Many of us are familiar with stories,legends,myths and rumours about immortals who roamed this planet Earth from the past.They are usually called vampires,sages,gods,supermen,witches,aliens,holy men/women...the masters of real... esoteric yoga,alchemy,taoism,kabbalah, or the occult.
Are these super human/non-human creatures real or not ?
Did they exist only in fictional and romanticized novels and movies?
Did they exist only in the figment of the fertile imagination of some creative writers?
Few of us heard or have read about the legendary physical immortals like Comte de Saint Germain,Fulcanelli or Babaji Nagaraji.They had supposedly attained immortality by their sheer power of will,wisdom and some secret...mysterious techniques/methods to maintain their physical forms.
If they really exist,is there a way then to manipulate matter and energy, so that the subatomic...quantum processes of the physical body are subject to the control of one's mind/spirit ?
Is there a way to reverse the aging process and remain young,healthy and happy by controlling and manipulating some still scientifically unknown laws of nature?
The damaging effects of free radicals,ultraviolet radiation from the sun,gravity,unhealthy diets and lifestyles are some of the factors that contributed to the acceleration of the aging process of a human physical body.If we humans have a dormant potential to control these factors,then physical immortality is possible.
In major religions,we read scriptures that mentioned about physical and spiritual immortality of many selected people connected with the coming,much awaited and promised Messiah,Kalki,Iman Madhi,Ratu Adil, Maitreya or Christ...the Savior or Avatar of the modern times.Do we have to wait for the unforeseen coming of a Savior or Avatar while our physical bodies are undergoing the normal process of aging? Modern scientists have created Cryogenics to preserved "dead" bodies for many thousands of years,but people are longing for an immortal "live" physical bodies.Are we then contented by Nature's designed/programmed to achieved physical immortality by just propagating our human species?
Lets check out what religions have to say about physical and spiritual immortality.
In Judaism...In the Book Of Isaiah 24:21-23 ; Isaiah 25:6-12 and Isaiah 35:4-10
In that day the LORD will punish the powers in the heavens above and the kings on the earth below.
They will be herded together like prisoners bound in a dungeon; they will be shut up in prison and be punished after many days.The moon will be abashed, the sun ashamed; for the LORD Almighty will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before its elders, gloriously. Praise to the LORD.
On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine— the best of meats and the finest of wines.
On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations;
he will "swallow up death for ever". The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken.
In that day they will say,
Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.
The hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain; but Moab will be trampled under him as straw is trampled down in the manure.
They will spread out their hands in it, as a swimmer spreads out his hands to swim. God will bring down their pride despite the cleverness of their hands.
He will bring down your high fortified walls and lay them low; he will bring them down to the ground, to the very dust.
On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine— the best of meats and the finest of wines.
On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations;
he will "swallow up death for ever". The Sovereign LORD will "wipe away the tears from all faces"; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken.
In that day they will say,
Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.
The hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain; but Moab will be trampled under him as straw is trampled down in the manure.
They will spread out their hands in it, as a swimmer spreads out his hands to swim. God will bring down their pride despite the cleverness of their hands.
He will bring down your high fortified walls and lay them low; he will bring them down to the ground, to the very dust.
In Christianity,we read in the Book of Revelation 7:13-17
Then one of the elders asked me, These in white robes— who are they, and where did they come from?I answered, Sir, you know. And he said, These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Therefore,they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will "spread his tent over them". "Never again will they hunger"; "never again will they thirst". "The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat."
For the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd; he will "lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
Also of the Book of Revelation 21:1-8
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.
He will "wipe every tear from their eyes". There will be "no more death" or "mourning or crying or pain", for the old order of things has passed away.He who was seated on the throne said, I am making everything new! Then he said, Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true. He said to me: It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.To him who is thirsty I will "give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life". He who "overcomes will inherit all this", and I will be "his God and he will be my son". But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practise magic arts, the idolaters and all liars— their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulphur. This is the second death.
