What happens to a cat after death: where does their soul go?

Where does a cat's soul go after death? The owners of their four-legged pets often think about this when mourning their passing. Is there a Rainbow where the souls of our furry pets end up? For example, in India they believe in the reincarnation of the soul, and that the human soul can incarnate into an animal or even a rock.

My sister recently said goodbye to her beloved cat, who lived with her for 15 years. She said that she had a dream in which she was able to telepathically communicate with her pet.

After this dream, my sister completely calmed down, because her Snowflake felt good and cozy there. What do religions and scientists say about the afterlife of pets? I will tell you about this in the article.

Rebirth theory

Reincarnation, or reincarnation, is one of the theories of rebirth. Present in the religions of the East and claims that the soul is immortal. The finitude of earthly existence is considered only a stage of transformation, movement into another body. During this, the soul loses its memory of previous lives.

In Buddhism, reincarnation occurs, according to various sources, from 7 to 350-777 times. The concept of karma is inextricably linked with mechanisms.

According to the shamans of the northern tribes, one can move from a human body into a person, animal, or even an object. Superstitions are associated with the ancient idea of ​​​​the structure of the world: then every object was endowed with a soul.

The Wheel of Samsara shows the laws of reincarnation

The Eastern Slavs had a belief in livestock migration. Superstitions are directly related to the cult of the god Rod and nature.

1. If a person was good, he became a useful animal.
2. If he did bad things, he was reincarnated as a pest.
3. Restless souls served evil spirits.

The circle is broken when the soul is taken to the other world.

Folk signs about cats

Almost every nation in the world has signs associated with cats. There are especially many signs among the Slavs, since cats have lived side by side with the Slavic peoples since ancient times. The most common of them are the following:

• the cat began to wash its hair and ears - expect guests to come into the house;
• In order for the guest to return to the house again, you need to put a piece of hair from the cat’s tail on his shoulder;
• if a stranger cat asks for affection - to prosperity and benefit;
• if a cat sleeps with its nose buried in its tail, there will be a cold snap;
• a cat sleeps with its belly up - to sudden warming;
• pour water on a cat - shorten your life;
• a cat at the altar during a wedding - to an unhappy marriage;
• a cat sleeping on the dining table means death in the family;
• taking a stray cat into your home means happiness and good luck in money matters;
• To get pregnant faster, you need to pet someone else's pregnant cat.

The most familiar sign for everyone without exception is a black cat crossing the road. There is a belief that a black cat that suddenly crosses the path of a person or car portends misfortune. There are several ways to save yourself from failure:

1. Wait until someone else crosses the road first to “take” the bad omen.
2. Spit over your shoulder to the left and boldly walk forward.
3. Grab a button on your clothing and hold on to it until you leave the meeting place with the cat.

However, the Slavs believed that the black cat should be the first to be brought into a new home. In this case, she promised only good luck and happy years in a new place.

A black cat can be a cause of good or bad luck in different signs.

The mechanism and law of reincarnation

Karma is the universal law of cause and effect. The future transmigration of the soul is determined by how much good and evil a person has done. She is capable of punishing evil in subsequent lives, sending failures, suffering, and lack of harmony. A person is held responsible for what happens to him.

There are 10 basic laws of karma.

1. Cause and investigation.
2. Creation: life is old, and we are only part of it.
3. Humility and through it, spiritual growth.
4. Responsibility. The connection between actions, present and future.
5. Thanksgiving.
6. Focus. Don't think about two things at once.
7. Here and now. Enjoy the moment.
8. Change.
9. Patience pays off.
10. What is given more energy is more important, and vice versa.

Simply put, karma is the maintenance of a balance of good and evil in the actions of a particular person. There must be one good deed for every evil deed. But the mystery of existence is that everything is ambiguous and turns out differently.

There are several principles in the theory of reincarnation.

1. Women in the past incarnation were men, and vice versa.
2. In the present reincarnation, one can notice “residues” from the previous ones.
3. An animal inhabits a person, but never a person - an animal or an object. But many scientists and esotericists actively argue with this point.
4. The more evil done in this life, the more trials are prepared in the next.

