Every soul has a journey. I believe every life is an opportunity for that soul to learn and get closer to super-consciousness. The process of learning does not happen itself. It is our responsibility to the make the best use of this time we have got.
Life, Death and Number Line
The journey of a soul is like a number line. There are negative integer points (hell-like time) and positive integer points (heaven-like time). As a soul grows in each life, it advances on that number line, coming closer to the supreme state of consciousness. A soul that is moving forward is gaining greater control of where it will find itself – heaven or hell.
Heaven, Hell and Interval
I do not know whether heaven and hell are stations. To me, this same place where we are, is heaven for some and hell for others. Further, this solves the confusion of where do living beings other than humans go when they die. For a dog born to an animal lover’s pet, its new life is heaven. The parent makes sure that his or her pet gets good food and lots of love. But then, we can call each life a station. The soul spends some in this life growing. It leaves the station to take another life form to grow further.
Death: Related concepts
- Relativity: Like in life we equate our condition in relation to others, heaven and hell actually define each other. The offerings of one become the deprivation of the other.
- Karma: I believe heaven and hell should not be seen as fruits or prizes for what we do in this life. If heaven means greater control of your self, it is simply an effect, the cause being the learning in this life.
- End: The number line I talked about makes the journey of a soul a never-ending one. This makes sense because the limit of learning is infinity. When we talk of Nirvana, it is not an end. That is altogether a new journey.
I would like to thank Romila for making me think over the concept of Heaven and Hell…
This post is a reply to her post http://www.homeofbeliefs.com/heaven-or-hell/
“Nirvana (Enlightenment) is the supreme state free from suffering and individual existence.” – said to be the ultimate goal. “The attainment of nirvana breaks the otherwise endless rebirth cycle of reincarnation.” – Read this on a site on Buddhism.
If there is indeed a journey after Nirvana, then the point where we reached would probably not be ‘Nirvana’
I feel like compounding the confusion further, so maybe something coming up soon:))
Thanks Kalyani for enlightening me about the definition of Enlightenment. However, I am still firm on my belief that there is a journey after Nirvana. What enlightenment was for a prince in the sixth century BC may not be enlightenment for me. Moreover, the same prince was actually against the indoctrination of any concept.
I believe all of us are free to explore the meaning of enlightenment for ourselves. Siddhartha, after enlightenment, continued his journey. That was a new journey – his journey as Buddha.
Hoping to read you soon…
Hmm I understood that perspective Ankit:) and yes its Man’s Eternal Quest:) so we have to explore it on our own till the end….As for me am no authority at all on any of these subjects, but I consider myself a sincere seeker and I love to question and wonder too:)
What I wrote is also just a thought, an alternative thought..What is said in Buddhism, we need not agree with it at all.Buddha did not even talk about soul, he spoke about emptiness:) the space in which everything exists.. But I believe one thing, that Buddha and enlightened masters percieved something which ended their questions and gave them and others down the years that peace and unending joy everyone looks for.
I feel if we read about the experiences of those who have been said to have attained the final truth, our understanding might improve. The most important thing that they have stressed on, in order to find the truth, is ‘SELF ENQUIRY’, not merely intellectual but the process of ‘going within’ – In other words ‘Meditation.’
The thing I feel about beliefs: the need to be flexible, to explore till we discover the truth. You’ve raised more questions:
What after Enlightenment? Is that a journey?
It is said – Everything that changes is not truth and Enlightenment is said to be direct perception of truth, reality..so Although I believe that the path to enlightenment may be unique and different, would the meaning of Enlightenment really change over time?
If it changes that would mean the meaning of Truth changes. and Truth is ‘What is’.
Verry Interesting thoughts to ponder……
To add: I love confusion – coz it keeps the quest going 
Hey Ankit, Interesting post and lots to think over. I do not believe in the Buddha but I’ve read a lot of interesting thoughts and philosophies propounded by him.
The question of life after death and the journey of the soul is interpreted differently by people. For some, the priority is self enquiry, for others, the priority is self realization, and for many others, it may be somethingelse such as wondering “What is the Truth?”
The thing to think about seriously is the questions you raised. Lets get thinking, finally!
Yes, Swapna
… the best thing is how Romila’s post started a chain of thoughts, with new issues and questions coming up. I do not know whether there can be one truth or any truth about Heaven and Hell.
Recently read somewhere that Angels and Demons are relative i.e. What I see as my guardian angel could be seen as demon for people who want to harm me.
That sounds interesting… and familiar too.. I have heard about spirits and how people classify them into good spirits and bad spirits. The way one spirit impacts a person can change something for another person in a different way.
Hi,
Thank you! I would now go on this blog every day!
@ankit Interesting read as usual. 2 things:
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1. You mentioned karma. “I believe heaven and hell should not be seen as fruits or prizes for what we do in this life.” Karma defines the fruit or prizes that we experience in this life as a result of the path we have chosen. Was Karma originally defining whether we go to hell or heaven. I don’t think so. It was always about this life.
2. I loved this part – “When we talk of Nirvana, it is not an end. That is altogether a new journey.” Thank god… I was wondering how boring it would be to attain Nirvana
@ harish – Angels and Demons are not relative… they are relatives. Like my angels (read relatives) are demons for my husband (read in-laws)… dont bother taking it seriously
@ zoran – welcome on board and hope to read some of your posts
Well, if we go by the popular definitions of Karma, we do carry what we do in this life to the next incarnation. So, it is not only about this life.
Yes, it’s not only about this life. What I was laying emphasis on is that karma is not related to heaven and hell. In fact, Hinduism does not really have the concept of a “hell.”
Here is a kind of life after death you can be sure of…
http://www.whatwasdone.com/Age.php?&Age=-1