What happens to the soul when it dies. What happens when a person dies

Sometimes we want to believe that loved ones who have left us are watching over us from heaven. In this article, we will look at the theories about the afterlife and find out if there is a grain of truth in the statement that the dead see us after death.

In the article:

Do the dead see us after death - theories

In order to accurately answer this question, you need to consider the main theories about. Considering the version of each of the religions will be quite difficult and time consuming. So there is an informal division into two main subgroups. The first says that after death, eternal bliss awaits us in "elsewhere".

The second is about the full, about a new life and new opportunities. And in both cases, there is the possibility that the dead see us after death. The hardest thing to understand is if you believe the second theory is correct. But it is worth thinking about and answering the question - how often do you have dreams about people whom you have never seen in your life?

Strange personalities and images that communicate with you as if they have known you for a long time. Or they don’t pay attention to you at all, allowing you to calmly observe from the side. Some believe that these are just people whom we see every day, and who are simply deposited in our subconscious in an incomprehensible way. But where do those aspects of personality come from that you cannot know about? They talk to you in a certain way that you don't know, using words you've never heard before. Where does it come from?

It is easy to appeal to the subconscious part of our brain, because no one can say exactly what is happening there. But this is a logical crutch, nothing more and nothing less. There is also the possibility that this is the memory of people you knew in past life. But often the situation in such dreams is strikingly reminiscent of our present time. How could your past life look like your current one?

The most trustworthy, according to many judgments, version says that these are your dead relatives visiting you in dreams. They have already passed into another life, but sometimes they also see you, and you see them. Where are they talking from? From a parallel world, or from another version of reality, or from another body - there is no definite answer to this question. But one thing is for sure - this is the way of communication between souls who are separated by an abyss. Still, our dreams amazing worlds, where the subconscious walks freely, so why not look into the light? Moreover, there are dozens of practices that allow you to safely travel in dreams. Many have experienced similar feelings. This is one version.

The second concerns the worldview, which says that the souls of the dead go to another world. To Heaven, to Nirvana, the ephemeral world, reunite with the common mind - there are a great many such views. They are united by one thing - a person who has moved to another world receives a huge number of opportunities. And since he is connected by bonds of emotions, common experiences and goals with those who remained in the world of the living, naturally he can communicate with us. See us and try to help somehow. More than once or twice you can hear stories about how dead relatives, or friends, warned people about great dangers or advice on how to get into difficult situation. How to explain this?

There is a theory that this is our intuition, appearing at the moment when the subconscious is most accessible. It takes a form close to us and they try to help, to warn. But why does it take the form of dead relatives? Not alive, not those with whom we have live communication right now, and the emotional connection is stronger than ever. No, not them, namely the dead, long ago, or recently. There are cases when people are warned by relatives whom they have almost forgotten - a great-grandmother seen only a few times, or a long-dead cousin. There can be only one answer - this is a direct connection with the souls of the dead, which in our minds acquire that physical form that they had during their lifetime.

And there is a third version, which is not heard as often as the first two. She says that the first two are correct. Unites them. It turns out she's pretty good. After death, a person finds himself in another world, where he prospers as long as he has someone to help. As long as he is remembered, as long as he can penetrate someone's subconscious. But human memory is not eternal, and there comes a moment when the last relative who at least occasionally remembered him dies. At such a moment, a person is reborn in order to start a new cycle, to acquire new family and acquaintances. Repeat this whole circle of mutual assistance between the living and the dead.

What does a person see after death?

Having dealt with the first question, you need to constructively approach the next one - what does a person see after death? As in the first case, no one will be able to state with complete certainty what exactly stands before our eyes at this mournful moment. There are many stories of people who have experienced clinical death. Tales of the tunnel, gentle light and voices. It is from them, according to the most authoritative sources, that our posthumous experience is formed. In order to shed more light on this picture, it is necessary to make a generalization of all the stories about near-death experiences, to find overlapping information. And deduce the truth as a certain common factor. What does a person see after death?

Just before death, there is a certain crescendo in his life, the most high note. The limit of physical suffering, when the thought begins to fade away a little and eventually goes out completely. Often the last thing he hears is the doctor announcing cardiac arrest. Vision fades completely, gradually turning into a tunnel of light, and then covered with final darkness.

The second stage - a person seems to appear above his body. Most often, he hangs a few meters above him, having the opportunity to consider the physical reality to the last detail. How the doctors are trying to save his life, what they do and say. All this time he is in a state of severe emotional shock. But when the storm of emotions calms down, he understands what happened to him. It is at this moment that changes occur to him that cannot be reversed. Namely - the person humbles himself. He comes to terms with his situation and understands that even in this state there is still a way forward. Or rather, up.

What does the soul see after death?

Dealing with the most important moment of all history, namely, what the soul sees after death, you need to understand important point. It is at that moment when a person resigns himself to his fate and accepts it - he ceases to be a person and becomes soul. Until that moment, his spiritual body looked exactly the same as the physical body looks in reality. But, realizing that the fetters of the physical no longer hold his spiritual body, it begins to lose its original shape. After that, the souls of his dead relatives begin to appear around him. Even here they try to help him, so that the person moves on, to the next plane of his existence.

And when the soul moves on, it comes to strange creature that cannot be described in words. All that can be understood absolutely precisely is that all-consuming love, a desire to help, comes from him. Some who have been abroad say that this is our common, first ancestor - the one from whom all people on earth descended. He rushes to help the dead man, who still does not understand anything. The creature asks questions, but not with a voice, but with images. It scrolls before a person his whole life, but in reverse order.

It is at this moment that he realizes that he has approached a certain barrier. You can't see it, but you can feel it. Like some kind of membrane, or a thin partition. Logically, one can conclude that this is exactly what separates the world of the living from. But what happens after her? Alas, such facts are not available to anyone. This is because a person who has experienced clinical death has not crossed this line. Somewhere near her, doctors brought him back to life.

Without exaggeration, we can say that every person from a certain age thinks about death and asks himself: When a person dies, what happens ...

