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After death (CC and other books)

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta

CC Adi-lila

CC Adi 3.98, Purport:

People held in the grip of māyā are thrown into oblivion after death, and as a result of their karma, in the next life they become dogs or gods, although most of them become dogs. To become gods in the next life, they must engage in the devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; otherwise, they are sure to become dogs or hogs in terms of the laws of nature.

CC Adi 7.119, Purport:

Cārvāka Muni, however, says, "If you have no money, then beg, borrow or steal, but in some way secure ghee and enjoy life." For one who further objects that he will be held accountable for such unauthorized activities as begging, borrowing and stealing, Cārvāka Muni replies, "You will not be held responsible. As soon as your body is burned to ashes after death, everything is finished."

CC Adi 7.130, Purport:

"Those who are envious and mischievous, who are the lowest among mankind, I perpetually cast into the ocean of material existence, into various demoniac species of life." (BG 16.19) Life in demoniac species awaits the Māyāvādī philosophers after death because they are envious of Kṛṣṇa. When Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.34) man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru ("Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, become My devotee, offer obeisances to Me and worship Me"), one demoniac scholar says that it is not Kṛṣṇa to whom one must surrender.

CC Adi 12.70, Translation:

A person without Kṛṣṇa consciousness is no better than dry wood or a dead body. He is understood to be dead while living, and after death he is punishable by Yamarāja.

CC Adi 12.70, Purport:

Yamarāja, the superintendent of death, tells his assistants what class of men they should bring before him. There he states, "A person whose tongue never describes the qualities and holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose heart never throbs as he remembers Kṛṣṇa and His lotus feet, and whose head never bows in obeisances to the Supreme Lord must be brought before me for punishment." In other words, nondevotees are brought before Yamarāja for punishment, and thus material nature awards them various types of bodies. After death, which is dehāntara, a change of body, nondevotees are brought before Yamarāja for justice.

CC Adi 16.21, Purport:

As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (8.6), yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran bhāvaṁ tyajaty ante kalevaram: one's practice in thinking throughout his entire life determines the quality of his thoughts at death, and thus at death one obtains a suitable body. According to this principle, Lakṣmīdevī, the goddess of fortune from Vaikuṇṭha, who was absorbed in thought of the Lord in separation from Him, certainly went back home to Vaikuṇṭhaloka after death.

CC Adi 17.195, Purport:

There is a book called Riyāja Us-salātina, whose author, Golām Husen, says that Nawab Hussain Shah belonged to the family of Mukkā Seriph. To keep his family's glory, he took the name Seriph Mukkā. Generally, however, he is known as Nawab Hussain Shah. After his death, his eldest son, Nasaratsā, became King of Bengal (A.D. 1521–1533). This King also was very cruel. He committed many atrocities against the Vaiṣṇavas. As a result of his sinful activities, one of his servants from the Khojā group killed him while he was praying in the mosque.

CC Adi 17.212, Purport:

The pāṣaṇḍīs do not accept that the potency of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa is so great that one can be delivered simply by chanting the holy name, although this is confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (12.3.51): kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet. Any man from any part of the world who practices chanting of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa can be liberated and after death go back home, back to Godhead. The rascal pāṣaṇḍīs think that if anyone but a brāhmaṇa chants the holy name, the potency of the holy name is vanquished.

CC Adi 17.307, Purport:

Kumbhīpāka, a type of hellish condition, is described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (5.26.13), wherein it is said that a person who cooks living birds and beasts to satisfy his tongue is brought before Yamarāja after death and punished in the Kumbhīpāka hell. There he is put into boiling oil called kumbhī-pāka, from which there is no deliverance. Kumbhīpāka is meant for persons who are unnecessarily envious. Those who are envious of the activities of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu are punished in that hellish condition.

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 19.159, Purport:

Unfortunately people do not know that there is life after death; therefore mundane people waste their time amassing material profit which has to be left behind at the time of death. Such profit has no eternal benefit. Similarly, adoration by mundane people is valueless because after death one has to accept another body. Material adoration and titles are decorations that cannot be carried over to the next body. In the next life, everything is forgotten.

