Many people want to know what happens when we die. That is an age old question that humans have pondered since they first became conscious, and possibly even before. Reading books about life after death can help to give perspective and understanding to the human search for meaning.
Major world religions all have their own beliefs and theories about exactly what death means, whether or not there is any sort of afterlife and whether the human soul continues on its journey as a separate and distinct entity or whether it is assumed into something greater. Different religions, as well as different branches of philosophical endeavor and different scientific schools of thought have all attempted to find explanations for this esoteric existential question.
Buddhism, and many of the world's foremost eastern religions, hold a non-dualistic world view. That is to say that they believe that there is no God, and no real life after the end of existence for individual souls. They believe that humans and all creation are part of the same big cosmic sea of energy, and when people and creatures die, they go to untie with the universe.
Other eastern religions such as Taoism, Shintoism and Hinduism share these basic precepts although they address different questions differently. The Shinto belief is that one's ancestors come back to help them with life's problems. Taoists believe that life is a circle, and that we are one with nature and the universe.
The religions known as Abrahamic religions include Christianity, Judaism and Islam. These groups believe that there is only one God. To them, he is a separate being, set apart from all of creation. When people die, their soul goes to a heaven forever.
Besides the first two world religions mentioned from the east and west, there are many other, minor religions. They hold all types of different beliefs. Native Americans, for example, believe that nature is god, and that the highest aspiration of mankind should be to live at peace with the wilderness.
In addition to religions, the sciences have all tried to explain this existential dilemma. Cosmology, physics and quantum mechanics are all scratching at the root of what fundamentally happens to the soul when the body no longer exists. They also are trying to find out if there even is a soul at all.
Books about life after death might really make a difference in the life of a seeker who is just simply a human being who is trying to find truth as it relates to the very many mysterious that abound on this planet, throughout the universe and within the human mind, body and spirit. Many different explanations and thoughts exist that theorize on all of the possibilities that might occur after death, including everything from reincarnation to heaven. This exploration is a search to fill deep seated longing that many people have in their hearts to cling to some type of faith that when the body finally perishes after 80 years or so, there is still some part of the individual person, however miniscule, that goes on and continues to have experiences.
Major world religions all have their own beliefs and theories about exactly what death means, whether or not there is any sort of afterlife and whether the human soul continues on its journey as a separate and distinct entity or whether it is assumed into something greater. Different religions, as well as different branches of philosophical endeavor and different scientific schools of thought have all attempted to find explanations for this esoteric existential question.
Buddhism, and many of the world's foremost eastern religions, hold a non-dualistic world view. That is to say that they believe that there is no God, and no real life after the end of existence for individual souls. They believe that humans and all creation are part of the same big cosmic sea of energy, and when people and creatures die, they go to untie with the universe.
Other eastern religions such as Taoism, Shintoism and Hinduism share these basic precepts although they address different questions differently. The Shinto belief is that one's ancestors come back to help them with life's problems. Taoists believe that life is a circle, and that we are one with nature and the universe.
The religions known as Abrahamic religions include Christianity, Judaism and Islam. These groups believe that there is only one God. To them, he is a separate being, set apart from all of creation. When people die, their soul goes to a heaven forever.
Besides the first two world religions mentioned from the east and west, there are many other, minor religions. They hold all types of different beliefs. Native Americans, for example, believe that nature is god, and that the highest aspiration of mankind should be to live at peace with the wilderness.
In addition to religions, the sciences have all tried to explain this existential dilemma. Cosmology, physics and quantum mechanics are all scratching at the root of what fundamentally happens to the soul when the body no longer exists. They also are trying to find out if there even is a soul at all.
Books about life after death might really make a difference in the life of a seeker who is just simply a human being who is trying to find truth as it relates to the very many mysterious that abound on this planet, throughout the universe and within the human mind, body and spirit. Many different explanations and thoughts exist that theorize on all of the possibilities that might occur after death, including everything from reincarnation to heaven. This exploration is a search to fill deep seated longing that many people have in their hearts to cling to some type of faith that when the body finally perishes after 80 years or so, there is still some part of the individual person, however miniscule, that goes on and continues to have experiences.
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