Shared Culture : Study of the Theories of the Hell, the Heaven and the Earth
The term Culture has several meanings. Its meanings vary with context, place and people. We use it in everyday life without realizing its true meaning. Let us try to decipher this true meaning by analyzing the Quotes from two famous historical figures. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi once said, “A nation's culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people.” The word nation shows that culture is something which is specific to a region or institution. The words soul and heart indicate common beliefs and shared values among the people. Marcus Garvey also threw some light on the definition of culture when he said, “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin, and culture is like a tree without roots.” From this we can see that the term culture is synonymous to history, origin and something firm. Merriam Webster defines the term culture as “the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization”. Hence, we can see that whenever we speak or think of the term culture it can take different meanings but its true meaning remains the same. Due to such a varying nature of this term and its importance in analyzing my research topic, I have chosen very specific types of parallel universes mentioned in religions all over the world, namely, the Hell and the Heaven to define the shared human culture. Through this I shall find out whether we have anything known as shared culture.
Mythologies and religions have always used the notion of the Hell and the Heaven to describe the various stages a human soul has to go through. These two are considered a different realm or universe parallel to the Earth. Different religions have different definitions for these two universes. But all of them describe Heaven mainly as a place of absolute purity, goodness, faith and the holiest place. On the contrary, Hell is a place of suffering, punishment and evil. In Freudian psychology, Heaven could refer to a place where the pleasure principle is always satisfied and there is a total negation of reality principle i.e. the human souls experience pleasure all the time and avoid suffering. Since all the needs of the souls would be met and there shall be no circumstances under which it would have to defer instant gratification, reality principle would always ne negated .The concept of Heaven is more spiritual whereas the pleasure principle is true for human’s materialistic needs such as psychological and biological needs. But some religions such as Islam describe Heaven and Hell as a place where souls meet all there materialistic needs. On the other hand, Hell is a place where pleasure principle is never satisfied and souls suffer pain throughout their entire stay in Hell. Here souls are put under circumstance where reality principle is always satisfied. To understand what connects all the cultures and people all over the world and to describe the common thinking of all the people I have analyzed religious and mythological texts from three major religions of the world.
Christianity
For understanding the thinking of Christians about the concept of the Heaven and the Hell, I read the holiest text to Christians, the Holy Bible. The Bible mentions three terms synonymous with the Hell, namely, Hades, Gehenna and Tartarus. Hades is equivalent of the Hebrew word Sheol and it means the abode of the dead below the earth. It is better rendered by words "the grave" or "the pit". Hence Hades is the place where the dead "know not anything . . . their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished . . . there is no knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave" (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6, 10). The term Gehenna is associated with fire. The word Gehenna is found in Mark 9 (parallel to Matthew 18:8, 9) and it says, "And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched" (verses 43, 44, 45-49). Tartarus refers to a place of the fallen angels and directly refers to hell. It is mentioned in Peter 2:4 which says "God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell (Tartarus)". Hence, Christianity teaches that it is the final destiny of those who committed sin is the hell where they shall be punished. It believes that human soul shall be doomed to eternity if it goes to the Hell.
Bible teaches that the Heaven is a place of eternal life and the dwelling place of God. The term Heaven is mentioned in Psalm 139:7-12 which says “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.” Hence Heaven is thought of an unpolluted and perfect creation of God where human souls will be incorruptible without any death and sickness.
Hinduism
The Puranas, a genre of Hindu and Buddhist texts, contain narratives from history, philosophy, cosmology and genealogy of kings. Hence, to analyze the teachings of Hinduism about the parallel worlds of the Hell and the Heaven, I read a book which analyzed these topics. I found the book, The Puranas In the Light of Modern Sciences written by K. Narayanaswami Aiyar, to be the best study of the Puranas. Hindus believe in a realm similar to Hell called Naraka. Naraka is a place for the punishment of those who commit sins. Hindus also believe in Heaven or Svarga. It is a place where gods or devas live along with the angels. It is considered to be the holiest and purest place in the universe where only those souls reside who have committed good deeds. Hindus believe in a cyclical journey of the human soul. When humans are born they are pure and without any sins. As they grow older they start becoming corrupt because of their sins and humans corruptible nature. When they die, their soul can be either taken to Naraka or Svarga. In Naraka, those who have committed a lot of sins are punished and purified of their sins. The duration of punishment in Naraka depends on the amount of sins one committed when they were alive on Earth or Bhur. After they are purified they have to take birth on Earth again. Svarga in Hinduism is seen as a transitory place for righteous souls who have performed good deeds in their lives but are not yet ready to attain Moksha. Souls in Svarga either have to take birth on earth again or they attain Moksha after enjoying the fruits of their good deeds in Svarga. This cycle keeps on going on until ones soul becomes eligible for salvation or Moksha. After the soul achieves Moksha, it is unifies with the Brahma or Hindu’s representation on the Universe.
