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The afterlife, in many cases, sounds more magnificent than life as we know
it. Beliefs about an afterlife are, in fact, beliefs and not perfectly accurate
information. Having specific beliefs about a person's destiny after death is a
way for many people to cope with death and have a sense of closure. Ideas about
the afterlife may vary greatly, but one thing all religions and cultures have in
common is that they trust that their own specific beliefs are the only way.
There is, and always will be, a broad range of views on the ideas of afterlife,
from traditions as diverse as apocalyptic Judaism to Hellenistic religious
culture.
For more than 3,000 years Egyptians have supported their initial,
original ideas of the afterlife. The Egyptian afterlife is very detailed and is
described thoroughly in the Book of the Dead. Once an Egyptian passes away they
transform into two parts, the Ba and the Ka. The Ba is described as being the
breath or soul and looks like a human-headed bird while the Ka is a carbon copy
of the deceased and is the guardian spirit or life force (Lewis 123). Both parts
travel in a boat to the underworld and once they reach their destination they
proceed through seven different gates. At each gate they have to give certain
names and formulas to be able to pass. Once they make it through the gates, the
Ka's continue to the Hall of Justice. Similar to most courtrooms, there is a
judge, a prosecutor, and jury members. Thoth, the god of wisdom, is the
prosecutor, while forty-two divine figures make up the jury, but the final
decision is based on Osiris, the judge (Lewis 125). The deceased are to give a
detailed account of their lives. After they have completed the account, their
heart is placed on a scale opposite either a feather or an image of Maat. Maat
is the goddess of truth and to Egyptians, a feather is symbolic of the same. If
the heart outweighs the symbol of truth, it is a clear sign that the person has
been sinful. They have failed the test and are immediately destroyed by Ammit, a
horrid, monstrous creature (Lewis 125). If the heart balances on the scale, the
deceased is free to enter "Sekhet Aaru, which translates to a blissful world"
(Lewis 125). Once they enter that realm they have yet another choice. They may
choose to live the remainder of their afterlife as a bird or live with an
abundance of delicious fruit that will never cease. Close friends and family
traditionally place models of servants, also known as Shabtis, into the tomb.
The deceased are capable of turning the Shabti models into real servants to be
the slaves of the deceased. When King Tut died he was known to have 414 Shabtis
in his tomb (Lewis 126). The Egyptian process seems like a long, difficult
journey for everyone, but not everyone is required to go through these steps.
Immediately after death Pharaohs, by right, enter a divine realm. They never
have to pass any tests, answer to anyone, or visit Osiris to determine their
future.
Within the Hindu culture there are three types of religions, each
believing something slightly different about the afterlife. Vedic Hindus believe
that a new body is formed for the deceased and that process is called
sapindikarana. Pitri-loka, the afterlife realm, is a place where everyone goes
after being judged by Yama. Yama was the first man ever to die, he is now their
god, king and judge of the deceased (Sharp 87). The next religious group,
Upanishadic Hindus, are strong believers in karma and reincarnation. The
samsaric process, reincarnation, is dreadful to these people. They believe that
"life in this world means suffering" (Lewis 186). Samsara all depends on one's
karma. Karma is described as the natural law ensuring that every good or bad
deed eventually returns to the person in the form of reward or punishment. The
Hindus that become engaged in the samsaric process can attain Moksha. Moksha is
the release or liberation from samsara, which may be achieved by proper
performance of rituals or highly disciplined yoga (Sharp 86). The last religious
group believes in extreme devotion. Devotional Hindus believe that the souls of
the deceased partake in devotional activities towards god in a heaven world.
Their heaven world is very similar to western religion heavens. God was
approached as very personal and loving. Devotional Hindus think that "god would
respond to devotional worship and forgive any sins that may have been committed"
(Lewis 186). Although each religion has their differences, Hindu hell worlds are
all the same. Each is a place where your soul is tortured by demons, but hell is
never a final resting place. Everyone is given another chance to prove
themselves creditable.
Judaic beliefs are quite simple because they believe,
in most cases, individuals have one life and one death on earth. The only
exception to that rule is Gilgul, limited reincarnation (Lewis 210). People who
commit extraordinary sins were given the opportunity to return to life in order
to set things right. Jews believe that a small bone in the spine, called the
luz, never really disintegrates. The luz ends up "forming the nucleus around
which the body is resurrected" (Lewis 210). God resurrects the dead and judges
them on their lives on Yom Din, the day of judgment. For this reason, Jews are
strongly advised not to cremate the deceased in order to preserve the luz. Hell
is represented as a valley of fire where children were said to be sacrificed as
burnt offering to semitic deities. This valley was called Gehenna, and to the
Jews Gehenna is translated as hell. The garden of Eden, on the other hand, is
their ideal heaven.
