Many people perceive death as a separation from beloved ones and material belongings and consequently do not want to think about it. Every person has the desire to live forever, and thus wishes immortality. Nowadays, the phenomenon of death is a subject that is being researched by numerous scientists. Using different methods, these scientists are trying to unveil the secrets of death in order to find the truth behind it and to explore the possibility of life after death.

The physical body of a human being is in fact a coordinated and cooperative organization consisting of billions of cells. Every hour, millions of old cells die and millions of new cells are produced in a human body. A young body can produce new cells as fast as they degenerate. However, the total number of cells decrease in the body as a result of aging. Brain cells cannot be renewed after a certain age. Cell loss increases and the number of healthy cells decreases as the body ages. Thus, life gradually loses its balance. As a result of the loss of balance, the harmony and order of the body tend to break down, and death becomes inevitable.

The Indications of Death and its Occurrence

For an organism, especially for the human body, which is one of the most complicated organisms, designating the exact moment of death is rather controversial. There are different methods used today to accurately detect the exact moment of death. It is accepted that a moribund person displays typical signs of death. According to research, there is a period of struggle that precedes the actual moment of death. For sudden death situations, this period is short. On the other hand, if the death is due to a chronic illness, this period may consist of hours or even days. The major signs of death are, for the most part, as follows: the skin becomes pale and loses its elasticity. It is observed that in the eye the blood circulation stops in the retinal arterioles. The muscles lose their tension and there is a loss of bulk. Respiration stops and the pulse fades. The body loses heat until it reaches room temperature. 2-3 hours after death, rigor mortis occurs, due to the hardening of the muscle fibers.

Despite all of these signs, it still seems impossible to detect the exact instance of death. It is well known that many people who have been assumed to be dead have returned to life after some time has passed. According to the information in the book by Lyall Watson, The Biology of Death (Watson, 1987), the definition of death in the Experimental Reanimation Physiology Laboratory is: A state where all life signs, such as consciousness, reflexes, respiration and the heart beat cease, however the organism, as a whole, is not dead yet, the metabolic processes inside the tissues continue and under certain circumstances, all the vital functions can be resumed.The aforementioned signs are in fact the external appearance of death and the explanation of death on a physical level. However, in reality, during the process of death, other than those concerning the physical body, there also exist some interesting, complicated transformations and events, that still await explanation.

The Concept of Second Body

In England, in a study carried out concerning the events that occur just before death, scientists from Southampton Hospital noticed that people who were assumed to be clinically dead could sense most feelings. After brain death has been declared, that is when a patient is assumed to be clinically dead, the scientists claim that, contrary to common opinion, patients can have various feelings. According to these scientists, patients can also perceive the flow of time and light. In a study carried out by Dr. Sam Qarniea and Dr. Peter Fenwick from Southampton Hospital, 63 people who had returned to life from the edge of death (caused by heartfailure) were interviewed. Dr. Fenwick, one of the researchers who interviewed these 63 patients, 4 of whom were pronounced as clinically dead, said that, If it is possible to consider the mind and brain separately, this brings up the question whether the consciousness is awake after death. The results of this research have raised new debates throughout the world.

6 people who were regarded as being dead by modern medicine have claimed that while their brains were regarded as non-functional, that first they saw a bright beam of light, then they entered a happy and peaceful world that was very difficult to describe. Experts pointed out that these 6 people were interviewed separately and yet they used the same expressions; this is a fact which cannot be ignored.

Besides studies on death, people who have been involved in fatal accidents say that they felt comfortable and peaceful at the time of the accident. In the book by Lyall Watson it is mentioned that in such circumstances past memories flash up and the whole life of the person appears in front of their eyes, like a movie. Memories fade away, being replaced with a mystical spiritual state. The nurse who entered a coma remembers that she was seeing a picture of the Taj Mahal; and a mountain climber that fell from a cliff recalls his memories as follows: ˜My body was being crushed and ripped apart, hitting the rocks, however, my consciousness was totally independent of these physical wounds and pain, and it did not even feel them.

Besides the physical body, people have always felt the presence of another body, which is invisible and retains its existence after death. Today, many researchers and experts have begun to talk about the existence of a second body. This body is called the astral, the aetheric or the double.

Previously, the concept of a second body, which has not been accepted by some scientists, was scientifically identified and even photographed. For many years, scientists have been experimenting on the bright light that radiates from the human body when exposed to a high frequency electric current. Some evidence was found regarding the existence of an energy body in living creatures; in other words, the existence of a second body composed of energy has been determined. What is this energy body? What is its origin?

