Cultural view of life after death - Essay Example

Cultural views of life after death Cultures fundamentally derive their concept of death and the life after it from the religion of the owners of culture. Death, in general, is perceived as “the cessation of the connection between our mind and our body” (Death and Dying, 2007). In this paper, I shall be comparing the concept of death and life after death from the perspective of the American culture and the Indian culture. In the American culture, death means the interface between this world and the world hereafter.

Most people believe that they will be raised again on the Day of Judgment and will be escorted to heaven or hell as per their deeds in this world. From the point of entering the grave till the Day of Judgment, the body will remain in the grave while the soul will be taken to God.In the Indian culture, death means start of a new life. Indians believe that every human being has to die several times before ultimately extinguishing from Earth. Samsara is the word used for this (Islam and Hinduism, n.d.).

They also believe that an individual may not live every life as a human. What a person will be in the next live depends on his/her deeds in this life (YGo Hinduism, 2005). So a person may be raised as a dog or a pig if he/she has been a bad human being in the preceding life. This is predominantly the Hindu belief of death and post-death life. References:Death and Dying. (2007). What is Death. Retrieved from http://www.death-and-dying.org/what-is-death.htm/. Islam and Hinduism. (n.d.). Life after death in Hinduism.

Retrieved from http://www.islamandhinduism.com/ih/Life%20after%20death.html. YGo Hinduism. (2005). Hindu Views on Death and Dying. Retrieved from http://hinduism.ygoy.com/hindu-ideology/view.php.