Also in the Book of Revelation 22:12-15
Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practise magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practises falsehood.
In the Book of the 1 Corinthians 15:20-57
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet."The last enemy to be destroyed is death."
For he has put everything under his feet. Now when it says that everything has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all. Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptised for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptised for them? And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? I die every day— I mean that, brothers— just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord.If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised,Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character. Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God— I say this to your shame.
The Resurrection Body
But someone may ask, How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come? How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else.But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. There are also "heavenly bodies " and there are "earthly bodies"; but the splendour of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendour of the earthly bodies is another. The sun has one kind of splendour, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendour. So will it be with the resurrection of the dead.
The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable;it is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a "spiritual body". If there is a "natural body", there is also a "spiritual body". So it is written: The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual.The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven.
And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven. I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the "perishable" inherit the "imperishable". Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—
in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the "mortal" with "immortality".
When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true:" Death has been swallowed up in victory."
Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?
"The sting of death is sin", and the power of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
In Islam,in the Book of Haddiths (Sahih Bukahari ) Prophet Mohammad said "Upon entering Paradise a caller calls You are to be "healthy never to get sick again",you are to "live never to die again",you are to be "young never to get old again",you are to "feel happiness living in pleasure and will never fell miserable or sad again."
Sahih Bukhari
Volume 4, Book 55, Number 544:
Narrated Abu Huraira:
Allah's Apostle said, "The first group of people who will enter Paradise, will be glittering like the full moon and those who will follow them, will glitter like the most brilliant star in the sky. "They will not urinate, relieve nature, spit, or have any nasal secretions". Their combs will be of gold, and their sweat will smell like musk. The aloes-wood will be used in their >s. Their wives will be houris. All of them will look alike and will resemble their father Adam (in statute), sixty cubits tall."
In Qur' an 15:47
"And We shall remove from their hearts any sense of enmity,resentment,or jealousy:they will be like brothers and sisters joyfully together on great thrones of bliss"
In Buddhism,Buddha taught about the pursuit of physical immortality by some people.He called it "The Ten Categories in the Realm of Seers" in Surangama Sutra.
Ananda, there are men who, instead of cultivating the
"Samadhi of right Bodhi", practise (immortality) wrongly
according to their false thoughts, thus preserving their thinking
and bodies; they are fond of living in mountains, groves
and uninhabitable places. There are ten classes of them.
1. Ananda, those men who "diet " specially to preserve
their bodies and thereby live long through "dieting", are called
"earthbound seers."
2. Those who "take herbs and fruits" to preserve their bodies and therefore live long through "medicine",are called "flying seers."
3.Those who" take mineral products" to preserve their bodies and thereby live long by means of "alchemy",are called "unhindered roaming seers."
4.Those who "regulate their organic functions" to preserve their bodies and thereby live long by means of "proper breathing",are called "immaterial seers."
5.Those who "make good use of controlling their saliva" and thereby live long by means of their "glowing spirituality",are called "heavenly seers."
6.Those who "feed on the vital principle of Nature" to preserve the essence of form and thereby live long by "absorbing natural purity",are called "all-entering seers."
7.Those who "use incantations" to preserve their bodies and thereby live long by means of "occultism",are called "seers of the lesser Tao."
8.Those who "concentrate on their thoughts" to preserve their bodies and thereby live long by means of "mental concentration",are called " illuminating seers."
9.Those who practice "the integration of their positive and negative principles" to preserve their bodies and thereby live long by means of the "spiritual harnessing power of yoga",are called "spiritual seers."
10.And those who practice "sublimation of their bodies by means of spiritual awareness" to preserve their bodies and thereby live long are called "seers of the highest order."
Ananda,these men regulate their minds but do not practice the right "Bodhi",and live for perhaps a thousand and ten thousand years,they live on high mountains or desert islands and cut off all worldly connections.Their states still belong to the "Samsaric" stream of wrong thoughts,and since they do not practice "Samadhi",when they have enjoyed their conditioned blessing,they will have to return to the lower planes of existence.
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