In this article, we will discuss about the Eternal Soul and the Understanding of Death, according to Swami Sivananda Saraswati.
Who is Swami Sivananda Saraswati?
Swami Sivananda Saraswati, one of the great self-realized masters of India, pursued two careers in his life, that of a successful physician and that of a yogi and sage.
The main discussion is around the following points.
- What is Death?
- What happens after Death?
- How to become Free from Birth and Death?
According to him, death is not the end of our existence, but rather a separation of the soul from the physical body and the starting point of a new and better life. He believed that death does not end our personality and self-consciousness, but rather opens the door to a higher form of life.
Swami Sivananda Saraswati viewed death as a necessary phenomenon for the soul’s evolution, just as one would move from one house to another to gain new experiences. Similarly, the soul passes from one body to another in order to gain experience. He also compared death to sleep and birth to waking up, stating that death brings promotion to a new and better life. He believed that a man of discrimination and wisdom is not afraid of death, as they understand that death is the gate of life and that death is no longer a skeleton bearing a sword to cut the thread of life, but rather an angel who has a golden key to unlock the door to a wider, fuller and happier existence.
Swami Sivananda Saraswati believed that every soul is a circle and that the Supreme Soul or Paramatman is deathless, decayless, timeless, causeless and spaceless. He also believed that it is the source and substratum for the body, mind and the whole world. He believed that death is for the physical body only, which is a compound of five elements and that the eternal soul is beyond time, space and causation.
In order to free oneself from birth and death, one must become bodiless and free themselves from karma, likes and dislikes, and ignorance. He believed that the root cause for the body is ignorance and that the realization of the eternal soul is the key to freeing oneself from the jaws of death. He viewed the eternal soul as being beyond all sound, sight, taste, touch, formless and attributeless, beyond nature, and beyond three bodies and five sheaths, infinite and unchanging, self-luminous.
CONCLUSION:-
- Death is a separation of the soul from the physical body and the starting point of a new and better life, according to him
- Death does not end personality and self-consciousness, it opens the door to a higher form of life
- Death is a necessary phenomenon for the soul’s evolution
- Death is like sleep and birth is like waking up, it brings promotion to a new and better life
- A man of discrimination and wisdom is not afraid of death, he knows it is the gate of life
- Every soul is a circle, the Supreme Soul is deathless and eternal
- To free oneself from birth and death, one must become bodiless and free themselves from karma, likes and dislikes, and ignorance
- Swami Sivananda Saraswati believes that the root cause of the body is ignorance, and that realization of the eternal soul is the key to freeing oneself from the jaws of death.