There is still one person living in Navadvīpa-dhāma today who saw Yāma-purī—the realm of the god of death. He was taken there by mistake. After seeing that he had died, his family took him to the cremation ground for burning. But, when they arrived there, people noticed some movement in his body. Suddenly he sat up.
The people asked, “Are you a ghost?”
“No, I am not a ghost!” he said.
“What happened?” they asked.
“I was taken to the realm of Yāmarāja by the messengers of death. They were judging me, stabbing me with pointed spears, injuring me, giving me pain. When it was my time to be judged, they put me before Yāmarāja in his court. When he saw me, he said, ‘No, no, no. This man will live to be seventy-eight. You have made a mistake.’ The messengers left me and so I have come back here. What I have seen is horrible—I will not remain in my house.”
After this experience, he left and searched, wondering, “Where to go? Where to go?” Eventually, he went to Navadvīpa where our Param-gurudeva was staying at the time.
“What have I seen?” the man asked Param-gurudeva.
“You have seen the realm of the god of death. After death, you will be taken there for punishment.”
“No! I shall not return there! How can I get help for this?”
“You should perform harināma!”
He still lives in Navadvīpa today.
This is not mythology. The government of the Supreme Lord is a reality. The three messengers of the god of death take souls by thrusting them into another subtle covering, a painful covering. That subtle covering is then taken to the realm of Yāmarāja.
—Śrīla Bhakti Vallabha Tīrtha Mahārāja (Taste of Transcendence)
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