I had a strange thought the other day while driving home from work.
Let's say the soul DOES exist. In the conventional sense of the word. As in the essence of your being. That ethereal thing that resides in your body temporarily until you expire then does whatever (goes to heaven/hell, becomes a ghost, gets absorbed into the absolute... whatever).
However, people are not BORN with souls.
They have to earn their souls through their works while here on this planet.
Ssomewhat similar to the Vedic teachings and Buddhist samsra, if you acquire enough wisdom while you are here, you will earn your soul and its place in Nirvana.
If you do not earn your soul before you die, you will simply disappear at death. No afterlife, no eternal bliss or suffering, no nothing, you simply no longer continue to exist.
If, however, you DO earn your soul, then, upon death, you will go onto whatever your version of Nirvana is.
There is no "Hell".
Hell is simply the state of being without a soul here on Earth.
Obviously this is FAR from a complete idea, but I just though the notion was interesting.
Or maybe I was just having a flaky moment and let myself run with it.
Let's say the soul DOES exist. In the conventional sense of the word. As in the essence of your being. That ethereal thing that resides in your body temporarily until you expire then does whatever (goes to heaven/hell, becomes a ghost, gets absorbed into the absolute... whatever).
However, people are not BORN with souls.
They have to earn their souls through their works while here on this planet.
Ssomewhat similar to the Vedic teachings and Buddhist samsra, if you acquire enough wisdom while you are here, you will earn your soul and its place in Nirvana.
If you do not earn your soul before you die, you will simply disappear at death. No afterlife, no eternal bliss or suffering, no nothing, you simply no longer continue to exist.
If, however, you DO earn your soul, then, upon death, you will go onto whatever your version of Nirvana is.
There is no "Hell".
Hell is simply the state of being without a soul here on Earth.
Obviously this is FAR from a complete idea, but I just though the notion was interesting.
Or maybe I was just having a flaky moment and let myself run with it.