Where is the rainbow

You can often hear that the cat went over the rainbow or to the rainbow. What does it mean? Since ancient times, the rainbow has been represented as a bridge between the world of the living and the dead. Therefore, when they say that the cat went over the rainbow, they mean his death.

People believe that in that space their beloved animals have plenty of food and water, they feel comfortable and warm. There they frolic on green lawns and wait to meet their owners. Old or crippled animals turn into young and mischievous, but they will still be recognizable.

This faith gives you hope of meeting your beloved pet and never being separated from it again.

What happens to animals after death?

The animal world is no different from the human world, only the laws of karma do not work there. Pets have no consciousness, they are not good or evil a priori. The soul of a deceased dog or bird is reincarnated into an individual of the same species.

Even more about the souls of animals after death.

Often, owners notice that some time after the death of their beloved pet there is a stray kitten or puppy. He often looks like two peas in a pod to the deceased. This is a manifestation of karma and reincarnation: it sends a new physical embodiment to a good family. Sometimes it takes about 3 months from the moment of death to return.

To maintain balance, there are transitions between types. Often owners recognize “their” pet in a completely different animal.

The cat's dead soul is esoterically somewhat more complex than the others. They have 9 lives, i.e. 9 reincarnations. After the last one, they go to the afterlife or are reborn into another form.

Signs about the death of pets: how to properly conduct the soul of a dog or cat.

Rescue of the Prophet Muhammad

A positive attitude towards cats in Islam was also formed due to the fact that one of the felines saved the Messenger of Allah from a snake bite. One morning, when he began to get dressed, he saw that his favorite Muizza was growling and would not let him have his clothes. When a snake crawled out of the sleeve of the robe, the cat caught it and killed it. After this, the Prophet Muhammad began to love Muizza even more. There is also information that he used the water that the cat drank to wash himself after prayer. Thus, we can conclude that Muslims consider furry creatures to be pure animals.

They say cats only fall on their 4 paws for a reason. Prophet Muhammad constantly stroked furry animals and thus blessed them.

The intersection of the human and animal souls

It is possible to move into a cat after death in several cases.

1. Many bad deeds have been committed in several lives, so the soul goes to the lower animal rank. According to the laws of karma, evil people turn into animals or inanimate objects.
2. But the cat is also considered a sacred creature in many cultures. A good soul can move into it at the final stage.
3. If during their lifetime the deceased loved a pet or any animals very much. Volunteers, philanthropists, shelter owners, veterinarians, cat owners are rewarded with reincarnation in the body of a carefree animal, always with good owners.
4. As one of the testing stages in the evolution of the soul. Each must pass the test of suffering and deprivation. Some come back in the form of stray pets.

The reincarnation of man into beast is an unconventional, expanded concept. The opposite option is more likely, when an animal, after a cycle, incarnates into a human. This suggests that his soul has gone through all stages of evolution and is ready for life in society, observing the highest karmic laws. It is believed that pets who die a difficult death become human.

Bull

عن أبي سعيد الخدري رضي الله عنه عن رسول الله صلى الله وسلم قال: (( All rights reserved. فارك ال رحمن عليك يا Please contact us All rights reserved له عليه وسلم – إلينا، ثم ضحك حتى بدت نواجذه ثم قال: ألا أخبرك بإدامهم Please contact us كبدهما سبعون ألفاً))، رواه البخاري ومسلم. Quote .. "

It is reported that Abu Said al-Khudri said: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ told us:

“On the Day of Resurrection, the Earth will become one loaf of bread, and the Majestic Lord will make it smooth, just as you make bread dough while traveling. And he will make it a treat for the people of Paradise.”

After the Prophet ﷺ said this, a certain Jew came and asked: “May the Merciful Allah bless you, O Abul-Qasim, should you tell me about what kind of treat will be served to the inhabitants of Paradise on the day of Resurrection?” The Prophet ﷺ replied: “Yes, of course.” The Jew said: “On that day the earth will turn into one loaf of bread...” and he told the same thing that the Prophet ﷺ said. Then the Messenger of the Most High looked at us and laughed so much that his teeth were visible, and said: “Shouldn’t I tell you what will be served with the bread? It will be bull and fish." The Companions asked: “What does this mean?”*. He replied: “It means bull and fish. And the tip from their liver will be eaten by seventy thousand people.” Hadith reported by Imam Muslim.

