Locating heaven, hell, and reincarnating…

If I were in the market for religion, I’d be asking is where heaven and hell are located in the various belief systems so I could best select my eternal residence. 

Sure, I know the Christian story, where heaven is described as a place of eternal bliss and joy in God’s presence. It’s often depicted as a celestial city with streets of gold and pearl (I’m not sure that’s my cup of tea), and where there is no pain, sorrow, or death. Some believe it’s “above” the Earth. Hell, on the other hand, is seen as a place of eternal punishment and torment, where the souls of the wicked go after death. It’s often described as a fiery inferno or a dark and desolate place. As you might guess, 

Hell is often thought to be located below or deep into the Earth. While the two places are located pretty much the same way, Muslims believe in staggering everything; their Heaven is said to have seven levels, each more beautiful than the last, but you must be a prophet or a martyr to get to Jannat, the highest level. In Islam Hell is called Jahannam, and it’s described as a place of eternal torment and suffering. It also has seven gates, and each one leads to a different level of punishment. The lowest and worst level of Jahannam is called Hawiyah, and it is said to be the abode of Satan a.k.a. Iblis. 

If Judaism thinks along the lines of Christianity, Eastern religions take a different take from their Abrahamic counterparts in the fact that instead of designating fixed locations, afterlife is expressed in terms of states of being. In Hinduism, Heaven, or Svarga, is a state of perfect happiness and peace, while hell, or Naraka, is a state of suffering and torment. Buddhism is all about Karma, the principle that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. This means that our thoughts, words, and deeds have consequences, and that we’ll eventually experience the results of our actions. Heaven, or Devaloka, is a state of happiness that arises from positive Karma. 

It offers peace, joy, and abundance. Devas, or celestial beings, are said to live in Devaloka; they enjoy long lives, beauty, and supernatural powers but are not free from suffering. They are still subject to the cycle of rebirth, and they eventually experience the results of their negative karma. Hell, or Naraka, is a state of suffering triggered from negative karma. It’s characterized by fear, anger, and violence. Narakas, or hell realms, are said to be located on lower planes of existence. They are filled with fire, torture, and plenty of suffering. 

The good news is that stays in Naraka don’t last forever. People eventually exhaust their negative karma and are reborn into a higher state of existence. This of course, brings me to re-incarnation, the belief that a soul is reborn after death into a new body. 

This is part of many religions, like Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism, to cite the major ones. In certain of these religions, one can be reincarnated into an animal, a bird, an insect, or an inanimate object. 

This is known as metempsychosis or transmigration. Hinduism believes that the soul can transmigrate through a vast range of life forms, from the highest gods and humans to the lowest animals and plants or even under the form of rocks and stones. Jainism limits the options to living creatures, including humans, animals, insects, and plants. In Tibetan Buddhism, it’s believed that the soul can be reborn into the realms of the gods, humans, animals, asuras (demons), or pretas (hungry ghosts). 

Tomorrow, we’ll talk about of life after death as it applies to domestic animals...