Islam
The book Soul’s Journey after Death written by Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyya and Layla Mabrouk threw some important light on what Islam has to say about human soul’s ultimate fate after death for analyzing my research topic through the perspective of Islam. Islam also suggests an ideology similar to Hinduism and Christianity but it is different in many ways than these two. Islam’s equivalent of Heaven is the term Jannah. It is the Eden where the human soul goes when they commit good deeds and prove that they are righteous. According to Islam, Jannah is a place where all the wishes of a soul are fulfilled. The concept of Jannah is more materialistic than those in most of the religions. In Jannah, souls are immortal, cheerful and with positive emotions. They wear jewelry, costly clothes and they live with their family. There are seven Jannah or heavens mentioned in Quran, the holy book of Muslims. Those who do more virtuous deeds go to a higher and better level of Jannah. The term similar to Hell in Islam is Jahannam and it is similar to the several versions of Hell mentioned in Christianity which I have already mentioned. The soul whose sins are more than the virtuous deeds go to Jahannam. Depending on the amount of sins one commits, a soul can go to different levels of Jahannam.
World View
After analyzing these sources properly, I have realized that humans all over the world share similar ideas with very few differences. Most of the religions in the world believe in the concept of parallel realms to Earth, namely, the Heaven and the Hell. But I think these minute difference occur due to mainly geographical distances and lack of spread of complete exchange of ideas and knowledge. For instance, Islam has come in contact with both the religions, namely, Hinduism and Christianity. Hence, it has a mixture of views of Hinduism and Christianity related to the concept of the Hell and the Heaven. Hinduism, similar to Islam, believes in ones duration of punishment in Hell depends on the amount of sins one commits during their lifetime on the Earth. On the other hand, Christianity does not mention anything about this. Christianity and Islam do not believe in a cyclical nature of a soul’s journey like Hinduism. Unlike Christianity, Islam does not believe in the concept of Original Sin. Geographical barriers have created circumstances leading to relative development of the religions and cultures. By the word relative I mean, various religious and traditional practices have developed different practices and ideas due to geographical and territorial barriers. I think this shows that everything is relative and differences occur because every human faces different conditions which force it to develop specific practices and ideas. But even then we have a shared culture because the core of major ideas is the same. Cultures all over the world many things in common but since humans love to focus on differences, we develop several local cultures.
Mythologies and religions have always used the notion of the Hell and the Heaven to describe the various stages a human soul has to go through. These two are considered a different realm or universe parallel to the Earth. Different religions have different definitions for these two universes. But all of them describe Heaven mainly as a place of absolute purity, goodness, faith and the holiest place. On the contrary, Hell is a place of suffering, punishment and evil. In Freudian psychology, Heaven could refer to a place where the pleasure principle is always satisfied and there is a total negation of reality principle i.e. the human souls experience pleasure all the time and avoid suffering. Since all the needs of the souls would be met and there shall be no circumstances under which it would have to defer instant gratification, reality principle would always ne negated .The concept of Heaven is more spiritual whereas the pleasure principle is true for human’s materialistic needs such as psychological and biological needs. But some religions such as Islam describe Heaven and Hell as a place where souls meet all there materialistic needs. On the other hand, Hell is a place where pleasure principle is never satisfied and souls suffer pain throughout their entire stay in Hell. Here souls are put under circumstance where reality principle is always satisfied. To understand what connects all the cultures and people all over the world and to describe the common thinking of all the people I have analyzed religious and mythological texts from three major religions of the world.
Christianity
For understanding the thinking of Christians about the concept of the Heaven and the Hell, I read the holiest text to Christians, the Holy Bible. The Bible mentions three terms synonymous with the Hell, namely, Hades, Gehenna and Tartarus. Hades is equivalent of the Hebrew word Sheol and it means the abode of the dead below the earth. It is better rendered by words "the grave" or "the pit". Hence Hades is the place where the dead "know not anything . . . their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished . . . there is no knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave" (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6, 10). The term Gehenna is associated with fire. The word Gehenna is found in Mark 9 (parallel to Matthew 18:8, 9) and it says, "And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched" (verses 43, 44, 45-49). Tartarus refers to a place of the fallen angels and directly refers to hell. It is mentioned in Peter 2:4 which says "God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell (Tartarus)". Hence, Christianity teaches that it is the final destiny of those who committed sin is the hell where they shall be punished. It believes that human soul shall be doomed to eternity if it goes to the Hell.