*Here the Prophet ﷺ used the little common word “balam” (بالام), which is translated as both bull and ox, and therefore the companions asked him to clarify this word.

Do animals have souls: the view of Orthodoxy

Whether or not to give a cat a soul is a serious debate for Christians. If the world was created by God, then all living things are the result of his plan and are endowed with it. This is confirmed by a quotation from the Bible that man is not above cattle.

The modern church denies the presence of souls in animals. According to their version, they are different from humans, although they are God's creatures. They have no opportunity to sin. But one argument contradicts them: emotions. It is impossible to dispute it. Therefore, it is allowed that an animal has a certain spirit according to the Creator’s plan. But with a number of caveats:

• they do not participate in the sacraments of baptism, repentance (because they do not sin);
• You are allowed to pray for them if you are lost or sick;
• they don’t ask about dead animals;
• It is allowed to sprinkle pets, because previously they blessed livestock.

In superstitions about animals, it is better to discard evil spirits. And also the church does not accept the claim that animals are endowed with healing abilities.

As a result, the Christian debate about the existence of the soul of pets has not yet reached its final conclusion.

Sheep

A hadith from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) says that the Messenger of God ﷺ said:

امْسَحُوا رُغامَ الغَنَمِ وطَيِّبُوا مَرَاحَها وصَلُّوا في جانِبِ مَرَاحِها فإنّها مِنْ دَوَابِّ الجَنّةِ

“Wipe the mucus from the sheep* and cleanse their fold, pray near their fold, for verily they are from among the animals of Paradise.” This hadith was reported by al-Bayhaqi in al-Ma'rifa.

*This means that sheep should be kept clean and looked after, as Imam al-Munawi says in Faydul-Qadir.

How to help your pet reincarnate

You can't force a cat to reincarnate, you can't help it reincarnate - because it's impossible. The universe will not consider anyone's wishes or suffering about loss. One of the laws of karma is humility. Any situation must be realized, accepted, dealt with. The thought that the cat was surrounded by care and love will be enough for you. He was reborn into another body or form and went to the afterlife.

If the loss is severe, get another pet. It is not necessary to look for something similar and wait for offspring. Adopt any stray kitten or puppy. You will be warmed by the thought that the world's karmic balance has been maintained: someone's favorite in a new form is a member of your family, and yours is someone else's.

Man-made instructions are unlikely to change the mechanism of transformation. Therefore, it does not matter what is in store for a cat after its next earthly life: unlike humans, they have their own karmic laws.

Kitten color

It is believed that the color of a pet is also of great importance. In Muslim countries there are cats of different breeds, but it is the white ones that deserve the most respect. So, the Prophet Muhammad had a kitten of exactly this color. A black cat is not considered a bad sign in Islam. She also deserves to be treated well and is not a harbinger of trouble. Cats with different colored eyes are also very popular. They are believed to be closest to Allah and have some magical skills. In Christianity, special attention is paid to tricolor cats. They are believed to bring good luck and fortune to the home.

Reincarnation: how many times are we born?

The question of life and death, as well as the existence of the afterlife, has been of concern to dozens of generations of people. Does the soul exist and will it continue its path after earthly death? Or maybe she will stay here to live a new, different life?

— Salik.biz

What is reincarnation?

Many Eastern religions and local cults support the idea that the soul is reborn in new and new people throughout the existence of the world. This idea is called Reincarnation. It allows a person to explain to himself why he cannot live as he would like.

In primitive and ancient times, a person, seeing the family resemblance between a grandmother (aunt, grandfather) and a newborn, could explain this to himself as the transmigration of a dead soul. People also endowed animals with Souls, firmly believing that if they lead a sinful life, they could be reborn into some unpleasant entity.

How many times do we live and for what purpose?

The most interesting and mystical question of reincarnation is: “Who can the soul be reborn into and how many times?” According to some theosophical opinions, a person must experience both the male and female roles. A new life can be better or worse than the previous one, depending on the actions committed by a person in the past.

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Consistent reincarnation (Buddhism) means the gradual development of man - evolution. Starting a new life, a person always finds himself at the point where his past reality stopped. Thanks to reincarnation, the soul can correct the mistakes of the past and raise the level of development of spiritual abilities. Many psychics admit that they remember their previous lives and only thanks to their rich history, they were given such unusual abilities (psychic).

