It has indeed been a while since I last posted. About a month ago to be precise. This time around, I decided to write about the afterlife. Unfortunately, a family member has recently passed away. Thus, I thought it would be a good idea to dedicate this post to him. There are countless religious beliefs regarding what could happen to a person after they leave Planet Earth for good as it were. In the following article, I will tackle a few of them. Apart from touching on some scientific theories as well.

 

Let us begin with the religious approach. Thus far, have I only found information on the afterlife in regards to the main four religions worldwide: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism.

 

Christianity: The majority of Christians (most denominations that is) believe in some sort of heaven, whereby they can enjoy the presence of God. Most of them follow the idea that Jesus laid down his life for them on the cross. They also hold the belief that those who do not follow Jesus will wind up in hell. In other words, according to the Christian doctrine, those who do have faith in Jesus and accept him as their savior, will receive salvation.

As regards to funeral ceremonies, Christian used to mostly favor burial of the body. Nonetheless, nowadays both burial and cremation are accepted by them.

Islam: For Muslims, present life is a preparation stage for a greater one. A different plane of existence. That is to say, a journey from one world to the other. Their prophet gave them three main guidelines: First of all, to have given charity throughout their life-time. Secondly, to acquire an extensive amount of knowledge and be able to share it with future generations. Lastly, to have prayers on their behalf by a righteous child.

Upon death, the body of the deceased is cleansed and covered in a white cloth. The preparation for burial transpires as soon as the person has passed away. Muslims usually come together and perform prayers soon after their deceased loved one is buried. The corpse has to be laid on its ride side facing Makkah (A holy city in Saudi Arabia). On behalf of the deceased, pilgrimage, prayers and fasting are performed by their relatives.

Hinduism: Hindus strongly believe in the rebirth and reincarnation of souls. Thus, according to Hinduism, death is seen as a natural stage in the existence of the soul as a separate entity. When a person ceases to exist, their soul travels temporarily to another realm, and finally returns once more to Earth to continue its journey.

Hindus do not bury their dead. They actually cremate them. According to Hinduism, a human body consists of five elements. Out of the five, four are water, air, fire, and earth. The fifth element would be called "ether", and it does not belong to this world (Domain of the subtle body). Upon cremation of the body, the elements are returned to their individual spheres. Whereas the subtle body along with the soul go back to the world for the continuation of the afterlife. Several rituals are performed during the cremation ceremony.

Buddhism: Awareness of death was what encouraged Lord Buddha to explore the examine the truth behind worldly concerns and conveniences. After a long journey, Lord Buddha concluded that death was inevitable for a person who only focused on worldly pleasures and attitudes. Nowadays, Buddhists see death as detachment from this materialistic world. Buddhist people do not regard death as a continuation of the soul. Instead they see it as an awakening. Be that as it may, they do believe in reincarnation. The status of the new life of the person reincarnated will be determined by their works during their previous death.

Family members and monks usually recite scriptures and mantras when a person is about to die. As a result, they can help the dying person achieve a peaceful state of mind.

 

When it comes to explaining death through science, near-death and out of body experiences are the closest instances doctors have to go by.  Doctors say that the brain cannot operate when the heart has stopped beating. Albeit, several patients who had been clinically dead due to cardiac arrest recalled having had an out-of-body experience. After their hearts had been restarted that is. For instance, a 57-year-old social worker from Southampton was able to recount the medical procedure performed by the nursing staff. He even recollected the sound of the machines. Dr. Parnia from Southampton University, believes many more people such as the one mentioned above have these experiences when they are close to death. Nevertheless, sedatives and drugs may stop them from remembering. Even so, the aforementioned man was able to recall leaving his body completely and watching his resuscitation from the corner of the room. Many people have presumed that these were hallucinations. Notwithstanding, the claims of patients from hospitals in the US, UK and Austria do seem to correspond to real events.

Lastly we know that the brain normally shuts down within 20-30 seconds after the heart has stopped.

 

In review, I would say that both religious and scientific theories have some truth to them. Still and all, I will always consider myself an advocate of science. Due to the fact that evidence 99% of the time points on the direction of what is stated by a scientific theory. Conversely, religious claims are mostly based on their respective scriptures. Whose reliability is never the best. Considering the fact that they are man-made books strongly influenced by ancient culture. Regardless of their validity nonetheless, it is always a good piece of advice for a scientist to do research on "holy books". Hence, being able to broaden their understanding of early civilizations and find even more inconsistencies in the aforesaid books.

Sources:
http://www.religiousmovements.org/views-on-death-according-to-different-religions/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2016/03/12/first-hint-of-life-after-death-in-biggest-ever-scientific-study/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KE9iUiRg4yY