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News18
4 days ago
- Science
- News18
What Happens After Death? Baba Vanga's Insights Vs Science
Across different cultures and religions, there is a shared belief that some part of us often called the soul, spirit or consciousness that survives beyond the physical body. Baba Vanga's prediction about a 'double fire" rising from both heaven and Earth is creating a wave of concern among people. Nobody knows the exact meaning of this prediction, but many believe it is a warning about natural disasters like wildfires, volcanic eruptions, etc. Some are even linking to the newly discovered interstellar object 3I/ATLAS, which is being speculated to be an alien spacecraft. While it remains what it means, this prediction suggests that Baba Vanga may have believed in the ideas of heaven and hell, even though she never clearly explained the soul or what happens after death. Moreover, some of her forecasts point to a broader cosmic view that goes beyond life on Earth. According to various online sources, Baba Vanga predicted that humans would make contact with aliens around the year 2130, followed by a war against these extraterrestrials in 3005. When such cosmic and spiritual themes surface, naturally, one question again finds a spotlight: What really happens after death? In different cultures and religions, it is believed that some part of us never really ceases to exist. This part is often called the soul, spirit or consciousness that survives beyond the physical body. The idea of survival beyond death has shaped many views about the afterlife. These include concepts of heaven and hell, reincarnation, etc. But science is also exploring the idea of what happens after death by studying many of the near-death experiences (NDEs). For example, in Christianity and Islam, the soul may go to heaven as a reward or hell as a punishment. These places represent eternal happiness or suffering. In religions like Hinduism and Buddhism, the soul is believed to be reborn into a new life, a process called reincarnation. Here, the soul's next life depends on karma, which is the sum of a person's good and bad actions. Good karma leads to a better rebirth while bad karma can cause a more difficult one. Near-Death Experiences Many people who have been close to death have shared fascinating stories that seem to suggest consciousness might survive beyond the body. These are called Near-Death Experiences (NDEs). Common elements of NDEs include: Floating above one's body and watching the scene below. Feeling a deep sense of peace and timelessness. Seeing bright lights or tunnels. Meeting spiritual beings or deceased loved ones. Reviewing one's life in a vivid way. For example, Leanda Pringle from Connecticut floated above her body during a severe kidney infection. She described it as a feeling of being everywhere and nowhere at the same time. 'I've no idea how long I was floating in that abyss before I began to feel a presence," she told BBC Focus. Tommy McDowell, a former soldier from Texas, felt immense peace and love during a week on a ventilator. He saw a 'crystallised light" that seemed to wash away his past pain. 'I experienced the presence of God. It was overwhelming and occurred in a way that I just don't have the language to fully describe," he said. Tessa Romero, clinically dead for 24 minutes, felt free from pain and sorrow, and saw her own body from above. 'It was as if a heavy burden had been lifted from my shoulders," she wrote in a book. What Science Says About Near-Death Experiences Scientists have collected thousands of testimonies from people who have experienced NDEs. These experiences are linked to changes in the brain caused by low oxygen levels (hypoxia) and other neurochemical reactions as the brain approaches death, according to the National Association for the Research of Premature Mortality (NARPM®). In 2024, a study from the University of Michigan, led by Dr Jimo Borjigin, recorded brain activity in four dying patients. Two showed a surge of brain waves shortly after life support was withdrawn. This activity involved areas of the brain linked to consciousness and decision-making. Dr Charlotte Martial, a neuropsychologist, called the findings 'extremely intriguing" but cautioned that since the patients did not survive, it is unclear if they actually had NDEs. Animal studies also offer insights. Borjigin's team previously found that rats undergoing asphyxia showed a massive release of neurotransmitters such as serotonin which surged to 20 times normal levels. These findings suggest that neurochemical changes may contribute to the intense subjective experiences of NDEs. Research on psychedelics such as DMT, LSD, and psilocybin also supports this view. These substances interact with brain receptors related to neurotransmitters like serotonin and provoke experiences similar to NDEs. 'One can hypothesise that some endogenous molecules [those made within the human body] mimicking DMT or ketamine mechanisms could be released in life-threatening situations, such as when someone experiences a NDE," said one of the scientists on the team as quoted by BBC Focus. Beyond biological explanations, research shows that NDEs often leave profound psychological effects. Professor Emerita Janice Holden from the University of North Texas categorises these into psychological (such as losing fear of death and becoming more altruistic), spiritual (increased interest in spiritual topics), physical (changes in metabolism and sensitivity) and social (changes in relationships and lifestyle). Given these deep impacts, some mental health experts advocate for better support for critical care patients who experience NDEs. About the Author Buzz Staff A team of writers at bring you stories on what's creating the buzz on the Internet while exploring science, cricket, tech, gender, Bollywood, and culture. News18's viral page features trending stories, videos, and memes, covering quirky incidents, social media buzz from india and around the world, Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! tags : baba vanga death viral news view comments Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: August 13, 2025, 07:30 IST News viral What Happens After Death? 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Saudi Gazette
24-07-2025
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
Furious protests at move to cement Togo ruling family's grip on power
