Traveling to the Next Life

While many religions hold sacred the belief that there will be an afterlife, not all of them are greatly concerned with traveling to the next life. They give few or no directions for preparing the physical body for moving, and they concentrate on the person’s soul. There are some ancient religions where traveling after death was an important step, and there are still monuments to this belief that can be viewed today. The ancient pyramids in Egypt are just one example.

Death in most religions is not seen as an ending, and being prepared to ascend to the next plane of existence was a complex process. Food and drink would be necessary for the journey, and arriving without riches was not to be considered. Many of the ancient burial rituals in Egypt reflect these beliefs, and the pyramids were built to accommodate them. Those with means in this life were expected to be buried with everything they would need to make them comfortable once they arrived in their next phase of existence.