Ghosts &
Religion
Back to: Ghosts
Are ghosts found within religion? You may be
surprised...
Ghosts are found
within many religions, though many people from western cultures are not aware of
it. Most religions teach that a spiritual aspect of human beings,
whether the religion calls it a soul, spirit or ghost, survives beyond the
destruction of the physical body. Ghosts may best be described as
people who upon death, remain earthbound, and interact with mankind, being
trapped within the earth realm due to emotional trauma of some sort. Many
religions believe that addictions, lusts, tragedies and unfinished business seem
to be the predominant causes of many a ghosts' sufferings. Let's look at
some of the common core teachings that most of the major religions agree with
each other on.
Ghosts Suffer
Hinduism, Buddhism and Judaism
all teach that ghosts exist and many ghosts suffer for various
reasons.
Ghosts
Possess
All three religions mentioned above teach that
ghosts can possess another's fleshly body in order to influence the host. They
do not teach demons possess
humans!
Ghosts Should Be Treated With Compassion
The religions of Buddhism, Judaism and Hinduism all teach that ghosts are suffering
people who may need our help to move on beyond their state of turmoil.
Hinduism and Buddhism have religious rituals to honor deceased ancestors
which are believed to help free their souls to move on in their life
journey. Certain sects of Buddhism teach how to free ghosts from earthly
bondage by directing them toward the golden light. Judaism's
practioners of ritualist Kabbalah teach a process of ghost exorcism that
brings healing to both the ghost and the host. All three religions agree
that ghosts are hurting people, earthbound and in need of the living's
assistance.
Some christianity, such
as Catholicism, allows for
purgatory, which just may metaphorically line up with earthbound
ghosts suffering for a period of time until they are spiritually cleansed
and able to move beyond the natural realm. In contrast, fundamental
christianity does not allow for ghosts, as followers believe the existence of
ghosts to be an impossibility, due to a doctrine telling them a
person must be either in heaven or hell. Perhaps, the teachers
of such beliefs have not considered that hell may be the state of mind that
ghosts find themselves in, and not some eternal place of the
lost.
Why would Jesus
say, "The gates of hell shall not prevail," if it were not true? If one
looks at the teachings credited to Jesus, and is open to understanding them from
a spiritual, parabolic perspective, then it becomes abundantly clear that the
teachings of the Jewish Rabbi called, Jesus, line up perfectly with
some ritualistic Kabbalah of Judaism, along with some of the
teachings of Buddhism and Hinduism!
From that
perspective, we are able to see that perhaps the major religions mentioned above
have more in common than many believe. A fact that may help bring the
whole of humanity together in spirituality, understanding ghosts, ghost possession, and ghost problems. If we are able to identify with
the lost and hurting in the unseen realm who may surround us all, then maybe we
can be of help not only to them, but to ourselves and each
other.