Afterlife exists
All major world religions are similar in that: there is an afterlife. And it is necessary to prepare for the transition to the next world right now, in this world, because it is here, in earthly life, where it is ultimately decided where the soul falls.
In all religions, Heaven and Hell are described in their own way, but in general terms, these stories are similar to each other, differ only in some details.
According to research by scientists, ideas about the afterlife are completely present among all peoples who have lived or are living now on our planet.
Despite many attempts, it was not possible to find a single, even the most primitive tribe, completely devoid of at least some faith in the other world.
In the most remote corners of the planet, among the wildest and most primitive peoples, there were nevertheless rituals, one way or another connected with the veneration of the spirits of dead ancestors.
Often in ancient burials next to the bodies of deceased people, their tribesmen put weapons, luxury items or household items, believing that all this would be useful to the deceased in the other world.
For all peoples, funerals are considered an extremely important and serious ritual that requires the most careful execution. After all, if you bury the deceased not according to the rules, then his soul will certainly begin to come to his relatives in dreams, taking revenge for the shown inattention and disrespect.
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It is in dreams that the connection between the world of the dead and the world of living people takes place. All peoples have myths and legends in which the souls of dead people in one way or another contact with living people.
People's faith in the world of spirits does not testify to the backwardness of certain peoples, but, on the contrary, shows that even the darkest and most uneducated savages sooner or later still asked questions: how this world works, why and how we appeared on light and what place do we have in this life?
The centuries-old experience of communicating with the souls of deceased people in dreams did not pass without a trace. The knowledge gained in this way gradually formed into one general teaching about the other world.
The most interesting thing is that, despite the fact that every nation is trying to find the truth on its own, as a result, everyone has got almost the same thing. The difference was only in the names and in some insignificant details.
The Egyptians called the kingdom of the dead Duat; the Sumerians and Babylonians - "a country of no return", the underworld of Chur; the Greeks believed that the god Hades ruled the underworld; the Etruscans called the god of the land of the dead Eith; the Romans by Pluto; the Aztecs called the world of the dead Mikltan; the peoples of Central America - the land of shadows; Jews - fiery hell; among the Hindus, the god of the kingdom of the dead was called Yama; Christians believe that after death all the dead go to either Heaven or Hell.
Representations of the High Court in different religions
In all religions, there is the idea that in the other world the souls of dead people are in different conditions - the righteous enjoy, and the sinners are tormented.
In ancient times, during the funeral of their kings and leaders near the body of the deceased, they buried the bodies of slaves, servants and wives, believing that in this way their master would arrive in the other world not alone, but with his retinue and servants, who would continue to serve him, as in this world.
It was believed that the one who was the king during his life, and after death will remain the same, and the one who was a slave, and in the next world will suffer and suffer.
However, such a primitive idea of another world existed only among insufficiently enlightened, backward peoples. For example, the ancient Sumerians and Babylonians believed that after death, the soul of a person, once in the underground city of the dead Chicken, appears before the court, presided over by the gods from the upper world. They explained to the deceased what laws and orders prevail in the other world, and pronounced a sentence on him - where he would live next and what he would do.
At first, the Sumerians believed that all the souls of the dead suffer in the afterlife in the same way - they end up in a "country of no return," from where there is no way back, and they suffer and suffer forever in complete oblivion.
In the ancient text "A Conversation of a Master with a Slave" there are such lines: "Go up, walk through the ruins of the ancients to see the skulls of the last and the first: who was the villain and who was the benefactor?" Say, death made everyone equal and the first and the last.
In the later Sumerian and Babylonian texts, the other world is described in a different way - there was a division into the righteous and sinners.
Sinners found themselves in a dark, gloomy place, where they suffered without food or food. They were deprived of many human joys - they could not caress their wives and children, be loved.
The righteous, to whom were those who led a decent life on Earth, had a large family or died on the battlefield, had a different attitude - they received food and water and in special cases could “go up” for a while and communicate with living people.
The ancient Egyptians imagined the scene of the judgment after death as follows: the god Anubis removes the heart from the body of the deceased in order to weigh it at the judgment of Osiris. Osiris is the god of the dead and the king of the afterlife.
When the deceased is brought to trial, the god Osiris weighs the heart of the deceased on a scale, where on one bowl lies the image of the goddess Maat, and on the other - the heart. If the deceased turned out to be a worthy person, then he fell into Iara - the afterlife, the fields of Paradise.
Believers in the ancient Iranian god Mithra believed that after death, the soul of a person first ascends to the top of the mountain of justice Hare, and after that it must try to go to Paradise via the Chinvat Bridge.
