Death & after

What is death,and what happens after it?
The is the question everyone wants an answer to.
When a person dies,his physical body mingles with the elements.The body becomes the pancha buthas(Air,Water,Fire,Earth and Space).We ensure this through creamtion or burial of the physical body.Thus,the body doesnt go anywhere after death.
What happens to the atma?It cant either.The atma is infinite and all pervading.It cannot go to heaven or hell.
Hence,there must be something more,than the mere physical body & the atma.
Tatvabodha gives an answer to this.It says that all living beings are made up of four components.They are-

1.Sthula shariram(The physical body)-This is finite in nature & visible.Hence,it is referred to as the 'Visible body'.

2.Sukshma shariram(The subtle body)-This extends a little further than the limits of the visible body.This is the aura that surrounds a living being.It is not perceivable by our sensory organs.Nevertheless,it isn't all pervading either.The sukshma shariram is composed of many things,then most important of them being-
1.The mind
2.The prana(energy)

3.Karana shariram(Causal body)-This acts as the storehouse of all the papa & punya we have accumulated over the process of the many janmas(births) we take.

Together,the sukshma shariram and the karana shariram represent the 'Invisible body'.

4.Atma-This is the all pervading spirit,that provides consciousness to the visible & invisible body.It has no birth,no death,no growth,no decay,no arrival and no departure.It is all pervading and by itself performs no action.

Now,when a person dies,the visible body perishes.
The invisible body,now goes in search of another physical body to inhabit.The next body it would inhabit it decided by two things-
1.Kama:The unfulfilled desires accumulated in the previous janma.So long there are desires to be fulfilled,there shall be rebirth.
2.Karma:The papa & punya accumulated over the course of many janmas it has been through.The invisible body would carry all the karma into the next body it would inhabit.
If papas are predominant,it would be forced to take up an inferior body,say,for example,an animal.
If there is an equilibrium between papa & punya,it would be able to inhabit a human body again.
If punyas are predominant,then it would get a chance to inhabit a superior body.

What happens to the atma?It is all pervading.Hence nothing happens to it.It blesses the visible & invisible bodies with consciousness.

The use of the term 'atma' is two-fold
1.It refers to the all pervading spirit.The 'Jnana Kandam'(Spiritual portion) of the vedas deals with this atma.
2.Since the atma blesses the invisible body(Sukshma shariram+Karana shariram) with consciousness,the invisible body is also sometimes called the 'atma'.Just like adding sweetness(sugar) to a dish,and then calling the dish itself 'a sweet',the all pervading atma(spirit) providing consciousness to the invisible body,lends the invisible body,the name of 'atma'.The 'Karma Kandam'(Ritualistic portion) of the vedas deals with this atma.

It is this latter,the finite,invisible body that travels in search of a newer body,where it can fulfill its desires.The next birth is not limited to the world we are living in.The vedas say there are 14 lokas(realms) that life can exist in.Science,only recently,has been able to comprehend and accept the possibility of parallel universes/realms through the 'M-Theory'.So,the next body could be present in any realm,be it the 'Svar-loka' or the 'Patala-loka'.The realm we are in is called the 'Bhur-loka'.

Carrying out the rituals like the shardham,pitru-tarpanam,are supposed to assist the atma.It is said that these rituals help the atma even after it has taken to a new body.Hence,pitru-karmas become very essential.Doing pitru-yagna not only helps the atma,it also helps the doer by providing him with spiritual enlightenment.This,Krishna says in the third chapter of the Bhagavad Gita.