Eastern spiritual practice implies that the goal of reincarnation is a person’s understanding of his nature and liberation from bodily desires.

How does reincarnation happen?

The human soul has two forms:

1. Rough body. This is the material body in which a person lives on earth. After death, the soul leaves the rough shell.

2. Subtle body. In subtle matter, the soul remains in the interval between death and new birth. She has the ability to think and desire, and therefore during this period she herself can determine the further incarnation.

The soul is faced with a choice from more than 8 million forms of life, but only once having been a human being, it can no longer choose the levels of the animal and plant world. Buddhists believe that such a conscious choice of “who will I be in the next life?” one has to go on for thousands of years, constantly practicing and doing meditation. And only by being able to come to an internal understanding of life, a person is able to interrupt the cycle of his suffering and choose the best option for reincarnation.

Is death the beginning of a new life?

“The human soul does not die” is the main postulate of Christianity and Islam. And in what form does the life path of the soul continue?

From the stories of eyewitnesses who experienced clinical death, we know that the soul resembles a light clot of energy, capable of moving in space, despite obstacles. The famous story about the “light at the end of the tunnel” also means that death is just a transitional stage during which a person’s memory is preserved. Also, for a certain time after death, a person continues to think clearly, feel and hear those around him. That is why one should begin the development of spiritual life now, and not regret it in the last minutes of life, when the veil between the worlds is slightly opened.

The most popular ideas about the afterlife are:

1. Resurrection of the dead during the end of the world;

2. Transmigration of souls to hell or heaven;

3. Reincarnation.

Scientific facts about reincarnation

Typically, scientific evidence for mystical and religious phenomena and laws is difficult to determine. Scientists have been conducting research in this area for a long time, because if the transmigration of souls occurs, then some signs of a past life should remain. In addition, if people can remember their past incarnations, then they can increase the life experience of all humanity.

American psychotherapist Stevenson studied cases of reincarnation for a long time, attracting eminent psychics to his work, whose abilities were explained by knowledge from past lives. Together they discovered three objective signs of the transmigration of the soul:

1. The ability to speak a foreign language, often an ancient one (much higher than the abilities of ordinary people);

2. The presence of congenital marks (birthmarks, defects). Some people confirmed their occurrence with stories from the past: for example, injuries could leave their mark in the form of birthmarks.

3. Historical confirmation (most often recalled by children under five years of age). However, this study does not take into account known historical events. Facts that can only be proven through lengthy research into files that are inaccessible to the public are considered true.

4. Presence of similarities with a person from the past. When collecting evidence about reincarnation, attention is paid to the presence of common diseases (allergies, predispositions) and psychological characteristics (phobias, abilities, talents) in people.

There is a known case when Stevenson, based on the shape of a birthmark on a boy’s head and a story about his death in a past life from an ax, managed to find a family in which a child died in this way. As it later turned out according to forensic documents, the wounds of the deceased baby coincided with the spot of the observed boy.

Metempsychosis

Some of the ancient Greek philosophers believed in a special doctrine - metempsychosis.

Metempsychosis is a philosophy about the transmigration of the soul of a deceased person into a newly born living being. That is, according to some philosophers, the soul evolves into human form after many lives lived in the form of an animal.

Followers of many Eastern religions believe in this concept. It seems that most mediums and clairvoyants share this view.

However, many doubts arise regarding self-awareness and the ability to maintain this awareness after death. Well, you must admit, it’s hard to believe that, for example, a flea has a soul.

One very famous medium explains what really happens to some animals after they die.

Not all animals survive as individual souls after their death. Some merge with what is commonly called group consciousness

. Their souls return to the collective consciousness of one particular species, from which different animal souls are then born.

And only when self-consciousness arises, such a soul continues after death and begins the long process of climbing the evolutionary ladder to human and angelic consciousness (to the highest degree of existence).

For many animals, this journey begins when they receive love from a human. In particular, pets acquire a sense of identity with a person due to prolonged exposure to that same person.

Our consciousness seems to influence them, so to speak, forces them to abandon their nature and begins to develop free will in them.