Bible teaches that the Heaven is a place of eternal life and the dwelling place of God. The term Heaven is mentioned in Psalm 139:7-12 which says “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.” Hence Heaven is thought of an unpolluted and perfect creation of God where human souls will be incorruptible without any death and sickness.
Hinduism
The Puranas, a genre of Hindu and Buddhist texts, contain narratives from history, philosophy, cosmology and genealogy of kings. Hence, to analyze the teachings of Hinduism about the parallel worlds of the Hell and the Heaven, I read a book which analyzed these topics. I found the book, The Puranas In the Light of Modern Sciences written by K. Narayanaswami Aiyar, to be the best study of the Puranas. Hindus believe in a realm similar to Hell called Naraka. Naraka is a place for the punishment of those who commit sins. Hindus also believe in Heaven or Svarga. It is a place where gods or devas live along with the angels. It is considered to be the holiest and purest place in the universe where only those souls reside who have committed good deeds. Hindus believe in a cyclical journey of the human soul. When humans are born they are pure and without any sins. As they grow older they start becoming corrupt because of their sins and humans corruptible nature. When they die, their soul can be either taken to Naraka or Svarga. In Naraka, those who have committed a lot of sins are punished and purified of their sins. The duration of punishment in Naraka depends on the amount of sins one committed when they were alive on Earth or Bhur. After they are purified they have to take birth on Earth again. Svarga in Hinduism is seen as a transitory place for righteous souls who have performed good deeds in their lives but are not yet ready to attain Moksha. Souls in Svarga either have to take birth on earth again or they attain Moksha after enjoying the fruits of their good deeds in Svarga. This cycle keeps on going on until ones soul becomes eligible for salvation or Moksha. After the soul achieves Moksha, it is unifies with the Brahma or Hindu’s representation on the Universe.
Islam
The book Soul’s Journey after Death written by Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyya and Layla Mabrouk threw some important light on what Islam has to say about human soul’s ultimate fate after death for analyzing my research topic through the perspective of Islam. Islam also suggests an ideology similar to Hinduism and Christianity but it is different in many ways than these two. Islam’s equivalent of Heaven is the term Jannah. It is the Eden where the human soul goes when they commit good deeds and prove that they are righteous. According to Islam, Jannah is a place where all the wishes of a soul are fulfilled. The concept of Jannah is more materialistic than those in most of the religions. In Jannah, souls are immortal, cheerful and with positive emotions. They wear jewelry, costly clothes and they live with their family. There are seven Jannah or heavens mentioned in Quran, the holy book of Muslims. Those who do more virtuous deeds go to a higher and better level of Jannah. The term similar to Hell in Islam is Jahannam and it is similar to the several versions of Hell mentioned in Christianity which I have already mentioned. The soul whose sins are more than the virtuous deeds go to Jahannam. Depending on the amount of sins one commits, a soul can go to different levels of Jahannam.
World View
After analyzing these sources properly, I have realized that humans all over the world share similar ideas with very few differences. Most of the religions in the world believe in the concept of parallel realms to Earth, namely, the Heaven and the Hell. But I think these minute difference occur due to mainly geographical distances and lack of spread of complete exchange of ideas and knowledge. For instance, Islam has come in contact with both the religions, namely, Hinduism and Christianity. Hence, it has a mixture of views of Hinduism and Christianity related to the concept of the Hell and the Heaven. Hinduism, similar to Islam, believes in ones duration of punishment in Hell depends on the amount of sins one commits during their lifetime on the Earth. On the other hand, Christianity does not mention anything about this. Christianity and Islam do not believe in a cyclical nature of a soul’s journey like Hinduism. Unlike Christianity, Islam does not believe in the concept of Original Sin. Geographical barriers have created circumstances leading to relative development of the religions and cultures. By the word relative I mean, various religious and traditional practices have developed different practices and ideas due to geographical and territorial barriers. I think this shows that everything is relative and differences occur because every human faces different conditions which force it to develop specific practices and ideas. But even then we have a shared culture because the core of major ideas is the same. Cultures all over the world many things in common but since humans love to focus on differences, we develop several local cultures.