What happens after death to a person

And, in general, is something going on? It is hard not to ask such questions simply because death is the only inevitable event in the life of every living being. Many things may or may not happen to us during our lifetime, but death is something that will happen to everyone.

At the same time, the idea that death is the end of everything and forever seems so frightening and illogical that it in itself deprives life of any meaning. Not to mention the fact that the fear of one's own death and the death of loved ones can poison the most cloudless life.

Perhaps partly for this reason, throughout the existence of mankind, the answer to the question: "When a person dies, what happens to him?" searched for mystics, shamans, philosophers and representatives of various religious movements.

And, I must say, there are as many answers to this question as there are religions and various spiritual and mystical traditions.

And today, information about life after death can be found not only in religious and mystical traditions. The development of psychology and medicine, especially since the second half of the 20th century, has made it possible to accumulate a large number of recorded, registered testimonies from people who have experienced clinical death or coma.

The number of people who have experienced separation from the body and traveled to the so-called afterlife or subtle worlds today is so large that it has become a fact that is difficult to ignore.

Books have been written and films made on the subject. One of the most famous works Raymond Moody's Afterlife and Michael Newton's Journey of the Soul trilogy, which have become bestsellers and have been translated into many languages.

Raymond Moody has worked as a clinical psychiatrist and for a long time In his medical practice, he encountered so many patients who had near-death experiences and described them in surprisingly similar ways that even as a man of science, he admitted that this could not be explained simply by chance or coincidence.

Michael Newton, Ph.D. and hypnotherapist, during his practice managed to collect several thousand cases where his patients not only remembered their own past lives, but also recalled in great detail the circumstances of death and the journey of the soul after the death of the physical body.

To date, the books of Michael Newton contain perhaps the largest and most detailed number of post-mortem experiences and the life of the soul after the death of the physical body.

Summing up, we can say that there are many theories and stories about what happens to a person after the death of the body. Sometimes, these theories are very different from each other, but they are all based on the same basic premises:

Firstly, a person is not only a physical body, in addition to the physical shell there is an immortal soul or consciousness.

Secondly, nothing ends with biological death, death is just a door to another life.

Where does the soul go, what happens to the body after death

In many cultures and traditions, the importance of 3, 9 and 40 days from the death of the body is noted. Not only in our culture it is customary to commemorate the deceased on the 9th and 40th days.

It is believed that within three days after death it is better not to bury or cremate the remains, because during this time the connection between the soul and the body is still strong and burial or even moving the ashes over a long distance can break this connection and thus disrupt the natural separation of the soul with body.

According to Buddhist tradition, in most cases, the soul may not realize the fact of death for three days and behave in the same way as during life.

If you watched the movie "The Sixth Sense", then this is exactly what happens to the hero of Bruce Willis according to the plot of the film. He does not realize that he has died for some time and his soul continues to live at home and visit familiar places.

Thus, within 3 days after death, the soul remains close to relatives and often even in the house where the deceased lived.

Within 9 days, the soul or awareness that has accepted the fact of death, as a rule, completes, if necessary, worldly affairs, says goodbye to relatives and friends and prepares for a journey to other subtle, spiritual worlds.

But what exactly does the soul see, whom does it meet after the end?

According to most records of people who survived a coma or clinical death, there are meetings with relatives and loved ones who have died earlier. The soul experiences incredible lightness and peace, which were not available during life in the physical body. The world, through the eyes of the soul, is filled with light.

The soul, after the death of the body, sees and experiences what the person believed in during his life.

An Orthodox person can see angels or the Virgin Mary, a Muslim can see the Prophet Muhammad. A Buddhist is likely to meet a Buddha or Avalokiteshvara. An atheist will not meet any angels and prophets, but he will also see dead loved ones who will become his guides to spiritual dimensions.

With regard to life after death, we can rely either on the views of religious and spiritual traditions, or on the descriptions of the experiences of people who have experienced near-death experiences or remember their previous lives and post-mortem experiences.

On the one hand, these descriptions are as diverse as life. On the other hand, almost all of them have total moment. The experience that a person receives after the death of the physical body is largely determined by his beliefs, state of mind and deeds in his life.

And it is difficult to disagree with the fact that our actions throughout life were also determined by our worldview, beliefs and faith. And in spiritual world, free from physical laws, the desires and fears of the soul are realized instantly.

If during life in a material body our thoughts and desires could be hidden from others, then on the spiritual planes everything secret becomes clear.

But, despite the differences, in most traditions it is believed that before the expiration of 40 days, the soul of the deceased is in thin spaces, where it analyzes and sums up the life lived, but still has access to earthly existence.

Often, relatives see the dead in their dreams during this period. After 40 days, the soul, as a rule, leaves the earthly world.

Man feels his death

If you happen to lose someone close, then perhaps you know that often on the eve of death or the onset of a fatal illness, a person intuitively feels that his time of life is ending.

Obsessive thoughts about the end or just premonitions of trouble can often arise.

The body feels the approach of its death and this is reflected in emotions and thoughts. Dreams that are interpreted by a person as a harbinger of imminent death.

It all depends on the sensitivity of a person and how well he can hear his soul.

So, psychics or saints, almost always not only foresaw the approach of death, but could know the date and circumstances of the end.

What does a person feel before death?

What does a person feel before death is determined by the situations in which he leaves this life?

A person whose life was full and happy or a deeply religious person can leave calmly, with gratitude, in full acceptance of what is happening. A person dying from a serious illness may even view death as a release from physical pain and an opportunity to leave the decrepit body.

In the event of an unexpected serious illness that occurs to a person in young age there may be bitterness, regret and rejection of what is happening.

Experiences on the eve of death are very personal and there are hardly any two people with the same experience.

One thing is for sure, what a person feels before crossing depends heavily on what his life was like, how much of the desired he managed to realize, how much love and joy there was in life, and, of course, on the circumstances of death itself.

But, according to numerous medical observations, if death was not instantaneous, a person feels how gradually forces, energy leave the body, the connection with the physical world becomes thinner, the perception of the senses deteriorates noticeably.