The Relationship between Matter and Energy

The theory of relativity has dramatically changed our view about matter. This theory has shown us that matter is only a form of energy. On the other hand, energy is a quantity related to activity, period and movement. The fact that the mass of a particle is equivalent to a certain amount of energy leads to the conclusion that the particle cannot be regarded as a static object. Accordingly, the mass of a particle is a dynamic object, in other words, the energy appears as mass.

Recently conducted high energy dispersion experiments have shown us in a striking manner the dynamic and continuously changing structure of the world of particles. As a result of these experiments, it has been discovered that matter is entirely a variable entity. Thus, all particles can be transformed into other particles. Particles can be formed from energy or they can be transformed completely into energy. In todays world, classical concepts such as essential particles, material essence or isolated mass/entity have lost their meaning. As a result, the universe as a whole can be seen as an elaborate network of energy processes that cannot be separated one from another and cannot exist alone. Realizing that mass is a form of energy has led modern physics to disregard the understanding of mass as a material thing with a stable body; we have begun to refer to atoms as energy fields, not as the essence and basis for matter. Yet energy is a concept related to movement and activity.

On the other hand, force and matter emerge as consequences of the various assumptions of dynamic processes and structures, which we refer to as the particle. And these are not unrelated to each other. It would be more convenient to regard them as different perspectives of the same truth.

Besides noting that mass is, in fact, a form of energy, energy was also regarded as the mass of light. In modern physics, mass is no longer bound to a material essence, therefore it is assumed that particles are not composed of a basic matter. Now particles are regarded as being energy clusters. However, since energy is related to activity and time processes, subatomic particles are thought to be essentially dynamic.

These dynamic forms, or energy clusters, form the atomic and molecular structures that are the building blocks of substances and that make matter appear macroscopically in a concrete form. Eventually, we arrive at a false conclusion that matter is composed of material essences.

The efforts of humanity to find the truth by trial and error and our desire to discover the essence of everything has broadened the boundaries of science and has brought metaphysics into the arena of science. Today, science is pushing back the boundaries of the unknown by using the God-given abilities of questioning, interpretation and investigation. As a result of improvements in science, scientists have reached the point where they have begun to discover existence beyond matter and to question its properties.

We should disregard the terms and models that we have become accustomed to use scientifically when we go deeper into nature and investigate the ray-like quantity, called energy, that does not have limitations in space and is beyond the dimension of time. When we go beyond the dimensions surrounding us, mechanical terms lose their meaning and they are replaced by organic terms. These terms have attracted attention because of their spiritually based nature.

Kirlian Photography Technique:

Developments in the twentieth century have provided us with supporting evidence that beings are not composed only of their bodily parts, and that there are mysteries beyond matter and energy. Among these are the experiments that took place in the 1940s which demonstrated that living things have a secondary energy body. This technique was named after Semyon and Vaentilla Kirlian, inventors and electricians from Krasnodar, Russia. In the presence of a high-frequency, high-voltage, low-amperage electrical field, the photographs of different objects show glowing, multicolored emanations. These are said to be auras or biofields. After years of study, they were able to take pictures of the energy field that surrounds humans, animals, plants and all living organisms. Their research and subsequent discoveries were the result of observations made in a hospital. During the shock treatment of a patient, there were sparks that jumped through the glass electrodes on the skin of the patient. Inspired by this, Semyon Kirliyan used the instrument at home and performed the first experiment on himself. During the experiment, he saw a blue spark along with a small electric shock and when he processed the film, he saw the silhouette of his finger. Blazing beams from his finger were easily seen in this very first photograph.

The Kirlian technique attracted much attention in many universities in Russia. In 1968 doctors V. Inyushin, W. Grisshchenko, N. Vorobev, N. Shoinki, N. Federova, and F. Gibadulin stated in a joint declaration that All living organisms not only have a physical body composed of atoms and molecules, but they also have an energy body which is a replica of the physical one. This second body was called the bioplasmic body.

Bioplasmic Body and Life

Studies on plants showed that there is a great difference between the radiation that surrounds a faded leaf that is drying out and a fresh leaf, newly picked from its branch. In consecutive photographs of the fresh leaf, the radiation is continuous and dynamic, whereas in those of the dried leaf there is no radiation present. This means that, as a result of the loss of life, the radiation also fades away slowly. In the photograph of a leaf which is partially torn, the missing piece can be observed in its place, however, the energy field belonging to the missing part fades after a while. When living organisms die slowly, the sparks and flames of the bioplasmic body extend outwards and eventually fade away.

