The Afterlife

What happens when we die? Many religions have different believes on what will happen to people when they die. The ancient Egyptians believed when the body died, parts of its soul known as ka (body double) and the ba (personality) would go to the Kingdom of the Dead. While the soul lived in the Fields of Aaru, Osirus demanded work as pay back for the protection he provided. Statues were placed in the tombs to serve as substitutes for the dead. To go into the after life, a sin free heart was needed. And the ability to recite the spells and passwords from The Book of Dead was also needed. The deceased persons  heart was weighed against the Shu feather of truth and justice, taken from the headdress of the goddess Ma' at. If the heart weighed lighter than the feather, the deceased could pass on to the after life. If it was heavier, the dead would be eaten by the demon called Ammit. Egyptians also believed that being mummified was the only way to have an afterlife. Only if the corpse had been properly wrapped and put in a mastaba, could the dead live again in the Fields of Yalu. The Book of the Dead was placed in the tomb with the dead, also food and jewelery was placed in the tomb. To the Egyptians, death was just temporary.

Christians believe after the soul leaves the body, it journeys to hell. There are exceptions, such as the Virgin Mary who was born by the angels in heaven. As for the rest, we must remain in this condition of waiting. Because some have a vision of the glory to come and others forget their suffering. The state of waiting is called "Particular Judgement". They believe that when Christ returns their soul will rejoin their body and will be judged by Him, this is called "The Final Judgement". The good and faithful servant will inherit eternal life, the unfaithful with the unbeliever will spend eternity in hell. Their sins and their unbelief will torture them as fire.

Sikhs also believe in reincarnation.They believe that the soul belongs to the spiritual universe. The amount of good done in life will store up blessings, and then when one dies they are united with God. A soul may need to live many lives before it is one with God. There are four classes that are included in this belief. Above these four classes is God Waheguru and the soul can choose to stay with him it wishes, or take another step and go to its people and serve them. Below these four classes are non-humans such as plants and viruses. Souls move up and down according to their deeds, a good life and death moves them up to a higher class and a bad life and death ends in going down a class.