According to the descriptions of people who have experienced clinical death as a result of an illness, death is very similar to falling asleep, but you wake up in a different world.

How long does a person die

Death, like life, is different for everyone. Someone is lucky and the end happens quickly and painlessly. A person can simply fall into a dream, experience a cardiac arrest in this state and never wake up again.

Someone who battles a deadly disease such as cancer for a long time and lives on the edge of death for a while.

There is not, and cannot be, any scenario. But the soul leaves the body at the moment when life leaves the physical shell.

The reason why the soul leaves this world may be old age, illness, injuries received as a result of an accident. Therefore, how long a person dies depends on the cause that led to death.

What awaits us "at the end of the road"

If you are not a person who believes that everything ends with the death of the physical body, then at the end of this path a new beginning awaits you. AND we are talking not only about the new birth or life in the Garden of Eden.

In the XXI century, many of the scientists no longer consider the death of the physical body as the end of the soul or the human psyche. Of course, scientists, as a rule, do not operate with the concept of the soul, instead they often use the word consciousness, but most importantly, many of modern scientists no longer deny the existence of life after death.

For example, Robert Lanza, American, MD and professor at Wake Forest University of Medicine claims that after the death of the physical body, human consciousness continues to inhabit other worlds. In his opinion, the life of the soul or consciousness, unlike the life of the physical body, is eternal.

In addition, from his point of view, death is nothing more than an illusion, which is perceived as a reality due to our strong identification with the body.

He describes his view of what happens to the human consciousness after the death of the physical body in the book Biocentrism: Life and Consciousness are the Keys to Understanding the True Nature of the Universe.

Summing up, we can say that although there is no unequivocal answer to the question of what will happen after death, but according to all religions and the latest discoveries in medicine and psychology, life does not end with the end of the physical body.

What happens to the soul after death in different religions

From the point of view of various religious traditions, life after the death of the physical body definitely exists. Differences by and large only in where and how.

Christianity

In Christian traditions, including Orthodoxy, there are concepts of judgment, doomsday, heaven, hell and resurrection. After death, every soul will be judged, where charitable, good and sinful deeds are weighed, and there is no opportunity to be reborn.

If a person's life was burdened with sins, then his soul can go to purgatory or, in the case of mortal sins, to hell. Everything depends on the severity of sins and on the possibility of their expiation. At the same time, the prayers of the living can affect the fate of the soul after death.

As a result, in the Christian tradition, it is important to perform a funeral ceremony over the grave on the day of burial and periodically pray for the repose. souls of the dead during church services. According to Christian religion sincere prayers for the departed are able to save the soul of a sinner from an eternal stay in hell.

Depending on how a person lived, his soul goes to purgatory, heaven or hell. The soul enters purgatory if the sins committed were not mortal or in the absence of a rite of absolution or purification in the process of dying.

After experiencing unpleasant soul-tormenting sensations and gaining repentance and redemption, the soul gets a chance to go to heaven. Where she will live in peace among angels, seraphim and saints until the day of judgment.

Paradise or the kingdom of heaven is a place where the souls of the righteous are in bliss and enjoy life in perfect harmony with all things, and do not know any need.

A person who committed mortal sins, regardless of whether he was baptized or not, a suicide or just an unbaptized person, cannot go to heaven.

In hell, sinners are tormented by hellfire, torn apart and experience endless torment as punishment, and all this lasts until the day of judgment, which should take place with the second coming of Christ.

Descriptions of the hour of judgment can be found in the New Testament in the Bible, in the Gospel of Matthew verses 24-25. God's judgment or the great judgment day will forever determine the fate of the righteous and sinners.

The righteous will rise from the grave and gain eternal life at the right hand of God, while sinners will be condemned to burn in hell forever.

Islam

The concept of judgment, heaven and hell in Islam as a whole is very similar to the Christian tradition, but there are some differences. In Islam, much attention is paid to the rewards that a holy soul receives in paradise.

The righteous in the Muslim paradise not only enjoy peace and tranquility, but live in an environment of luxury, beautiful women, gourmet dishes and all this in the wonderful gardens of Eden.

And if heaven is a place for the just reward of the righteous, then hell is a place created by the Almighty for the legal punishment of sinners.

The torment in hell is terrible and endless. For someone who is condemned to be in hell, the "body" is increased in size several times, to multiply the torment. After each torture, the remains are restored and subjected to suffering again.

In the Muslim hell, as in the Christian one, there are several levels, which differ in the degree of punishment depending on the severity of the sins committed. Enough detailed description heaven and hell can be found in the Qur'an and the Hadith of the Prophet.

Judaism

According to Judaism, life is inherently eternal, therefore, after the death of the physical body, life simply passes to another, higher, if I may say so, level.

The Torah describes the moments of the transition of the soul from one dimension to another, depending on what kind of inheritance from the actions of the soul has accumulated during life.

For example, if the soul was too strongly attached to physical pleasures, then after death it experiences inexpressible suffering, because in the spiritual world, without a physical body, it does not have the opportunity to satisfy them.

In general, we can say that in the Jewish tradition, the transition to higher, spiritual Parallel Worlds reflects the life of the soul in the body. If in the physical world life was joyful, happy and filled with love for God, then the transition will be easy and painless.

If the soul, while living in the body, did not know peace, was filled with hatred, envy and other poisons, all this will go to the afterlife and intensify many times over.

Also, according to the book "Zaor", the souls of people are under the constant patronage and supervision of the souls of the righteous and ancestors. Souls from the subtle worlds help and instruct the living, because they know that the physical world is only one of the worlds created by God.

But, although our familiar world is only one of the worlds, souls always return to this world in new bodies, therefore, taking care of the living, the souls of the ancestors also take care of the world in which they will live in the future.

Buddhism

In the Buddhist tradition, there is a very important book that describes in detail the process of dying and the journey of the soul after the death of the body - the Tibetan Book of the Dead. It is customary to read this text in the ear of the deceased for 9 days.

