QnA with Gurudev- What Happens After Death?
QUESTION- Swamiji, what happens after death?
GURUDEV- What? Here I am sitting in flesh and blood- at least I think I am, will someone pinch me please- and you ask me about death. My boy, Vedanta is a science of life! (He turns to the rest of the group.)
This fellow already knows about Life- he has discovered it’s useless. Now he wants to know if there is something better after death! (After the laughter dies down, he continues).
Okay.. Where will each of you go after you leave this satsang? We will disperse according to our individual desires, some will go home, some to the coffee house, some to the liquor store.
Likewise, when you drop the physical body, the remaining mind-intellect personality will be propelled by its most powerful desires to experience enjoyments not available to physical human beings. The time spent in that particular place, which you call heaven, depends on the punya, or merit you have earned on earth.
When you go on a vacation you stay in a five-star hotel- for how long? You enjoy until the money in your pocket is depleted. Money gone; you return. Punya gone; you return according to your unexpended residue of vasanas.