What happens to the soul at the moment of death?
Is there really nothing after death?
In general, death signifies the entry into a period of unconsciousness that lasts seven months. Indeed, the individual and distinct being of God, which each of us truly is, is then introduced, through the father's seed, into the womb of a new mother, and begins to develop, nourished by her, a new body based on his desires and past actions, for these are the factors that determine the precise type of body he will be reborn into.
The moment arrives when, still in his mother's womb, he emerges from his state of unconsciousness. He then feels the discomfort of such a narrow place, and the desire to escape grows within him; he sometimes has the good fortune to pray to the Lord.
The coordination of these astral influences never depends on human will, but rests in the hands of higher authorities, agents of the Supreme Lord. And of course, the predominant influences at the time of birth are determined based on the past deeds, good or bad, of the incarnating being.
Hence the importance of the virtuous and sinful deeds performed by the being during their existences. Thus, it is only through pious deeds that great wealth, a good education, or harmonious bodily features will be obtained.
To see a great soul born within one's bosom is a great fortune for any family, for its presence ensures liberation for ancestors and descendants, for a hundred generations, by the grace of the Lord, as a sign of the respect He shows to His dearest devotee. The highest blessing one can bestow on one's family is therefore to become a pure devotee of the Lord.
Is there really nothing after death?
Is death, as some claim, merely a place where the soul is held awaiting judgment?
Death is actually the end of a cycle, the transmigration or reincarnation of the soul into a new body, and the forgetting of the past or even previous life. In truth, life continues, or rather begins again, for the spiritual entity or spirit soul is immediately reincarnated into a new body, whose form and nature depend on the actions performed in the last incarnation.
The Lord God, Krishna, confirms this truth by saying: Whoever, at death, at the very moment of leaving his body, remembers only me, immediately reaches my abode, have no doubt, for it is the thoughts, the memories of the being at the moment of leaving the body that determine his future condition. Thus, in me, Krishna, in my personal form, always absorbs your thoughts without fail. Dedicating your actions to Me, turning your mind and your intelligence toward Me, you will undoubtedly come to Me.
The Lord makes it clear: At the moment of death, the soul takes on a new body, as naturally as it passed, in the previous body, from childhood to youth, then to old age. This change does not trouble those who are aware of their spiritual nature.
It is now, in this present life, that we must prepare for this next existence. A virtuous life allows us to achieve two goals.