Some people love their pets so much that they treat them like their own children. This attitude helps the animal to advance spiritually.

The love that a person gives to his pet allows the animal to quickly find a sense of identity.

Thus, the owner of the animal, without knowing it, helps create a new soul. Some even believe that pets are, in the literal sense, children, because their souls are completely pure and new...

Transformation into animals

Often, when people die, they “transfer” their souls to animals. This is especially common among those who practice magic and witchcraft, but there are exceptions. The Mystery of the Ship's Cat This amazing story about a ghost cat was once told by an old sailor from Malta. He sailed as a captain's mate. Before reaching Cape Town, the ship's engine broke down, and the captain, who was not distinguished by his angelic character, became completely furious. The captain especially did not like his second mate, the German Hansen. And when he stood up for the helmsman, the captain hit him in the face, knocking him over onto the steel frame. Hansen, hitting a sharp corner, died instantly. He was buried the next day at sea. Hansen's only friend on board was the ship's cat, Raj, who slept in his bed and with whom Hansen talked for hours. After the funeral of his friend, the cat appeared on the captain's bridge and motionlessly began to look towards where his friend was usually on duty.

When it was time to leave the post (according to the schedule it was Hansen's time), the cat turned and walked down the steps. The team immediately noted that the cat's movements around the ship exactly corresponded to the route of the late German. But soon the sailors realized that the cat was not just following the daily route of its owner, but that he was the deceased Hansen, who had taken possession of the animal. Out of fear, the team became almost uncontrollable. Then the captain, who by that time had not been seen sober for a long time, gave the command to catch the cat and drown it in the sea. But Raj disappeared. And two days later he was seen lying in a ball on the face of the dead captain. Apparently, the captain fell asleep drunk, and the cat decided to take revenge on him by covering the captain’s mouth and nose with his body. The strangest thing was how the cat was able to get into the cabin, because the captain locked it from the inside, and the sailors had to break down the doors. True, there was a spare key that was kept in a hiding place, but only the captain and the late Hansen knew about it. What was the fly buzzing about? Another case of the soul of a deceased person being transmigrated into an animal occurred in 2004 in India. Kolkata resident Sheena Sehradi believed that in her next life she would be a dog, and often told her husband Rama about this. The woman was ill for a long time and soon died. A few months after her death, Rama met a dog on the street, whose eyes were unusually similar to the eyes of his deceased wife. When Rama approached the animal and called it by the name of his late wife, the dog responded. Rama was not particularly surprised by this and immediately approached the Calcutta City Court with a request to allow him to marry the animal, which he considers to be the reincarnation of his wife. Soon permission was received: in India, marriages of people with animals and even plants are a common occurrence. This will seem incredible and completely implausible, but there are cases when the souls of the dead, who do not want to part with their loved ones, can even move into... a fly! ...Tatyana was grieving the death of her husband, with whom she had lived for twenty-five years. At first I didn’t leave the house at all and even wanted to kill myself, but I came to my senses in time. And then strange things began to happen in her apartment. Either she clearly heard shuffling steps around the room, or sighs coming from the sofa, or the clanking of dishes in the closet, as if someone had clumsily taken a glass. One day Tatyana unconsciously, out of habit, said: “Well, why are you, Igor, you keep sighing?” And she was dumbfounded by the ringing silence. She understood that her husband’s soul continues to live next to her. After that, she could sit on the sofa for hours and talk about her longing and love for Igor. In response, I heard only sighs. One day Tatyana had a friend and her daughter visiting her, and she was very surprised to notice that Tatyana was talking to someone. Tanya answered her frankly that she was talking to Igor. Probably, the guest thought that Tanya had “gone crazy” and left, advising her to see a doctor. Soon the rustling and sighing stopped. Tatyana became bored, believing that Igor’s soul was gone forever. But autumn came, then winter. One Sunday, Tatyana was making coffee in the kitchen. A fly flew over her, circling. But it’s winter, where does it come from? - thought Tatyana. And suddenly she realized that it was Igor who reincarnated as a fly and in this form returned to her again. From that day on, the fly goes with her everywhere: at a party, at work. One day Tatyana was returning home from work by taxi. There was a fly