When someone dies in an accident, what happens to their soul? This question has been a controversial topic among the scientific community for years, as a majority of scientists have rejected the idea. Many scientists believe the soul is an entirely nonphysical phenomenon, which is beyond the scope of current science. But a number of researchers believe otherwise. In their latest study, biologist Kenneth R. Miller and his team have analyzed the brain activity of dead people and come up with a theory about what happens to their soul after they die.
The answer varies widely, but according to Vedic cosmology, there is no such thing as reincarnation. A person’s soul will be freed after death from the physical body, although his or her mental and pranic bodies will also cease to exist. The karmic structure, which controls his or her identity, will eventually become passive. When this happens, the soul is more likely to find another body in a matter of hours than days.
After a death in a car accident, the soul is not clothed in a physical body. Instead, it is enveloped in a vaporous linga sarira, a thumb-sized structure containing the soul. It travels to the Yama master, where it is given preliminary identity checks. Afterward, it returns to the body’s home. However, the cremation process must be completed by that time in order for the soul to return to the body. During this time, the close relatives have cleaned off the defilement of death. The chief mourner is ready to offer the first sraddha.
