How can one enjoy or suffer without gross bodies in heavens and hells?
A Devotee (Name hidden) asked like this:
“Hare Krishna Prabhu!!! I have a question, After death we leave our body to go to heaven or hell if we can’t come back to Krishna. My question is, What kind of body we take in heaven or hell? Do we take the material body like human body? or do we use our Suksma Sarira?”
REPLY:
Yes.
Punishments and blessings can’t be given without a Gross body.
When a person dies, his soul/ jeevan exists within a sukshma body made up of mind, intelligence and false ego. This sukshma body with the soul inside leaves the body when the person dies.
This Sukshma body (Subtle body) needs a visible gross body to face the gifts or punishments in heavens and hells.
(Knowing where our ancestors went after death! Some Tips! READ HERE!)
For example, if a person had physically tortured his workmen when he was alive, he will be sent to the respective hell in which he will be beaten by hundreds of persons in a boiling oil pot.
To FEEL these pains, that jeevan needs a Gross body that has senses to feel the feelings of pains and pleasures.
How can a sukshma body be beaten by others? It is tiny and invisible to the eyes.
As per the Garuda Purana, when the jeevan is taken to the Yama’s kingdom starting from the thirteenth day of death, a fresh body is given to it.
The beauty is that its outlook need not be similar to the appearance/ outlook when he was alive on Earth.
He will get a new temporary body till it finishes its hell and heavenly terms. That’s all.
(Where did the Kings killed In Kurukshetra war go after death? READ HERE!)
In case that person had done many good deeds, he will enjoy all the comforts of heavenly life using his new body.
Since the body is new and just temporary, but has the same sukshma body that he had while living, he will remember why he is facing the punishments or pleasures.
At the same time, when it takes a new body again on Earth, all his past will be forgiven.
Because, this is the body for its whole new birth.
The point is: Every soul that is packed inside the sukshma body gets a gross body in heavens and hells. His activities on Earth that have been stored in his sukshma body can be remembered by that person in the temporary gross body.
Since the Earth is a karma bhoomi, all memories are erased when the jeevan takes new body on earth.
(What is the need of hells since we forget our sins while after death? READ HERE!)
This is the case for heavens and hells. The same process applies for a soul going to the spiritual planets also.
Even in the Goloka, we are given a spiritual body and we enjoy all the freedom to think and decide as we like.
With the powerful spiritual atmosphere in Vaikunta planets including Goloka, we can remember our earthly life, but usually may not remember our earthly life because a soul reaches Goloka only after getting purified to a certain level.
Since Krishna sometimes mercifully accept a soul though it is purified just by 78% or beyond, such souls can still remember their past lives. Because of this, that soul may develop some kind of envy towards Krishna and wish to rule others like Krishna do. If such thoughts occur for a soul in spiritual planets including Goloka, that soul is immediately sent back to the material planets to try ruling others.
But, Krishna never likes to send us back to the earth. We only wished and came here because of our freewill given mercifully by Krishna to us even in His kingdom.
Hope you are clear now about the bodies in heavens and hells and even in the spiritual planets.
(After death, what is the time required to take rebirth? How to know? READ HERE!)