“And to dust you shall return”

When we die, our material body, composed of the five elements: earth, water, air, fire, and ether, decomposes, allowing the gross material elements to blend back into nature. Thus, as the Bible says: “You are dust and to dust you shall return.”

In some societies, it is customary to burn the corpse; in others, it is buried; in still others, it is fed to animals. In India, Hindus cremate the body, transforming it into ashes. Ashes are just another aspect of the earth. Christians bury the body; after a while, it eventually transforms into dust, like ash, which is just another aspect of the earth. There are also other societies—like the Parsis of India—who neither bury nor cremate corpses, but feed them to vultures, who immediately come to eat the bodies, which are ultimately transformed into excrement. Thus, whatever happens, this marvelous body that we know and care for so much will one day be transformed into excrement, ashes, or dust.

At the time of death, the more subtle elements (the mind, intelligence, and ego), which, when united, bear the name “consciousness,” transport the infinitesimal spiritual soul to another body so that it may experience joys or sufferings in proportion to its previous activities. The path to perfection.

Sex Change Without Surgery

Our thoughts at the time of death determine our future birth. A man who is too attached to his wife will therefore naturally think of her at the final moment, such that he will be reborn in a woman's body. Similarly, if a woman thinks of her husband at the hour of death, she will naturally live her next life in a man's body.

We must never forget that material bodies, gross and subtle, are only clothing; they represent the shirt and costume of the soul. Thus, being a man or a woman relates only to the bodily clothing and not to the soul, which is asexual.

Coma and the Afterlife

A living being who becomes bogged down in material activities will become excessively attached to their physical body. Until their final hours, their thoughts will be focused on their body and the beings connected to it. They thus remain fully absorbed in a corporeal conception of existence, so much so that at the moment of death, they are reluctant to leave their body. Sometimes, a person about to die remains in a coma for several days before leaving their physical body. This would be the case, for example, of a living being who would greatly enjoy occupying the body of a prime minister or president, but who, understanding that they will have to be reborn as a dog or a pig, refuses to abandon their body. They then remain in a comatose state for several days before dying.