Death is not considered within the context of spirituality. This attitude grants him a certain flexibility in matters of consciousness, which, in turn, will favor the possibility of incarnation. Consequently, the human being would be endowed with the capacity to evolve through different physical bodies.
Several hypotheses can shed light on what happens after what we call death; here are a few: resurrection and the avatar. These hypotheses suggest the possibility of a posthumous existence, although they contain contradictions on certain points.
Resurrection occurs a few days after death. Although we acknowledge the recognition of Jesus Christ, wouldn't this be within everyone's reach?
The emergence of the avatar occurs through a divine consciousness and an incarnated soul. By divine consciousness, we are referring to certain recognized deities, which will be analyzed in the chapter dedicated to mythology. This action plunges the future avatar into a state of consciousness comparable to that of a coma. Some solutions are proposed, and the whole remains limited to the scope of a presentation, as there can be no certainty.
Due to our stage of evolution, it is important to emphasize that incarnation does not occur spontaneously. We must maintain this state.
Death as a process. Medicine distinguishes between clinical death (cessation of heart and breathing) and brain death (irreversible cessation of all brain function). The former is reversible within the first few minutes, thanks to resuscitation. The boundary between life and death is therefore a threshold that technology shifts, which relates to the idea of death being difficult to "recognize."
Unexpected returns. The Lazarus phenomenon refers to a spontaneous resumption of circulation after the withdrawal of resuscitation. It is rare, but documented. Near-death experiences, reported by a minority of cardiac arrest survivors, remain a subject of debate: science explains them by residual or disrupted brain activity, without establishing the survival of consciousness.
Inexperience and flexibility. Neuroplasticity is greater in childhood, with critical periods of learning. A brain less marked by experience is more malleable: this echoes the link established between inexperience and the flexibility of consciousness.
Renewal of the body. The body's matter is constantly replaced, while its form and organization persist. Identity is more about form than content, which is close to "we only preserve the form."
Consciousness and coma. Imaging studies (Owen, 2006) have shown that a hidden consciousness can persist in some patients in a vegetative state. This provides empirical support for the image of consciousness "immersed in a state comparable to a coma."
Body and mind. Embodied cognition (Varela, Thompson, Rosch) shows that the mind is shaped by the form of the body, which brings "the form of embodiment" closer to the human.
Limitations. To date, no data establishes the survival of consciousness or reincarnation. The cases of children who claim to remember past lives (Stevenson) remain disputed. The text is therefore correct in stating that there is no certainty.
The Gita (2:20-22) teaches that the Self is neither born nor dies, and compares the body to a worn garment that is replaced with a new one. In the Katha Upanishad, Nachiketas questions Yama, Death, about what remains. Rebirth (punarjanma) carries away the subtle impressions (samskara) of one life to the next.
Rebirth occurs without a permanent soul, like a flame that lights another lamp. The Tibetan Bardo Thödol describes the intermediate state between death and rebirth.
The Bible speaks of the abode of the dead (Sheol), and then Daniel (12:2) announces the resurrection. Kabbalah acknowledges the transmigration of souls (gilgul). Christianity Christ rises on the third day, and Saint Paul makes this promise to all: “In Christ all will be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22). This is resurrection, not reincarnation. Islam and Sufism After death, the soul waits in the barzakh, the isthmus, until the resurrection. The Sufis speak of "dying before dying": the death of the ego opens a new life here on earth.
Rebirth exists, and human birth is the opportunity to transcend it through meditation on the Name.
Pythagoras and Plato (Myth of Er, Republic X) teach metempsychosis, the passage of the soul from one body to another.
Death cannot be recognized from within: no one has ever experienced their last moment to tell the tale. What remains, silent, is consciousness, all the more supple for being new, ready to inhabit another body as one changes homes.
What becomes of us after what we call death? Two narratives emerge. Resurrection, a few days after the fall, is offered to us in the figure of a single individual: could it not be a promise for all? The avatar, on the other hand, unites a divine consciousness with a soul that becomes incarnate, and plunges the one who descends into a sleep akin to a coma, as if light had to consent to oblivion in order to reach the earth.
None of these accounts offers certainty. They are lanterns, not proofs. Their value lies in the openness they create: nothing is closed.
Perhaps all we retain from all this is the form of incarnation, this form closer to humanity, tender, fragile, recognizable. Our stage of evolution does not allow it to arise spontaneously: it requires nurturing, like a flame sheltered from the wind.
Then living becomes a vigil. Maintaining the state, remaining attentive, and letting the universe tell the rest.
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