Infinity and Faith

What happens after you die?

What happens when you die? That is a gazillion-dollar question. And if there is an afterlife, then what is it like? I have been pondering these things lately.

Christians view Heaven as a place where you exist in perfect peace. You are there with God, worry-free, and it is forever.

The Muslim view of Heaven is not that different from the Christian belief. While it does not stress being in the presence of God to the same degree, it does focus on comfort, luxury, and pleasure.  

Ok, but how do souls in Heaven spend their time? Do they have conversations, and if they do, then what would they talk about? Can they remember their life on earth? While some memories would bring them joy, others are bound to be painful. But there is no pain in Heaven, right?  

Can a soul in Heaven see what’s happening on earth? Some things they observe would make them happy, but inevitably, some observations would cause sadness. I do not think sadness has a place in Heaven. It is confusing, eh?

I suspect, logically, if souls in Heaven live in perfect peace with God; then they have no problems, sadness, or pain. If they have all the comforts, luxuries, and pleasures, then they don’t have desires or needs. I imagine they do not gossip about other souls or lust after other souls. I suppose they would not want more…more of whatever things are in Heaven. It strikes me that souls in Heaven lack personalities as we know them on earth. 

And if you don’t want or need anything other than to serve God, what would you think about anyway? It seems you would merely be present in a constant, tranquil meditative state. The analogy that leaps into my mind is that of an opium addict, perpetually high, in a forever euphoria.  

It is hard for me to get comfortable with the idea of forever. The concept of infinity has always blown my mind. The concept of time and space with no bounds is impossible to imagine. The thought of living in an afterlife that never changes, without a personality, for infinity, is unnerving. 

So what about Reincarnation? It is sometimes called the Great Wheel of Return. The idea is that one lives, dies, and then returns to live again, perhaps in a different form. The next life could be as a bug, an animal, a plant, or maybe even as a human again. And this Great Wheel of Return goes on and on, for infinity. I find this notion of an afterlife more appealing.

And this is not a far-fetched idea. Between Buddhists and Hindus, along with a few other smaller groups,  about 1.5 billion people believe in Reincarnation. 

However, it does not matter what I am comfortable with, does it? If there is an afterlife, then it is what it is. It might be Heaven, Reincarnation, or nothing. It comes down to faith. And faith is a very personal thing. Which of us mere mortals would be so arrogant to claim that we know for sure what to expect after we die? Unfortunately, there are such people, and some have gone so far as to wage war in the name of their faith. Now that is something, like infinity, that boggles my mind.