Death is an inevitable part of life. When someone dies, their body and mind go through various changes as their life functions cease. While the exact experiences after death remain a mystery, various religious and philosophical traditions have put forth models for the stages the soul goes through as it leaves the physical body. Here we will explore the 5 common stages associated with death and what happens after we die according to various belief systems.
Stage 1: Clinical Death
Clinical death is the medical term for the cessation of the vital bodily functions such as heartbeat, breathing, and brain activity. It is the first stage after the heart stops beating and is reversible if the person receives immediate emergency care. During clinical death, the person loses consciousness as the flow of oxygenated blood to the brain gets cut off. It is often described as a peaceful experience, with no pain or suffering. However, some people who get resuscitated after clinical death report having vivid experiences and sensations including out-of-body experiences, moving through a tunnel, encountering a bright light, meeting deceased loved ones, and more. While the validity and source of these near-death experiences (NDEs) are debated, they suggest the possibility of conscious experience during clinical death.
Stage 2: Cellular Death
If clinical death is not reversed, it leads to cellular death. This begins within 4-6 minutes after the heart stops as the cells run out of oxygen and their chemical balance gets disrupted. Cellular death affects organ tissues across the body. Brain cells are especially vulnerable and begin dying rapidly. Within 10-20 minutes after clinical death, irreversible brain damage occurs. Even if the heart is restarted, the massive cellular damage makes recovery and resuscitation impossible beyond this point. The beginning of cellular death marks the end of the possibility of resuscitating the physical body.
Stage 3: Rigor Mortis
A few hours after death, the body enters the stage of rigor mortis which leads to temporary stiffening of the muscles. This begins around 2-6 hours after death and peaks at 12 hours as the muscles become rigid and locked in place due to chemical changes. The following table shows the sequence in which different parts of the body enter rigor mortis:
| Body Part | Time after death |
|---|---|
| Eyelids, neck, jaw | 2-4 hours |
| Face, arms, legs | 4-8 hours |
| Trunk, abdomen | 8-12 hours |
Rigor mortis starts dissipating around 24 hours after death and muscles become relaxed again over the next 24-84 hours. The onset and duration of rigor mortis depends on factors like the decedent’s age, muscle mass, and external conditions. It serves as an important indicator of the post-mortem interval to determine time since death in forensic investigations.
Stage 4: Decomposition
With the cessation of bodily functions, the process of decomposition begins rapidly breaking down tissues across the body. This leads to visible changes in the body’s appearance as the skin discolors and fluids are released. The following changes occur in the normal sequence of decomposition:
- Discoloration and blood pooling on the underside of the body within 1-2 hours as gravity causes blood to settle.
- Bloating of the abdomen and release of gases within 24 hours as cell membranes rupture.
- Green discoloration appears around 3-4 days as gases like hydrogen sulfide and methane accumulate.
- Maggots emerge around 3-4 days while the skin blisters and slips.
- Black putrefaction sets in within 5-8 days as tissues liquefy releasing ammonia gas.
- Caving in of the flesh around 10-20 days as organs, muscles and skin decompose to release fluid.
- Bones exposed within 20-50 days except for hair and nails which can last longer.
The rate of decomposition depends on many factors like temperature, moisture, access to insects, burial conditions etc. In optimal conditions, a body may get skeletonized within two weeks. The presence of preservatives and preparations like embalming can delay decomposition for months. Outward decomposition is accompanied by the breakdown of inner organs through autolysis and putrefaction.
Stage 5: Skeletonization
The final stage of death is skeletonization when all the soft tissues have liquefied and decomposed leaving behind the bones. The skeleton remains intact for years undergoing gradual mineralization before eventually disintegrating. The following table shows the approximate time periods for complete skeletonization in different conditions:
| Environment | Time for Skeletonization |
|---|---|
| On surface in summer | 7-10 days |
| Shallow grave in winter | 10-15 weeks |
| Above ground in wooded area | 9-18 months |
| Buried 6 feet down | 5-12 years |
Skeletonization allows identification of the deceased from their bones and teeth. Analysis of the skeletal remains also provides insight into the lifestyle, diseases, traumas, and injuries suffered during life. As the final stage in physical death, skeletonization paves the way for the recycling of bodily elements through decomposition and their reintegration into the natural cycles.
The Journey of the Soul
While the 5 stages describe the sequential changes in the physical body after death, the metaphysical traditions give various descriptions of the soul’s journey in the afterlife. The soul is seen as eternally existing and indestructible while the body is temporal. Some key insights into what happens to the soul include:
Release from the Body
At death, the soul is released from its earthly confinement in the physical body. This release is generally gentle and pleasant rather than violent. Accounts of near-death experiences validate the idea of an out-of-body experience where people report floating above their bodies, watching themselves being resuscitated.
Transition to the Spirit Realm
Guided by spiritual beings like angels, the souls enter an intermediate transitional realm of the spirit world. The nature of this realm depends on the soul’s state of evolution, vibrational frequency, and karma. Some describe it as entering a tunnel, valley, cave, purgatory, bardo, hades, or astral plane in this stage.
Life Review and Judgement
The soul is said to undergo a life review where its entire life flashes before it. This helps it evaluate the soul evolution during its incarnation. It may meet spirit guides or a higher being acting as a judge who helps determine the next destination based on karma.
Descent to Lower Realms
If the soul is weighed down by negativity due to harmful actions, it may enter lower realms associated with purification and suffering. This includes hellish realms, Naraka lokas, or the realm of ghosts dominated by base vibrations.
Ascent to Higher Realms
Souls carrying positive karma and higher vibrations enter the realms of peace, joy, and enlightenment. These are variously called heavens, Devalokas, Parinirvana, or the Empyrean realm where they await rebirth.
Beyond the broad transition sequence, different schools of thought differ widely on the details related to dying, death, and any following afterlife. The exact stages and states depend on each person’s level of awareness, desires, and merit.
Conclusion
Death marks the end of the physical life as the body undergoes predictable changes like pallor mortis, algor mortis, rigor mortis, decomposition and skeletonization. The transition of the subtle consciousness is more complex with the soul potentially undergoing experiences like disembodiment, life review, passage through transitional realms, ascents or descents before reincarnation. What happens after we die thus spans both physical changes and metaphysical journeys which remain mysterious. Death is inevitable but may not be the end if the soul continues its cyclical journey through multiple lifetimes aimed at spiritual evolution. The stages after death highlight that while the mortal frame passes away, a part of us continues existing in some form. Understanding death brings the realization that our true essence is eternal while our earthly identity dissolves opening us to the timeless and limitless nature of the soul.