Common Questions About The Afterlife

[Svaroga]

I do not personally worry about the afterlife but I feel closest to Vyraj the Slavic afterlife. You see we don't remember too much about the pre-christian beliefs of the slavs however we do know that there are a few stories that are related to what the afterlife could of looked like and the most likely one is Vyraj(the alternative is Yav, Prav and Nav which is likely a later idea). Vyraj is where all souls go, it is grassy, at the very bottom of the world tree, where Veles lives, a lot of birds go there and I presume your soul just rests there or become birds. However I am a syncretist of Heathenry(Neo-Pagan of Germanic Paganism) and Rodnovery(Neo-Pagan of Slavic Paganism) so there in my faith many after lives especially among the Germanic half where Hel, Vaholle, Folkvangr, Neorxnawang where you go may vary not only that but it is possible that theres even more afterlives that they believed in. Otherwise I don't worry about this, I synchronize Vyraj and Hel as I feel they are similar though Neorxnawang is like Vyraj in some ways as they are grassy.

[Sorai Rai Aorai]

Thank you Svaroga, for that unique perspective among those offered here. Would you please describe the terms you used for the various states of afterlife, and what they entail?

[Svaroga]

So Vyraj I already mentioned but then I said Hel, Vaholle, Folkvangr and Neorxnawang. Hel is etymologically related to our modern term "Hell" though among ancient Germanic people it was the general place for souls not just bad but also good and the neutral. Hel it was believed was guarded by Hel the goddess who shares her name with her realm, Hel is a cold place and there are special sections where bad people do pay there due but for the most part it is foggy and cold. Vaholle is the proper spelling of Vahalla this is where half of warriors who die in battle go and the other half go to Folkvangr and so do noble women(translates to field of people) which is guarded by Freyja. In Vaholle the fallen men prepare for the end times of the gods, in Folkvangr the warriors also prepare for the end. Neorxnawang is suspected of having pre-Germanic roots, you see as the Anglo-Saxons were being christianized they had to try to explain what christian heaven was but the name Neorxnawang implies that its a meadow, a heath essentially. In other gemanic cultures and words heaven has some root word in "Wang" or "Vangr" meaning field so it is likely that most Germanic peoples used to believe in some sort of field in the afterlife, I personally prefer Neorxnawang and Vyraj as they are the most ambivalent and neutral given I don't worry much about the afterlife and more of the now.

[Pagandell]

Originally Posted by Eelco

I will probably party so hard I wake up right back here.

Me too lol

[SHRIKER]

Was there a spirit world before the big bang?

[bobjob]

Originally Posted by SHRIKER

Was there a spirit world before the big bang?

The entity responsible for overseeing our universe had to have existed to bring about the processes that created this dimension containing our world began.

In reality the etheric dimensions are eternal - there is no time hence there is also no "before". Messes with your head, huh?

Originally Posted by SHRIKER

Was there a spirit world before the big bang?

Hello Shriker,

There is a yoga of Knowledge, that not everyone can follow. Those who follow it always have an impossible question that the normal human mind cannot answer to. By pursuing a way to answer to this impossible question to answer, like the one you have, they finally realize themselves as they come to have a direct experience that enables them to answer directly to their question.

It seems you are on this path of Knowledge.

Forget about what the others say, and find the answer within you. It is there.

If you never tasted an orange, no one can really describe to you what it is to taste an orange, until you taste it yourself. Before tasting it yourself, it is all speculation.

Enjoy

Antoine

[SHRIKER]

I was interested in what other people think about this, but with my current understanding, I do not think there was a spiritual world, I think it developed along with everything else. I did not know there was a yoga of knowledge!

Hello Shriker,

If ever you are interested in the yoga of knowledge it is called Jnana yoga in Sanskrit.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jnana_yoga

Very few take this path for it works only if you are attached in resolving one of the essential question in this existence.

If you are attached in knowing how your car works, or other materialistic basic questions, you will only get lost in your lower mind following this path.

Enjoy

Antoine

[bobjob]

Originally Posted by SHRIKER

I was interested in what other people think about this, but with my current understanding, I do not think there was a spiritual world, I think it developed along with everything else.

There are folk who - in their current level of understanding - think that life begins only when we're born into this world and others who believe it ends when we die.

It's a myopic outlook but actual myopia may not be recognised until an individual speaks to others when he becomes aware he's not seeing the full picture. At that point he might listen to what others say and wonder what they see compared with himself.

At that point his awareness has changed and can change further. Why not try that approach for yourself?