Is there life after delivery?

Viswamitra · Feb 1, 2015

I read a message in my Facebook page which read as follows:

“In a mother's womb were two babies. One asked the other: "Do you believe in life after delivery?" The other replies, "why, of course. There has to be something after delivery. Maybe we are here to prepare ourselves for what we will be later. "Nonsense," says the other. "There is no life after delivery. What would that life be?" "I don't know, but there will be more light than here. Maybe we will walk with our legs and eat from our mouths."

The other says "This is absurd! Walking is impossible. And eat with our mouths? Ridiculous. The umbilical cord supplies nutrition. Life after delivery is to be excluded. The umbilical cord is too short." "I think there is something and maybe it's different than it is here." the other replies, "No one has ever come back from there. Delivery is the end of life, and in the after-delivery it is nothing but darkness and anxiety and it takes us nowhere."

"Well, I don't know," says the other, "but certainly we will see mother and she will take care of us." "Mother??" You believe in mother? Where is she now? "She is all around us. It is in her that we live. Without her there would not be this world." "I don't see her, so it's only logical that she doesn't exist." To which the other replied, "Sometimes when you're in silence you can hear her, you can perceive her."

What a subtle life message the above paragraphs delivered to us! We believe what we perceive is the world. The Creator is all around us without us knowing it. There is Creator who knows how to take care of our requirements, gives us what we deserve, listens to us carefully and is constantly in love with us. We build our life in the instrument called mind and begin the process of setting up our perceptions. We have the option to believe that we are responsible for our own life, refuse to cut all our ties (umbilical cord) and live in the womb (world) without knowing the world outside of it. Alternatively, we can explore what is in store for us after life, build spiritual knowledge, develop our own character that deserves the blessings of the Creator.

If we carefully observe the baby in the womb, it is constantly under development and is preparing itself to come to the world. Similarly, our life is also for development to prepare ourselves for the ultimate well-being of our divine being. We can visualize the death as end of life like the baby thinking delivery is the end of life or alternatively believe that there will be light after life and our preparation during the time here in this world helps us to see the light after life.

Frankly, birth removes the darkness of the baby and shows the light that exist in the world. Similarly, the death actually removes the darkness of ignorance and makes us understand the purpose of life. Life is about reconciling our perception with the reality. If mother around the baby knows how to protect the baby even after birth, the Creator who brought us into the world knows how to protect us even after our death.

When we review the life of a fetus in the womb, it is described as follows: The baby’s heart will begin to beat by the end of the first four weeks of pregnancy. During the second month, genitals will begin to form as will eyelids, but his eyelids will remain closed until later. In the third month, he will begin to form soft nails as his fingers and toes continue to grow. The fourth month begins the period where he can hear and swallow in the womb and he will begin to develop eyebrows and eyelashes. In the fifth month, the baby can suck his thumb, and wake and sleep regularly, and the mother can begin to feel him kick as he becomes more active. During the sixth month, the baby will start to grow hair, his brain begins to develop and he starts to open and close his eyes. In the seventh month, he can recognize light when his eyes open and can respond to sounds by moving around. During the eight month, he can hiccup and his bones begin to harden. In the last month of pregnancy, the baby gets ready for birth by turning his head into a downward position, and he’ll gain about a half-pound per week.

Similarly, our initial life is entirely dependent on the parents and their love. In the second phase, we begin to gain knowledge of perception. In the third phase, we begin to be independent and rely on our skills to survive in the world. In the fourth phase, we experience both pleasure and pain and begin to understand that life is a combination of both. In the fifth phase, we transition constantly between reality and perception. In the sixth phase, we begin contemplating on the purpose of our existence and become more active in understanding the reality. In the seventh phase, we begin to recognize the light that facilitated our existence. During the eighth phase, the experiences in life combined with the knowledge we gained enables us to prepare ourselves for us to thrive more in reality. In the final phase, we begin to cut off our ties, position ourselves for exit and seek the Creator.

I believe there is a reality after death and we are here to prepare ourselves for that reality.

vidhyalakshmid · Feb 1, 2015

Best write up! How beautifully it is compared with the baby in the womb to a spiritual seeker.As I mentioned in my feedback long time ago NO WHERE to NOW HERE,
then NOW HERE to NO WHERE. I am sinking in my thought force, no words to pen up.

msm · Feb 1, 2015

Very beautiful thought & write-up, thanks for sharing with us.

mathiravi · Feb 1, 2015

Very nice write up. i was just reading a story book for my son, Love you forever!! The book is about a mother's love for a child. I could not stop the tears in my eyes when i finished it!!! Its a great honor to be a mother who can always show unconditional love to their children.. Very nice write up!!!:2thumbsup:

iyerviji · Feb 1, 2015

Viswa dear a thought provoking write up. Like Srama sees everything beautiful in nature , you see everything spiritual. I don't know how to put it but so nicely you have shown the comparison about the babies in the womb and our life after we come to the world.

Each phase in our life teaches something but it is for us to learn. God takes care of us and gives us what we need but we are not satisfied with what we get but crave for something more. If we are content with what we have we can live with happiness. Also be happy with what we have and not expect to have what others have. When God gives us trouble it is because He wants us to think of Him, otherwise in our happiness we forget Him, but where we understand.

