Poetry for Students, Volume 35

Brahman, the transcendent source of all creation. A
person who dies in this state is thought not to need
to reincarnate at all, but to drop the physical body
and enjoy an uncompromised oneness with
Brahman.

According to Vedic belief, the soul that is not
completely purified at the time of bodily death
passes through different regions in order to purify
itself. The nature of the regions visited depends on
the state of the soul: Some are heavenly, others
hellish. The region towards which the soul is
drawn depends on its level of purity. The soul
evolves through its experience of different regions
to a level of greater purity. No soul is fated to stay
where it resides after bodily death on earth. As in
the Christian tradition of Purgatory, the soul can
progress from a hellish state to a heavenly one and
the direction is always towards greater purity.

An impure soul has many unfulfilled desires.

It is fixated on diversity and the many, the ever-

changing external world of the senses and material

things. A pure soul is without desire and knows

only oneness withBrahman. The direction of all

souls is towards greater purity and oneness with

Brahman. The soul will choose experiences, either

in its next incarnation onearth or between incar-

nations on hellish or heavenly planes of existence,

that help it evolve towards oneness withBrahman.

The quote from the Vedas, ‘‘He goes from

death to death, who sees the many here,’’ has at

least two meanings. The first has to do with rein-

carnation. The impure soul that is focused on the

diverse and changing material world is fated to

reincarnateasmanytimesasisneededforitto

learntopurifyitselfandfocusonreality,whichis

oneness or unity. Repeatedly reincarnating in the

WHAT

DO I READ

NEXT?

 Susan Mitchell’s ‘‘The Explosion’’ is the next

poem after ‘‘The Dead’’ in the collection,The

Water Inside the Water(1983, HarperPerennial

reprint, 1994). It is about the deaths of children

in an explosion, possibly of the atomic bomb

that the United States dropped on Hiroshima,

Japan, in 1945, and the response of the child-

ren’s fathers to the deaths.

 Sylvia Plath’s poem ‘‘Daddy’’ (published in her

collectionArielin 1965, which was reprinted

by HarperPerennial in 1999) is a partly auto-

biographical exploration of the poet’s complex

relationship with her father, who died when

Plath was young. The poem makes clear that

even though individuals may be dead, their

presence and influence lives on.

 Elisabeth Ku ̈bler-Ross’s bookOn Death and

Dying(1997) is a classic work by a pioneer in

this field. Ku ̈bler-Ross talked to the dying,

something that was previously considered

taboo, to produce a book that is widely used

by social workers and counselors to inform

their work with the dying and bereaved.

When A Friend Dies: A Book for Teens About

Grieving and Healing(2005), by Marilyn E.

Gootman, is a guide that provides practical

advice for bereaved teens and young adults.

The book includes reflections from teens

whose friends have died.

Tears of a Tiger (1996), by Sharon M.

Draper, is an award-winning young adult

novel about a young African American

high-school basketball star who struggles

with guilt and depression following a drunk-

driving accident that kills his best friend. He

finds it impossible to ask for help and

becomes increasingly isolated in his grief.

Death and Bereavement Across Cultures

(1997), by Colin Parkes, is an exploration

of death, dying, and mourning across many

cultures and religions, including the Jewish,

Tibetan Buddhist, Christian, Islamic, and

Hindu traditions. It is considered an impor-

tant resource for all those who work with the

dying and bereaved.

The Dead