The Experience after Death in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Zoroastrianism - Essay Example

The Experience after Death in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Zoroastrianism” Almost all the religions practiced by the people all over the world teach the concept of the life after death. The concept is supported by the idea that people are judged in the life after death based on the nature of their actions and deeds in the present world. Good people are rewarded and bad people are punished accordingly. This notion along with fear of punishment and the joy of rewards play an important role in shaping the words, thoughts and actions of the people in this world. Hinduism, Buddhism and Zoroastrianism are although minor religions but are included among the ancient religions of the world. The three religions are mostly practiced in the South Asian region of the world. With the advancement in science, people have started questioning the different beliefs in their respective religions. A detailed study of the three religions gives us convincing evidence of the existence of the after life, the nature of the soul and the journey towards its final destination and the concept of heaven and hell. In this paper I will study the concept of life after death in the light of the teachings of Hinduism, Buddhism and Zoroastrianism. Do the three religions believe in the concept of life after death? Like most religions of the world Hinduism, Buddhism and Zoroastrianism also believe in the experience of the life after death. Each of the three religions gives detailed accounts of the journey of the soul from the time of its departure from the physical body towards the final destination. According to Glin-pa and Evans Wentz (2000), in Buddhism the after death journey is covered by the soul in 49 days (pg. 104). During this period the soul passes through a number of stages which have been mentioned by the authors in “The Tibetan Book of the Dead (2000)”. After which the soul enters into another body and is ready for rebirth. Death is not a sad experience for the Buddhists. It is just the beginning of the process of rebirth. In Hinduism, like in Buddhism the experience of death is not a sad one. It is rather referred to as the changing of the clothes (pg. 15) or moving from one house to another (pg. 15) by Sri Swami Sivnanda (1997) in his book entitled “What becomes of the Soul after death”. The after life journey of a Hindu soul is completed in one year during which the soul passes through many stages. The greater the sins committed by the soul the harder become the journey (pg. 16). Peter Clark (1999, pg. 63) discusses the concept of life after death in his book entitled “An Introduction to an Ancient Faith”. According to him the Zoroastrian faith also supports the concept of life after death. It is believed to be a period in which the souls are held accountable for the good or bad deeds that have been done by them in the previous world. The souls are rewarded and punished accordingly. However there is no mention of the time period for this experience as in Hinduism and Buddhism. At the same time the after life experience is not eternal. The souls will be united with their physical bodies at the time of the Judgment Day. They will then be taken into heaven. What is the experience of life after death in the three religions? The after life experience is some what similar in almost all the religions of the world. The basic purpose of the after life world is to make a person aware of the nature of the deeds he has performed in the material world through rewards and punishment. What makes the experience different is the way each religion teaches the experience of life after death. There is a difference of time length and the nature of the journey of the soul in Hinduism, Buddhism and Zoroastrianism. In Hinduism the after life experience begins immediately after the death of a person. The soul moves towards the “astral plane” (Subramuriyaswami, 2003, pg. 127). For the first ten days the soul or “Preta” (Sivananda, 1997, pg. 15) continues to visit the familiar places. At this stage it is in the form of a ghost. On the eleventh day, the soul begins its journey towards lord Yama who is the Lord of death. This journey is long and it takes one year to reach lord Yama. However the journey is made easy by the offerings made by the deceased’s son. On the eleventh day, the soul passes through intense heat which is made endurable by an umbrella offered by the son to his father. The gift of shoes helps the soul to endure the thorns that prickle his feet. The severe cold, wind and heat are made tolerable by the gift of clothes from the son. When parched with thirst the soul accepts the gift of water pot by the son and drinks water. After one year the soul enters the Kingdom of Lord Yama and meets Chitragupta, who is the recorder of the deeds. It is here that the soul is informed about the good and bad deeds it had done in the material world. The soul then takes the status of an Ancestor and ceases becoming a traveler (pg. 16). Sivananda (1997, pg.16-22) further states the significance of ancestors in Hinduism. Hindus worship their fathers/mothers, grand fathers/mothers and great