The subtle body is not a by product. It has its own existence with the physical body. The ancients discovered this in every civilization of the world. They also gathered together in groups, and they felt that the person we are burying or burning, that person is going on. Most ancient culture have ideas about ghosts. Who are ghosts who die? Hallowin. If you look at haloin, what's what's hallowin all about? Why are there so many ghosts and demons there? And life, not just one life, but many, many lives. You can live, and you do live.
Swami Sarvapriyananda teaches the Katha Upanishad, which is one of the most popular Upanishads. The scripture concerns the story of a young man who goes to the house of death to find out what happens after death. The reply describes the nature of reality and the meaning of life.