LIFE AFTER LIFE
(A Book Written By : Raymond A. Moody)
{An Overview By : Piyush Mathur, Indore (India
‘Life after Death’ had been an awakening subject for the entire Humanity, as everybody who takes Birth gets automatically interested in the subject of “Birth and Death” and a question naturally springs up in the Head and Heart of Human Being as to What Happens after Death !
Raymond A. Moody, a Psychiatrist and a Philosopher, before publishing this Work, claims to have examined about 150 Human beings, who had encountered ‘near death experience’, either when they met with an accident or when they were lying on the Operation Theatre Table or were critically unwell and were diagnosed and declared by their treating Doctors, as being ‘Dead’, where after they travelled to an unknown World/Space, met with a Brilliant Light, which was having a definite shape and felt extremely comforting in its presence and on being directed to go back, they came back into the same physical body, they were holding, before the journey, as a Human being.
The Book was initially published in Year 1975 (Freshly Printed now in Year 2001) and it is described that the Author has published more Works on similar topics viz. ‘Coming Back: A Psychiatrist Explores Past Life Journeys’; ‘The Last Laugh: A New Philosophy of Near Death Experience, Apparitions and the Paranormal’; ‘Laugh after Laugh: The Healing Power of Humour’; ‘The Light Beyond’; ‘Reunions’; and ‘Scrying: A Feminine Form of Divination’.
The Title of the Book “Life After Life” is an interesting caption of the study and research made by Raymond A. Moody who has made narration of the subject in such an interesting manner that the reader tend to speed up the reading quickly, though during the process, several questions crops up in the mind of the reader about the “World Beyond World”, however the Author himself employs his own critical disagreement with the narration of the ‘near death patients’ and deploy tools of logic and blend these topics well with the established scientific tools, smoothly available at the command of an expert Psychiatrist and Philosopher to carry the point home in the minds of the reader.
The author has taken sufficient care and caution in analysing the common trends and phenomenon, observed by each such ‘near death person’ to reach a stage, to make the reader believe that a Strong Being/Light does exist, somewhere in the superior realm, which lovingly deals with the Souls, makes an analysis of their Work as human being and ask them to complete their assigned Works, in case some work remains unfinished or incomplete, by sending their Soul back to their physical form/body, on Planet Earth.
While briefly introducing the topic in Chapter (1) ‘The Phenomenon of Death; the author has classified his entire Work in Chapter (2) “The Experience of Dying” by recording experiences of the unknown ‘near death persons’ as to what they felt (Feelings of Peace and Quiet); what sounds/noises they heard (The Noise), which passage they thought they travelled (The Dark Tunnel), how did they feel when they came out of their own physical body (Out of Body), whom they met/saw at that unknown spiritual place (Meeting Others), what was the shape, size or features of the Great Being/Light (The Being of Light), was there any boundary, barrier or border which a Soul crosses in the process (The Border or Limit) and the most interesting narration relates to the fact and feelings of returning back to the physical body (Coming Back) and sharing or not sharing the experience with near ones (Telling Others) and what impact this spiritual journey causes on the Soul (Effects on Lives).
Raymond A. Moody has also made sincere endeavour of finding out the common sources and/or common connections to trace out a common source of information/impressions on all these ‘near dead persons’ and has made close scrutiny of their individual, social and religious beliefs to analyse spiritual impact of such an event, on their psyche to illustrate each individual to be genuinely reproducing his/her own impression of the experience, without being influenced by any Drug or medications responsible for even causing Hallucinations, with a view to scientifically obliterate external traumatic causes, in generation of a feeling of having such a spiritual journey.
The author has taken into stock the religious references, occurred in The Bible and the Works of Plato, while examining/testing the credibility of the narration of ‘near death person’ from a religious and philosophical point of view as also by borrowing the Tibetan Philosophy of birth, death and return of Soul from ‘The Tibetan Book of the Dead’ while himself offering several sound Questions and offering its Explanations, by classifying explanations into three broad categories viz. Supernatural, Natural and Psychological and the Author had made every effort to declare this research work to be an unscientific work, on being himself not satisfied about the theories relating to Souls travelling any distance into the void or beyond and occupying same physical bodies, upon return, from such a journey, at the dictate of the Super Being (Supreme Light).
The topic ‘Life After Life’ seems to be not scientifically convincing for the Americans, Britishers or Europeans in general, but it has probably got its roots and great significance in the Hindu Mythology as the Old Sages had experienced and practised metaphysics, through their special Mantras and had attained higher/superior body and soul existence, in physical and non-physical forms, which find its mention and reflections in several such Religious and Spiritual Works right from Vedic Era up till Upanishad Era and even the Indian Modern Theorists have successfully propounded the theory of the existence of the Supreme Being as Almighty God and the theories of Souls taking Birth and Coming back (reincarnation) on Earth.
While making a close reading of the Book ‘Life After Life’ it comes vividly in the mind, on several occasions that the research is quite close to the reality of ‘Life before Death’ as well, in as much as experiences alone makes it abundantly clear that the present Life has a definite purpose and a well defined meaning, which sometimes is understandable to some and at times un-understandable to many, but the fact remains that ‘Life is Life’ and ‘Death is Death’ and whatever comes in between or beyond, should better remain a mystery, so as to allow the Souls to Live the Life happily and complete its journey and purposefulness on Planet Earth.
(PIYUSH MATHUR)
At Indore
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