Death: causes, consequences, and cultural perspectives

Death

The four categories of human being are biological, psychological, sociological and religious.

The four types of Transcendence are ancestral, experiential, cultural and mythic.

A disembody spirit is the survival of a person through consciousness and will but without a physical body.

Spiritual embodiment is a body not associated with the physical body in death but signifies a person's survival of death in a form of spiritual or astral entity.

Reincarnation is the rebirthing process in which a person survives death by being born again in a different physical body, whereas resurrection refers to a person surviving death by being born again in the same physical body.

Hindu liberation is known as moksha and the liberation from samsara, the birth-death-rebirth life cycle.

The Hindu hierarchical structure refers to the caste system in which individuals are born into one of four distinguished social classes: class, warrior class, the merchant class, and the labor class.

8. Dharma in Hinduism refers to the duties, obligations, moral expectation, righteousness, and responsibilities expected of people based on their class in society.

9. The Cosmic Order in Hinduism refers to dharma, and the social class/caste system as supported by the sacred texts, the Vedas.

10. Moksha is the liberation from samsara, the cycle of birth-death-rebirth.

11. Karma is a cause and effect concept in Hinduism, and is a practice that honors good actions bring good results.

12. Atman refers to Self, the spiritual entity of an individual that exists through the life cycles and must ultimately be realized to achieve moksha.

13. Reincarnation in Hinduism refers to rebirth within the endless samsara cycle.

14. The Bhagavad Gita is Hindu scripture which tells the story of a warrior, Arjuna, and his chariot driver, Krishna who is later revealed to be the manifestation of the god Vishnu.

15. Yama is the lord of death in Hinduism.

16. Types of Yoga in Hinduism are karma (the yoga of action), Bhakti (the yoga of devotion), and Jnana (the yoga of knowledge).

17. The Holocaust refers to the genocide of nearly six million Jews during World War II as endorsed by the Nazi Party.

18. Iman in Islam is the inner construct of the religion that refers to a believer's faith in the spiritual and metaphysical realities of Islam.

19. Ummah in Islam refers to the complete unification of the entire Islamic world.

20. The Qur'an is the religious text of Islam.

21. The apostle Paul was an early Christian missionary whose letters and writings are greatly referenced in The New Testament of the Bible.

22. The Return of Jesus is considered the Second Coming of Christ, and refers to the return of Jesus to Earth.

23. Immortality and Resurrection in Christianity refers to the eternal, heavenly existence Christian followers expect to experience after death, and the Resurrection of Jesus provides proof that rebirth in a heavenly existence following death will happen.

24. The Kingdom of God in Christianity refers to heaven, and the place of afterlife for deserving Christian believers.

25. Nirvana is a "heavenly" equivalent in Buddhism and is the a state of mind centered in peace and free from anger and wants.

26. The Four Noble Truths in Buddhism are life means suffering, the origin of suffering is attachment, the cessation of suffering is attainable, and the path to the end of suffering.

27. Emptiness in Buddhism refers to dependent origination, in which all actions and reactions arise together in an interconnected web of cause and effect.

28. The apocalypse according to the Book of Revelation in the Bible refers to the revelation of Jesus Christ as Messiah.

29. Dante's Divine Comedy is the epic poem written by Dante Alighieri that includes three parts: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso.

30. The definition of Islam is the monotheistic faith and religion of Muslims as revealed by Muhammad, the Prophet of Allah.

Question One

Understanding the meaning of death is a shared human thought as every individual will ultimately face their mortality. As shown by many world religions, human beings have acknowledged death, conceptualized its meaning, and questioned, "What happens when we die?" For millennia. When focusing on the meaning of death and dying, one can take a more structured approach and dissect the human experience of death. There are three aspects of death: physical, psychological, and spiritual (Kramer: 12). One concept of death explored by most religions is "death before dying." This phrase refers to experiencing a spiritual death before experiencing physical death. This understanding of "death before dying" relates to human actions in this world as people strive to achieve spiritual identity, and to connect with a spiritual self prior to death. As long as there has been recorded history, human beings have explored the meaning of death, define different aspects of death, and to experience a spiritual transformation before biological death.

The meaning of dying is not solely a biological experience, and death may be viewed through at least three perspectives. As described by Kramer, the three faces of death are physical, psychological, and spiritual (12). The physical aspect of death is the biochemical result. This includes the irreversible loss of brain waves, cardiac functions, central nervous system, breathing functions, and all other biochemical processes (Kramer: 12). The psychological face of death is described by Kramer as the "termination of one's personal aliveness" (18). Psychological death can be considered the anxiety of facing death that is so severe is threatens personal identity (Kramer: 18). The psychological death is mostly associated with the concept of self, which is generally regarded as an individual's personality, identity, and understanding of oneself. Psychological death marks the loss of association with one's idea of self. The third face of death is the spiritual aspect, and signifies the transformation after death in which a person is stripped of earthly identities and roles, and is experiences some type of birth as a new person (Kramer: 12). In terms of western beliefs, spiritual death is a process whereby an individual experiences a form of salvation (Kramer: 22). In eastern beliefs, spiritual death is a process of self-awakening (Kramer: 22). Whereas psychological death is a disconnection from self, spiritual death triggers an awakening or rebirth from the old self to a new self.