Though there is so much in my mind I don't know how to put it in writing as you put it Viswa. I think this post should go to the Finest Post forum. So right away I am going there to nominate
n

Kamalji · Feb 1, 2015

Dear Vishwa,

Great post. Yes what is a prison inside the womb, the kids think that that is the real world, and outside is bad. that the mother is not there at all for they cannot see.

But the oppisite is true . Very well said.

Nowadays, kids are different. They dont want to come out, they put conditions for coming out, like dont send us to school, that we dont want milk, we want pepsi and so on.

HAHA. Life is wonderful, if u live a simple life. Enjoy all the worlds goodies, in terms of sights, food, and other senses, but remain detached, remembering that u have to die one day, and leave everything behind, so live agood life, helping other fellow human beings , lifting them from despair, making their life more bearable than it is now.

A deep subject, but well said Vishwa.

Regards

kamal

PushpavalliSrinivasan · Feb 1, 2015

Dear Viswa,
As Viji has said you can connect everything with spiritualism. A nice comparison of the growth of a foetus in the womb and the life after entering the world.
After completing our duty and commitments it is really good to lead a detached life instead of worrying about the future of grandchildren and great grandchildren. Though it is not possible to leave the house to lead the life of vanaprasthashram, I believe we can practise it at where we are if we have the mindset and the Grace of the Lord.
PS

jayasala42 · Feb 1, 2015

Dear Viswa,
Wonderful comparison.It was a great delight to read your snippet.
With all the medical text books and advancement in technology and science we are able to know of the development of the foetus within the womb. Now ultra sound scans show the baby smiling.Now we know week by week development of the baby in the womb.
Your snippet brought to my mind what is stated in shrimat Bhagavatham.
Shrimat Bhagavatham was written by Shri Vyasa some 5000 to 6000 years ago, when no scientific discoveries were there. It is amazing how vyasa explains in 31st Chapter of 3rd skandam ,all the details of the development of the foetus inside the womb step by step. .
Rough meaning is as under:_
In 5 nights it is rounded into the shape of a bubble;In10 days it becomes as hard as a plum;and later into a a ball of flesh;head is formed within a month;Limbs are formed inthe end of 2nd month.;In the 3rd month the nails, finger and hairs;bones, generative organs & other appertures( eyes,ears, nostrils,ears, mouth & anus). By the end of 4th month 7 essential ingredients like chyle, blood,flesh,fat, bone, marrowand semen.
Hunger & thirst are felt in the 5th month.
The foetus grows in the receptacle of urine,faeces and bitten by the worms surrounding.
The creature suffers terrible agony adversely affected by pungent, hot, dry, salty and other acidic substances consumed by the mother..
It is at this juncture, in about 7 months,the creature in the womb, says Bhagavatham , finds its memory awakened by the WILL of Providence and recollects its actions and karmas committed during hundreds of previous lives and feel suffocated for a long time.What peace of mind can it have under such circumstances? aske Vyasa.
Sloka 9;
"labdha smritir Daivath karma janam Shathotbhavam I
smaran dheergam anushwasama sharma kim naama vindhate II'
Actuallt the foetus is much afraid of the gestation ( births) being repeated.

Now the foetus with folded hands starts prayng the Lord'. It takes refuge under the feet of Lord.The foetus is full of realisation and conveys its gratitude to Lord for having bestowed on him/her the knowledge of the past, present and future.The foetus prays"though living in this womb is a life of untold agony,I have no desire to get out of this and descend into a pitfall again.When I go there ,your Maya will take over me and the false notion of''I' will be created.Lord, let this calmity not get repeated."
As and when the foetus is praying, it is just pushed down all in a sudden.The baby having lost all the wisdom earmed inside the womb is reduced to a state of"I" ( self identification ) and starts crying aloud helplessly.

Bound by ignorance the human being is engaged in actions , overpowered by lust, greed anger and sensuousness falls into a trap of births and death.
So it is a topic of debate whether the child comes to world for development and final union with the Almighty.As per Bhagavatham, it seems to be the other way round. The child realises Almighty before it is born, still in the womb and victimised by maya only after birth.
It is all acdemic interpretation and even great scholars are unable to explain the mystery of Birth/ Death and what we really mean by 'Union or merge with Universal Conscious ness".
In essence it seems to be a doubtless wisdom on 'Reality'or oneness.
That wisdom, once dawned is not stated to be constant and followed by other karmas, from which there seems to be no escape.A relief from the good as well as bad karmas is the ideal thing to achieve.
Knowledge about spirituality too is not an attainment.In fact spirituality is the field where
human beings are tempted to become more 'self' or'I ' oriented and humility is shaken . Sometimes it is more harmful than materialistic desires.
A balanced outlook seems ideal..

jayasala 42

girvani · Feb 1, 2015

Dear Viswa, What a comparison and how beautifullt it is narrated. Hats off to you Sir. I am mesmarised by your narration and thanks for this truth
Vani

Balajee · Feb 1, 2015

When I first began reading this, as life after devilry and wondered what a man like you had anything to do with devilry, Then after o wearing my glasses and switching on the lights which I had earlier forgotton to do, I realized that you were talking about delivery.In a figurative sense the second baby is right. umblical cord takes different forms in our life to sustain us. We are bound to the society , our family bu a umblical cord that sustains us spiritually and morally, The need to sustain ourselves inancially and to find fulfillment at work becomes another umblical cord that sustains us and adds meaning to our life.