Skip to main content

Soul and Afterlife

It is believed that a human's existence has two parts, namely the body and the soul. The body is the Nashyar(mortal) part, and the soul is the immortal one. A human's body can never be immortal; what can pass on to the afterlife and be immortal is the soul. The main aspect of Spirituality is searching for the inner soul. The emotions in man are said to be in full control of his will through spirituality. When a man has full control over his emotions, he comes close to his inner soul and moves above the feelings of want, desire, sadness, anger, greed, lust, jealousy or happiness. This takes man closer to the immortality of his soul and thus sets him free from the cycle of life. 

All great religious leaders and reformers, from Prophet Mohammad and Lord Jesus to Mahavir, Guru Nanak and Sri Chaitanya, sought spirituality to discover their true calling and find purpose to teach people ways of life through religious preachings. While some preach the concept of the afterlife and rebirth, some believe in the instant gratification of actions: you yield what you plant. There is no next chance in life to make amends for your mistakes, and you should live the life you get responsibly. Some treat rebirth as a bane instead of a boon for past sins. But the widely different versions of the afterlife, sins and mistakes are to teach people morals and ethics.

The Egyptians also believed in an afterlife, and this is proved by the amount of time they spent making their tombs and getting ready for death; the Valley of the Kings show many tombs, including the very famous King Tut-Ankh-Amun's tomb, which shows the king's interpretation of the afterlife on the walls. The gods are shown showing paths to the afterlife and giving boons of immortality to many souls. The souls become immortal, but not the body. Immortality makes the soul free from worldly pleasures and the cycle of life and the afterlife.

In Hinduism, too, when a body has died, the soul exits it, and the soul passes over the water of the river of purity into the afterlife. This symbolises the removal of earthly attachments from the soul by way of funeral ceremonies. Once the body is free of its family ties and materials, it travels freely until its positive energy is attracted by another growing body without a soul. A soul can attain immortality and thus be removed from all the pains and sufferings through the different stages of Spirituality. 

Yoga, an essential part of the spiritual practice, involves meditation and certain exercises. All the famous Yogis, sages and saints, including Adi Yogi, are believed to be an incarnation of Shiva, and Gautama Buddha, an incarnation of Vishnu, attained peace and power through meditation in the form of yoga. 
It is shown and described in Hindu religious texts that through yoga, people can attain power both physically and mentally. The power of memory, learning and thinking is said to increase in capacity through yoga. Swami Vivekananda attained more use of his brain capacity through yoga
Lord Shiva is known as the founder of this art of meditation and attained the highest power through it. He is thus known as Adi Yogi. 

When the Gods are described as giving immortality boons, they either came with a clause, or if not, then it can be interpreted as the Gods providing lessons to the people to attain immortality. At that time, religion was the most important part of life. The gods and saints became immortal not only through yoga but also through their deeds. Even today, people know their names because of their bravery or courage and knowledge; their names remain immortal, but not as human beings.


Popular posts from this blog

Rakhi Tales

The year was 1535 CE. The Rajmata of Mewar, widow of Rana Sanga, was in a dilemma. On one hand was an attack from Bahadur Shah of Gujarat as a threat to her capital, Chittorgarh, and the throne of her beloved teenage son Vikramaditya. On the other hand, there was the son of her husband's archenemy, Humayun, who could be of some help. Rani Karnavati wrote a letter to Humayun, who was in the east at that time. Along with it, she sent a Rakhi, a thread of brotherhood, asking him, as a sister, for protection against the enemy. But the road was too long and time, of great essence. Humayun arrived at Chittorgarh, in response to her letter, keeping his end of the bargain but a little late. Rani Karnavati had already performed the Jauhar. They never met. Humayun established Rana Vikramaditya on the throne of Mewar, as he had promised as a brother, and returned to his post. Two dynasties, political rivals and sworn enemies, from Sanga-Babur to Pratap-Akbar and even Raj Singh-Aurangzeb, yet ...