Christian beliefs have made it very evident that they
have collected many views of the afterlife from numerous traditions and
cultures. The earliest Christians believed that the afterlife was simply bodily
resurrection. That idea came from apocalyptic Judaism (Benz 1). Over the years,
modifications have been made to the afterlife beliefs. Christians now think that
death is not the end, but the start of a new life with God. They think of
eternal death as a positive thing and the deceased are able to live the
remainder of time with God. Heaven is conveyed as the physical sky where God
resides, and is open to all who are faithful. Christian's heaven is a place free
from pain and sorrow.
Chinese afterlife is a combination of spiritual
traditions including ensuring one's health, showing compassion, as well as
giving devotion and support to ancestors. When the Chinese die, similar to the
Egyptians, they form two different parts. The first part is the yin, or p'o. The
yin follows the body under the earth into an extraordinary kingdom known as
yellow springs. The second part, the yang, progresses outward into the universe
(Ganeri 23). The Chinese hell world is a projection of the imperial Chinese
prison. In the prison money could be given in form of bribes to alleviate
punishment. In the netherworld, "spirit money" is offered to the dead by the
living family to ensure that any punishment put upon the dead would be lightened
(Lewis 75).
Although many consider Greek beliefs to be solely based on
mythology, there are many preparatory factors prior to death that they feel is
necessary. There are five different tasks that need to be accomplished to ensure
a better fate in the afterlife realm. The Greeks believe the following: The
deceased must go through a purification process, which may be as simple as
bathing in the sea. Next, they must receive instructions with hidden knowledge
which often takes place behind closed doors in a mystic hall. They must also
have a ceremonial handling of numerous sacred objects. As soon as that task is
completed the individual is required to act out a scene from the central myth or
sacred story. The final action is to be crowned as a full initiate for a better
afterlife. (Lewis 131)
The Greeks have had a myth about death that has
stayed consistent for decades:
Persephone was the wife of Hades, ruler of
the underworld, and the daughter of Demeter, goddess of fertility, grain and
harvest. Hades kidnapped Persephone and brought her to the underworld. Because
Demeter was so upset about this, she neglected her duties and the earth became
barren. Soon, Hades and Demeter compromised and decided to let Persephone live
with Hades in the fall and winter and with Demeter in the spring and summer.
Persephone became a symbol of renewal and rebirth and she was one of the only
figures to enter the realm of the dead and return. (Lewis 131)
Because it
was such a mystery at how this all occurred these mythological figures became
key parts of the Eleusinian mysteries which were mythological mysteries in
ancient Greece.
The Inca beliefs are very similar to many other cultures,
because they keep their beliefs simple yet sufficient. The deceased are to cross
a bridge in order to reach "the silent land". The bridge is made purely of hair
and if an individual falls they are doomed to the realm of punishment. The realm
of punishment is located at the bowels of the earth and they are forced to eat
stones for every meal. The individuals who make it across the bridge safely go
to a happy realm in the "heaven of the sun deity" (Sharp 22). When royalty dies,
there are many expectations of the living. All family and close friends, such as
wives and servants were expected to commit suicide in order to accompany their
ruler in the "other" world.
Muslims, having two different denominations,
still seem to hold true to the same beliefs in most cases. The deceased stay in
an interworld called Barzakh until the day of resurrection. Barzakh resembles a
state of dreaming and awareness. The individual's soul becomes aware of its true
nature and disappears until resurrection. Qiyama, the day of resurrection, is a
crucial day for the deceased. On this day the soul rejoins with the body and
they are assigned eternal life in paradise or in hell. Paradise, translated as
Al-Jannah, has eight different levels and is located at the macrocosmic center
of light. While Hell, or An-Nar, is on the outer part of the macrocosm and
consists of seven layers. Both Muslim denominations, the Shiites and Sunnis,
believe in the prior statements about the afterlife, but there are some trivial
points that are different. For instance, the Shiites believe the human body is a
spirit and the Sunnis consider the human body to be a material compound of body
and soul.
Buddhists believe that the deceased will never be in permanent
hell, but will have a chance to prove themselves worthy. At the moment of death,
the conscious part of the departed will experience a "clear light." The average
person will descend into the lesser state of the secondary "clear light,"
whereas royalty or people of that rank will experience the top level of "clear
light" (Lewis 63). The spirit of the departed goes through a process lasting
forty-nine days. After the process is completed, they are told whether they will
enter nirvana, a state of perfect peace and happiness, return to earth for
rebirth, or suffer in purgatory, which is only for a limited time and then they
are given the chance to be reincarnated.
Perception of afterlife varies to
such a great extent that it leaves the world to wonder which beliefs, no matter
how inconceivable they may appear, are real and which are fictional. Some
religions believe cremation is key, while others preserve bodies through
mummification. The deceased are reincarnated to some, but repositioned to heaven
and hell worlds to others. There will always be the question of whether
individual's create their own fate through karma or if each person has a
predetermined destiny. Everything about death is different no matter where one
may go, even the actions of the people who have not passed away. In some
cultures mourning is the only way to deal with a loss, while in others it is a
time to celebrate because the deceased have moved on to a better place. How is
it possible to justify certain beliefs and discard others when there are so many
people who have full faith in their own specific afterlife judgments?
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