sitting on the front glass. The driver wanted to kill her. “I beg you, don’t touch her, this is my fly,” Tanya said. She was traveling on a train to another city - and then the fly was with her. Even in the subway, where there are never flies, she accompanies her. When Tanya goes outside, a fly is the first to fly out of the apartment. Tanya says about this: “It’s not so scary on the street together. Igor will always find a way to save me from trouble”... If the wife is a crocodile! To conclude this topic, I would like to cite a story that was on almost everyone’s lips in Mexico several years ago. It has nothing to do with death directly, but the animal and the transmigration of souls are present in it. It all started with the fact that spouses Simon and Raymond Ortega filed for divorce in a Mexico City court. Motivation: Simon claimed that his wife was a secret crocodile! Of course, Raymonda herself did not consider herself a reptile. As described by this twenty-six-year-old woman, the situation was as follows: “This scoundrel pretended to take a photograph of me, and then presented a photograph of some bastard. And I had the audacity to claim that it was me!” Simon, a thirty-two-year-old used car salesman, vehemently objected: “Nothing like that! I bought a completely new camera and wanted to take a portrait of my beloved wife. And he himself was stunned when the face of a crocodile suddenly appeared on the negative. I think the film somehow captured my wife's true face. To tell the truth, I had noticed something like that in her character before...” According to neighbors invited to the court hearing as witnesses, the dull-witted Simok, wanting a divorce, could hardly have thought of such sophisticated deceit. On Simon's side in this unusual process was the popular Mexican clairvoyant and medium Pedro Castillo. Explaining to the servants of Themis his own theory of the transmigration of souls, he emphasized the fact that in her previous incarnation, Donna Raymonda was undoubtedly a crocodile, and her astral body, they say, retained the memory of her previous life. The court did not accept the image of the crocodile as evidence, but divorced the Ortega spouses due to the obvious impossibility of saving the marriage. How to see your past lives Statistics show: every second person believes that he once already lived on this earth. Who was he: a slave, a courtesan, a hired killer, or even an animal? You should not start meditation after a heavy meal, alcohol or coffee, otherwise you will not achieve the required depth of relaxation. Don't meditate late at night, you should feel good, not yawn. Sit comfortably. Relax your breathing, imagine that you are inhaling light and exhaling the worries that are tormenting your soul. Talk to every part of your body, from your feet to the top of your head, and tell them to relax. Ask your self, your wise core, to take the lead. Tell him what you want to achieve: “I want to see my past life, this will help me solve my real problems.” Or: “I want to see a life in which I have already been with a man once.” In silence, count from 10 to 1 and tell yourself that you are slowly falling into deep relaxation. Then imagine a long staircase along which you slowly go down. Below is a door. When you open it, you will find yourself in one of your past lives. Open this door! Enter it. What shoes are you wearing? What dress, trousers? How old are you? What's around you? Move on. What kind of people do you meet along the way? What do you do? Are you married? Married? Where do you live? And so on. When you find the answer to these questions, go back to the door, go up the stairs, sit back in your chair, move your toes, move your arms, slowly open your eyes. Of course, this requires training. The more often you visit your past, the clearer the pictures you will see. “Interesting newspaper. Oracle" No. 7 2013

Safiye Sultan

Another great Muslim figure who loved cats was the concubine of the Ottoman Sultan Murad III, Safiye Sultan. In the TV series “Kösem Empire,” which many have probably watched, she constantly holds her snow-white beauty of the Turkish breed, Elizabeth, in her arms. According to the plot of the film, the cat was given to her by Queen Elizabeth Tudor. The series shows a very respectful attitude towards animals. Literally everyone carries her in their arms, she has beautiful embroidered pillows and a very expensive necklace. Of course, in the series the events are slightly distorted. In fact, Safiye Sultan found a cat in the garden, warmed her up and gave her shelter. But in general, the positive attitude towards cats in Islam is indeed shown correctly. This is evidenced by the engravings of Jean-Baptiste, in which all members of the ruling dynasty are depicted with these animals in their hands. These are cats of the Istanbul and Ankara breeds.

Buddhism

Buddhism is one of those religions whose followers perceive the idea of ​​reincarnation positively. Rebirths are a kind of staircase on the path to enlightenment. The latter is considered the highest good and the main goal. Enlightenment can be achieved through the renunciation of one's own ego: vices, desires, etc.

