

becomes of these causes? Once the causes are created, there is

no escaping from its ensuing consequences of its effect.

Causes are created in every action. If someone insults you

by saying, ‘you are stupid’, it is an effect. He has said this within

the laws governing the science of karma. It is your past account.

During this occurrence of insult, the negative reaction that occurs

within you like, ‘your father is stupid’, is your cause for the next

life. This may even spill out in reactionary words. These words

are an effect of past life. The deep inner intent in any event is the

cause. All else is an effect.

What was dealt to you was well within the laws of karma.

Your reaction transgressed that law.

Did you understand this? Why are you silent?

Questioner: Yes, I understand.

Dadashri: So the causes are created in this life, and the

effects of these causes will have to be endured in the next life.

People erroneously believe the effect to be the cause and

they try to change the effect. In anger they believe, ‘I became

angry’. This is an illusion. The anger exists as long as this illusion

exists. Really there is no anger. It is only an effect. And when the

cause stops, only the effect remains and one is not responsible for

these effects. These effects will not refrain from manifesting their

intrinsic nature.

Can Causes be Stopped?

Questioner: There is a relationship between the body and

soul, is there not?

Dadashri: This body is the result and effect of the ignorance

of the Self, the Soul. It is the effect of whatever causes that were

created. If someone were to give you a lot of respect, you would

feel happy and if someone were to insult you, you would become

angry. The outward expression of your anger or happiness is not

important; it is your internal bhaav (deep inner intent, meditation)

that charges or causes new karma, which will then discharge in

your next life. The discharge will be in the form of an effect at that

time. Your mind, your speech and your body are all an effect.

Any suffering or enjoyment experienced during the discharge of

an effect, leads to new causes, which in turn will become ‘effective’

in the next life. In this manner, the cycle of ‘cause and effect’,

‘effect and cause’ perpetuates.

Causes of new karma can only be stopped in the human

life. There is only effect in all other life forms. In human beings

there is both causes and effects. When I give you the knowledge

of your real Self, Gnan, new causes will stop, and no new effects

will occur.

Until Then The Wandering Continues…
The effective body refers to the three charged batteries of

the mind, speech and the body, which create new causes. So in

this life, these batteries continue to discharge while simultaneously

new batteries are being charged. The Gnani Purush puts a stop

to the charging and so only the old ones continue to discharge.

After death, the soul enters another womb. Until one

becomes Self-realized, it continues to wander from womb to

womb. One becomes one with the mind, with the intellect and this

is the reason why new causes are created and the worldly life

continues over and over again. To become one with the mind and

the intellect is to plant a seed in a womb. Lord Krishna has said

that as the seeds fall into the womb, the worldly life continues.

When the sowing of new seeds ceases, the worldly life will cease.