A Veranda Vendetta

  “Outrage in Calcutta; Terrorist Raid, British Officer Murdered”   Read the headlines of The Times on Tuesday, 9 th  of December, 1930.   1930: A significant year 1930 was a very significant year in the history of India’s Freedom Struggle against the British Raj. The Indian National Congress went ahead to declare the 26 th  of January as India’s Independence Day, celebrating it nationwide; the Civil Disobedience Movement was officially started by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, and Subhas Chandra Bose was arrested for participating in the same. On 18 th  April, Surya Sen, better known as MasterDa, had done the unthinkable, raiding the British Armoury with his students and fellow teachers at Chittagong. He was still on the loose, yet to be found.  In this year of growing protests against the colonisers, an incident emerged that shook the British at their old capital. The Bengal Volunteers Corps was a group of volunteers organised in the 1928 Calcutta sessi...

Bijolia: Her Home

Journey to Bijolia: Lost Kingdoms and Timeless Temples of Mewar Bijoliya translates to a stop between two cities. Nestled in Rajasthan’s Bhilwara district, Bijolia sits 55km from Bundi and 105km from Chittorgarh on the well-travelled Bundi-Chittorgarh road. Once part of Mewar, this seemingly sleepy town guards a rich and layered past: it was ruled from the 11th to the 13th century by the Punwars (or Parmar Rajputs) before falling under the Chauhan dynasty, who shifted the region’s capital to Bhilwara and constructed the imposing fort there. After a brief Chauhan rule, Bijolia was reclaimed by Rana Kumbha and became an integral part of the Mewar kingdom, with the Parmars serving as local Raos, representatives and stewards of the royal house. Despite its history and the famed Bijolia inscriptions (a treasure for historians), Bijolia has never found a seat on Rajasthan’s primary tourist circuit, especially if you’re venturing out by public transport or private car. While a handful of...

The Emperor's First Wife

  Ruqaiya Sultana Begum  was born to Babur's second surviving son, Hindal Mirza, and his wife, Sultanam Begum, in 1542 C.E., merely a few months after Hamida Banu gave birth to the heir Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar. She was well-versed in Persian, Urdu and Arabic and was attracted to poetry and music. Being a proud descendant of the Timurid clan, most of Rukaiya's childhood was spent in Kabul, near the Bagh E Babur, built by Babur himself. From early childhood, she had seen the struggle of her family to regain their lost power in Hind. In 1551 C.E., just after her father died young at a battle for Humayun, leaving her and her mother in the harem of the emperor, it was Hamida Banu who wanted the marriage of Rukaiya to her first cousin, Akbar. Theirs was the first in-house marriage of the Mughals, soon to be followed by many more in the generations to come. At the mere age of nine, she had married the crown prince, and when Humayun won back Lahore, she was fifteen. At the mere age ...

A Journey Called PrAja

Love is a relationship based on trust and understanding.  It is also a bond that is made up there. People often ask, "Why them?" I end up telling them some folklore. I end up telling them about how she actually was his shadow in the forests, in bad times. Because love passes all its tests in the worst times when you don't give up on each other. So, here's to My Pratap and His Ajabdeh! Ps. This is about the show Bharat Ka Veer Putra Maharana Pratap on Sony by Contilloe Starring Faisal Khan, Roshni Walia, Sharad Malhotra and Rachana Parulkar. This is NOT their real story. The show aired from 2013 to 2015. Ajabdeh, the simple, strong yet gentle samantputri, was starstruck seeing the down-to-earth Kunwar Pratap, the crown prince of Mewar. She was clueless that he held the key to her heart, her lost mala that destiny had chosen him for.  Na na na na na Chan Chan Chan Chan na na na na! A comedy of errors followed, as she threw the pail of water on him, fumbled at his presen...

The Hidden One

In the grand fort of Daulatabad, a princess was born in 1638 to Emperor Aurangzeb and his cherished consort, Dilras Banu Begum. She was christened Zeb Un Nisa, her very name meaning “ornament of womankind.” The youngest of her sisters, Zeb Un Nisa, grew up surrounded by the opulence of the Mughal harem at the Red Fort, under the spiritual guidance of her Sufi uncle Dara Shikoh and her wise aunt Jahanara Begum. From her earliest days, she was captivated by poetry, spending hours immersed in literature, her mind dancing among the verses of Persian and Urdu poets. As she blossomed into adulthood, Zeb Un Nisa cultivated her own literary voice and gathered the greatest poets of the Mughal Empire in her private council. Adopting the pen name “Makhfi”, the Concealed One, she wove magic with her words, always returning to one intoxicating theme: Love. Her father, Emperor Aurangzeb, was the most powerful man in India, unyielding in his faith and rule, yet also deeply affectionate towards his ...