CC Madhya 24.104, Purport:

In the eyes of a devotee, politicians, social workers, philanthropists, philosophers and humanitarians are simply wasting their time, for human society is not freed from the cycle of birth and death by their activity and propaganda. These so-called philanthropists, politicians and philosophers have no knowledge because they do not know that there is life after death. Understanding that there is life after death is the beginning of spiritual knowledge.

Other Books by Srila Prabhupada

Nectar of Devotion

Nectar of Devotion 2:

The recommendation of Rūpa Gosvāmī for reviving our original Kṛṣṇa consciousness is that somehow or other we should apply our minds to Kṛṣṇa very seriously and thus also become fearless of death. After death we do not know our destination, because we are completely under the control of the laws of nature. Only Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is controller over the laws of nature.

Nectar of Devotion 9:

The Padma Purāṇa also mentions, "A person whose body is decorated with the pulp of sandalwood, with paintings of the holy name of the Lord, is delivered from all sinful reactions, and after his death he goes directly to Kṛṣṇaloka to live in association with the Supreme Personality of Godhead."

Nectar of Devotion 9:

It is stated in the Viṣṇu-rahasya, "Any person who can arrange for service to the Lord in the same way that a king is given service by his attendants is surely elevated to the abode of Kṛṣṇa after death." Actually, in India the temples are just like royal palaces. They are not ordinary buildings, because the worship of Kṛṣṇa should be performed in just the way that a king is worshiped in his palace. So in Vṛndāvana there are many hundreds of temples wherein the Deity is worshiped exactly like a king.

Nectar of Instruction

Nectar of Instruction 10, Purport:

Although the karmīs are sometimes elevated to higher planetary systems, as long as they remain attached to fruitive activities they must accept new material bodies after death. If one acts piously, he can attain a new body among the demigods in the higher planetary systems, or he may attain some other position in which he can enjoy a higher standard of material happiness.

Easy Journey to Other Planets

Easy Journey to Other Planets 1:

Those who are not yogīs but who die at an opportune moment due to pious acts of sacrifice, charity, penance, etc., can rise to the higher planets after death, but are subject to return to this planet (Earth). Their going forth takes place at a period known as dhūma, the dark, moonless half of the month, or when the sun is on its southern path.

Easy Journey to Other Planets 1:

This means that anyone who trains the mind to turn from matter to the spiritual form of the Godhead by performance of the prescribed rules of devotional service can easily attain the kingdom of God, in the antimaterial sky. And of this there is no doubt.

And in the same way, if one desires to enter into any other planet of the material sky, he can go there just after quitting the present body (i.e., after death). Thus if someone wants to go to the moon, the sun or Mars, he can do so simply by performing acts for that purpose.

Easy Journey to Other Planets 1:

That upon which a person meditates at the time of death, quitting his body absorbed in the thought thereof, that particular thing he attains after death.

Mahārāja Bharata, despite a life of severe penances, thought of a stag at the time of his death and thus became a stag after death. However, he did retain a clear consciousness of his past life and realized his mistake. It is important to realize that one's thoughts at the time of death are influenced by the actual deeds which one performs during his life.

Easy Journey to Other Planets 1:

Materialistic-minded men, who have no information of the kingdom of God, are always mad after material acquisition of wealth, fame and adoration. Such men are interested in the progressive weal of their particular family unit for their own self-satisfaction and so are also interested in the progress of social and national welfare. These men attain their desired objects by material activities. They are mechanically engaged in the ritualistic discharge of prescribed duties and are consequently inclined to satisfy the Pitās, or bygone forefathers, and controlling demigods by performance of sacrifices as prescribed by the revealed scriptures. Addicted to such acts of sacrifices and ceremonial observances, such souls enter into the moon after death. When one is thus promoted to the moon, he receives the capacity to enjoy the drinking of soma-rasa, a celestial beverage.

Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead

Krsna Book 1:

One should not be envious of anyone, because envy is the cause of fear both in this world and in the next, when one is before Yamarāja (the lord of punishment after death). Vasudeva appealed to Kaṁsa on behalf of Devakī, stating that she was his younger sister. He also appealed at an auspicious moment, at the time of marriage. A younger sister or brother is supposed to be protected as one's child. "The position is overall so delicate," Vasudeva reasoned, "that if you kill her, it will go against your high reputation."