Accordingly, within 9 days after death, do not commit funeral rite. All the while, the soul is given the opportunity to hear step-by-step instructions about what it can see and where it can go. Conveying the essence, we can say that the soul will feel and experience what it was inclined to love and hate in life.

What the soul of man felt strong love, attachment or fear and aversion will determine what kind of pictures a person will see during his 40-day journey in the spiritual world (bardo). And in what world the soul is destined to be reborn in the next incarnation.

According to the Tibetan book of the dead”, during the journey in the posthumous bardo, a person has a chance to free the soul from karma and further incarnations. In this case, the soul does not receive a new body, but goes to the bright lands of the Buddha or the subtle worlds of Gods and Demigods.

If a person experienced too much anger and showed aggression during life, such energies can attract the soul to the worlds of asuras or half-demons. Excessive attachment to physical pleasures, which has not dissolved even with the death of the body, can cause rebirth in the worlds of hungry ghosts.

A very primitive mode of existence, aimed only at survival, can lead to a birth in the animal world.

In the absence of any strong or excessive attachments and aversions, but in the presence of attachment to the physical world as a whole, the soul will be born in a human body.

Hinduism

The view of the life of the soul after death in Hinduism is very similar to the Buddhist one. Which is not surprising since Buddhism has Hindu roots. There are slight differences in the description and names of the worlds in which the soul can be reborn. But the point is also that the soul receives rebirth according to karma (the consequences of those actions that a person performed during his lifetime).

The fate of the human soul after death - can it get stuck in this world

There is evidence that the soul can be stuck for some time in the physical world. This can happen if there is a strong affection or pain in relation to those who remain or if it is necessary to complete an important task.

Often this happens due to an unexpected death. In such cases, as a rule, death is too great a shock for the soul itself and for the relatives of the deceased. The severe pain of loved ones, their unwillingness to come to terms with the loss, important unfinished business does not give the soul the opportunity to move on.

Unlike those who die of illness or old age, people who die unexpectedly do not have the ability to make a will. And often the soul wants to say goodbye to everyone, help, ask for forgiveness.

And if the soul does not have any painful attachments to a place, a person, or physical pleasure, then, as a rule, completing all things, it leaves our earthly world.

Soul on the day of the funeral

The soul of a person on the day of the burial or cremation ceremony, as a rule, is present next to the body among relatives and friends. Therefore, it is considered important in any tradition to pray for the easy return of the soul home.

In Christian customs, these are funeral services; in Hinduism, these are sacred texts and mantras, or simply good and kind words uttered over the body of the deceased.

Scientific evidence for life after death

If the testimonies of eyewitnesses who survived near-death experiences, psychics who see souls and people who can leave the body can be considered evidence, then there are now, without exaggeration, hundreds of thousands of such confirmations.

A large number of recorded stories of people who have experienced a coma or near-death experience, with comments by research doctors, can be found in Moody's book Life After Life.

Several thousand different unique stories about life after death obtained as a result of regressive hypnosis by Dr. Michael Newtan are described in his books, dedicated to travel souls. Some of the most famous are Journey of the Soul and Destiny of the Soul.

In the second book, The Long Journey, he describes in detail what exactly happens to the soul after death, where it goes, and what difficulties it may encounter on its way to other worlds.

Quantum physicists and neuroscientists have now learned how to measure the energy of consciousness. They have not yet come up with a name for it, but have recorded a subtle difference in the movement of electromagnetic waves in a conscious and unconscious state.

And if it is possible to measure the invisible, to measure consciousness, which is often equated with the immortal soul, then it will become obvious that our soul is also a kind of very subtle, but energy.

Which, as you know, from Newton's first law is never born, will not be destroyed, energy only passes from one state to another. And this means that the death of the physical body is not the end - it is just another stop in the endless journey of the immortal soul.

9 signs that deceased loved ones are nearby

Sometimes, when the soul lingers in this world, it stays for a while in order to complete its earthly affairs and say goodbye to loved ones.

Eat sensitive people and psychics who clearly feel the presence of the souls of the dead. For them, this is the same part of reality as our world is for ordinary people, without psychic abilities. However, even people without special abilities talk about feeling the presence of a deceased person.

Since communication with souls is possible only at the level of intuition, this contact often occurs in dreams, or manifests itself in subtle, psychic sensations, which are accompanied by pictures from the past, or the voice of the deceased, sounding in the head. In those moments when the soul is open, many are able to look into the spiritual world.

The following events may be a sign that the soul of a deceased person is near you

• Frequent appearance of the deceased in dreams. Especially if in a dream the deceased asks you for something.
• An unexpected and inexplicable change in smells around you. For example, an unexpected smell of flowers, despite the fact that there are no flowers nearby, or coolness. And if you suddenly smelled the perfume of the deceased or his favorite scent, then you can be sure that his soul is nearby.
• Unclear movement of objects. If you suddenly find things where they could not be. Especially if it's the things of the deceased. Or you suddenly began to discover unexpected objects in your path. Perhaps the deceased so attracts attention and wants to say something.
• A clear undoubted feeling of the presence of a departed person nearby. Your brain, your feelings, still remember what it was like to be with the deceased before they died. If this feeling becomes as distinct as during his lifetime, do not hesitate, his soul is near.
• Frequent and obvious violations in the operation of electrical appliances and electronics can be one of the signs of the presence of the soul of the deceased nearby.
• Unexpectedly hearing your favorite or significant music for both of you, while you are thinking about the departed, is another sure sign that his soul is near.
• Explicit sensations of touch when you are alone. Although for many it is a frightening experience.
• If any animal suddenly shows special attention to you, or persistently attracts you with its behavior. Especially if it was the beloved animal of the deceased person. It could also be news from him.

The afterlife and its uncertainty is what most often leads a person to think about God and the Church. After all, according to the doctrine Orthodox Church and any other Christian doctrines, the human soul is immortal and, unlike the body, it exists forever.

A person is always interested in the question, what will happen to him after death, where will he go? The answers to these questions can be found in the teachings of the Church.

