Karma/reincarnation-1

[Guest guest]

Hi,

 

your question has multidimenisonal so things cant be summarised in

just one posting, ill try to do it in 2 -3 postings.

 

my postings are taken from articles by sivananda...

below are few questions related to karma/reincarnation answered by

sivananda.

 

>

>

> can any in the group throw some light on re-birth and karma

 

 

1. Does the soul take a new body in one year? Does it take ten

years? How long does one live upon the subtler planes before

reappearing on the earth plane?

 

There is no definite period of time in this matter. In main, two

factors decide this issue,

viz., the nature of the individual Karma and the last impression

before death. It may vary from

hundreds of years to a few months even. Those that work out some of

their Karmas in other

planes in subtler regions take a considerable time before entering a

fresh body. The interval is

very long, for a year of the earth period passes off as a single day

on the celestial plane. There is

an instance cited where, seeing the amazement and admiration of

foreign tourists at the imposing

ruins of certain ancient monuments, a saint present in the vicinity

remarked that some of those

people had fashioned those monuments centuries ago.

A very sensual individual with strong craving or one with intense

attachment sometimes

is reborn quickly. Also in cases where life is cut short by a violent

death or a sudden unexpected

accident, the Jiva resumes the thread very soon. Usually, in such

cases of immediate rebirth, the

Jiva often remembers many of the events of its previous life. It

recognizes its former relatives

and friends and identifies its old home and familiar objects. This

sometimes leads to very queer

developments. There are some instances where a murdered person, being

reborn, has declared

the manner of his death and revealed the identity of the killer in

the recent past.

But such cases of immediate rebirth are not common. Generally, for an

average

individual, the interval between death and rebirth happens to be a

considerable period measured

in terms of earth time. Persons who have done much good Karma spend a

great deal of time on

the Daivic plane before being born again. Great souls, spiritually

advanced persons, wait for a

long time before reincarnating.

 

2. What is the interval between death and the next birth? Where does

the soul dwell during the period between death and rebirth?

 

The interval between death and rebirth varies from person to person.

It may be two years

or it may be two hundred years, or more. There is no hard and fast

rule. If the attachment to the

world is very intense, a Jiva may be born again immediately after

death. There is a girt in Dehra

Dun who has memory of her past life. She took her present birth four

years after she died in her

previous life. Those who have done a lot of virtuous actions remain

in heaven for a long time,

for two hundred or three hundred years, before the are reborn on

earth.

A wicked man will go to another region. You may call it hell. Or it

may be a place

where he may not get the objects of enjoyment that he wants. A man

addicted to drinking may

not get liquor there. It may be a place like a jail where one has to

break the stones and do such

other hard work. But if one has done virtuous deeds, if one is a

philanthropist, who has dug

public wells, built charitable hospitals, etc., he will go to heaven

where he will enjoy for a long

time.

 

3. Is it possible for a soul with a male body to take a female body

in the next incarnation?

O, yes. The soul must undergo various experiences in different

bodies. In the male body,

the soul experiences the qualities of boldness, strength, etc., and

patience, mercy, kindness,

forgiveness, etc. in the female body. Moreover, neither a man is a

full man nor a woman a full

woman. There is woman in man and man in woman also. There are animal

traits also in man.

There is the dog in some men, there is the donkey in some, there is

the jackal in some and the

tiger in others. Whichever quality is predominant, the soul takes a

body with that particular

quality in the next incarnation. Therefore, develop divine qualities.

You will evolve quickly and

become divinity itself in the end.

 

4. Why is it that the life-span of the modern man is so short as

compared to that of his ancestors?

 

Our ancestors used to have a well-regulated, disciplined life. They

were not slaves of

their senses as the modern people are. They used to do Japa,

Pranayam, Sandhyavandana

(Trikala) and Svadhyaya (study of religious books like the Gita, the

Bhagavata and the

Ramayana). They used to do charity and selfless service, and observe

Vratas like Ekadasi, Sri

Rama Navami, Sri Krishna Ashtami and Dattatreya Jayanti. They used to

conduct spiritual

conferences and pray for world peace and not for their own individual

selves. They used to take

plenty of physical exercise in the form of walking ten to twenty

miles a day and at a stretch.

They used to observe Yama and Niyama very rigidly. They used to live

mostly in villages and

not in congested areas. They were self-reliant and not dependent on

others even for trivial

matters. They used to have Kaya Siddhi as well as Vak Siddhi. When

the present-day generation

realizes the value of the way of ancient living, surely will it

achieve all that it desires with the

Prasannata (grace) of the Devas.

 

5. How to free ourselves from Karma, Swamiji?

Feel, as you do your daily duties, that you are only a witness of all

that goes on around

you, of even your own actions. This is called Sakshi Bhav. You should

inwardly realize that you

are different from the active principle in you. This is the method of

Vedanta.

There is the other¾easier, but equally potent¾method of Nimitta Bhav.

Feel that the

Lord alone is the real doer of all actions and that you are an

instrument in His hands. Your

actions will be transformed into worship of the Lord, and you will

not be bound to them. Work

without expectation of any reward and without egoism. Root out the

idea of agency; feel, "I am

not the doer". You will be freed from the shackles of Karma. You will

not accumulate new

Karma. Allow your Prarabdha Karma to work out; and you will attain

liberation.

 

 

Jai Gurudev