On this bridge, the god Mithra, together with his brothers, judged each newcomer. On one side of the scale were placed all the good thoughts of a person and his noble deeds, and on the other side - all his black and unseemly deeds, actions and thoughts.
If the cup outweighed with kindness, then the narrow Chinvat Bridge expanded and became convenient for passage - the righteous, crossing it, entered Paradise.
If the cup with evil outweighed, then the bridge, on the contrary, narrowed to a thin line, and the sinner, unable to resist, fell down and into the abyss.
In Islam, the role of judges is played by two Angels - Mun-kar and Nakir, who begin to interrogate the dead right in the graves. If the deceased turned out to be a true believer, then the Angels leave him alone until the resurrection. Angels began to beat the infidels as long as Allah wanted. This is how it is described in the Qur'an: "If you saw how the Angels end the lives of those who did not believe, they hit them in the face and on the back:" Taste the punishment of the fire! " (8: 52).
Then, when, by the will of Allah, the time of the last judgment comes, all the dead will rise and appear before God, who will determine who to send to Paradise (al-Jannah) and who to Hell (Jannaham).
In Judaism, the judgment of sinners is postponed until the very resurrection. This is how it is described in the Book of Daniel: “And many of those sleeping in the dust of the Earth will awaken, some for eternal life, others for eternal reproach and shame. And the prudent ones will shine like the stars in the firmament, and those who have turned many to the truth - like the stars, forever, forever”(Dan 12: 2-3).
According to Buddhist beliefs, the human soul is eternal and after death, after being reborn, again and again returns to Earth. The souls of sinners go to Hell, so that, after accepting torment, they can be cleansed of everything black and bad. After a while, these souls return to Earth again.
The righteous, after death, fall into nirvana, from where they no longer return. Nirvana is a special state of mind, eternal bliss.
According to Christian teachings, “at the end of time” Jesus Christ will administer judgment over humanity, who for this will descend to Earth for the second time. To the loud sounds of angelic trumpets, Jesus will sit on the throne, before which will gather all the nations who have ever lived on the planet.
And the judgment will take place - the righteous, accompanied by the Angels, will go to Paradise, and the sinners will be forcibly carried away by demons to Hell for eternal torment.
Hell or Gehenna?
Note, there is a clear distinction in the Bible between hell (Sheol) and Gehenna. Sheol is a common name for the afterlife, a coffin, a grave, where both sinners and righteous are after death. Gehenna, on the other hand, is exactly what we call hell today, that is, a certain area where sinful souls suffer in ice and fire.
Initially, even the souls of the Old Testament righteous dwelt in hell, but Jesus descended after them down to the last, lowest circle of hell, and took them with him to the Kingdom of Heaven. The word "Gehenna" comes from the real geographical name of the valley near Jerusalem, where the bodies of fallen animals and executed criminals were burned, and sacrifices were made to Moloch.
Purgatory
1439 - at the Florentine Cathedral, the Catholic Church officially made a deal with God and adopted the dogma of purgatory - probably not without the influence of Dante, who was already long dead at that time. People did not want to find themselves immediately in hell and experience eternal torment without the possibility of redemption.
The tale of purgatory originated among the people (in Old Testament times), Pope Gregory I at the end of the 6th century recognized the justice of the innovation, Thomas Aquinas and Dante systematized it, and the church went to meet people and gave them a chance for salvation.
According to Catholic-Christian views, this is an intermediate place in the other world between Paradise and Hell. After the judgment, all the dead are divided into three groups - the righteous immediately go to Paradise, the sinners go to Hell, and the rest go to Purgatory.
Souls who are not burdened with mortal sins enter Purgatory, and after burning in a cleansing fire that expiates their sins, these souls gain access to Paradise.
The medieval poet Dante Alighieri described Purgatory in his famous "Divine Comedy" as follows: Purgatory is on Earth, in the middle of the ocean. In Purgatory there are 7 circles in each of which the soul of the deceased gets rid of one of the seven deadly sins.
Sinners begin their journey from the very foot of the Mountain, and, having reached the top, having received complete purification, they then rush to Heaven.
At first, the messenger of God with a sword on the forehead of everyone who came to Purgatory drew 7 letters "P" (from the Latin word "peccatum" - sin). As the circles of Purgatory progressed, these letters had to be erased from the face, meaning that sin was completely atoned for.
Those who died under church excommunication gather at the foot of Mount Purgatory.
On the first ledge of Pre Purgatory there are the negligent.
The second ledge Before Purgatory is the careless, who died a violent death.
In the first circle of Purgatory there were people who suffered from pride - kings, rulers, famous artists, those who thirsted for power and glory and boasted about it.
