Acharya Prashant addresses the question of what happens after death and the concept of rebirth. He states that after death, the individual will become dust, and nothing will happen to them. He questions the arrogance of believing one is so significant that something will happen after death, especially if nothing of substance was achieved in life. He clarifies that our individual existence, which he terms 'Vyasti', will turn to ashes. However, he does not deny the concept of rebirth entirely. He explains that rebirth happens at the level of 'Samashti', or the total existence of nature. The rebirth of this collective existence is a continuous process. To illustrate this, he uses the analogy of an ocean and its waves. The 'Samashti' is like the ocean, and the 'Vyasti' (the individual) is like a wave. The ocean will continuously create waves, meaning the birth of waves will keep happening. However, a specific, individual wave, once it falls, will not return. Similarly, an individual person, like 'Raju', is finished after death and has no personal rebirth. What does get reborn is the 'ego-tendency' (Aham-vritti). The same ego-tendency that existed in one person will manifest in another, but the individual ego, with its specific memories and face, will not return. Rebirth occurs at a much higher, impersonal level, not at the individual level. Acharya Prashant also refutes the idea that if there is no individual rebirth, then one's actions (sins or virtues) in this life are inconsequential. He explains that the punishment for a sin is immediate. To commit a sin, one must first become a sinner, and being a sinner is in itself a great internal punishment. Similarly, the reward for a virtuous act is also immediate, as it requires a higher state of consciousness to perform, and that state is its own reward. He dismisses the observation that sinners seem to enjoy life, stating that such observers lack the consciousness to perceive the inner suffering of others, or even their own. The ultimate goal taught in the Sanatana tradition is 'Jivanmukti'—liberation while living. Therefore, one should focus on the reality of the present life and cut the bonds of suffering now, rather than worrying about what happens after death.