Things that really happen after we die cannot be guessed ordinarily without one having some supernatural connections as determining factor. What happens when you die is perhaps one of the greatest mysteries on Earth, simply because none of us know the answer and yet all of us will experience death and maybe rebirth, eventually.
In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes. At one time or another, most people wonder what will happen when they die. Death feels frightening and mysterious, and perspectives on what happens and what it means vary significantly.
The afterlife has historically had an important role in cultures all over the world. Greek and Roman mythology described it as an underworld. Vikings talked about Valhalla, a paradise. Chinese mythology refers to the Diyu, or hell. Many of the Great Plains tribes saw it as a “happy hunting ground.”
Even before recorded history, people buried the dead with food, weapons, valuables and other useful items. The living apparently thought the dead would need these things after death, implying a belief in an afterlife.
Things That Really Happen After We Die
What exactly are the things that really happen after we die? This question is not a direct one as it comes differently through different interpretations which are sourced in different perspectives and fields. Let us however look into some of the various sources of knowledge through which the consciousness of things that really happen after we die is understood!
1. Science and Medicine
People who study science and medicine have come to very different conclusions about the afterlife. Some think that to believe in science means the supernatural, including life after death, is not possible. Others believe that science proves, or at least points to, the possibility of life after death.
Physicist Stephen Hawking compared death to a computer that stops working when it breaks. He thought of the afterlife as a fairytale.
In contrast, Nobel-Prize-winning physicist Max Planck believed physics shows that consciousness is not a product of physical matter (such as brain cells). Since it exists outside of physical matter, it could outlast physical death.
Others argue that the first law of thermodynamics, which states that energy and matter cannot be created or destroyed, means life cannot end at death.
Doctors and scientists have also studied the experiences of people who have been declared clinically dead, only to be revived later. One large-scale scientific study, by a team from the University of Southampton in England, found evidence of consciousness during a period of cardiac arrest and no brain activity.
Based on research and case studies like this, some scientists have concluded there must be life after death.
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2. Philosophy
Philosophy also has a lot to say on this subject. Ancient philosophers like Aristotle and Plato believed that when the body died, the soul lived on. Years later, Immanuel Kant concluded that morality requires life after death as well as the existence of a just judge.
Atheist philosophers like Marx, Lenin and Nietzsche did not believe in an afterlife. They viewed belief in an afterlife as in conflict with living life to its fullest.
3. Religion
Religion is one of the most common ways people answer the question of “what happens when you die?” There are many different religions and almost as many beliefs about the afterlife, even if it’s that no afterlife exists.
Though the specifics differ, many religions have similar themes, such as reincarnation, heaven, hell, enlightenment or some combination of these. Some religions have very consistent beliefs across all followers. Other religious teachings leave more open to interpretation, which can result in a wide variety of beliefs among members.
- Christianity
Followers of Jesus believe that there is an afterlife and that Christ is not only the key to life and love on this earth, He is the key to what will happen when you die. The Bible teaches that when people die, their souls live on. People will spend eternity either with God (commonly called heaven) or separated from God (commonly called hell).
- Islam
Muslims believe people have immortal souls. After death, the destination of the soul depends on a person’s good and bad deeds. Islam teaches that everyone will be resurrected (be raised to life again) and face final judgment. People who are faithful and good will enter paradise. People who are unfaithful and wicked will enter hell.
- Judaism
Some Jewish people believe only the faithful and good will enter the afterlife but that the afterlife is open to good people of any worldview. Others believe there will be a resurrection of everyone that will include a judgment of every person’s good and bad deeds to determine their eternal fate.
But many Jewish people do not believe in hell.
- Hinduism
Hinduism includes a large variety of beliefs and practices and is both a religion and a culture. The core Hindu belief about what happens after death focuses on reincarnation. Most Hindus believe in an eternal, immortal soul that is reincarnated at death based on its actions in life, known as its karma. The consequences of karma are automatic and cannot be avoided.
- Baha’i
The Baha’i faith teaches that at death, the body dies, but the immortal, rational soul continues on in the spiritual realm and grows toward perfection. The prayers of people still on earth and good deeds done in the name of the person who died can help a soul make progress in the next world.
