In all centuries, the question of whether there is an afterlife exists to this day. This question cannot be convincingly answered either positively or negatively. In the minds of different peoples, it is told in different ways, but, of course, there are similar features. One of these features is the idea of the eternal life of the human soul, of its immortality. The similarity is also observed in the relationship between earthly affairs and their result in another life. Consider some of the interpretations of the afterlife.
In Christianity, the afterlife is presented in two dimensions: Ada and Paradise. After death, the soul of a person is separated from the body and appears before the judgment of the Lord. The Supreme separates the souls of the righteous from the souls of sinners, the former fall into the abode of eternal bliss, Paradise, the latter - into the fiery hyena - Hell. According to some, there is also Purgatory, a stage that must be passed in order to get to Paradise. In purgatory, an eternal fire also burns, but this time it purifies souls, unworthy of Paradise, but righteous enough for Hell.
Judaism does not set clear boundaries, thereby dividing good and evil, the world of eternal bliss from the world of suffering. He preaches peace on Earth, our future life, life with rebirth for the sake of improvement.
In ancient Greek mythologies, the afterlife is described as an extension of earthly life. The soul was separated from the body, and those souls that received the gift of immortals from the gods were sent to the island of Beatitudes. The rest of the souls descended into the kingdom of eternal darkness - Hades.
In the view of the Aztecs, it was a line of obstacles, only after passing which it was possible to get into the kingdom of the dead. If a ruler died, both his wives and some of the children had to die to accompany him on the path to eternity.
For the Egyptians, the afterlife, Dauth, continued after death. Her strength returned to the soul. Before entering another world, the souls of the dead waited for judgment from Osiris, who weighed their earthly deeds. Souls after the trial are divided into three groups. The first, who committed many sins in life, were thrown to be eaten. The latter, for whom good and evil were equally divided, began work with Osiris. Still others, who had more good deeds than evil, were endowed with the power of the gods.
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Among the ancient Slavs, the word "death" was personified with eternal sleep and deep darkness. But also, they believed that the soul of the deceased is capable of walking on the ground, touching and dropping objects, eating. Therefore, various dishes from home were brought to the grave of the dead to feed the dead.
In the afterlife of ancient China, there were estates, as in earthly life. The position of the deceased was determined by how richly he was collected for the journey, how many jewelry they put at his feet in his grave. The ruler lived best of all in the next world.
Hindus believed that each person and his soul lives only once. Reincarnation was a myth for them. In the afterlife, the souls of people who committed evil deeds on earth go to Hell, and people with good deeds go to Paradise.
The Chinese religion Taoism interprets us that a person has several souls, which after death are divided into two groups. The first group falls into the world of eternal bliss, into a kind of Christian Paradise.
But the very bliss there can be achieved only through self-improvement, otherwise one's own "I" will be lost, and souls will fall into the bodies of animals. The second group falls into a kind of Hell. But the Chinese are trying to bring this group of souls to the top through self-improvement.
Bahá'í teachings understand the afterlife in a very different way. They understand the posthumous Hell and Paradise not as a place where evil and good souls live, but as a state of mind. Paradise, in their understanding, is closeness to something divine, peace of mind and peace. Hell is the eternal restlessness of the soul, distance from the deity. Such a state of mind in the Bahá'í teachings passes from the world of the living to the afterlife.
For Maya, like the Aztecs, the transition to the afterlife was one of the most difficult trials. They believed that in order to get into the world of shadows, the soul must first go down to the underworld, where it had to pass tests. Only the one who passed them had the right to approach the black river, which would ferry the soul of the deceased to Xybald.
In the minds of the Mesoamerican Indians, the souls of the dead were divided not by their deeds, good or evil, but by reason of death. The soul of a warrior who fell on the battlefield fell into the house to the sun. For four years the souls of the warriors were in the gardens of the sun, and after these years, they returned to earth, being reborn into beautiful birds. Women who died during childbirth fell to Mais. Those who died from water-related diseases, drowned or were killed by lightning, fell to Tlaloc. This place was fertile. For souls not worthy of beautiful places, a separate corner was allocated - Miktlan. Eternal darkness reigned there, and the souls of the dead were like shadows.
However, there is no scientific statement about the existence of an afterlife, and each religion interprets it differently.