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Life

Where Do We Go When We Die

The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at NU chapter.

It is a thought that I have always wondered and pondered upon for endless nights. There are too many conspiracy theories by people around the world for whomever wants to believe in them and some of them are a bit too much. Studies have been done on this but to no avail. However, they do say that the brain activity stops several minutes after the death of a person, which means maybe life does flash before us when we die, maybe we do hear people mourning or rejoicing our death, who knows.

So, let’s look at some of the most avid known theories existing in the world.

Ghostification

The most well known theory is that we become ghosts and wander the world, until we are deemed worthy enough to ascend to heaven or be thrown into the pits of hell. 

According to this theory, the soul leaves the body and wanders around the place where they had brutally died or have an emotional connection to. So many shows all around the world have shown grotesque scenes about these “ghosts”, who became berserk and began haunting the house where they had been violently murdered (Refer to any of the Conjurings). But, is there any truth in this theory? Maybe, we’ll never know. 

What would be the first thing you would do, if you did become a ghost?

Me to life: Thank you, NEXT

Another major theory talked about for miles on end is that we “apparently” have seven lives given to each one of us. We traverse through those seven lives differently and by some magical force forget about our existence in the previous ones, at least most of the time.

This concept is also used in mainly Hindu marriages where the bride and groom revolve around the fire seven times while they are bound together through a piece of cloth. This means that the bride and groom or as we call it, Dulha and Dulhan have been bound together for all seven lives and no matter what will find a way back to each other. 

Just like the other theories on this list, we will never know if this is actually true. There have been many instances where people have claimed that they know who killed them in their precious lives, or they are born with a face similar to someone who had died recently. Who knows, I could have been a mafia boss in my previous life or maybe a cute chihuahua who loves sleeping all the time.

DEATH- A plot twist which never happens

Basically, we just stop existing at all. Maybe nothing actually happens during and after our death. We just stop there and then and our life is over. A new person is born every time with a new soul. Hence our choices and matters are all different. In my opinion, this is the most boring theory. There is no fun in dying, I see.

Grades: From Exams to Sins

This theory is very old and still goes on till now. Many of you may have seen these visualizations in movies or various illustrations of man being boiled in a pot by the devil in hell while another man goes and enjoys delicacies in heaven. This comes on the basis of the number of sins you have committed. If your sins are gravely low and of not so much value, you are sent to Heaven, where everything is super pure and people live in luxury. Whereas, if you have committed a grave sin, you are deemed as an evil person with the likelihood of the devil and sent to Hell, where you will be tortured relentlessly. This just shows that we would never stop being graded even after life.

These are just some of the endless theories that people come up with all the time, and since then have been going on for generations with us. So which theory do you guys agree with? Or do you have another theory of your own?

I am a 2nd year, BTech CSE student currently studying at NIIT UNIVERSITY in India. My passions include writing, editing and I love to spend my time doodling as well. Obviously mindlessly daydreaming comes as a default.