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Spirituality

Bewildered Spirits: the Self-Imposed State of Hell

John Hatcher | Apr 28, 2018

PART 58 IN SERIES The Purpose of Physical Reality

The views expressed in our content reflect individual perspectives and do not represent the official views of the Baha'i Faith.

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John Hatcher | Apr 28, 2018

PART 58 IN SERIES The Purpose of Physical Reality

The views expressed in our content reflect individual perspectives and do not represent the official views of the Baha'i Faith.

The Baha’i writings say that hell is a metaphor—not a physical place of torment, but a self-imposed spiritual state:

Think ye of love and good fellowship as the delights of heaven, think ye of hostility and hatred as the torments of hell. – Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, p. 245.

Existential paradise and hell are to be found in all the worlds of God, whether in this world or in the heavenly realms of the spirit, and to gain these rewards is to attain life eternal. …

The ultimate rewards consist in spiritual bounties and bestowals, such as the manifold gifts of God that are vouchsafed after the ascension of the soul, the attainment of the heart’s desire, and reunion with Him in the everlasting realm. Similarly, ultimate retributions and punishments consist in being deprived of the special bounties and unfailing bestowals of God and sinking to the lowest degrees of existence. – Abdu’l-Baha, Some Answered Questions, newly revised edition, pp. 258-259.

Light must be spread afar, so that, in the school of humanity, all may acquire the heavenly characteristics of the spirit, and see for themselves beyond any doubt that there is no fiercer hell, no more fiery abyss, than to possess a character that is evil and unsound; no more darksome pit nor loathsome torment than to show forth qualities which deserve to be condemned. – Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, p. 136.

Of course, to experience “hell” depends on the spiritual sensitivity of the departed soul, which is something we cannot necessarily take for granted. If one is spiritually insensitive in this life and has, through a process of willful choices, become inured to guilt, it might well be that such a one could remain spiritually complacent or oblivious after this life, at least for some appropriate duration.

In his books on near-death experiences, Raymond Moody described a related model of experience that might well account for these heedless souls, as well as for those subjects in his first work who, while having experienced clinical death, could not recall an afterlife experience. This is a realm of “bewildered spirits,” a condition in which souls seem trapped between the physical and spiritual worlds of existence.

According to accounts by Moody’s subjects, these spirits seem oblivious, heedless, dulled. They are physically dead but are still emotionally attached to the physical world:

First, they state that these beings seemed to be, in effect, unable to surrender their attachments to the physical world. One man recounted that the spirits he saw apparently ‘couldn’t progress on the other side because their God is still living here.’ That is, they seemed bound to some particular object, person, or habit. – Raymond Moody, Reflections on Life After Life, p. 18.

Like the subjects who experienced the “unpleasant limbo,” these souls were not doomed to dwell in a condition of bewilderment eternally; they were to be there only until they resolved whatever problem, difficulty, or attachment was keeping them in that perplexed state.

Unlike the subjects in this “unpleasant limbo,” and unlike the subjects who experienced the guilt and shame during their panoramic life review, these “dulled spirits” do not seem to be in a state of guilt or regret; they are, instead, oblivious to what has happened to them, “not knowing who they are or what they are.” – Ibid., p. 20. They are thus between worlds, unable to return to the physical realm but uninterested in finding out what is in store for them. They are insistently attached to the physical existence in which they can no longer participate, or else they are spiritually blind, unable to perceive the world of the spirit. Some even try “unsuccessfully to communicate with persons who were still physically alive.” – Ibid., p. 21.

With the enhanced portrait of negative afterlife experiences offered in Reflections on Life After Life, Moody dramatically alters the dominant impression created by his first work and gives a kind of empirical confirmation for the principles governing the unpleasant afterlife experiences discussed in the Baha’i writings. For example, Moody’s evidence clearly demonstrates a relationship between one’s conduct in the physical world and one’s subsequent experience in the afterlife. The evidence also implies a more complex response to the individual life than the simplistic, two-part division of a heaven and a hell. In fact, Moody correctly asserts that there is no reason to doubt that there are endless possibilities:

I want very much for others to avoid taking my list of common elements as being a fixed, exhaustive model of what a near-death experience must be like. There is an enormously wide spectrum of experiences, with some people having only one or two of the elements, and others most of them. I anticipate that the list I have developed will be added to, modified, and reformulated. – Ibid., p. 87.

