Recorded at the Vedanta Society of Western Washington on July 7, 2013.
Swami Bhaskarananda examines the question of what, if anything, continues after death, using the Katha Upanishad and the dialogue between Nachiketa and Yama as a starting point. He explains that scriptures often use narrative as an entry point, but their deeper intent is to direct attention to the soul as distinct from the body. From this perspective, death pertains to the physical frame, while the soul is unborn, undying, and not subject to destruction. He also describes how human ideas of heaven and hell developed over time, and clarifies that in Hindu tradition these are understood as planes of existence (lokas) rather than fixed locations “above” or “below” the earth.
The talk outlines what survives death according to Vedanta: the subtle body, consisting of the mind, intellect, the vital energies, and the sense and motor faculties, which continues after the gross body is dropped. Swami Bhaskarananda discusses accounts from saintly lives to illustrate the transition at death, and then presents the traditional teaching of different destinations after death based on one’s tendencies and spiritual preparation. He describes two principal paths: one associated with ordinary virtue and unfulfilled desires that eventually lead back to rebirth, and another, the luminous path, associated with selfless living and devotion, culminating in Brahmaloka and the final dissolution of individuality in divine consciousness.