LOME — A new constitution that has allowed Togo's long-time head of state Faure Gnassingbé to shift to a new role as all-powerful prime minister – and escape the constraint of presidential term limits – has triggered anger on the streets of the capital, Lomé. Protests are set to continue this Friday. At least five demonstrators have died while confronting official security forces in recent weeks. But it is not the orthodox political opposition – predictably crushed in local elections last week – that has mobilised frustrated young Togolese people. Instead it is musicians, bloggers and activists who have tapped into popular anger and weariness with a regime that has been in power – under the leadership of Faure Gnassingbé or, before him – his father Gnassingbé Éyadéma, for almost six decades. That outstrips even Cameroon's 92-year old President Paul Biya — who has just confirmed his intention to stand for an eighth successive term in elections later this year – or Gabon's father-and-son presidents, Omar Bongo and Ali Bongo, latter of whom was deposed in a coup in August 2023. The lessons of that episode did not escape Faure Gnassingbé, a shrewd and often discreet operator who quickly moved to devise a new constitutional structure for Togo, to prolong his own hold on power while playing down his personal profile, in a bid to defuse accusations of dynastic will no longer need to stand for re-election in his own 59-year-old holds the premiership because his Union pour la République (Unir) party dominates the national assembly — and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future, thanks to a constituency map gerrymandered to over-represent its northern heartlands and understate the voting weight of the pro-opposition coastal Bawara, Togo's civil service and labour minister, maintains the 2024 election was above board, with "all the major political actors and parties" taking part."The government cannot be held responsible for the weakness of the opposition," Bawara told BBC Focus on Africa TV last added that those with a genuine reason to demonstrate could do so within the law, blaming activists abroad for inciting "young people to attack security forces" in an attempt to destabilise the new constitutional framework was announced at short notice in early 2024 and quickly approved by the compliant government-dominated national assembly. There was no attempt to secure general public approval through a referendum.A one-year transition concluded this May as Gnassingbé – who had been head of state since 2005 – gave up the presidency and was installed in the premiership, a post now strengthened to hold all executive power and total authority over the armed occupy the presidency, a role now reduced to a purely ceremonial function, legislators chose the 86-year old former business minister, Jean-Lucien Savi de Tové.This reshuffling of the power structure was presented abroad by regime mouthpieces as moving from a strong presidential system to a supposedly more democratic "parliamentary" model – in tune with the traditions of the Commonwealth, which Togo, like Gabon, had joined in 2022, to broaden its international connections and reduce reliance on traditional francophone links with France, the former colonial transition to new constitutional arrangements designed to perpetuate Gnassingbé's rule passed off almost without outside comment from international partners whose attention is currently focussed on Gaza and Ukraine rather than was there any complaint from fellow leaders in the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), even after Togo held fresh legislative elections just weeks after the new constitution had been promulgated, in flagrant breach of the regional bloc's protocol on good governance and democracy, which says that after a change of constitution at least six months must elapse before any major election is shaken by the decision of three military-run countries — Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger — to quit Ecowas, remaining member governments are reluctant to challenge the behaviour of others in case they follow on the streets of Lomé it has been a different rapper and regime critic Essowe Tchalla, known by his stage name "Aamron", released a satirical video calling for the "celebration" of Gnassingbé's 6 June he was arbitrarily snatched from his home at the end of May by regime security agents and taken to an unknown location, anger surged among young urban protested on the streets of the capital on 5 and 6 June and scores were detained by government affair took a particularly sinister twist with the discovery that Aamron had been confined to a mental hospital, a measure more reminiscent of the 1970s Soviet Union than West Africa in 2025 – and the subsequent release of a hostage video –style statement in which he was filmed admitting to psychological problems and apologising to Faure Gnassingbé, remarks he has completely disowned after being released without late June brought a further wave of street protests, with the security forces confronting youths who had set up burning rights groups reported widespread random detentions, often of uninvolved passers by, while informal pro-government militia, often armed, roamed the streets in pick-up least five people were killed and two bodies were found in the lagoons north of central Lomé, though whether they had drowned while fleeing arrest or been deliberately killed was it is cultural figures like Aamron – and Honoré Sitsopé Sokpor, a poet known by his alias "Affectio" and jailed in January – who have inspired this latest upsurge in protests. They connect to young popular opinion in a way that conventional politicians much of the Togolese public appears to have lost faith in the formal political the local elections on 17 July passed off quietly, with Unir predictably dominant according to official results, Jean-Pierre Fabre, a leading opposition figure, said there were no other voters in his local polling station when he went to cast his see the new constitution as no more than a device to perpetuate the rule of the Gnassingbé dynasty – a regime variously described by West African regional media as a "republican monarchy" and "legalist authoritarianism".A leading Togolese human rights activist says popular frustration has reached unprecedented have been previous upsurges of mass 2017 the churches supported marches demanding reform while a charismatic new opposition figure, Tikpi Atchadam, mobilised young people across the previously regime-dominated the 2020 presidential election, the regime was taken aback by the strong performance of opposition challenger Agbeyomé Kodjo, who was openly backed by the much respected 89-year old former Archbishop of Lomé, Philippe Kpodzro. Although both men have since died, the political movement inspired by the late cleric remains highly active and is regularly targeted by the once again, we are seeing frustration boil over, particularly among young urban his constitutional revamp to a supposedly "parliamentary" system, Gnassingbé aims to retain full control, yet step his own personality back from the political firing that particular manoeuvre looks condemned to failure in the face of challenge from creative leaders of popular culture – bloggers, singers and grassroots social media the hashtag #FaureMustGo is now circulating. And recent weeks have seen the launch of a new campaign for change, known as M66, which stands for "6 June Movement" from the date of Gnassingbé's birthday. — BBC
