Heaven and Rebirth
Heaven and Hell
Fundamentally, the concept of Heaven is a place in the
"afterlife" in which humans, or rather the souls of departed
humans, journey to for ever-lasting existence. It is a place
where we might rejoin our long-lost loved ones and family,
a place of festivity, peace and joy.
Heaven is the place where we are rewarded for our good
deeds and behavior in this life. It is generally accepted
that people who are kind, generous and helpful and respectful
to their fellow man, and further committed to their God and his
(their) teachings, are somehow assured their place in Heaven.
In many religions there is a single Heaven, while in some
there are many levels of heaven. In some cases, the level of
Heaven you attain may be based on the level of "goodness" you
exhibited in life.
If Heaven is the destination for those who are "good" in life
there must also be a counterpart for those who are "bad". Of course
this "place" has become known as "Hell".
Hell is the antithesis, or direct opposite, of Heaven. Hell is
an unkind and cruel place, filled with fire, demons, unimaginable pain
and despair. It is the place where "bad" people are said to go, to pay
for their misdeeds in life. And like Heaven, Hell is a place where you
are doomed to an everlasting existence, although not a pleasant one,
but rather one of horrible pain and torture.
This is a greatly simplified and brief discussion on "Heaven" of course. Many
scholars and theologians have written countless volumes on the concept
of Heaven, Hell and our lives after death. I do not claim to be an expert
on the subject and would urge the reader to do their own research within their
own belief structure to seek out and come to their own understanding.
Rebirth
The concept of Rebirth, or "reincarnation", is a belief held by many
world religions. In an effort to understand where "we" go after our
life on earth ends, many eastern religions accept the idea that we are
reborn into a new existence on earth.
Called "Samsara" in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, and many other
religions, this is the cycle of life, death and rebirth. Into what life you
are reborn depends largely on what kind of life you have led in previous lives.
If you were "good" you might be reborn into an elevated position in life, and if
"bad" might be reborn into the life of a lower order of animal.
What determines your place in future life is a function of "Karma".
"Karma" is the law of moral causation. It is what determines your fate and destiny
based on your accumulated actions throughout life. It is said that "good" deeds
will result in good Karma, while bad deeds will almost certainly result in bad karma.
Good karma might help assure a good result in a future life, while bad karma might
guarantee and less desirable result. Karma was an accepted concept in Hinduism in India,
and later became a fundamental doctrine in Buddhism.
Some think that reincarnation is a "second opportunity" to achieve something you failed
to achieve in the current or past life. In this sense Samsara may be greeted warmly, although
in Buddhism the process of rebirth is largely considered a burden, a weight to bear
throughout time in repeated cycles of death and rebirth. Buddhists therefore to seek
to break this cycle. To end the cycle of death and rebirth is to reach a state of "Nirvana".
Popular definitions of Nirvana are that it is a state of absolute harmony, peace and bliss.
This definition is somewhat accurate, although Hindus and Buddhists view
Nirvana somewhat differently.
In Hindusim Nirvana is a state of happiness and bliss achieved by liberating oneself
from earthly evils. In Buddhism, life is considered to be a state of suffering. All
life is suffering, so the process of life, death and rebirth just extends human suffering
endlessly. Buddhists seek to end this cycle of life and suffering by achieving a state of
Nirvana.
To the Buddhist, Nirvana is a state of nothingness that can be achieved by eliminating
all human desires, attachments to material things,beliefs and opinions. Only by breaking these
attachments and realizing the impermanent and transient nature of life and the self are
we free achieve enlightenment,and only through this state of enlightenment can we
reach Nirvana, thereby ending human suffering.