The soul after the death of the bodily shell awaits the Judgment of God

Death and the Christian

Death always remains a kind of constant companion of a person: relatives, celebrities, relatives die, and all these losses make you think about what will happen when this guest comes to me? Attitude towards the end largely determines the course human life- the expectation of it is painful or the person has lived such a life that at any moment he is ready to appear before the Creator.

The desire not to think about it, deleting it from thoughts is the wrong approach, because then life ceases to have value.

Christians believe that God gave man eternal soul, as opposed to a perishable body. And this determines the course of the entire Christian life - after all, the soul does not disappear, which means that it will definitely see the Creator and give an answer for every deed. This constantly keeps the believer in good shape, not allowing him to live his days thoughtlessly. Death in Christianity is a certain point of transition from worldly to heavenly life., and that's where the spirit to go after this crossroads directly depends on the quality of life on earth.

Orthodox asceticism has in its writings the expression "memory of death" - the constant retention in thoughts of the concept of the end of worldly existence and the expectation of a transition to eternity. That is why Christians lead a meaningful life, not allowing themselves to waste minutes.

The approach of death from this point of view is not something terrible, but quite a logical and expected action, joyful. As Elder Joseph of Vatopedsky said: “I was waiting for the train, but it still does not come.”

First days after leaving

Orthodoxy has a special concept of the first days in the afterlife. This is not a strict dogma of faith, but the position that the Synod adheres to.

Death in Christianity is a certain point of transition from worldly to heavenly life.

Special days after death are:

1. Third- This is traditionally a day of commemoration. This time is spiritually connected with the Resurrection of Christ, which took place on the third day. St. Isidore Pelusiot writes that the process of the Resurrection of Christ took 3 days, hence the idea was formed that the human spirit also on the third day passes into eternal life. Other authors write that the number 3 has special meaning, it is called God's number and it symbolizes faith in the Holy Trinity, therefore it is necessary to commemorate a person on this day. It is in the memorial service of the third day that the Triune God is asked to forgive the deceased for sins and forgive;
2. Ninth- another day of remembrance of the dead. St. Simeon of Thessalonica wrote about this day as a time to remember 9 angelic ranks, which may include the spirit of the deceased. That is how many days are given to the soul of the deceased for the full realization of their transition. This is mentioned by St. Paisius in his writings, comparing a sinner with a drunkard who sobers up during this period. During this period, the soul comes to terms with its transition and says goodbye to worldly life;
3. Fortieth- This is a special day of remembrance, because according to the legends of St. Thessalonica, this number is of particular importance, because Christ was exalted on the 40th day, which means that the one who died on this day appears before the Lord. Likewise, the people of Israel mourned their leader Moses at just such a time. On this day, not only a prayer-petition for mercy for the deceased from God should be heard, but also a magpie.

Important! The first month, which includes these three days, is extremely important for loved ones - they come to terms with the loss and begin to learn to live without loved one.

The above three dates are necessary for special remembrance and prayer for the departed. During this period, their fervent prayers for the deceased are brought to the Lord and, in accordance with the teachings of the Church, can affect the final decision of the Creator regarding the soul.

Where does the human spirit go after life?

Where exactly does the spirit of the deceased reside? No one has an exact answer to this question, since this is a secret hidden from man by the Lord. Everyone will know the answer to this question after his repose. The only thing that is known for sure is the transition of the human spirit from one state to another - from a worldly body to an eternal spirit.

Only the Lord can determine the place of eternal residence of the soul

Here it is much more important to find out not “where”, but “to whom”, because it does not matter where the person will be after, the main thing is with the Lord?

Christians believe that after the transition to eternity, the Lord calls a person to court, where he determines his place of eternal residence - heaven with angels and other believers, or hell, with sinners and demons.

The teaching of the Orthodox Church says that only the Lord can determine the place of eternal residence of the soul and no one can influence His sovereign will. This decision is a response to the life of the soul in the body and its actions. What did she choose during her lifetime: good or evil, repentance or proud exaltation, mercy or cruelty? Only the actions of a person determine the eternal stay and according to them the Lord judges.

According to the book of Revelation of John Chrysostom, we can conclude that the human race is waiting for two judgments - individual for each soul, and general, when all the dead are resurrected after the end of the world. Orthodox theologians are convinced that in the period between an individual judgment and a common one, the soul has the opportunity to change its sentence, through the prayers of its loved ones, good deeds who create in his memory, memories in Divine Liturgy and commemoration with alms.

ordeal

The Orthodox Church believes that the spirit goes through certain ordeals or trials on its way to the throne of God. The traditions of the holy fathers say that ordeals consist in denunciation evil spirits that make you doubt your own salvation, the Lord or His Sacrifice.

The word ordeal comes from the old Russian "mytnya" - a place for collecting fines. That is, the spirit must pay a certain fine or be tested by certain sins. To help pass this test can be their own virtues, which the deceased acquired while on earth.

From a spiritual point of view, this is not a tribute to the Lord, but a complete awareness and recognition of everything that tormented a person during his lifetime and with which he was not able to fully cope. Only hope in Christ and His mercy can help the soul overcome this line.

The Orthodox Lives of the Saints contain many descriptions of ordeals. Their stories are extremely vivid and written in sufficient detail so that one can vividly imagine all the pictures described.