grand fathers/mothers. If the soul has done well for his ancestors in the world then he will be allowed to unite with his ancestors (pg. 16). After this the soul takes another body and enters the world again to finish the work that has been left undone in the previous birth. In Hinduism the soul of a devotee is taken to the path of the light or Divayana. This path leads him to the world of Brahmin. Here the devoted souls become united with the “All Pervading Brahmin” (pg. 21) and are not sent back for reincarnation. Other souls are taken to the path of darkness or Pitriyana which leads them to their ancestors. After which they are sent back to the world for rebirths and deaths. In Buddhism the life after death is called “Bardo” (pg. 89) which is divided into three stages. The soul spends 49 days in the bardo. According to Glin-pa and Evans-Wentz (2000, pg. 89-97) after death the soul passes towards the first stage of bardo. Here the soul sees the “Clear Light” (pg. 89) which is the Buddhist god himself. For the devoted souls the first stage can pass very quickly once they recognize the Light. For others the process may take time before entering the second bardo. Highly devoted souls can easily enter into the heavens of different gods during the first bardo. On the sixth day in the first bardo, the soul meets forty two different gods. The soul’s experience with the good deities continues till the eighth day. If spiritual enlightenment is not attained in the first stage the soul passes towards the second bardo. The second bardo is a very deep emotional experience for the departed soul. During this period the soul meditates on the good and bad thoughts. Good thoughts become a source of satisfaction for him and bad thoughts a source of great pain. The soul’s experience with the good deities continues till the eighth day. After which the soul has to meet his evil deeds in the form of “fifty eight flame enhaloed, wrathful, blood drinking deities” (pg. 131). After the second bardo the soul moves towards the third bardo where the process of reincarnation takes place. The soul then moves in the womb of another woman and is ready for rebirth. In Zoroastrianism, according to Clark (1999) the soul of the dead person continues to hover on the dead body for at least three days. During this period it sits near the head of the body and prays to Ahura Mazda for salvation. On the fourth day the soul has to appear at the Chinavat Bridge. The bridge separates the “House of Song” from the “House of Lies” (pg. 63). Here the soul will be held accountable for the good and bad deeds. Zaehner (1976, pg. 134) adds some more details according to which the good deeds will appear in the form of a beautiful maiden. The maiden will tell the soul that she is actually his good thoughts, deeds and actions that he has performed in the world. The maiden will then lead the righteous soul towards Heaven. If the soul has committed evil deeds in the world he will be met by a bad smelling wind which will take the shape of a hag. The hag will introduce herself as the projection of his evil thoughts and deeds. She will then take the soul towards hell. It is stated in Encyclopedia Britannica (1990) that souls with balanced good and evil deeds are taken to a place called “Hamestagan” or “the place of the mixed” (pg. 814). Here the souls experience the heat of the hell as well as the coldness of the heaven. Is there any concept of Heaven and Hell? Hinduism, Buddhism and Zoroastrianism do believe in the existence of heaven and hell. As stated by Sri Swami Sivananda (1997) in Hinduism sacrifices to gods are of great importance and takes the soul to heaven or “Chandraloka” (pg. 13). The souls become “serviceable companions” (pg. 13) to the gods in heaven. They become a source of pleasure for the gods who enjoy their company. The good souls then go back to the world once their rewards are over. Good souls take the body of individuals meant to be born in the upper three castes of Hindus. Bad souls are reborn in lower caste or in the form of an animal. Hell or Yama Loka (pg. 13) is a place for evil souls. It is a place where the bad souls suffer for their evil misdeeds. Subranubiyaswami (2000, pg. 155) calls it “Naraka” and describes it as a place of disease, confusion, pain and suffering. However, the concept of Hell in Hinduism is not a permanent one. Once the souls have been punished for their misdeeds they are reincarnated. According to Encyclopedia Britannica (1990, pg. 814) in Buddhism the souls are guided by the messenger for hearing. The virtuous souls are sent to paradise, the “Kunlun Mountain” for an immediate rebirth. The sinners, on the other hand go to hell situated at the base of the Mt. Meru. The sinners stay in hell for a fixed period. During this period they have to pass through different hells depending on the intensity of their punishments. At the same time the sinners are also prepared for rebirth. They are made to drink the “broth of oblivion” and have to climb the “wheel of transmigration”. Passing through these stages, the souls are then sent back to the world for their next existence. Clark (1999) mentions the Zoroastrian concept of Heaven and Hell in his book. According to the book a Zoroastrian’s life