What happens when we die?

Question: Where do we go after we have died?

Guru: Supposing you are a young man who is only attached to the world. And you have desires, feelings and attachments to the superficial things of life. You paid a lot of attention to those things in life… where do you think you will go first, as you will leave your physical body?

You will immediately be racing around. I see it happen when I look after people who are dying; they immediately come looking for me or the people they loved. They are torn from the physical body that they have left behind, and they rush to their loved ones – to the things they loved. And they go backwards and forwards in an intensely confused state.

Depending on the intensity of the attachment of that person’s consciousness he will go on wandering. They are the wandering spirits for a long time, timelessness. It is a natural thing for a person who has been attached to the world not to want to return back. So it takes a long time for their rehabilitation spiritually. For them to be reborn again takes that much longer.

There was a very clever man once. He knew that chanting the name of the Lord was such an important thing before he died. So he named all his sons and his children by the different names of God. So that at least when he was looking at each person, waiting that he is dying, he would be calling ‘Krishna, Lakshmi!’ And so he had it all worked out beautifully because it is said in the scriptures that if you have the name of the Lord on your lips you will go to heaven.

They were running a very successful business. So there came the time for this man to die, and all the children came round him and they were waiting to be called by their names. And the father looked up and counted them; one, two three, four, five… and just as his last breath he said ‘Who is in the shop?’

So where do you think he went? Back to the shop! There is a mistake a lot of people make in life. They think living in the world they can compromise sufficiently and hope at the last minute they will be pulled up to the divine consciousness. My advice to him, if he lived in this period, would have been to call the shop a divine name as well! And if he was worried about the money I would have called it Lakshmi as well!

So we have to recognise divinity in every single facet of our lives. You who are living in the world outside; you who have to pay your taxes, pay your bills, pay your rents, rates and food… I understand your involvement to make a success of your life. That is spiritual sadhana itself.

It is very difficult for me to try to write a prescription for your life to blend easily, for it must come from you and not from me. I understand how difficult it is. And because of that, I will keep on coming back to you, urging you on your spiritual journey, so that one day you will want what I want for you.

If you want spirituality, let go!

What does ‘letting go’ mean? You have a slab of chocolate; don’t eat it until you feel sick. If you love somebody; don’t eat the person up. Have a sense of moderation for your life. There is a time to live and there is a time to die. For all of us that is going to happen. Nobody knows when.

You cannot say: mañana, mañana, mañana… I will die later. Before I go on any journey I make absolutely certain I have finished all my business in Skanda Vale. There is nothing I have not left undone. I leave Skanda Vale, even when I am going on a small journey to London as if I am never going to return again.

As I have not been invited to stay here indefinitely! I am going back. That is the extent of my commitment to God. Oh Lord, when You want me I am ready to come. I am not attached to the results, nor to the work that I have to do for You. You can do it well without me. There are many in Your family who are growing up spiritually, and I would love to give them the opportunity to take my place.

The position of Guru will be advertised in your papers very soon! And if you want me to recommend you, I will do so. First of all, develop an immense sense of humour. Free of yourself of attachment and be willing to be abused by others. Then I will consider you for the job. Because I intend to, I hope with divine grace, that one day Switzerland will have a wonderful centre where we can help many, many, many more people.

Yes, when a person is attached, he is reborn into the spirit in the world of attachment. When the person has detached himself, or in a semi-state, then for a period the person will be wandering the earth planet, and then move away – being attracted by divine consciousness. That is also a period of time before reincarnation.

If a person started on a spiritual journey and made every effort to advance spiritually, then the reincarnation period will be that much shorter. And he will re-enter the world bearing with him great power and a future for his own spiritual advancement.

There is a premise in the mind of people that because he is Hindu or a Christian or a Muslim or a Buddhist that automatically the person is going to be born in that particular faith. That is not true. In our minds, in people’s minds, there are demarcation lines and that is how it is going to happen… but it will never happen like that. The universality of God makes you be born in any consciousness that is required. You expand your mind’s consciousness to accommodate all spiritual consciousness.

And you end up with a mixed-up bag like me!

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