On the second tier there were envious people.
On the third - angry.
On the fourth - sad.
Fifth - misers and profligates.
On the sixth, the gluttons.
On the seventh - voluptuous.
The device of the underworld
In the kingdom of the dead, according to the beliefs of the ancient Egyptians, it was possible to get by boat along the Nile River, which was also the river of the underworld. At first, the voyage is calm, but then a steep descent into the depths of the Duat begins, the water in the river suddenly disappears, and then the boat, with the help of magical divine spells, glides right on the sand.
The Sumerians and Babylonians believed that it was possible to get to the underworld of Chur only by crossing the river with the help of a boatman - a guide of souls to the other world.
Having crossed the river, the deceased found himself in front of the city, which was surrounded by seven high walls. To get to the city, you had to go through 7 gates. The gatekeeper Neto kept the gate locked so that no one could enter the afterlife and could not leave it.
To get to the city of the dead, the deceased had to bring gifts and sacrifices to 7 underground deities. Before each gate, it was necessary to take off some kind of jewelry or clothing, therefore, having reached the goal, the traveler remained completely naked and in this form appeared before Ereshkigal - the wife of the ruler of the underworld Nergal.
The ancient Greeks believed that it was possible to get into the underworld of Hades by crossing the Arakhent River. The gloomy carrier of souls Charon, who came to Greek mythology from Babylonian and Sumerian legends, transported the souls of the dead to the other shore on his boat.
In order for the deceased to settle accounts with Charon, a coin was placed in his grave during his burial.
The Scandinavians believed that there are 9 worlds, one of them, the middle, is Midgard - our Earth. The dead are divided into two categories - heroes and everyone else. There are no other principles, no sinners and righteous. The rest have only one way: if you die, go to hell, Helheim.
Helheim itself is only part of a larger world, Niflheim, one of the first worlds that gave rise to Midgard. Niflheim is cold and uncomfortable, eternal ice and fog reign there, and its most unpleasant part, Helheim itself, is headed by the goddess Hel, the daughter of the cunning Loki.
Helheim is very similar to the Greek Hades. Unless the latter has a male ruler. The analogy is not difficult to draw. In Hades, you can cross the river Styx on Charon's boat, and to Helheim - across the river Gyol. Through the latter, however, a bridge was built, vigilantly guarded by the giantess Modgud and the four-eyed dog Garm. And what is the name of Garm in ancient Greek mythology … that's right, Cerberus.
The device of Hell
According to the beliefs of the Hindus, in the kingdom of the god of death Yama there are from 7 to 28 hells, in each of which sinners are punished for special deeds and actions.
Robbers and adulterers are tormented in Hell tamiera.
In the Andhatamier Hell there are egoists.
In Hell, Raurava, "an animal more cruel than snakes," tears to pieces alive those who tortured other living beings during their lifetime.
Cruel people are boiled in oil in the Kumbhipaka Hell.
Inhospitable and greedy people are turned into worms and placed in the Hell of Krimibhojana, filled with worms that eat everything and everyone. Etc.
The most impressive description of hell for the followers of Christianity is given in the immortal "Divine Comedy" by Dante Alighieri. The author describes his journey through Hell, Purgatory and Paradise. The ancient poet Virgil becomes Dante's guide on this incredible journey.
Hell, according to Dante's description, is located in a huge deep funnel, the bottom of which reaches the center of the Earth. On the walls of the funnel there are 9 tiers, 9 circles of hell, in each of which sinners of a certain kind languish.
In the very first upper circle, unbaptized babies and virtuous non-Christians are serving their sentences, whose fault is that they, for various reasons, could not follow the teachings of Jesus.
In this circle, Dante met many outstanding figures of antiquity who died long before the appearance of Jesus Christ on Earth and, naturally, therefore could not become Christians.
Poets and writers met in the first circle of Ada Alighieri.
The second circle of Hell contains the voluptuous.
The third circle is the refuge of the gluttons.
The fourth circle is a place for misers and profligates.
In the fifth circle of Hell there is a fetid Stygian swamp, in which the angry are executed.
The sixth circle is a place of torture for heretics who denied the existence of God.
And the seventh circle of Hell punishes violence in all its manifestations.
The eighth circle is the place of execution of deceivers: pimps and seducers, holy merchants, soothsayers, bribe-takers, hypocrites, thieves, crafty advisers …
The ninth is the lowest circle of Hell. Those who have committed the most terrible sin are tormented there - they deceived those who trusted him: traitors to their relatives, traitors to their homeland and like-minded people, traitors to friends and companions, traitors to benefactors, traitors to the majesty of the Divine and human.