Buddhism denies and even condemns theories about the existence of the soul, since the Buddha rejects individualism. Instead, the term "mind" is used, which can be compared to the psyche.

According to the followers of Buddhism, there are 6 worlds or paths. They correspond to the following creatures:

• Hellish creatures. The world is similar to Christian ideas about Hell. There are those who have sinned, but their suffering will not last forever. After prolonged torment, they atone for their sins and can be reborn in other worlds.
• Hungry ghosts. This world can be compared to Purgatory. This includes all living beings who have spoiled their karma with moderate sins. For example, greed or refusal to give alms to the poor. Spirits wander and are constantly hungry and thirsty. As in the previous case, after some time the creature gains the right to rebirth.
• Animals. It is generally accepted that an animal can become a person who during life was driven by instincts and a craving for pleasure, i.e., from the point of view of Buddhism, an ignorant creature. In this case, the latter’s karma may be good: a person could have committed many plausible deeds during his life. However, the appearance of an animal also threatens those who treat others with disdain. If the animal continues to help others and improve its karma, it gets the chance to become a human again.

  It is very difficult for an animal to become human again, because it is driven by instincts, not reason, and therefore has less control over its actions

• People. We can say that this is the main and most favorable world. Only here is a being endowed with the opportunity to approach enlightenment.
• Demigods. In some teachings this world is placed higher than the human one, in others - lower. This is due to the fact that demigods in Buddhism are associated with excessive pride, envy and rage. Unhappy asuras are endowed with power, but suffer due to their conflict and uncontrollable energy. Demigods become people who generally had good intentions, but chose the wrong paths to achieve their goals, causing pain to others.
• Gods. In Buddhism, divine beings live long and happy lives, but they are still mortal. A being who has done many good deeds, but has not gotten rid of human passions and desires, can become God.

Thus, rebirth into an animal is undesirable, but possible. A person who has not overcome his egoism and has not risen above the material can become a cat. The karma of such a person can be slightly negative or positive.

Whale

Please tell me عليه وسلم المدينة فأتاه فقال: إني سائلك عن ثلاث لا يعلمهن إلا نبي، قا ل: ما أول أشراط الساعة وما أول طعام يأكله أهل الجنة ومن أي شيء ينزع الزو لد إلى أبيه ومن أي شيء ينزع إلى أخواله، فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: (خ برني بهن آنفا جبريل)، قال: فقال عبد الله ذاك عدو اليهود من الملائكة، ف Please contact us: س All rights reserved. All rights reserved. All rights reserved. براني وأحمد .

An authentic hadith from Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) reports: “Having learned about the arrival of the Prophet ﷺ in Medina, Abdullah ibn Salam (may Allah be pleased with him), who was a Jew at that time, came to him and said: “ I want to ask you about three things that only a prophet can know: what will be the first omen of the Hour (the End of the World), what will those in Paradise taste first, and why does a child sometimes look like his father and sometimes like his mother?” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied: “Jibril just told me about all this,” Abdullah exclaimed: “After all, he is the enemy of the Jews from among the angels!” After this, the Prophet ﷺ said: “As for the first omen of this Hour, (it will be) a fire that will drive people (to the gathering place) from east to west; as for the first food that the inhabitants of Paradise will taste, it will be a share of the liver of a whale; As for the similarity of the child, (here the situation is like this): if during sexual intercourse the man’s water is ahead of the woman’s water, then (the child turns out) similar to him, but if the woman’s water is ahead of his water, then (the child becomes) like her " Hearing the answer, Abdullah exclaimed: “I testify that you are the Messenger of Allah!” The hadith was reported by Imam al-Bukhari.

Hinduism

Followers of Hinduism also believe in reincarnation, but here the idea of ​​​​having an immortal soul in every living creature is brought to the fore. According to belief, the soul goes through many incarnations in order to renounce material things and return to God. However, rebirth into an animal is also undesirable here. It is believed that the animal is inhabited by the soul that in a past life was guided by the satisfaction of its needs.

