What happens to the Jiva after his death?

The spiritual information about the human body: From a spiritual perspective, the human body is made up of five sheaths.

• The first is Annamaya-kosha, that is, the physical body visible to us.

• The second is Pranamaya-kosha – it has the five vital energies (Panchaprana) providing energy to the whole body.

• The third is the Manomaya-kosha – This is the seat of emotions and desires.

• The fourth is Vidnyanamaya-kosha – This is the seat of the intellect.

• The fifth is Anandamaya-kosha – This is the seat of the Soul (Atma).

The Annamaya-kosha is gross while the other sheaths are subtle. After death, a Jiva’s Annamaya-kosha and Pranamaya-kosha do not remain, but Manomaya-kosha, Vidnyanamaya-kosha and Anandamaya-kosha remain with him.

Hence, despite the gross body being destroyed by death, a Jiva’s existence and his desires do not end. Consequently, a Jiva gets entangled in his desires and this poses a hurdle in his further progress.

The process of an embodied soul (Jiva) getting entangled in his desires after death: After death a Jiva, that is, the subtle body constantly makes efforts for fulfilling its desires. Sometimes it enters another body forcibly. Due to desires a Jiva goes to various subtle regions (lokas) as per his actions. Despite going from one place to another, the Jiva has intense attachment to his previous place. Many a times while going from one place to another, this Jiva goes astray and keeps searching for something. The process of getting entangled in desires after death is known as hurdles in the further progress. Due to this, the responsibility of liberating the person from this process of getting entangled in desires rests with the deceased person’s family members.