We often wonder what happens to our loved ones after their death. Some believe that life ends with death; that we perish completely when the body dies. Others believe that death is a punishment; yet, others believe that there is life after death.
According to the Bahá’í Writings “when the body dies the soul lives on” and “as at the time of death, the real and eternal self of man, his soul, abandons its physical garment to soar in the realms of God, we may compare the body to a vehicle which has been used for the journey through earthly life and no longer needed once the destination has been reached.”
It is the Bahá’í view that, our earthly life is a small part of a life that is eternal, a life for which we should prepare ourselves purposefully and perseveringly. The soul and the body which together form a human being come from different origins and their relationship lasts only for the span of our mortal life. When this relationship ceases the body goes to the world of dust, where it had originally come from, and the soul goes to its origin, which is the spiritual worlds of God.
There is a special relationship between the soul and the body and together they form a human being. The association of the soul and body is like the association of light with the mirror which reflects it. The light which appears in the mirror is not inside it, it comes from an external source. Similarly the soul is not inside the body. The same way that the light continues existing whether the mirror is there to reflect it or not, the soul continues living independent of the body.
The Bahá’í Writings state: “When the body dies the soul lives on. … if the body undergoes a change, the spirit need not be touched. When you break a glass on which the sun shines, the glass is broken, but the sun still shines! If a cage containing a bird is destroyed, the bird is unharmed! If a lamp is broken, the flame can still burn bright!”
Dreams are one of the proofs that the life of the soul does not depend on the life of the body. For example, in the state of sleep we see without eyes, hear without using our ears, run without using our feet. When we are awake the eye sees only for a short distance, but in dreams we may be in Pretoria and meet our friends in Cape Town.
Our soul continues to progress after its separation from the body. Bahá’u’lláh says: “Know thou of a truth that the soul, after its separation from the body, will continue to progress until it attaineth the presence of God…. It will endure as long as the Kingdom of God, His sovereignty, His dominion and power will endure”.
It is natural to feel sad when we lose a loved one. The knowledge of the immortality of the soul lessens the anguish of physical separation.
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