Icon of the Ordeal of Blessed Theodora

A particularly detailed description can be found in St. Basil the New, in his life, which contains the story of the blessed Theodora about her ordeals. She mentions 20 trials by sins, among which are:

• the word - it can heal or kill, it is the beginning of the world, according to the Gospel of John. The sins that are contained in the word are not empty statements, they have the same sin as material, perfect deeds. There is no difference between cheating on your husband or saying it out loud while dreaming - the sin is the same. Such sins include rudeness, obscenity, idle talk, incitement, blasphemy;
• lie or deceit - any untruth spoken by a person is a sin. This also includes perjury and perjury, which are serious sins, as well as dishonest trial and undertaking;
• gluttony is not only the delight of one's stomach, but also any indulgence of carnal passion: drunkenness, nicotine addiction or drug addiction;
• laziness, along with hack-work and parasitism;
• theft - any act, the consequence of which is the appropriation of someone else's, belong here: theft, fraud, fraud, etc .;
• stinginess is not only greed, but also thoughtless acquisition of everything, i.e. hoarding. This category also includes bribery, and denial of alms, as well as extortion and extortion;
• envy - visual theft and greed for someone else's;
• pride and anger - they destroy the soul;
• murder - both verbal and material, driving to suicide and abortions;
• fortune-telling - turning to grandmothers or psychics is a sin, it is written there in Scripture;
• fornication is any lascivious actions: watching pornography, masturbation, erotic fantasies, etc.;
• adultery and sodomy sins.

Important! For the Lord there is no concept of death, the spirit only passes from material world into the intangible. But how she will appear before the Creator depends only on her actions and decisions in the world.

memorial days

This includes not only the first three important days(third, ninth and fortieth), but any holidays and simple days when loved ones remember the deceased, they commemorate him.

The word "commemoration" means commemoration, i.e. memory. And first of all, it is a prayer, and not just a thought or bitterness from separation from the dead.

Advice! Prayer is performed in order to ask the Creator for mercy for the deceased and justify him, even if he did not deserve it himself. According to the canons of the Orthodox Church, the Lord can change His decision about the deceased if his relatives actively pray and ask for him, doing alms and good deeds in his memory.

It is especially important to do this in the first month and the 40th day, when the soul comes before God. For all 40 days, magpie is read, after prayer every day, and on special days a funeral service is ordered. Together with prayer, relatives visit the church and cemetery these days, serve alms and distribute memorial treats in memory of the deceased. Such commemoration dates include subsequent anniversaries of death, as well as special church holidays commemoration of the dead.

The Holy Fathers also write that the deeds and good deeds of the living can also cause a change in God's judgment on the deceased. The afterlife is full of secrets and mysteries, none of the living knows anything about it for sure. But the worldly path of each is the indicator that can point to the place where the spirit of man will spend all eternity.

What are tollhouses? Archpriest Vladimir Golovin

The other world is very interesting topic that everyone thinks about at least once in their life. What happens to a person and his soul after death? Can he observe living people? These and many questions cannot but excite. The most interesting thing is that there are many different theories about what happens to a person after death. Let's try to understand them and answer the questions that concern many people.

"Your body will die, but your soul will live forever"

Bishop Theophan the Recluse addressed these words in his letter to his dying sister. He, like other Orthodox priests, believed that only the body dies, but the soul lives forever. What is the reason for this and how does religion explain it?

The Orthodox teaching about life after death is too large and voluminous, so we will consider only some of its aspects. First of all, in order to understand what happens to a person and his soul after death, it is necessary to find out what is the purpose of all life on earth. In the Epistle to the Hebrews of the Holy Apostle Paul, there is a mention that every person must die sometime, and after that there will be a judgment. This is exactly what Jesus Christ did when he voluntarily surrendered himself to his enemies to death. Thus, he washed away the sins of many sinners and showed that the righteous, just like him, would one day be resurrected. Orthodoxy believes that if life were not eternal, then it would have no meaning. Then people would really live, not knowing why they would die sooner or later, there would be no point in doing good deeds. That is why the human soul is immortal. Jesus Christ opened the gates of the Kingdom of Heaven for the Orthodox and believers, and death is only the completion of the preparation for a new life.

What is the soul

The human soul continues to live after death. It is the spiritual beginning of man. The mention of this can be found in Genesis (chapter 2), and it sounds something like this: “God created man from the dust of the earth and blew the breath of life into his face. Now man has become a living soul.” Holy Scripture "tells" us that man is two-part. If the body can die, then the soul lives forever. She is a living entity, endowed with the ability to think, remember, feel. In other words, the human soul continues to live after death. She understands, feels and - most importantly - remembers everything.

spiritual vision

In order to make sure that the soul is really capable of feeling and understanding, it is only necessary to recall the cases when the human body died for a while, but the soul saw and understood everything. Similar stories can be read in a variety of sources, for example, K. Ikskul in his book “Incredible for many, but a true incident” describes what happens after death to a person and his soul. Everything in the book is personal experience the author, who fell ill with a serious illness and experienced clinical death. Almost everything that can be read on this topic in various sources is very similar to each other.

People who have experienced clinical death characterize it with a white enveloping fog. Below you can see the body of the man himself, next to him are his relatives and doctors. Interestingly, the soul, separated from the body, can move in space and understand everything. Some argue that after the body ceases to give any signs of life, the soul passes through a long tunnel, at the end of which a bright white light burns. Then, as a rule, for some time the soul returns to the body again, and the heart begins to beat. What if the person dies? What then happens to him? What does the human soul do after death?

Encounter with peers

After the soul separates from the body, it can see spirits, both good and bad. It is interesting that, as a rule, she is attracted to her own kind, and if during her life any of the forces had an influence on her, then after death she will be attached to her. This period of time when the soul chooses its "company" is called the Private Court. It is then that it becomes completely clear whether the life of this person was in vain. If he fulfilled all the commandments, was kind and generous, then, undoubtedly, the same souls will be next to him - kind and pure. The opposite situation is characterized by the society of fallen spirits. They are waiting for eternal torment and suffering in hell.

First few days

It is interesting what happens after death with the soul of a person in the first few days, because this period is for her a time of freedom and enjoyment. It is during the first three days that the soul can freely move around the earth. As a rule, she is at this time near her native people. She even tries to talk to them, but it turns out with difficulty, because a person is not able to see and hear spirits. In rare cases, when the connection between people and the dead is very strong, they feel the presence of a soul mate nearby, but cannot explain it. For this reason, the burial of a Christian takes place exactly 3 days after death. In addition, it is this period that the soul needs in order to realize where it is now. It is not easy for her, she may not have had time to say goodbye to anyone or say anything to anyone. Most often, a person is not ready for death, and he needs these three days to understand the essence of what is happening and say goodbye.