after death is totally dependent on his actions in the previous world. His experience of life after death can either be full of happiness or full of woe. The soul with good deeds will be taken to a place where there will be no weeping but joy. The good soul will be presented with brilliant things. On the other hand evil doers will be taken to a place of woe, bad stenched food and complete darkness (pg. 64). According to Encyclopedia Britannica (1990, pg. 814) the souls remain in heaven or “ill smelling freezing hell” till the resurrection day. What is the significance of reincarnation? The concept of reincarnation is an important aspect of Hinduism. It is mentioned by Sivananda (1997, pg. 13) that once the punishment or rewards of the soul are finished it is sent back in the world. This process of rebirth is called reincarnation. According to the Hindu religion, the deeds of the person in this world will determine the nature of his rebirth. If the person has done good deeds in the world, he will be sent back in Brahmin, Kshatriya or Vaisya caste. Those who have not been good in the material world will be given the birth of an animal such as a pig or a dog. The soul is given multiple births as a punishment for greater sins such as killing of a person belonging to upper caste. There is a “Third Place” (pg. 14) for such souls who do not manage to enter either Divayana or Pitriyana. Such souls are reborn in the form of flies, insects and gnats etc. Buddhists also believe in the concept of reincarnation. In the Tibetan Book of the Dead (pg. 151) in the life after death the soul is made aware of his good and bad actions. If the soul has not been able to attain spirituality, it is sent back in the physical world. The process of rebirth and death will continue till the time the soul is spiritually enlightened. It is for these reason the Buddhists believe that the best medium for a soul to attain spirituality is the physical body. As mentioned in Encyclopedia Britannica (1990, pg. 814) and by Peter Clark (1999, pg. 64) Zoroastrians on the other hand do not support the concept of reincarnation like Hindus and Buddhists do. According to them the souls will be united with their physical bodies on the Judgment Day. What is the significance of life after death according to the three religions? According to Sivananda (2000, pg. 38) Hinduism believes that perfection cannot be attained in a single life. The souls depart from the physical bodies and are sent towards their respective destinations according to the nature of their actions. The life after death is a means to punish or reward a person for his good or bad deeds in the world. Once the rewards and punishments are finished the souls are again sent back to the world and are given an opportunity to perfect themselves. According to Glin-pa and Evans Wentz (2000, pg. 151), in Buddhism the life after death is a means to make the soul realize her good and bad deeds. The realization of these deeds is very essential in order to attain spiritual enlightenment. Those souls who recognize the Clear Bright Light of the god Buddha become enlightened. Others are sent back to the world for realization of the Truth. Once the soul is reborn it should not forget its experience in the bardo. The soul should learn from this experience and try to attain enlightenment. As stated by Peter Clark (1999, pg. 63) the life after death in Zoroastrianism is solely meant for the purpose of rewarding and punishing the souls for their actions in the physical world. Goods deeds take the soul to heaven and bad ones take the soul to hell. Conclusion: Hinduism and Buddhism have a lot in common as compared to Zoroastrianism. Both Hinduism and Buddhism believe that life after death is not permanent and as such believe in the concept of reincarnation. In both the religions the purpose of life after death is to make the soul realize the thoughts, words and actions he has performed in the world. However, like Zoroastrian view Hindus do believe in rewarding and punishment of the souls after death. For Zoroastrians, the life after death experience is an eternal one and the souls will be united with their bodies on the Judgment Day. The concept of life after death is an essential belief of Hinduism, Buddhism and Zoroastrianism. It is one of the fundamental concepts of the three religions. The purpose of the existence of the physical world becomes meaningless without accepting the significance of the after life world. It is this reason through which the importance of the life after death becomes self evident. References: Britannica, Encyclopedia. “Hell”, Micropaedia, Vol.5. 15th Edition , Encyclopedia Britannica Inc. (1990). Pg. 814. Clark, P. “Zoroastrianism, An Introduction to an Ancient Faith”, Sussex Academic Pr, (January 1999). Pg. 63-64. Glin-pa. K and Evans-Wentz, W.Y. “The Tibetan Book of the Dead”, Oxford University Press, US. (2000). Pg. 63-64. Sivananda, S.S. “What Becomes of the Soul After Death”, Divine Life Society Publications, (2000). Pg. 12-38. Subranubiyaswami. S.S. “Dancing With Siva, Hinduism Contemporary Catechism”, Himalayan Academy, USA. (2000). Pg. 127-155. Zaehner, R. C. “The Teachings of the Magi”, Oxford University Press, N.Y. (1976). Pg. 134. Read More