Cultural Analysis On Death And The Afterlife :: essays research papers

If there is one constant in this world, it would surely be death. Dying is an unavoidable part of way of lifes. Indeed, everything that lives will at sometime die. The fear of death is held by everyone. Perhaps it is the correlation of death with pain or the uncharted state of the human consciousness after death, maybe a combination of both, that creates this fear. The fear felt is undoubtedly universal, however, the ways in which it is dealt with are varied and diverse. The theory of human mortality and how it is dealt with is dependent upon ones society or purification. For it is the society that has great impact on the individuals beliefs. Hence, it is also realistic for other kitchen-gardenings to influence the people of a different culture on such comprehensions. The primary and traditional way men and women have made end a less depressing and disturbing idea is though religion. Various religions offer the comforting conception of death as a begining for another life or perhaps a continuation for the former. Christians, for example, believe that souls that have lived by the words of their God will exist eternally in heaven as divine beings themselves. This conception of an afterlife is generally what we people who are residents of the Unitied States hold to be true. For American culture has its roots in Europe and European culture was and is still influenced by Christian faiths. Similar to Christianity, the Hinduism also eases the fear of death by presenting a life after death. Disimilarities present themselves in the two faiths concerning just what kind of afterlife is lived. Believers of the Hindu faith expect to be reincarnated after their demise, either as an animal or human being depending on the manner in which their lives were carried out. These ideals have influenced our culture though our use of language and thought. The implications are apparent in the common references to ones past lives. For instance, if someone has a natural talent fo r music one may refer to the person as being once a talented musician in a past life. A religion which describes death as a continuation of existance is held by the Crow tribe of middle America. They viewed death as a journeying with the final destination as a place where all their anscestors have gone before them. This notion of an afterlife eased the tribes assimilation into Christian culture when colonists came in contact with the Native Americans during the colonial expansion period.