Sisodiya: Kings, Queens and Princes (1538 - 1597)

I am back with another History post, this time it is on the wives and sons of Rana Udai Singh II of Mewar, his son and heir Maharana Pratap and Rana Amar Singh. This is a continuation of the Sisodia Family History I posted some time back. The information has been taken from Annals of Mewar by James Todd, Maharana Pratap by B.N. Rana, and Maharana Pratap by Rima Hooja.  Udai Singh II  was the son of Ranisa Karnawati and Rana Sangram Singh. He was born on 4th August 1 522, at Chittorgarh and died on 28th February 1 572 at Gogunda . He was the Ruler of the Sisodia Dynasty. He is believed to have  56 sons and 2 5 wives, apart from the many insignificant queens in his Rani Mahal. Here is a list of his main queens and their sons. Maharani Jaivanta Bai Songara of Jalore  was his chief queen and consort. Her son is Maharana Pratap. He was married to her before he went to war with Banbir, as her father, Akshayraj Rao, was a friend and ally of his father, Rana Sanga.  Saj...

The Buddhist Empress of India

Many historians believe that although Devi was the first wife of Asoka, his Buddhist queen, Asandhimitra, was not the same person. However, some also theorise based on Buddhist and Jain stories that they were in fact the same person, and the reason for that is that they don't seem to appear in the timeline together. Devi disappears when Asandhimitra arrives at the scene rather abruptly to do her charitable work. Hence, I personally believe they were one and the same. This story, however, is a retelling of folklore and not history. Please do not consider this piece of fiction as history. The whole village of Vidisha Nagari was buzzing with activity. Every home was being cleaned, and cooking preparations were on. The youngest prince of Magadha was coming to a halt the night at their village on his way to Ujjain. Great unrest was reported at Ujjain, and the youngest prince, as the general of this region, was being sent by the emperor to solve the issue. The villagers were scared as th...

A Chivalrous Emnity

“Ranisa. Hukum” There was a hint of urgency in the maid in waiting’s voice as she rushed to the clearing where the tents were set up. Rani Pur Bai Solanki, the second queen, frowned at her sudden, alarming voice. “Hush, Rama, the children are...” She checked the children’s tent, alarmed. They slept during the day and stayed awake at night, because the forestland was not safe, neither from animals nor the enemies. “Ranisa, forgive me, it's Kunwarsa... He is back... but...” Pur Bai’s face lit up with a smile of hope that didn’t last long. “But?” “What is it? What’s wrong?” The Maharani of Mewar had walked out of her camp, with the other queens in tow. The maid bowed before her. “It’s Kunwarsa.” “He is back?” She frowned. He was not supposed to be back so early until his father reached Dholan. “So is Ranaji.” The maid looked scared. “There is a court called in an emergency. I came to inform you that Ranaji wanted everyone to be present.” “Jija...” Pur Bai could see the tension mountin...

Mewar: Parting Words

The journey through Mesmerising Mewar ended the night I boarded my train from Udaipur, my heart weighed down by the memories I was leaving behind. As the city lights shimmered in the darkness, I found myself turning back at every chance, reluctant to bid farewell to Mewar, a place that felt less like a travel destination and more like a forgotten home. Sometimes I wonder if my love for the place comes from another life. My parents certainly think so. With the city’s silhouette fading behind me, it felt only right to share my last thoughts: the flavours of the cities, the hills of Aravallis, the moments that made those 15 days feel like a dream, a dream I had dreamt a long time ago, to see his world, through his eyes. His home.  I’ll be forever grateful for. The Food: Soul of Mewar Udaipur is a feast in every sense! I dove headfirst into plates brimming with local aloo sabzi, peas cooked with a gentle sweetness, and the signature Rajasthani Churma that seemed to melt away any tra...