Krsna Book 2:

He further deliberated, "A person who is too cruel is as good as dead, even in this lifetime. No one likes a cruel person during his lifetime, and after his death, people curse him. On account of his self-identification with the body, he must be degraded and pushed into the darkest region of hell." Kaṁsa thus meditated on all the pros and cons of killing Devakī at that time.

Krsna Book 20:

In the case of the transcendentalist, be he a jñānī, a yogī or a devotee, because of the material body he cannot actually enjoy spiritual achievement. But as soon as he gives up the body, or after death, the jñānī merges into the spiritual effulgence of the Supreme Lord, the yogī transfers himself to the various higher planets, and the devotee goes to the planet of the Supreme Lord, Goloka Vṛndāvana or one of the Vaikuṇṭhas, and thus enjoys his eternal spiritual life.

Krsna Book 28:

The inhabitants of Vṛndāvana are all pure devotees. Their destination after quitting the body is Kṛṣṇaloka. They even surpass the Vaikuṇṭhalokas. The fact is that those who are always engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and mature, pure devotional service are given the chance, after death, to gain Kṛṣṇa's association in one of the universes within the material world. Kṛṣṇa's pastimes are continuously going on, either in this universe or in another universe.

Krsna Book 44:

According to the opinion of authorities, Kaṁsa attained sārūpya-mukti after death; that is to say, he attained the same form as Nārāyaṇa (Viṣṇu). On the Vaikuṇṭha planets all the inhabitants have the same bodily features as Nārāyaṇa. After his death, Kaṁsa attained liberation and was promoted to Vaikuṇṭhaloka. From this instance we can understand that even a person who thinks of the Supreme Personality of Godhead as an enemy gets liberation or a place in a Vaikuṇṭha planet, so what to speak of the pure devotees, who are always absorbed in favorable thoughts of Kṛṣṇa?

Krsna Book 44:

Since Kṛṣṇa was kind and affectionate to His aunts, He solaced them as far as possible. The ritualistic ceremonies performed after death were then conducted under the personal supervision of Kṛṣṇa because He happened to be the nephew of all the dead princes. After finishing this business, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma immediately released Their father and mother, Vasudeva and Devakī, who had been imprisoned by Kaṁsa. Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma fell at Their parents' feet and offered them prayers.

Krsna Book 45:

Every human being should be obliged to his parents and understand that he cannot repay his debt to them. If, after growing up, a son does not try to satisfy his parents by his actions or by an endowment of riches, he is surely punished after death by the superintendent of death and made to eat his own flesh. If a person is able to care for or give protection to old parents, a chaste wife, children, the spiritual master, brāhmaṇas and other dependents but does not do so, he is considered already dead, although he is supposedly breathing.

Krsna Book 51:

This beautiful body may be recognized as a royal body while in the living condition, but after death the body of even a king is eaten by an animal and therefore turned into stool or is cremated in a crematorium and turned into ashes or is put into an earthly grave, where different kinds of worms and insects are produced of it.

Krsna Book 51:

“My dear Lord, we come under the full control of this inevitable time not only after death but also, in a different way, while living. For example, I may be a powerful king, and yet when I come home after conquering the world I become subjected to many material conditions. When I come back victorious, all subordinate kings may come and offer their respects, but as soon as I enter the inner section of my palace, I myself become an instrument in the hands of the queens, and for sense gratification I have to fall down at the feet of women.

Krsna Book 63:

Lord Śiva is called Bhūta-nātha because he is assisted by various types of powerful ghosts and denizens of the inferno—Bhūtas, Pretas, Pramathas, Guhyakas, Ḍākinīs, Piśācas, Kuṣmāṇḍas, Vetālas, Vināyakas and Brahma-rākṣasas. (Of all kinds of ghosts, the Brahma-rākṣasas are very powerful. They are brāhmaṇas who after death have entered the ghostly species of life.)

Krsna Book 72:

Just as a criminal can perform the most abominable acts, a greatly charitable person like you can give anything and everything for which he is asked. For a great personality like you, there is no distinction between relatives and outsiders. A famous man lives forever, even after his death; therefore, any person who is completely fit and able to execute acts which will perpetuate his good name and fame and yet does not do so becomes abominable in the eyes of great persons. Such a person cannot be condemned enough, and his refusal to give charity is lamentable throughout his whole life.

