Consciousness during coma,death

[Venkatraman.Chandrasekaran at NOKIA.COM]

Dear Roger,

> You wrote:
>From our dualistic viewpoint however there is rebirth . The subtle body, 
>collection of mental tendencies, samskaras, however you wish to call it, 
>survive death in some way and eventually identify with another "physical" 
>body - in other words the conventional viewpoint we all take for granted

Yes. My question is at a mundane level where birth and death are within 
the purview of our saadhana and our ponderings. So, even if we say there 
is no birth, no one taking birth, no one needing liberation etc., etc., 
still at the vyavahaarika level, I tend to expect the same experience in 
coma and death.

I am copy-pasting a portion from the following website.

> Portion taken from http://www.swami-krishnananda.org/disc/disc_32.html
>
> Our Puranas and Itihasas say that the soul after death passes through 
> different experiences. Scriptures further say that an ordinary person 
> does not remember his past experiences. He is in a state of swoon the 
> moment he casts off the physical body. Our prayers give him consciousness.
>

     This piece of information tends to clarify my doubt a little. 
Post-death state is in fact a void where the subtle body goes into a 
momentary shock and debility, becoming dormant. The vibrations of the 
mantras give it activity and show the way for its future lives.
  
     Regards,
     chandrasekaran.