As everything has been created in pairs, the twin of our physical body is said to be the virtual body in Islamic literature. The virtual body that is detectable by the Kirlian photography technique has many different names, such as the light covering (Ghilaf-i nurani), the aetheral body (athir-i badan"), the energy body, the second body, the perispirit, the double, the astral body. We have been told that the second body serves as a sheath and a covering for the soul. After death, as a result of the Divine Wisdom, the soul leaves the body, which has served it as a material envelope; however, the soul does not leave the figurative body. The Kirlian photographs have been used to support the view that all living organisms have an energy body which is a copy of their physical body composed of atoms and molecules. In an experiment, an American Doctor Watters exposed about 50 grasshoppers to ether and took their photograph. This was done as soon as he was confident that the grass-hoppers were about to die, and after he had filled the room with steam. As a result, he was able to capture the images of about 13 grasshoppers.

In the former Soviet Union, yogis who can travel out of their body were subjects of scientific research. People can make their energy body leave their physical body under certain conditions, such as during a time of crisis, when in a coma, when meditating, or under the effect of anesthetics. As a result, their soul appears with the energy body.

Appear (as in Tamassul) means to emerge in any shape. Angels, and jinn too, can appear to the human eye (tamassul) as well as in the imagination of humans. Ted Serious, an American, was able to observe the image of his thoughts on the film of a camera while focusing on the objective lens (1960s).

Abstract objects can intervene with the physical world. As time passes, this becomes more evident. When the soul manifests in its virtual body, it looks like itself (that is, the physical body of the person). When we are asleep and our physical body is at rest, an interesting mechanism takes our virtual body into the virtual heavens. The virtual body performs many activities and meets with the double bodies of many people in the world outside the limits of time and location. In death, on the other hand, the virtual body leaves the body and never comes back. The new soul, free from the body goes to the heavens and starts its new life.

Extrasensory Perception: Mediums and Human Aura

There are many mysteries tied up with human beings; the universe is at their service. In fact every member of the human race is a universe in his/her own right. Although humans have many things in common, we can see that some people have extremely improved sensibilities. For some, this sensibility shows itself as extra sensory perception. These people can see some things that we cannot see during the day, while they are awake, or during meditation. The second pair of eyes that enable us to see the virtual bodies of the energy universe can sometimes be used during everyday life. These people tell us that they can see an aura around other people and this aura changes color and is different in sickness or at stressful, difficult times. They can even determine the character and personality of a person by looking at their aura.

Very interesting and informative results have been obtained from observations made by these sensitive people of dying people. The things they see should be investigated and taken into consideration. According to the results of such observations, the energy body, which normally appears as an aura that is present in all living organisms, leaves the body at the instant of death and is able to move consciously out of the body. In other words, when the physical body dies, the second body recovers life.

Davis Observations

Observations of a famous American ESP expert on the death of a dying woman are as follows: There appeared a strong focus, which was gradually increasing around the brain when the woman was about to die. This thing was becoming brighter and stronger as the struggle decreased and the paleness in the body increased. These struggles that are observed during the death are not related to pain and are not felt by the soul. These are entirely organic movements. When the moment of death was near, the organs of the body fell onto the bed like a vacant case and in turn the formation of the other body was being completed separately from the patient. The first part that left the patient was the head of the body and then slowly the remaining parts left the body and finally, it stood up at the front of the head of the patient. There was a bright cord connecting these two bodies, which we refer as the ˜life cord. When this cord broke, some part of it remained on the corpse. It is probably this piece that prevents the corpse from decomposing immediately. The virtual body of the woman became slowly used to freedom and left the house consciously, as if it knew what to do.

We have given just one example of such observations with common themes. Among these is the cloudy image that emerges from the body of the dying person connected to the body by a cord of divine light. As this cord breaks away, this body departs, acting as if it knows where to go.

The common point of these discoveries is that there is an existence of a virtual body that affects all of our bodily organs, making us alive, conscious and able to function; all of this has become more clear in the light of science. We have begun to understand that death is nothing more than the departure of the second body from the corpse and that death is not nonexistence or annihilation, but on the contrary, that it is a passage to a new world where everyone will gather, one by one.

References

• Lyall Watson, THE BIOLOGY OF DEATH: A Natural History of Death, London: Sceptre, 1987 ISBN: 0 340 41727 7
• http://www.occultopedia.com/k/kirlian_photography.htm
• Moss, Thelma, The Body Electric, J.P. Tarcher Inc., Los Angeles , 1979.
• Harold Burr, The Electrodynamic Theory of Life, The Black Box, Connecticut, Yale University Press, 1935