What happens after I die?

Medically, death happens in two stages - clinical -which last for four to six minutes from the time the person stops breathing and the heart stops pumping, and the second happens when the body organs fail to work and the cells fail to regenerate. There is no scientific evidence for afterlife but religious have certain concepts about life after death where Hinduism states we are reborn after death or we attain liberation from the cycles of life and death. In the time duration between the death and next birth, we may have to stay at the land of dead or the pitra loka or the heavens (that is located above earth) or hell ( located in the earth’s crust), before returning back to the material world to learn our ultimate lessons of moksha from earthy relations and pleasures. Different thoughts in religious books Some religions say - we live once and death is the end, there is nothing else after death. Some state we reach the land of dead and stay there in afterlife. Some believe in soul movement to heaven after death where they enjoy the rest of eternity and some go to hell where they suffer all eternity. Egyptian belief in life after death is widely known where they build pyramids for the dead, and Chinese assumed about the land of ancestors, even before Buddhism. The Torah talks of a shadowy place at the centre of earth where all the souls have to go without judgment. Islamic faith claims the dead is raised on the Last Day where they are judged and sent to hell or heaven, until then they remain in the graves. Buddhism talks of spirits being reincarnated until they gain enlightenment. Christianity states heaven is a paradise where the souls can live in peace with God. It is the place reserved for souls that have repented their sins and followed the faith. Jews do not believe in hell but they agree to the concept of punishment in afterlife. Almost all religions recommend good deeds for attaining a peaceful afterlife. Near Death – What does it mean? A website known as the Near Death Experience Research Foundation posted stories of people who underwent death like experience where most people said they were compelled to move towards a light. Some said the experience was chilling and others felt it was peaceful. A study found the dead person’s mind and consciousness may work even after death at least for a short time and they may recognize their own death. It is believed that the function of consciousness may make the dead hear the voices as they are declared dead. In Hinduism, Garuda Purana (that is one of the 18 mahapuranas i.e. books) states of how 4 to 5 hours before death, the earth sole chakras is detached (that is located close to the feet) and as the person dies the feet turns cold. The astral cord is severed – which connects the body to the soul. The soul is unable to stay back and is pushed out of the body. It floats around the body as it tries to reenter, until it is cremated. After 12 days, after the prayers and rituals, the soul gets the chance to meet the ancestors and it witnesses all events of life just completed on earth in the presence of a Karmic Board, where the soul chooses its next life - birth situations and parents on the final judgment, aiming to clear the karmic dues.