Death is often feared because it is considered as the end of life. However, when you try to analyze death in the light of different religious scriptures, you will find that most religions believe in eternal life.
Christianity, for instance believes in the continued existence of the soul that is ideally meant to reach Heaven and they eternal life there in the presence of God. Islam, too, believes in this sort of afterlife of the soul in Paradise or Hell after the Day of Judgment.
Different religions and cultures greatly affect our perception and views about life and death. Consequently, bereavement and funeral practices and tend to vary from one religion to another.
Thus, although death is a universal experience, it is interpreted in numerous ways in all the cultures and religions. Consequently, there are different methods for disposing of the body of the deceased.
Christianity believes in an afterlife in Heaven or Hell depending on one’s conduct on earth and belief or disbelief in God. The believers face death without fear and gain eternal life in Heaven in the presence of God.
Accepting death and spirituality in a healthy way with love rather than fear requires a lot of faith in the higher power or God.
This faith, however, is not mere blind faith because it is backed with reasoning that proves the prowess of the Almighty Lord rather than knowledge gathered by limited sense perception and motivated by false ego.
Thus, relying on the knowledge and understanding derived from the revealed scriptures, strengthened by wisdom is highly beneficial.
It helps build trust and faith. Furthermore, you can take inspiration from famous quotes, proverbs, and sayings.
After death, there are usually two ways of disposing of the dead. They are: burial and cremation. Burial involves placing the body either in a long-lasting or a biodegradable casket and burying it in burial ground or cemetery.
Cremation, on the other hand, is an irreversible process because it involves subjecting the body to high temperatures to reduce it into its basic elements.
However, contrary to the popular misconception, cremation does not result in ashes as shards and pieces of bones still remain. Thus, these bone fragments are further pulverized to get a powdery consistency.
Honesty is definitely the best policy when explaining death to a child or else they may develop fears and misconceptions.
However, you need not delve deep in the topic as the child may not understand all your points. Moreover, it can scare young children.
Thus, the trick is to explain as much as the child can handle. This often depends on the child’s age, personality, life experiences, etc. In addition, it is recommended to encourage an atmosphere of comfort and openness.
Those who yearn to understand death spiritually to make the most of life can read several famous quotes, proverbs, sayings, and scriptural verses for inspiration.
These quotations stimulate one to think deeply into the reality of one’s existence and accept death as an inevitable reality of life.
“It is not the end of the physical body that should worry us. Rather, our concern must be to live while we’re alive – to release our inner selves from the spiritual death that comes with living behind a facade designed to conform to external definitions of who and what we are.”
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross