How Hinduism Explains Death Beautifully
And all that happens after
“Nothing can happen more beautiful than death.”
— Walt Whitman
During my freshman year of college, we were asked to pick a topic for a communication project. I chose mine as “Death Is Beautiful.” I remember being laughed at for coming up with something that sounded so unusual. I tried hard to justify the beauty of my title but nobody would understand. Hence, I settled with the conclusion that maybe I didn’t explain well enough.
I still believe that death is beautiful but I’ve made my peace with the fact that not everybody can understand it.
I’ve read quite a few theories about death from both religious and scientific sources. With each being as fascinating as it can get, the classical Hindu metaphysics’ explanations about death stood out to me.
In Hinduism, death is referred to as Mahaprasthana (great journey). When the soul has learned his lessons and completed his Karma from one life, it leaves the physical body. A soul is an immortal body of light that continues to reincarnate until his Karmas are settled. It does not die and is indestructible.
All that a person gains in the form of intelligence, awareness, and memories persist with the soul. It lives in…
