MEN have ever been faced with the problem as to whether life ends with what is called death, or endures eternally. Uncertainty on the question has lain heavily upon them—lies heavily upon many of them still. And because of this uncertainty, what tears have flowed when loved ones have departed, or when fear of their doing so has taken hold of the sensitive heart! There is no need to dwell on this aspect of human existence; suffice it to note that it is universal.
The desire to continue to live, to continue to live eternally, is common to humanity, and for several reasons. First, the thought of annihilation is abhorrent; and, secondly, it is impossible for rational people to be reconciled to the thought of losing altogether, or being separated forever from, those whom they have loved and who have loved them, those who have brightened their lives by their gladness, whose goodness has blessed them, whose purity has helped to purify them.
Further, the desire to continue to live is shared by all who are spiritually minded. It is as natural to them as is their longing for health and happiness. Religious systems have encouraged the desire to live, have sustained it indeed by arguments more or less scientific. Even pagan religions have held out hope of life beyond the grave. The theories which some of them put forward may be crude in the extreme, in some cases even suggesting loss of individuality; still, they teach the enduring nature of life as something apart from and independent of matter.
