What lies beyond the veil of death? In Sai Baba Answers – Consciousness Beyond Death, we explore the wisdom of Shirdi Sai Baba on one of life’s most profound mysteries. Baba’s teachings gently guide us to understand that consciousness does not perish with the body, it transcends, evolves, and returns. This article delves into His illuminating insights on the soul’s journey after death and how understanding this truth can transform our perspective on life, detachment, and spiritual progress.
What Happens to Our Consciousness After Death?
The traveller stood at the edge of a burning ghat, where the sacred flames of a funeral pyre flickered against the night sky. The air was thick with the scent of sandalwood and smoke, and the distant sound of chanting filled the space between the living and the departed.
He watched as the fire consumed the mortal remains, reducing what was once a moving, breathing person into nothing but ash.
But was it truly nothing?
Did the person cease to exist, or had something merely changed form?
A deep voice interrupted his thoughts.
Shirdi Sai Baba, standing beside him, gazed at the flames with a serene expression. His presence carried a stillness that seemed untouched by the passing of time.
“Baba,” the traveller asked hesitantly, “what happens after death? Does our consciousness disappear, or does it continue?”
Baba gently tossed a handful of dried neem leaves into the fire. They curled, darkened, and vanished into the rising smoke.
“Tell Me, child,” He said, “has the fire destroyed the leaves, or has it only changed them?”
Does Consciousness End with the Body?
The traveller looked at the smoke drifting upward.
“The leaves are gone, Baba, but they have only transformed. They became smoke, heat, and ash. They did not vanish.”
Baba smiled.
“So too with you, child. You look at death as an end, but is it truly? When you were a child, your body was small. That body is now gone, replaced by the one you have now. Did you cease to exist when the child’s body was no more?”
The traveller shook his head.
“No, Baba. I remained, even though my body changed.”
“Then why do you believe that when this body turns to ash, you will no longer remain?”
The traveller was silent.
The Brain as a Receiver, Not a Creator
Baba picked up a clay pot and placed it between them.
“Child, imagine this pot is your body. Inside, there is water, this is your mind, your thoughts, your identity. But what else is inside?”
The traveller peered into the pot.
“There is also space, Baba.”
Baba nodded.
“Yes. That space is consciousness. You believe your awareness is inside you, but tell Me, was this space created by the pot, or was it always there?”
The traveller hesitated.
“It was always there, Baba. The pot only enclosed it.”
Baba smiled and, with a swift motion, broke the pot against the stone floor. The water spilled, but the space… remained.
“Now, child, where has the water gone?”
“It has returned to where it came from, Baba.”
“And the space?”
The traveller’s eyes widened.
“The space was never lost… It is still here, just no longer contained by the pot!”
Baba placed a gentle hand on the traveller’s shoulder.
“So too with you. Your mind, like the water, dissolves back into its source. But your consciousness, the vast space, was never confined to begin with. The body is merely a vessel, and when it breaks, what is real remains, untouched, infinite.”
The Conservation of Consciousness
Baba picked up a small burning twig from the funeral pyre and let the wind carry the ember away.
“Science tells you that energy cannot be created or destroyed, it only changes form. If this is true for everything in nature, why would it not apply to consciousness?”
The traveller’s heart raced.
“Then, Baba, what happens after we leave this body?”
Baba smiled, his voice soft but full of certainty.
“Vedanta teaches that death is like changing clothes, the self discards one form and takes another. Just as the river does not stop when it reaches the ocean, the journey does not end at death.”
The traveller shivered.
“And what do the Sufis say, Baba?”
Baba’s eyes gleamed in the firelight.
“The Sufis say, ‘Die before you die.’ They do not speak of physical death, but of dissolving the illusion of separateness before the body falls away. They know that what you call ‘you’ is but a wave in the vast sea of existence. The wave may rise and fall, but the ocean remains.”
A Logical Example: The Movie Screen and the Characters
Baba turned toward the fire once more.
“Child, imagine watching a play. The actors come and go, some laugh, some cry, some die on stage. But tell me, when the play ends, does the stage itself disappear?”
The traveller shook his head.
“No, Baba. The stage remains, even after the characters leave.”
Baba smiled.
“Then, are you the character, or are you the stage?”
The traveller’s eyes widened.
“If I am the stage, then… I was never truly born, and I never truly die.”
Baba’s expression softened.
“Now you are beginning to understand.”
The Answer
Consciousness does not end with the body, just as space is not destroyed when the pot breaks, awareness is not lost at death. Vedanta teaches that the self is eternal, merely changing forms. Sufi wisdom speaks of dissolving the illusion of separateness, revealing that life and death are but transitions in a greater existence.
What dies is the character, not the stage.
A Final Thought
When the sun sets, do you say it has vanished?
Or do you know it still shines, even when unseen?
Perhaps the real question is not “What happens to consciousness after death?” but “Was it ever truly born?”
Contributed by: Murali P K – Author of Shirdi Sai Baba – The Guiding Light for the New Age (Volume 1)
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Posts in this Series
1️⃣ Sai Baba Answers About Human Suffering
2️⃣ Why Is God Worshipped in Different Forms?
3️⃣ Existence and Reality – Sai Baba Answers
4️⃣ Why Does the Universe Seem Fine-Tuned for Life?
5️⃣ Is There Life Beyond Earth? Sai Baba Answers
6️⃣ Sai Baba on The Unseen Laws of the Universe
7️⃣ Sai Baba on Consciousness Beyond Science
8️⃣ Sai Baba Answers – Consciousness Beyond Death
9️⃣ Sai Baba Answers on Near Death Experiences
🔟 Sai Baba Answers on Spiritual Experiences and Parallel Worlds
1️⃣1️⃣ Sai Baba Answers – Can We Talk To The Dead
1️⃣2️⃣ Sai Baba Answers On Recurring Dreams