How can each one of us avoid these negative experiences in the afterlife? The Baha’i teachings say we must find our true purpose here in this physical existence, and apply ourselves to a process of spiritual growth, both in this life and the next:

Both before and after casting off this elemental frame, the human soul progresses in perfections but not in station. … And as the perfections of man are infinite, he can also advance in these perfections after his ascension from this world. – Abdu’l-Baha, Some Answered Questions, newly revised edition, p. 273.

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Comments

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  • Barbara Lachmar
    Dec 5, 2018
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    I struggle with the idea that there a 'winners and losers' in the spiritual game of life...like some of us who will get it right and enjoy the rewards of heaven and some who will get it wrong and suffer remarkable things in the next world, including the possibility of eternal suffering and/or having no advocate or helper. If we are one human race, one human family, how can we feel happy and at peace, knowing that one of our family members is suffering in such horrific ways? Isn't that a bit like cells in our body being ...cancerous or causing us pain...how can we truly be healthy and/or happy if some of our cells (other human beings) are in such a deplorable spiritual condition.. I know God is LOVE- so i must be missing something!
    Read more...
    • John Hatcher
      Dec 9, 2018
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      Dear Barbara, remember that one of the axioms about existence, whether in this life of the afterlife--nothing stays in repose. Everything is in a state of change. In other words, while someone may have a period of bewilderment or a "negative experience," there is always the availability of forgiveness and change. As we assess our spiritual condition and past life when we are initially introduced into the after life, we may find things we wish we had done better, even as we may be made aware of noble acts we did altruistically. Terms like "winners" and "losers" are thus not ...appropriate. There is no competition and we are never without hope of redemption, enlightenment, and transformation. We also have an eternity to figure it out.
      Read more...
    • Andrew Scott
      Dec 8, 2018
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      Dear Barbara, let me try to answer. Imagine a sailing boat, in which the billowing sails are filled with the power of God's grace, yet we have our hand on the rudder, steering our course. Also imagine the three stages of human existence: before physical birth, after physical birth but before our transition; and after our transition beyond what we can fully know now. The Baha'i Writings tell us that we continue to grow and develop throughout all stages of our existence. Just as in Professor Hatcher's masterwork, our physical existence is the school room in which we learn lessons ...and equip tools to progress in the world of the spirit. Finally, we need continually to remind ourselves that none can know our own end, much less that of another
      Read more...
  • Tom Viator
    May 4, 2018
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    Yep, as John indicates below, everyone gets a chance—and in a first class seat. Folks wanting to expand their reading beyond Moody’s books can find a multitude of first-hand accounts in the Near-Death Experience Research Foundation Archive (http://www.nderf.org/index.htm). There you will find more accounts than you can possible read, and from folks from different cultures and religious backgrounds. Look for the “Exceptional NDE” archive, or those NDE’s labeled as “Exceptional Experience”. Those are particularly detailed and fascinating and often reflect experiences significantly different from the Moody’s model.
  • Nathan James Dickerson
    May 4, 2018
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    I am a Christian, and in my own studies, I've actually found that this is closer to the teachings of Jesus then the modern day Western/Evangelical mindset. Many of the past theologians in Christianity did not teach hell as a place if torment. And shockingly many Christians today are rediscovering this as a truth we carry!
  • John Hatcher
    Apr 30, 2018
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    We are talking about research that was done more than thirty-five years ago. An amazing amount has been done since then that both responds to your concerns and greatly enhances our understanding about this experience. However, you are quite correct to note that whatever we think we know based on momentary experiences will doubtless be supplanted by our own personally tailored firsthand knowledge attained as soon as we pass and begin to go through out own PDE (post death experience). :)
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