However, there are exceptions to every rule. For example, K. Ikskul began his journey to another world on the first day, because the Lord told him so. Most of the saints and martyrs were ready for death, and in order to go to another world, it took them only a few hours, because this was their main goal. Each case is completely different, and information comes only from those people who have experienced "post-mortem experience" on themselves. If we are not talking about clinical death, then everything can be completely different here. The proof that in the first three days the soul of a person is on earth is also the fact that it is during this period of time that the relatives and friends of the deceased feel their presence nearby.

Next stage

The next stage of the transition to the afterlife is very difficult and dangerous. On the third or fourth day, trials await the soul - ordeals. There are about twenty of them, and all of them must be overcome so that the soul can continue its journey. Ordeals are whole crowds of evil spirits. They block the way and accuse her of sins. The Bible also talks about these trials. The mother of Jesus, the Most Pure and Reverend Mary, having learned about the imminent death from the Archangel Gabriel, asked her son to deliver her from demons and ordeals. In response to her requests, Jesus said that after death, he would lead her by the hand to Heaven. And so it happened. This action can be seen on the icon "Assumption of the Virgin". On the third day, it is customary to pray fervently for the soul of the deceased, so you can help her pass all the tests.

What happens a month after death

After the soul has gone through the ordeal, it worships God and goes on a journey again. This time, hellish abysses and heavenly abodes await her. She watches how sinners suffer and how the righteous rejoice, but she does not yet have her own place. On the fortieth day, the soul is assigned a place where, like everyone else, it will await the Supreme Court. There is also evidence that only until the ninth day does the soul see the heavenly abodes and observe the righteous souls who live in happiness and joy. The rest of the time (about a month) she has to look at the torments of sinners in hell. At this time, the soul cries, mourns and meekly awaits its fate. On the fortieth day, the soul is assigned a place where it will wait for the resurrection of all the dead.

Who goes where and where

Of course, only the Lord God is omnipresent and knows exactly where the soul goes after the death of a person. Sinners go to hell and spend time there in anticipation of even greater torment that will come after the Supreme Court. Sometimes such souls can come in dreams to friends and relatives, asking for help. You can help in such a situation by praying for a sinful soul and asking the Almighty for forgiveness of her sins. There are cases when sincere prayer for a deceased person really helped him to move into better world. So, for example, in the 3rd century, the martyr Perpetua saw that the fate of her brother was like a filled reservoir, which was too high for him to reach. Days and nights she prayed for his soul, and in time she saw how he touches the pond and is transported to a bright, clean place. From the foregoing, it becomes clear that the brother was pardoned and sent from hell to heaven. The righteous, thanks to the fact that they lived their lives not in vain, go to heaven and look forward to the Day of Judgment.

The teachings of Pythagoras

As mentioned earlier, there are a huge number of theories and myths regarding the afterlife. For many centuries, scientists and clergy have been studying the question: how to find out where a person went after death, looking for answers, arguing, looking for facts and evidence. One of these theories was the teaching of Pythagoras on the transmigration of souls, the so-called reincarnation. The same opinion was held by such scholars as Plato and Socrates. A huge amount of information about reincarnation can be found in such a mystical current as Kabbalah. Its essence lies in the fact that the soul has a certain goal, or a lesson that it must go through and learn. If during the life of the person in whom he lives given soul, does not cope with this task, it is reborn.

What happens to the body after death? It dies and it is impossible to resurrect it, but the soul is looking for a new life. In this theory, it is also interesting that, as a rule, all people who are in a family relationship are not connected at all by chance. More specifically, the same souls are constantly looking for each other and find. For example, in a past life, your mother could have been your daughter or even your spouse. Since the soul has no gender, it can have both feminine, and male, it all depends on what body it gets into.

There is an opinion that our friends and soul mates are also kindred spirits who are connected with us karmically. There is one more nuance: for example, a son and a father constantly have conflicts, no one wants to give in, until the last days two relatives literally fight among themselves. Most likely, in the next life, fate will bring these souls together again, as brother and sister or as husband and wife. This will continue until both of them find a compromise.

Square of Pythagoras

Supporters of the Pythagorean theory are most often interested not in what happens to the body after death, but in what kind of incarnation their soul lives and who they were in a past life. In order to find out these facts, the square of Pythagoras was drawn up. Let's try to understand it with an example. Let's say you were born on December 03, 1991. It is necessary to write down the received numbers in a line and carry out some manipulations with them.

1. It is necessary to add all the numbers and get the main one: 3 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 9 + 9 + 1 = 26 - this will be the first number.
2. Next, you need to add the previous result: 2 + 6 = 8. This will be the second number.
3. In order to get the third, from the first it is necessary to subtract the doubled first digit of the date of birth (in our case, 03, we do not take zero, we subtract the three times 2): 26 - 3 x 2 = 20.
4. The last number is obtained by adding the digits of the third working number: 2 + 0 = 2.

Now write down the date of birth and the results obtained:

In order to find out which incarnation the soul lives in, it is necessary to count all numbers except zeros. In our case, the human soul, born on December 3, 1991, lives on the 12th incarnation. By composing the square of Pythagoras from these numbers, you can find out what characteristics it has.

Some facts

Many, of course, are interested in the question: is there life after death? All world religions are trying to give an answer to it, but there is still no unequivocal answer. Instead, in some sources you can find some Interesting Facts regarding this topic. Of course, it cannot be said that the statements that will be given below are dogma. These are just some of the interesting thoughts on the subject.

What is death

It is difficult to answer the question of whether there is life after death without finding out the main signs of this process. In medicine, this concept is understood as a stoppage of breathing and heartbeat. But we should not forget that these are signs of the death of the human body. On the other hand, there is evidence that the mummified body of a monk-priest continues to show all signs of life: soft tissues are pressed through, joints are bent, and a fragrance emanates from it. In some mummified bodies, nails and hair even grow, which, perhaps, confirms the fact that certain biological processes do occur in the deceased body.

