Garuda Purana Sayings: How Do You Know If A Departed Person Has Reached Heaven Or Hell?

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What is the eligibility to reach heaven? How do we know if a soul has reached heaven or hell by their death symptoms? Find out all the details here.

It is the punya or papa quotient (Bad/dushkarma or good/satkarma) of a person that decides what his afterlife is going to be. A person can reach heaven or hell as per his earthly deeds. However, moksha awaits those who are on the spiritual path, and in a state of liberation, ready to merge with God.

But for this, as per shastras, one should have done papa and punya in equal measure and should be in a state where he has attained freedom from the shackles of punya and papa. This is a difficult task for even maharshis who have performed penance for thousands of years.

If you want to know about the signs that indicate a heavenwardly journey for a person after death. What are the symptoms that a person shows that he has reached heaven?

During Pitru paksha, shradh done with care and cautions and it helps the ancestors reach heaven from the realm they are in at that time. Otherwise, the ancestral soul would wander without peace and food if shradh is not performed. Shradh performed with a pure heart leads your ancestors to heaven.

Our body, as per Lord Krishnas dictum in bhagavadgita, has nava dwaras or nine openings, one of which the soul can chose to go out. If the person has done mostly good deeds, his atma or soul will go out from his face. Eyes will be open if atma passes through the eyes.

Nose is curved a bit if the soul passes through the nose. Ears gets pulled up if soul passes through the ears. This is a surefire indication that the soul has reached heaven.

People whose good deeds outweigh their bad deeds, will show a sense of contentment through their faces after death. There is a glow on their faces that is visible. The soul expresses its happiness on the face of the dead person as it leaves the body.

If happy emotions are seen in the face of the dead person, the person has surely reached heaven. Fear of death is seen on the face of those who have done wrong deeds all through their lives.

Sometimes, as per Garuda Purana, yamdoots come to claim a persons soul, and the soul, scared of the consequences reaches the lower part of the body and defacates and urinates. This is also a good sign that the soul reaches heaven.

If ganga Jal tulsi or darbha grass are placed inside the mouth of the dying person, this soul certainly reaches heaven. If men in black appear before the dying man, they are to be understood as yamdoots from Yamas palace.

If they are seen wearing Yellow robes, they are devatas who have come to take the soul with them.
There is one more mantra that is compulsory to be uttered in a dying mans ears.

Hindu Sastras say that one becomes what one thinks of in his final moments. So calling out to Lord Vishnu at the time of death or getting others around you recite om namo narayanaya or om namah shivaya helps a lot in getting sadgati for the departing soul.

There is a mantra called the karna mantra which has to be recited by the eldes son or daughter of the house as death is nearing for his parents.

The parents head has to kept on the left lap or thigh of the eldest son and he should chant this mantra in the right ear of the dying person and people around him also can chant this mantra.

sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
moksayisyami ma sucah

Adi Shankara's mantra: Yadaa avarNayath karNamoolae| Anthakaalae s(h)ivo raama raamaethi raamaethi kaas(h)yaam| Thadaekam param thaarakam brahmaroopam Bhajae aham Bhajae aham Bhajae aham Bhajae aham|

Rama nama and shiva nama recitation done at the time of death can help one attain swarga. Only virtuous souls who have subdued the worldly noise within themselves can attain swarga. Those who are in perfect control of their senses and malice of any kind are surely the first ones to go to heaven.

Those who do a lot of charitable deeds or die a warrior's death, or those who have accumulated a lot of punya will reach heaven. Only very virtuous people ascend to heaven. You can find Siddhas, the Visvas, the Gandharvas, the Apsaras in heaven.

For those whose funeral rites haven't been performed roam about as pretatmas. Those who have done a mix of both deeds, suffer for a while in hell and then for a while in heaven and then return back to earth.

Those who are sinners are sent to narakaloka and once they complete their sufferings, they return back to earth. Those who have lived a religious life and followed the dictum of shruti and smritis attain devaloka.

hose who have lived a fairly righteous life, reach pitruloka and are reborn on earth after a person who is born seven generations after him dies.

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