MYSTERIES OF LIFE AND DEATH (4): ESOTERIC BELIEFS
“Some seem to take the mystery to be that we cannot know or even conceive of what being dead will be like. This might be thought to follow from the fact that most of us who are living have no recollection of ever having been dead, and thus we lack first-hand experience of what death is like.”
By Babatunde Jose
The nexus between life and death cannot be overemphasized. While the idiosyncratic nature and meanings of ‘life’ and ‘death’ appear to a layman as clear and distinct, it seems to be a controversial subject of debate among scholars on what these terms actually entail.
One mystery which relates to life after death is the issue of metempsychosis. Metempsychosis, also known as reincarnation, is the belief that a soul is immortal and passes through cycles of life and death in different bodies.
The theory may have originated from the teachings of Pythagoras, who may have been influenced by the Indian concept of reincarnation.
Metempsychosis is a belief that is common to many religions and philosophies across the world. It was once prevalent in many parts of the world, but is now more commonly associated with Asia, especially India.
Eastern religions such as Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism have different beliefs about rebirth. Christianity and Islam have largely rejected reincarnation, though some sub-sects are still interested in it. Theosophical society and other mystic and esoteric schools have their own unique descriptions of rebirth.
*It is natural for humans to be curious about death, including the death of others. Death is a universal human experience, and understanding it can help us make sense of our own mortality and the meaning of life. Additionally, death is often surrounded by mystery and uncertainty, which can make it even more intriguing.*
Transmigration of souls is a topic which evokes emotive arguments but which is never resolved because it relates to spirits, paranormal and supernatural phenomenon that are not amenable to empiricism. However, there are some aspects which defy rational explanations, hence the mystery. One of such phenomenon is the Akudaya syndrome.
The same goes for the Abiku phenomenon which with the advances in healthcare and improvement in infant mortality the scourge has been considerably reduced, but cannot be dismissed.
According to late Professor Sophie Oluwole, _“African Traditional thought claims three types of justification for the belief in reincarnation (Oluwole, 1996). The first is family resemblance, in which case, children resemble their dead ancestors, having some physical and mental features identical with theirs. Secondly, the unnatural and circumstantial marks made on some people, such as gunshot and deliberate deformities on the dead do also reappear on the child that is born. This cannot adequately be explained as a biological family trait. The deformities mete out on the bodies of the babies out of desperation to stop them from coming back, appear on those children when they are reborn. The third justification is memory transfer. This is attested to by the stories of children who could recount real life experiences of their ancestors with astonishing details, yet had no first hand access to the stories of such ancestors. All these justifications for reincarnation are well maintained among the Yoruba people as well.”_
*The mystery of life and death along with the concept of soul and body is a deep philosophical matter and it requires great rationality, prudence, contemplation, observation and intensive study and analytical research to understand it.*
Akudaya is a supernatural phenomenon in Yoruba culture that involves the dead coming back to life, often after burial, and in places where they were not known in life. The story of Iya Risikat narrated here is a case in point.
Dayo, a job seeker in Lagos relates his experience: “Iya Risikat was a popular Ewa Agonyin seller in Brown Street in Ipaja, Lagos. After my secondary school, I left Ekiti to settle down in Lagos with my eldest brother in Ipaja. After my first week in Lagos, I decided to familiarize myself with my new environment. After walking some distance, I saw the shop of the famous Iya Risikat, the Agonyin beans seller.
“On getting there, I was shocked to see Iya Titi; a woman who had died in an auto crash along with her husband many years ago in my village in Ekiti.
“I could not believe it and immediately I ran home and narrated my finding to my brother. He picked up his phone and called our mother in the village to tell her that “Iya Titi is not dead”. Before he could hang up the call, my mother had already told her neighbors that Iya Titi was seen in Lagos selling beans.
“Before dusk, her relatives had already sent emissaries of five family members to investigate the assertion. Before the emissaries could get to Lagos, the news of Iya Risikat’s death had already gone viral throughout the whole area.
“The emissaries arrived in Lagos, but Iya Risikat’s body had already been laid to rest according to the Muslim rite. When they got there, they met everyone crying including her husband and the kids. The emissaries never believed until they saw a big family picture of her sitting beside her husband and children”.
Not only had she started another family in Lagos but had died twice. How do we explain this? Yet: *“Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).
It would not be the last of such stories. A man died in Zimbabwe and was seen by his cousin in New York, he claimed he was there on holidays. Another woman died at childbirth in Lagos and was sighted at Alagomeji entering a bus going towards Oyingbo; she claimed her husband sent her to Oyingbo market. Kunle picked up a lady at a party and brought her home, after getting into the act, he saw her off to her house. She entered her yard in his presence. Next day he went to visit her. After the people in her house interrogated him, they then told him the lady in question had died months ago and could not have been possible. How then do we explain the bizarre story?
A good example of transmigration or bodily resurrection is the all-time story of the resurrection of Jesus in 33 AD. See (John 20:11-18). Jesus wasn’t the only one believed to have risen from the dead. Stories of resurrection appear in ancient cultures around the world. See History Channel.
Jesus said of John the Baptist, *“He is Elijah who is to come” (Matt 11:14)* , which some say is figurative and means that Jesus was talking about the spirit of Elijah coming on to John the Baptist. Spirit or body, it is still a phenomena of transmigration.
The most common view has been that, at death, the soul immediately goes to be with God and there is a continuity of personal existence. There is no interruption of life at the end of this life, but we continue to be alive in our personal souls upon death.
Why then are we scared of death? This can be related to fears of the unknown, of non-existence, of eternal punishment, of the loss of control, or fear of what will happen to the people we love.
In a sense, death is the ultimate purveyor of perspective. It helps us see trivial things for what they are—and face up to the fact that much of what we worry about and consume ourselves with isn’t so important after all. Reflecting on death can help us stop fretting about things that are outside our control. Things that are metaphysical and supernatural.
*One of the most important teachings of the Qur’an is the survival of the soul after separation from the body, and that death is not the end of human life, but is an appendage to another life. All verses in the Quran which are about resurrection also indicate the immortality of the soul.*
However, not everything can be known by man with our current mind and intelligence that are far limited to perceive such paranormal phenomenon.
But, one thing is very clear: Human mind’s greatest weakness is to make concepts that fit into its belief and then believe it is the absolute truth. Such diverse beliefs have led to the origin of religions. Each religion and each spiritual teacher differs in their view of existence or mechanism of rebirths. However, there cannot be many truths. So it appears that the “Truth” is beyond the reach of the mind. The only sure thing is that death is inevitable. Thus, we all will find out sooner or later!
*At the end of the day, the sterling truth about death is that it is the greatest relief from intractable sickness, miserable life, excruciating pain caused by incurable disease, and a life of misery and pain. Death puts an end to all these and brings succor to the family of the dead.*
Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un. Last Friday we lost Alhaji Bashiru Ayoola Bakare a director of Caverton Offshore Support Group Plc., and former Executive Director of First Bank Plc. Bashiru was a childhood friend, just as his late father Justice Bakare was my father’s childhood friend too. May Allah admit ‘Bashey boy’ to Jannatul Firdous.
Barka Juma’at and a happy weekend*
Babatunde Jose
Friday 8th November 2024
Milestone: Hurray! Our amiable sister Dr. Yetunde Aderemi (Hajja Yets) will climb to the seventh floor of life as she celebrates her 70th birthday tomorrow, 9th November. We wish her a Happy Birthday. May Allah preserve her, bless and bless her children, bless her new age and grant her good in this world and in the Hereafter; May her days be long.
