1 When body and mind grow weak, the Self gathers in all the
powers of life and descends with them into the heart. As prana
leaves the eye, it ceases to see.
2 “S/He is becoming one,” say the wise; “s/he does not see.
S/He is becoming one; s/he no longer hears. S/He is becoming one;
s/he no longer speaks, or tastes, or smells, or thinks, or knows.”
By the light of the heart the Self leaves the body by one of its gates;
and when s/he leaves, prana follows, and with it all the vital powers
of the body. S/He who is dying merges in consciousness, and thus
consciousness accompanies her/him when s/he departs, along
with the impressions of all that s/he has done, experienced, and
known.
3 As a caterpillar, having come to the end of one blade of grass,
draws itself together and reaches out for the next, so the Self, having
come to the end of one life and dispelled all ignorance, gathers in
her/his faculties and reaches out from the old body to a new.
The above passages, from Eknath Easwaran’s The Upanishads, describes the spiritual process of dying and reincarnation. It explains that as the physical body, senses, and mind cease to function, the “Self” (our soul/spirit) gathers the vital life force, or prana, into the heart and exits the body. This exit ends all of the body’s faculties such as seeing, hearing, speaking, tasting, smelling, thinking, and knowing. In yoga, the death of the body is viewed as a merging in consciousness of ego self and higher Self.
As the translation states, consciousness, memories, and karmic impressions accompany the departing spirit/Self on its transition to a new life. The Self, having completed one life, gathers its powers to move to the next, just as a caterpillar moves from one blade of grass to another.
Except in the case where the individual has attained liberation, there is always rebirth. … Karma (action) is the cause of rebirth. However, it is a peculiar type of action (desire) that causes rebirth … a particular attitude generated by a preponderating emphasis laid by the whole personality … a very serious urge of the whole psychophysical personality is the seed of rebirth … The kind of ‘action’ that you perform becomes the cause of a kind of life that you are going to enter into in the next birth.
Swami Krishnananda, Bridhadaranyaka Upanishad
In order to begin a new existence (rebirth or liberation), the Self must “dispell all ignorance.” Ignorance here refers to the removal of avidya, or spiritual ignorance — the false identification with the ego and physical world, and the failure to realize the true nature of the Self. If there still exists a driving desire within the carried-over impressions of all that s/he has done, experienced, and known, then rebirth will occur. In the context of liberation, it means the Self becomes fully realized — non-differentiated from Brahman/Spirit/Creator/God — and no longer subject to the limitations of a new birth instead achieving a state of eternal bliss.
For more yoga actions and teachings, click here. Namaste.
