Soul’s Journey After Death: The Two Paths — Devayana And Pitriyana By Sri Swami Sivananda
THE PATH OF LIGHT (DEVAYANA) The Uttara Marga or Devayana path or Northern path or the path of light is the path by which the Yogins go to Brahman. This path leads to salvation. This path takes the devotee to Brahmaloka. Having reached the path of the gods he comes to the world of Agni, to the world of Vayu, to the world of Varuna, to the world of Indra, to the world of Prajapati, to the world of Brahman. They go to light, from light to day, from day to the waxing half of the moon, from the waxing half of the moon to the six months when the Sun goes to the North, from those six months to the year, from the year to the Aditya. When the person goes away from this world he comes to Vayu. Then Vayu makes room for him like the hole of a wheel and through it he mounts higher till he comes to Aditya. From the moon to the lightning there is a person, not a man (Amanava Purusha), who leads him to Brahman. The bright path is the path, to the Devas, Devayana, of the devotees; the bright path is open to the devotees. THE PATH OF DARKNESS (PITRIYANA) The Pitriyana path or the path of darkness or the path of ancestors leads to rebirth. Those who do sacrifices to gods and other charitable works with expectation of fruits go to the Chandraloka through this path and come back to this world when their fruits of Karmas are exhausted. There are smoke and dark-coloured objects throughout the course. There is no illumination when one passes along this path. It is reached by Avidya or ignorance. Hence it is called the path of darkness or smoke. The dark path is to the Pitris or forefathers—Pitriyana or the Karmins who do sacrifices or charitable acts with expectation of fruits. These two paths are not open to the whole world. The bright path is open to the devotees and the dark path to the Karmins. Samsara is eternal and so the paths also are eternal. The Pranas of Jivanmuktas who have attained knowledge of the Self do not depart. They are absorbed in Brahman. The Jivanmuktas who attain Kaivalya-Moksha or immediate salvation have no place to go to or return from. They become one with the All-pervading Brahman. Knowing the nature of the two paths and the consequences they lead to, the Yogi never loses his discrimination. The Yogi who knows that the path of Devayana or the path of light leads to Moksha (Karma Mukti) and the path of darkness to Samsara or the world of births and deaths, is no longer deluded. Knowledge of these two paths serves as a compass or beacon-light to guide the Yogi’s steps at every moment. * * * This was an excerpt from the book What Becomes Of The Soul After Death by Sri Swami Sivananda. The death and dying and the life after death has always fascinated man. We want to now the truth behind near death experiences and become certain that there really is a life after death. Many books have been written on the subject of death, but most of the works deal mainly with the astral or other spirit world. It has mostly been the study of the conditions in the Pretaloka which is merely one among the numerous supramundane planes or lokas beyond the grave. Spiritualism, seance and the testimony of recognised mediums have for most part featured prominently in all such works. What Becomes Of The Soul After Death by Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj is a departure from the usual line in that it is based, to a great extent, upon authoritative scriptural texts and upon knowledge derived through reasoning, deep reflection and personal meditation. It throws a flood of light upon all aspects of life after death not adequately dealt with in other works. The book also gives valuable information about the different beliefs on this subject, of the various races and religions. The book is dealing with rebirth, the soul, reincarnation, moksha, heaven and hell, karma and different lokas. It even includes death poems and death poetry, giving a complete picture and a new face of death. For more material see this link: What Becomes Of The Soul After Death. * * * | 
