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24. What happens When We Die? © 2023

All religions have a version of an after life, and what happens to the individual upon entering it. Even Atheism doesn't exclude an after life or existence after the death of the body, they merely draw the line at there being a Supreme Being, instead believing that none exists. That being the case doesn't necessarily mean that spirits don't exist however, although they may not have a definite belief in that regard either. It depends on the individual, but many do indeed recognize that the Supernatural can and does occur, just not necessarily in relation to any form of a Godhead.

Hinduism is often considered the Earth's oldest religion said to have begun with the Vedas, which were transmitted only orally and later written and are guessed as being 3000 to 3500 years old. They are a collection of poems or hymns composed in archaic Sanskrit by Indo-European-speaking peoples who lived in northwest India during the 2nd millennium BCE. But it cannot be forgotten that the Tamil cultures of Southern India also existed and had their own forms of spirituality that although not necessarily written could still easily have existed by word of mouth. History claim this impossible and unproven, yet the oral traditions have existed at least as long as any Sanskrit writings. These many various beliefs came to eventually be considered to be within Hinduism despite the many regional differences that have always existed.

With all of this history there were of course beliefs in what came at death, and after death, and even the remains of Neanderthals denote burial rituals which suggest some form of religion although we have no details about them. The Atman or Soul is eternal and is also bound by reincarnation and karma, meaning that the choices made in the previous life, determine what awaits them in the next, with the ultimate goal being to achieve Jivan Mukti and freedom from karma and reincarnation. That requires purposeful attention and effort, things found to be in common among all humanity.

The Jains, Buddhists, Sikhs and adherents to Sant Mat all have these same conditions and requirements to achieve freedom, with some differences in relation to one another, but much in common throughout. The various Rishis, Gurus, Soamis and Sants are the spiritually advanced guides that can help other Souls achieve these states of freedom, and this same methodology is found throughout much of the world, although the individual given the job of guiding Soul is sometimes one that no longer walks the Earth in some paths. All seek that end spiritual state but using different terms, though some are similar. In Hinduism Moksha is sought, for Jains it is Nirvana. Sikhs call this state Nirban, Mukti or Moksh. Sant Mat uses many of these terms but Using Jivan Mukti to mean gaining release from karma and reincarnation in a single lifetime which makes that one a Guru/Sant who is fit to teach the way to others. The Sikhs see the Guru as the one who leads them while in Sat Mat a living Sant takes on this job. It is notable that Sant Mat began with Kabir who was born a Muslim but became initiated by a Hindu before traveling inwardly himself and exploring all the planes and attaining what might is called by some, God Realization. He like the younger Guru Nanak viewed religions as having the same Source in common and because of this view both were considered high spiritual beings in multiple religions. Kabir was one of the founding Gurus of what became Sikhism under Nanak, who also was a Hindu from youth.

Taoism and Confucianism though existing in the same places, had different views of what happens. Taoism has both karma and reincarnation with the same requirements acting as the motivation to improve one's point of view and choices or actions so as to earn a better situation. Confucianism doesn't really have that same view though the responsibility of acting rightly is important. In their view the emperor has the Mandate of Heaven and is therefore the individual that stands at the crossroads between life and the Divine, with the Divine expressing Itself through the emperor.

Buddhism has the same ideas about the afterlife as many other Eastern religions, those based on karma and reincarnation and affecting the state of the next life and the conditions therein. For the Buddhist, the seeking of enlightenment and the eventual state of Nirvana in the afterlife, which frees that Soul from karma and reincarnation is the goal of life. They place a great deal of importance on detachment as being one aspect of achieving this balanced and advanced spiritual state with Siddartha Gautama being the example followed and emulated to move toward Nirvikalpa Samadhi, the highest state of Nirvana.

The three Abrahamic paths, Judaism, Christianity and Islam all came after the influence of the Persians and their religion, which early on would conquer nations and tribes or areas, but would then accept some of that region's religious view into their own. This worked as a unifying factor despite the fact that they'd been conquered, making it much easier to swallow since it would rather introduce wider concepts to them while using the forms already familiar to them which overall made the newly conquered peoples more willing to accept this new way of life with less of a hassle. The Persians knew that this method worked far better than simply conquering a group and then instilling a whole new and different religio-spiritual view than what had been practiced previously by influencing them to believe in the newer religious tenets they brought.

The Persians introduced judgement on the things done in life by Ahura Mazda. Angra Mainyu, the source of negativity would have tried to sway humans toward misfortune so as to ruin the general outcome of this judgement after life, and it is this concept that came to influence the views of the Abrahamic religions, each of which had the judgement by the entity they named as God and then the outcome of that judgement, most often deciding where they would then go, either to the positive realm or the negative. Under the control of Ahura Mazda, YHWH, or Allah on the positive side which included the House of Songs in Zarathustraism, the 7 Heavens of Judaism (Vilon (וילון), Raki'a (רקיע),Shehaqim (שחקים), Zebul (זבול), Ma'on (מעון), Machon (מכון),and Araboth (ערבות), Heaven to the Christians (7 are never mentioned but 2nd Corinthians speaks of a 3rd Heaven, and the Coptic Apocalypse of Paul has him ascending through 10 Heavens, included also in the Book of Enoch though the Coptic Marsanes mentions 13 seals which are taken to be levels of Heaven including the physical world, making it sound very much the same as being planes or Loks found in the Eastern religions) or finally to Paradise as viewed by the Muslims. The plane structures of the Eastern religions are by some thought to be relative to these different levels of the afterlife though not all agree on much of anything making definitive distinctions between those they consider truthful while generally seeing all others as being false.

The negative side also exists for each, Angra Mainyu's House of Lies, Sheol the underground world of the dead for both the righteous and the unrighteous alike, which is sometimes spoken of as the etymological source of Hell but is different for the Jews in that not only evil exists there. Christianity has Hell of course and Islam has its Jahannam, both for the unrighteous or unsaved, and where both believe that all others who have not accepted their religion inevitably end up. The Sufis that exist within Islam view this differently and in many ways much closer to religions such as Sant Mat, where the individual Soul can by purpose of choice and will, learn to reach higher and more perfected levels through their practice.

Each religion views thier way to be the most direct and effective, although there is great debate about this between them all. But each have a view as to what happens to the Soul upon the death of the physical, each expressing different qualities required to end up in any place or state of being as described by them.

This brings us to the more modern religion Eckankar, which has roots within several religions from the East, but primarily Sikhism from its term Ek Ong Kar which to them means the creation of one God or there is only one God. From this phrase came the name Ekankar as practiced by earlier Sant Mat groups, which Paul Twitchell changed to Eckankar, to be discerned as different than the other somewhat similar paths. We use the term to mean the way to become a conscious co-worker with the one God. We recognize a minimum of 14 planes with each having an individual initiation level that develops and ever greater/wider state of consciousness and being. Also having and dealing with karma and reincarnation, but as a way of learning and developing into ever more refined states and initiation. Upon the death of the physical, the Mahanta, the inner form of the Living ECK Master escorts that Soul to the proper place or level that they earned in life. This means that the initiation level tells where they actually go when the Mahanta escorts them beyond death, a thing they've spent practicing through the Spiritual Exercises of ECK. Each individual has the responsibility of doing their own work to earn the place they will inhabit, though that is not necessarily a static place and the spiritual development continues after death.

The one factor is that Physical Plane life is the fastest (and most harsh) way to develop one's self spiritually. This puts everything in their own hands based on the choices they make for themselves. In the end the choices for what happens after death are rather vast with numerous distinctions between each flavor that people have. How do you view it as being?