Human has the time between birth and death.
Archaic Judaism
believed in a place called Sheol. This place is for the shadows, as in
the Greek mythology the realm of Hades. Sheol does not equal to Hell –
souls are not suffering, this is a place for the speechless who is
still as death. In the scripture it is emphasized that God is the God
of the Living and not the Dead. As it is written in Psalm 115:17 “It
is not the dead who praise the Lord , those who go down to silence”
And in Psalm 88: 10-12 the questions: “Do you show your wonders to
the dead? Do those who are dead rise up and praise you? Selah, Is
your love declared in the grave, your faithfulness in Destruction?
Are your wonders known in the place of darkness, or your righteous
deeds in the land of oblivion?” The standpoint is obvious: the
living must deal with the things of life and not the things before or
after life.
Christians believe the life is an invitation for
participating in God's plan. Death results in interim judgments,
whether the soul goes to the Heaven, the Purgatory or the Hell. The
Last Judgment will decide whether the soul will eternally see God –
or never, as casted out in the outer darkness.
Islam teachings are
about Seven Skies (Jannah ~ Heaven); the highest level of Paradise
being the Firdaws where the prophets and martyrs, and the most
truthful and pious people will dwell. Also, those sacrificing
themselves for Islam get instant salvation.
Taoism and Confucianism
deal with things of life such as morals and good government.
Hinduism’s core point is reincarnation. It is worth mentioning that
it is always the body that let the soul go, and not the other way
around. The soul cannot leave the body; if it wants do die, first it
needs to destruct the body. The progress in human life aims to get
out of the circle of reincarnation. Those who do not need a rebirth
but still come back to help others called Bodhisattvas. Currently
only one loka (world)
is open, namely the human world, so people can reincarnate only in
this world. The reason for
the growing world population is the quickening samsara
(the repeating cycle of life, birth and death), and the only possible
way of reincarnation. According to the Hindu mythology at the
creation God had separated one part of him and this part split into
14 billion particles, 14
billion God's sparkles.
The
eastern ascetics aims to prepare for death and the life after death,
shortening the time of suffering because of physical desires in the
previous life. The main point is therefore the self-determination;
there is only cause and effect. Buddhism is similar, but there is no
belief in an eternal soul and in self-independence from the rest of
the universe. According to Buddha the thinker ceases to exist, but
the idea remains, those who feel decease but the feeling remains,
actors decease but actions remain. This is like ideas, feelings and
actions would be energies, separating
once but one day uniting they would reconstruct another human being.
You may want to check out the Wachowskis' film on the idea.
“Men live and die for an idea,
But the idea is immortal.
You can persecute it, judge it, forbid it, condemn it to death,
But the idea continues to live in the minds of men….
He whom it penetrates no longer feels isolated,
For above all the idea remains…..”
But the idea is immortal.
You can persecute it, judge it, forbid it, condemn it to death,
But the idea continues to live in the minds of men….
He whom it penetrates no longer feels isolated,
For above all the idea remains…..”
NOTE: In
the Mahayana Buddhism they
pray for the dead for 49 days after passing away, 49 being the
estimated time it takes for the spirit to be reborn again into a new
life. Some spirits are reborn 3 days, 21 days, 49 days or 100 days
after death, and in some cases even 7 years.
