So to my fellow Hindus, I'm reading about the Ancient Egyptians and find they are remarkably similar to us in so many aspects it's mind-boggling.
But my main question is, how do you reach the afterlife and break away from the cycle of liberation?
Great Wanderer, There is similarity in many religious beliefs - and differences too - even among particular religions. For one, Aryans too believed that we cross over to heaven in a boat (navam), which they saw in the Milky way galaxy. Others Hindus clutch the tail of a cow to cross the river (Vaitarani) that separates this world from heaven. Your fellow Hindus come in a huge variety. Here is one who was never born and will never die. He is eternal because he is an 'advaitist'. So, I will not have an after-life. I do not have to break any cycle. I am ever liberated. The First Sankaracharya proclaimed it in this way:
"Na me mṛtyuśaṅkā na me jātibhedaḥ, pitā naiva me naiva mātā na janmaḥ;
na bandhur na mitraṃ gurunaiva śişyaḥ, cidānandarūpaḥ śivo'ham śivo'ham."
(I do not have fear of death, as I do not have death. I have no separation from my true self, no doubt about my existence, nor have I discrimination on the basis of birth. I have no father or mother, nor did I have a birth. I am not the relative, nor the friend, nor the guru, nor the disciple. I am indeed, That bliss, the auspicious (Śiva), the eternal (Śiva))
"Ahaṃ nirvikalpo nirākāra rūpo, vibhutvā ca sarvatra sarvendriyāṇaṃ;
na cāsaṅgataṃ naiva muktir na meyaḥ, cidānandarūpaḥ śivo'ham śivo'ham."
(I am all pervasive. I am without any attributes, and without any form. I have neither attachment to the world, nor to liberation (mukti). I have no wishes for anything because I am everything, everywhere, every time, always in equilibrium. I am indeed, That bliss, the auspicious (Śiva), the eternal (Śiva))
Atma Shatkam - Wikipedia
