WrightWinston

Religion & The Afterlife :
====Why do we take for granted what we abuse so much in this world, only for it to return with equal value in a new realm of life.? " Reincarnation is the most misunderstood concept in religion. Not only is the world which we live in mentally compelled, all physical states of matter are more oblivious to life, then we could fathom. ==== =Introduction = //" The belief that when one dies, one's body decomposes but something of oneself is reborn in another body. It is the belief that one has lived before and will live again in another body after death. The bodies one passes in and out of need not be human. One may have been a Doberman in a past life, and one may be a mite or a carrot in a future life." I//s a definition of reincarnation defined by http://www.skepdic.com . Truthfully, not any other definition could be the bandwagon thought, for most people in the world today. The idea of reincarnation has been prominent in human beings minds sine the beginning of time, but was modified and introduced to the western world through the religion of Hinduism. Reincarnation is a basic belief and principle that hindi people around the world believe and practice, and ties into, also modifies, the Hindi/Buddhist belief of Karma, stating what you do upon other, will be done upon you. A common misconception of hinduism, is that you shall consciously know which and what lives you have passed through, and according to hindu sacred text, one will never know where one goes, only to let the universe guide them. Many theologist, and other religious interested people around the world, doubt the possibility of reincarnation, saying that once you die, everything goes with you. The hindi religion states that afterlife is continuous, because one's mind can never be exposed of, and one's soul, always belongs to the owner. Also, to hindi beliefs, a hell and heaven ,is which in a world, you continue to live your life over and over again sitting in your physical state, not recycling souls, creating a spiritual carbon monoxide cycle if you will. Christians belief that if one commits actions in life they shall be judge in the afterlife, an evaluation of some sort, and walk the path of heaven or hell. Hell is the place of eternal suffering, all though some state that hell, is only a state of mind, living for every, never stoping, and your soul deceasing to infinity. Other theologist, prophase that heaven (the opposite of hell) is an eternal state of mind, which one can live in any way that they would like, a great example of this is in the movie //" All Dogs go to Heaven " ,// where dogs can choose to go from earth via heaven, and become angels to humans that are in need. Can humanity commit to one common idea of life after death, but then again if you are dead, how does life exist? **Interpretation**

// " Based on Jesus' teachings and other sources of revelation, Christians believe that God created human beings to live eternally in fellowship with him. The future as described in the Bible includes the resurrection of all people, a judgment, and eternal life in either heaven or hell. " // According to christianity, everything you do and how you do it in your physical life is reflected in your afterlife. There are a few different realms of Christian/Catholic Roman afterlife, Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, Paradise, & all have to with eternal suffering or joy, but according to many theologist who study under christianity, a soul chooses to suffer, or joy any realm it is in. Sins are committed ,by a soul in it's human life, and you can be pardoned for your sins from the all and powerful god. The only unpardonable sin according to six verses in the bible is // " To speak untruth about or to the holy ghost." // There are seven deadly sins, that all result in being put in purgatory or hell for some time, the sins are Extravagance, Gluttony, Greed, Discouragement, Wrath, Envy, and Pride. One can commit these sins, for so long in their human life, until god directly punishes them if not forgiving otherwise. An example of Purgatory is shown in the picture below, notice the souls suffering, and the giant arachnid, the representation of torment.



Hinduism has no creator nor founder, and it has been a prominent, prevalent religion for a long time in the world's origins. The //Vedas// (most sacred text in hinduism,probably in the world) are the only type of authority in hinduism, and how one choose sto follow the //Vedas// results in one's retribution when he/she dies. The conservation of cyclic and organic material in the universe is highly valued in the hindi religion, and certain paths can be followed to attain certain levels in the afterlife. When the physical body dies, the soul begins the transmigration into a new life cycle, your soul can be transmigrated into many physical states. In the //Vedas//, palingenisis can occur in humans, animals nature, and if one's retribution is deeper the soul can transfer to an angelic ,demonic or vegetative figure. The highest life of palingenisis is have your soul transmitted to an Astronomical body. The reaching of //Moksha ,// is similar to the belief of karma, and certain cult's and clans that stem from hinduism, dedicate their life to //Moksha,// believing that life is reflected in the result of every hindu belief. There are three parts of a life form according to Hindi philosophical concepts, the //Atman (soul), Sarria (body), & Avidya (reflection). Avidya// reflects the negative essence of the psycho-physical life. //Avidya// is brought to the new life ,and is always kept with the //Atman// and some philosophers believe that it can be reflected in the //Sarria,// as well with //Karma.// Every action is recorded in your //Karma.// Karma signifies every action, good or bad, and is reflected in //Moksha ,// and none can be forgiving, not necessarily what one does upon other people, comes back to them ,but it will be clear to occur in the next life.



The founder of Buddhism //Siddartha Gautama// accepted the basic beliefs and principles of hindi reincarnation, but believed that the ultimate goal of life was to escape the cycle of life and death. //Siddartha// strongly believed that it is the desire, to want anything the world that drives the forces beyond human afterlife. He himself created a dormant constant state of liberation called //Nirvana.// When one reaches //Nirvana ,// the thoughts of one wanting, and receiving are extinct, there fore the soul is whole. //Siddartha// believed that eternal souls do not exist, instead, where represented in the physical forms, by memories, sensations ,and desires in past life, which create a stable spiritual representation. According to //Tibetan Buddhism// the spirit of one goes through a process that last 49 days, and is divided into three stages called //bardos.// After the stages of //bardos// the soul enters //Nirvana// and returns to earth for rebirth. One concept that differs from buddhism and the rest of the world religions is the belief that the soul retains all knowledge and memories, so that //karma// is also retained in the new life. In Buddhist afterlife, there is no one powerful being, or authority of the spiritual realm. In fact, the process of //Nirvana// has to be a deeply individual experience, and interference may hinder your rebirth.



=Insight:= Where ever the soul goes after life, common experiences are asserted in the world today. Nothing can be more remorseful than recycling the soul, thus do we as humans waste? According to hinduism we do not, if any and everything no matter the physical state has a recycled mind in it. Overall, these religions teach one to value life and everything it has to offer the soul. It is a puzzling question to ask why we as humans take everything for granted, I mean we must know that we will have to be forgiven or punished, because the universe is so vast, it never misses, any sin, or ounce of karma. And in any action, we will be reimbursed, good or bad.

Bibliography:
__ Stotesbery, Sheryl. "What is an Unpardonable Sin?."www.essortment.com. __ __ Pagewise, 2002. Web. 8 Dec 2010. __ __ . __

__ "Reincarnation In Hinduism." www.spiritual-wholeness.org. N.p., 2002. __ __ Web. 9 Dec 2010. . __

__ "Buddhist Afterlife Beliefs." http://www.near-death.com/. Near-Death Experiences & the Afterlife, 2007. __ __ Web. 9 Dec 2010. . __