What happens a year after death ordinary person? Of course, the body decomposes.

Finally

Given all of the above, we can say that the body is just one of the shells of a person. In addition to it, there is also a soul - an eternal substance. Almost all world religions agree that after the death of the body, the human soul still lives, someone believes that it is reborn in another person, and someone that it lives in Heaven, but, one way or another, it continues to exist . All thoughts, feelings, emotions are the spiritual sphere of a person that lives, despite physical death. Thus, it can be considered that life after death exists, but it is no longer interconnected with the physical body.

The question of the state of the soul after death worries everyone. Whether there is a life after death? If there is a soul, what does the soul see and hear after death? What does the soul do after death human? I have worked on many materials about the soul after death and tried to find answers to these exciting questions.

The soul after death sees and hears

In the "collection" of stories of people who survived clinical death, we can see what he does, experiences, sees and hears soul after death after its separation from the body. During the process of dying, when a person reaches his ultimate state, he hears the doctor recognize him as dead. He then sees his doppelgänger, as a lifeless body, lying underneath him, surrounded by doctors and nurses who are trying to revive him. This unexpected scene is amazing for a person who sees himself outside of his body for the first time. It is at this moment that he begins to understand that all his abilities - to see, hear, think, feel, etc. - continue to work, but now completely independent of its outer shell.

Finding himself hovering above the people in the room, a person instinctively tries to make them aware of his presence by touching a button with a pen or speaking to one of them. But, to his dismay, he is completely cut off from everyone. No one hears his voice or pays attention to his touch. At the same time, he is at a loss for his feelings of relief, peace, and even happiness. There is no longer that part of me that is "I", which suffers, which needs and always complained about something. Having experienced such ease, the soul after death, as a rule, does not want to return to its body.

In most recorded cases of temporary death, after a few minutes of observation, the soul returns to the body and thus completes its knowledge of life. But sometimes it happens that the soul continues to move further into the spiritual world. Some describe this state as a journey through a dark tunnel. After that, some souls enter a world of great beauty, where they sometimes meet deceased relatives. Others enter the realm of light and meet a being of light that they experience feelings from. great love, radiation that warms the soul. Some claim that this is our Lord Jesus Christ, while others say that this is an angel, but everyone agrees that this is someone full of goodness and compassion. But some others end up in a world of darkness where they see hideous and cruel creatures.

Sometimes, after death, a meeting with a mysterious light is accompanied by a "review" of life, when a person remembers his past and gives a moral assessment of his actions. After that, some people see something similar like a barrier or border. They feel that once they cross it, they will not be able to return to the physical world.

Not all survivors of temporary death experience all of the stages described above. A significant percentage of people brought back to life cannot remember anything about what happened to them "on the other side". The above phenomena are placed in the order of their frequency from the most to the least probable. According to some studies, only one in seven people who left their bodies talked about seeing light and talking to a being of light.

Thanks to the progress of medicine, the resuscitation of the dead has become almost a standard procedure in many modern clinics. Before, it was almost never used. Therefore, there are differences between the stories about life after death in ancient, traditional and contemporary literature. religious books of the old era described the phenomena of the souls of the dead, who said that they saw heaven or hell, and had otherworldly meetings with angels or demons.

This first category can be considered as descriptions of "deep space", as they tell us about the spiritual world, far from our own. The second category, recorded by doctors, describes mainly the "near space", that is, the first experience of the soul after death, which has just left the body. They are interesting because they complement the first category and give us a clear idea of ​​what awaits each of us on the other side. Between these two categories is this story. Published by Archbishop Nikon in the "Trinity of Pages" in 1916, a work called "Incredible for many, but a true incident" covers both worlds - "close" and "far away". In 1959, this story under the title "Holy Trinity Monastery" was republished in the form of a pamphlet, its elements will be given here in an abridged form. It includes elements of both more ancient and modern afterlife phenomena.

All of us at the hour of our death must see and experience much that we are not accustomed to. The purpose of this booklet is to expand and clarify our understanding of the inevitable separation from the mortal body. Some believe that death is a dreamless sleep. Close your eyes, fall asleep and nothing else, just darkness. Sleep ends in the morning, but death is forever. Many are very afraid of the unknown and they are tormented by the question: “what will happen to me?” They try not to want to think about death. However, deep within us there is always an understanding of inevitability and an accompanying sense of anxiety. Each of us will have to cross this border. We need to think about it and prepare.

Some say: “what is there to think and prepare for? This is out of our control. Our time will come, and we will die, and that's it. While there is time, we must do our best in life. Eat, drink, love, achieve power and fame, earn money, etc. Do not think about anything unpleasant, or get upset and, of course, do not think about death. So many do.

Once again, each of us can ask more disturbing questions: “what if it’s not? What if death is not the end? What if I find myself in a completely new place with my ability to see, hear and feel? And, most importantly, what if our future beyond this threshold depends in part on the path we lived in this life, and what we were before we crossed the threshold of death?

K. Ikskul was a typical young intellectual pre-revolutionary Russia. He was baptized as a child and grew up in an Orthodox environment, but, as was customary among the intelligentsia, he was indifferent to religion. Sometimes he went to church and celebrated Christmas, Easter, and even received Holy Communion once a year, but he attributed a lot of Orthodoxy to old-fashioned superstitions, including the doctrine of life after death. He was sure that death is the end of human existence.

At one point in his life, he contracted pneumonia. He was seriously ill for a long time and was eventually hospitalized. He did not think about his impending death. Instead, he counted on recovering quickly so that he could return to his normal routine. One morning, he suddenly felt much better and thought that his illness had finally let go. However, to his surprise, because of this, the doctors even became more concerned. They even brought him an oxygen tank and soon he felt the complete dissociation of him from his surroundings. ( Read the next page numbered below )

Add the article to your bookmarks to return to it again by clicking the buttons Ctrl+D . Subscribing to notifications about the publication of new articles can be done through the "Subscribe to this site" form in the side column of the page. If something is not clear, then read.