According to the teaching, all living beings go through pain at birth in order to forget their previous life, but sometimes some of the memories remain

From the point of view of Hinduism, cats “sin” by loving food and sleep. It is possible that a person who during his lifetime had a craving for heavy dishes or was lazy will be reborn in a cat’s body. If he does merciful deeds, he will become human again. This is probably why the soul can be sent to the previous family: to work out some karmic lesson or receive help from former relatives.

From the research of students of the Institute of Reincarnation

But as we at the Institute of Reincarnation Sciences found out in the process of a huge number of memories of past lives of our students, “animal” souls do not always live in animals.

The fact is that people very often remember their incarnations in animals. And they do not follow a strict evolutionary sequence of “minerals-plants-animals-humans”.

Human incarnations now and then alternate between animals and plants, and even in other worlds and forms unknown to us.

We talked about this in a little more detail in the 64th issue of the “Journeys of One Soul” project.

The human soul lives the life of an animal for a variety of purposes:

to relax or gain the energy of life to master some specific quality or state to get to know the area and its inhabitants where a person is going to come to be close to loved ones whom he has already left, but it is also important to be close and support many others.

It turns out that there are many more options than theoretical teachings offer us. And at a minimum, not only animal souls, but also human souls can live in animals. And animals, evolving, become human.

See First-year students of the Institute of Reincarnation remember their incarnations as animals

Taoism

Followers of Taoism believe not so much in reincarnation as in the reincarnation of souls. In their opinion, souls are immortal and pass through many illusory worlds in which they learn lessons in order to return to true reality and merge with the Source. Here the animal world is also lower than the human world. It is believed that those souls who in the past subjected themselves to self-destruction or did not live in harmony with others and nature are reincarnated into animals. In practice, this can be expressed in excessive exposure to feelings, a tendency to depression, bad habits, etc.

Birds

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“In paradise for them - (...) and the meat of birds from those they wish” (the meaning of verses 20-21 of sura “Al-Waqi’a”, tafsir “al-Muntahab”).

Anas reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: “The birds in Paradise are like the necks of camels eating from the trees of Paradise.” Abu Bakr said: “O Messenger of Allah, these birds must be beautiful!” The Prophet ﷺ replied: “Those who eat them are more beautiful than them.” He said this three times and added: “And truly I want you to be among those who will eat them” (Imam Ahmad).

In his commentary on this verse, Qatada cited a hadith in which it is reported that Abu Bakr said: “O Messenger of Allah, I think that these birds are beautiful, like the inhabitants of Paradise themselves.” To which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied:

من يأكلها والله ياأبا بكر أنعم منها، وإنها لأمثال البخت وإني لأحتسب على الله أن تأكل منها يا أبا بكر

“Those who eat them, Abu Bakr, by Allah, are more beautiful than them. They look like camel necks. I ask Allah that you taste them, O Abu Bakr."

Abu Bakr ibn Abu ad-Dunya narrated from Anas ibn Malik that when the Messenger of Allah was asked about al-Kawthar, he said:

No matter what فيه طيور أعناقها، يعني: كأعناق الجزر

“This is the river that my Lord gave me in Paradise. Its water is whiter than milk, sweeter than honey, and birds flock to it, whose necks are like the necks of camels.” 'Umar said: "They are probably beautiful." And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied: “Those who eat them are more beautiful than them.” The Hadith was narrated by Imams Ahmad and at-Tirmidhi.

'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud reported that the Prophet ﷺ once said to him:

إنك لتنظر إلى الطير في الجنة، فتشتهيه، فيخر بين يديك مشويا

“If you, having seen a bird in Paradise, want to eat it, then it will appear in front of you in a ready-made (fried) form.” The Hadith was narrated by Imams Abu Na'im and Ibn 'Adi.

Judaism

The opinion of followers of Judaism about the possibility of reincarnation is ambiguous. In particular, adherents of the Kabbalistic movement believe in rebirth. However, in this case, reincarnation into animals, plants and inanimate objects is a punishment worse than Hell, which is much more severe than the postulates of other religions. It is believed that only a small particle of the soul falls into beings of a lower order, which is designed to atone for past sins and thus cleanse the entire soul.

Fun fact: India believes in reincarnation so much that in 2004, marriage between a person and a dog was allowed; a man recognized his dead wife in the animal