Rig Veda Beliefs

Secrets of God and Rig Veda, The Concept of Death and the Afterlife in Religion The concept of death in the writings of the Rig Veda and Secrets of God look at what it means to die and what is in store for each person in the afterlife. The outlooks of both texts share similar ideas when it comes to their depictions of a perfect heaven, the journey to the heavens guided by a divine figure, and the ritual consumption of symbolic foods and drugs. However, they do differ in multiple ways such as their views on the resurrection of the dead, the use of fire as a form of purification and punishment, and how nature and the elements play different roles in afterlife. The importance of sacrifice, trials, and nature is also important in defining

In the Vedas, resurrection is seen as a part of the afterlife, where the body proceeds to leave “behind all imperfections, go back home again;9 merge with a glorious body.” (Doniger, pg. 44). However, Hildegard views resurrection frequently as an attribute of purgatory, which is the result of a person’s sins preventing them from reaching heaven. This is shown in Hildegard’s section on purgatory which explains how purgatory is the state of physical death, which is shown in the passage “purgation of the sins from which they had not fully purged themselves in the flesh—prevented by death—and for which they were not tried by the divine scourges of a merciful God in this world.” (689-691). Another difference is the concept of cremation in death, where in the Veda’s, it is an act of purification and rebirth, while in the Secrets of God, it is seen as a form of punishment in death. For example, the Veda’s proceed to explain that fire is used “when the corpse is sufficiently ‘cooked’ and has undergone purification after its funeral pollution, the first, corpse-burning fire is dismissed to serve the gods and to carry the body to the fathers” (Doniger, pg. 47). In contrast, Hildegard visualizes that fire is used to punish the falsehoods of the body, which is seen in the passage; “since they took pride in

The Veda’s place an important emphasis on using sacrifice to reap the rewards of the afterlife and “Unite with the fathers, with Yama, with the rewards of your sacrifices and good deeds” (Doniger, pg. 44). Additionally, the use of sacrifice in Vedas signifies the passing of the soul into eternity, as the oblations offered in death comes in the form of soma or butter which is offered to Yama in order for him to intervene among the gods (Doniger, pg.44). As for the use of trials in Secrets of God and the Vedas, they show that even after death, heaven isn’t an inclusive right to all who have faith in their religion. For example, in Secrets of God, Hildegard explains how the soul must be tested in that “Spirit is to be tried by spirit, flesh by flesh, earth by water, fire by ice…..light by darkness, life by death, Paradise by Purgatory” (Hildegard, 308-310), in order to reach the kingdom of heaven or the depths of hell. Similarly, in the Vedas, the soul and body must traverse obstacles such as the flesh-eating ghouls, who either consume their corpse or act as a form of guidance to reach heaven (Doniger, pg.45). These trails show that in the afterlife, the right to enter heaven isn’t wholly inclusive, as in the case of failure, the chance of an afterlife is denied to those who are eaten in the Vedas, and in the case of