Krsna Book 87:

Śrī Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has sung that persons who do not take to the devotional service of the Lord but are attracted to the process of philosophical speculation and fruitive activities drink the poisonous results of such actions. Such persons eat all kinds of obnoxious things, such as meat, and take pleasure in alcohol and other intoxicants, and after death they are forced to take birth in lower species of life. Materialistic persons generally worship the transient material body and forget the welfare of the spirit soul within the body.

Renunciation Through Wisdom

Renunciation Through Wisdom 4.5:

Just as the most sinful wretch lives in a ghostly body after death and moves about in the ether, having been denied a gross body, so the impersonalist, although rising to the point of liberation in the transcendental position, falls back down to the material world because of not having developed the mood of loving service to the Supreme Lord. Therefore the severe austerities and penances the impersonalist performs are not equivalent to the eternal religion of devotional service.

Message of Godhead

Message of Godhead 1:

We have to abide by the direction of our instructors there and work favorably according to their direction. This is essential in order to achieve the ultimate desired success. In the same manner, if we are really anxious to know the principles of eternal life or life after death, and if we really want to see things in their true perspective, it is necessary for us to establish a relationship with a preceptor who can really open our eyes and lift us from the clutches of nescience. This process of approaching the spiritual master is an eternal verity. No one can do without abiding by this eternal rule.

Message of Godhead 1:

It is very common for us, like Arjuna, to try to dissipate our disillusionments by our own devices, culled from our own mundane experience. This attempt to remove our daily bodily and mental difficulties is always misdirected. Unless one tries to solve his problems from the perspective of eternal varities, there cannot be any peace whatsoever, either in this life or in the life after death. That is the supreme teaching of Bhagavad-gītā.

Message of Godhead 2:

Persons who are a little above such gross materialists believe firmly in life after death and thus try to rise a little above the plane of gross sensory enjoyment of this one life. They try to accumulate something for the next life by acts of virtue, just as a man banks some money for future happiness. But these people do not understand that neither any sinful nor any virtuous act can bring freedom from the bondage of work, as we have explained above. On the contrary, both sinful and virtuous acts will bind the worker up in the wheel of action and reaction.

Light of the Bhagavata

Light of the Bhagavata 9, Purport:

With good rains, the farmer's business in agriculture flourishes. Agriculture is the noblest profession. It makes society happy, wealthy, healthy, honest, and spiritually advanced for a better life after death. The vaiśya community, or the mercantile class of men, take to this profession. In Bhagavad-gītā the vaiśyas are described as the natural agriculturalists, the protectors of cows, and the general traders. When Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa incarnated Himself at Vṛndāvana, He took pleasure in becoming a beloved son of such a vaiśya family.

Light of the Bhagavata 34, Purport:

The householders are allowed a pension from service so that they can live for a higher cultural life. But foolish men, reluctant even to accept this pension, want to artificially increase the duration of their life. Such foolish men should take lessons from the drying pools of water and should know, in their own interests, that life is eternal, continuing even after death. Only the body changes, whether spiritually or materially. An intelligent man should be careful to know what sort of body is going to be awarded him, and thus he must prepare for a better life in other planets, even if he is reluctant to go back to Godhead.

Light of the Bhagavata 48, Purport:

One has to cross Mānasa Lake and then Sumeru Mountain, and only then can one trace out the orbit of the moon. Besides that, no ordinary man is allowed to enter that planet. Even those admitted there after death must have performed the prescribed duties to satisfy the pitās and devas. Yet even they are sent back to earth after a fixed duration of life—on the moon.

Sri Isopanisad

Sri Isopanisad 11, Purport:

Misguided men think that religion should be maintained because it contributes to economic development, which is required for sense gratification. Thus in order to guarantee further sense gratification after death, in heaven, there is some system of religious observance. But this is not the purpose of religion. The path of religion is actually meant for self-realization, and economic development is required just to maintain the body in a sound, healthy condition.

Sri Isopanisad 17, Purport:

The devotee prays to the Lord to remember his activities and the sacrifices he has performed before his material body is turned into ashes. He makes this prayer at the time of death, with full consciousness of his past deeds and of the ultimate goal. One who is completely under the rule of material nature remembers the heinous activities he performed during the existence of his material body, and consequently he gets another material body after death.

Page Title:After death (CC and other books)
Compiler:MadhuGopaldas, Serene
Created:22 of Dec, 2010
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=11, OB=29, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:40