A different version of the Merkaba can be found in Tibetan Buddhism. When all the chakras are fully activated, the Rainbow body becomes the vehicle used to travel through the Pure Lands inhabited by different Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. The entire point of life is to prepare for death. That is also why shamans use the medicine plants while still alive. The plants mimic the dying process and therefore provide invaluable training for when death finally arrives. 

Some people believe faith in Jesus will help them get to heaven one day. Others believe in reincarnation and the cycle of rebirth. Some even believe that it is possible to have awareness of this entire process and make conscious choices regarding ones incarnation, or whether to incarnate at all. Do we die when we die? Do we either go to heaven or hell? Do we reincarnate? 

What happens to the soul after death is probably the most vexing issue of all. One could add, do we even have a soul, is there a God, many Gods, or no Gods? What is the nature of consciousness and the meaning of life? Is there an order to the seemingly chaotic nature of the universe? 

Questioning the narrative is what makes us truly human.