The concept of "death before dying" refers to experiencing a spiritual death before experiencing physical death. More specifically, death before dying means to lose one's earthly identity, to die from self, and transform to a spiritual notion of self before biological death (Kramer: 78). In many religions, death before dying marks the journey to lose one's identity within the great identity of a god, or spiritual entity, prior to physical death. This understanding of "death before dying" relates to human actions in this world as people strive to achieve spiritual identity, and to connect with a spiritual self prior to death. Human actions on earth are supposed to be in a constant motion to achieve spiritual awareness. Human beings that connect with a spiritual identity choose actions that reflect what their religion or greater power expects and dictates.

Gaining understanding of the meaning of death requires one to view death from different perspectives. According to Kramer, the three faces of death are physical, psychological, and spiritual. Physical death is biological death, psychological death is the disconnection from self, and spiritual death is to lose identity with personal self and to be birthed into a new identity in the likeness of a greater power. "Death before dying" refers to achieving spiritual death prior to physical death, and explains human actions as those that drive a spiritual connection to be experienced on earth and after death. The meaning of death has long provoked human minds, and many perspectives are needed to understand the significance of the transition.

Question Two

Death is a human inevitability. Eventually every living individual will no longer exist, and will be forced to face their mortality. World religions, customs, ancient beliefs, and rituals all speak to a human need to understand and cope with death. Two major religions, Hinduism and Buddhism, explore differing concepts of death. Hindu concepts of death explain a birth-death-rebirth life cycle known as samsara, and true death is liberation from this cycle, known as moksha (Kramer: 30). Buddhist concepts of death also include a samsara cycle, and experience liberation by achieving nirvana (Kramer: 52). The main difference between Hindu and Buddhist concepts of death is the realization of Self. In Hinduism, achieving Self (Atman) is the key to achieving moksha, whereas Buddha explains there is no "Self" to be realized. The differences in the two belief systems are supported by their respective sacred texts and teachings. Hindu and Buddhist belief systems present a significant amount of overlap with their concepts of life and death, but their fundamental difference is signified by varying beliefs in Self.

Hindu concepts of death are explained through the birth-death-rebirth life cycle and beliefs of reincarnation. Hindus are born into a specific social class and are expected to perform dharma, that is their duties, obligations, moral expectation, righteousness, and responsibilities expected of an individual based on their class in society (Chidester: 76). As one performs their dharma, they earn karma, which is the cause and effect aspect of Hinduism. Karma explains good actions bring good results, and by obeying this principle and dharma, one can experience rebirth into a "better" life that puts one in a stronger position to achieve moksha. The ultimate goal for any Hindu soul is to achieve moksha, which is the liberation from samsara, the cycle of life and death (Chidester: 85). The critical aspect of Hinduism is realizing when the body dies, the Self (Atman) does not die. The Self is carried from life to life, through reincarnation, and the secret to death is to realize the Supreme Self hidden in the heart through meditation and grace (Kramer: 30). Realizing Self in Hindu customs is required to achieve moksha, and be liberated from the endless round of birth, death, and rebirth of samsara. Only when the Self is realized can one truly achieve death.

The Buddhist concept of death is similar to Hinduism with respect to the idea of liberation. In Buddhism, samsara refers to the continuous flow of life and exposure to suffering. Buddhist understanding of death explains that all life is vulnerable to suffering, everything is constantly changing, what is born also dies, there is no fixed identity of Self that dies, and as long as one is consumed by grief one can not be released from the fear of death (Kramer: 44). Unlike Hinduism, Buddhists do not strive to achieve liberation in the form of moksha, but rather liberation by achieving nirvana through enlightenment. Nirvana is described as the "deathless place" but it is not a state, place, idea, dream, or future place -- it is a personal achievement that occurs as one no longer has desire or attachment, and life's illusions and ignorance are gone (Kramer: 53). The greatest difference between Buddhism and Hinduism is understanding of Self. Buddhists believe there is no Self to realize, there is an Awakening (anatta) in which a person is enlightened and removed from the ignorance associate with desires and attachment (Kramer: 53). This critical difference between the religions was offered by Buddha, and the teachings of Buddha and the sacred Veda texts in Hinduism account for the varying perspectives.

Like all world religions, Hinduism and Buddhism offer beliefs on death and its meaning. Both belief systems explore ideas of suffering and continuous life cycles. Both belief systems also support a form of liberation: Hindus are liberated from samsara and achieve moksha, and Buddhists are liberated from samsara and experience nirvana. The greatest difference between the religions is the sense of Self, whereas Hindus must realize the Supreme Self to achieve moksha, and Buddhists believe there is no Self, only an Awakening. Each of the belief systems offer their understanding of death based on either sacred texts or teachings, and live their lives accordingly to honor these perspectives.

Question Three

All religions present attitudes or perspectives regarding death and the afterlife. One of the major concepts stemming from several dominate world religions is the idea of heaven and hell. Hebrew, Christian, and Muslim religions each offer ideas, perspectives, and beliefs regarding heaven and hell. Each of the three religions holds fundamental beliefs about the afterlife. The Jewish faith does not explore the afterlife to the same depths of Christianity and Islam, but the Torah focuses on the purpose of life on earth and explain the eternal destination for the righteous is heaven, while the unrighteous is gehinnom (hell). Christians explain heaven to be a place where followers experience eternal life in the likeness of the Creator (Kramer: 148). From the Muslim perspective, entering heaven requires a journey for the soul, and the ultimately goal for each person is to reach a vision of God (Kramer: 160). Christian and Muslim beliefs share many parallels, and both find their roots in Judaism; each religion consequently shares common themes regarding heaven, hell, and the afterlife.