Reincarnation Misunderstood

[suchandra]

When googling on "reincarnation" there're some 5,5 mio results. When talking with people who believe in reincarnation I get some quite controversial replies. Reincarnation and exististence of the soul, yes, but mostly people can't accept that the soul of a human being can enter an animal body in the next life. Surprisingly, many people who believe in reincarnation, dont believe that the soul was never born and is eternal.

In sum, what is considered by the Vedas as greatest tragedy of human life, to fall down to the animal platform and waste all the facilities of human life is not even taken into account and contemplated about by most people who claim to believe in reincarnation and fully sanction with a smile sayings like: "Dogs have a better life than you".

 

Prabhupada, Delhi, November 28, 1975: When Krishna says that within this body there is the living soul and the living soul is transmigrating... Tatha dehantara-praptih. As we are getting different bodies in this life also, from childhood to boyhood, from boyhood to old body, then what is after old body? Tatha dehantara-praptih: you get another body. But we do not know what kind of body we are getting. Where is that science? Where is that education, that there is dehantara-praptih, there is transmigration of the soul, and there are so many different types of body? Suppose in this body I am very comfortably situated, I am a very big man, or very great minister, politician, everything is all right -- but in the next life, if I am going to get the body of a dog, who can check it? Nature's law will go on. At that time, as minister or big man, if you dictate that "Give me a body like this," oh, that will not be heard. You will get a type of body according to your karma. Karmana daiva-netrena jantor deha upapatti [sB 3.31.1]. According to your karma, you will get a type of body. This is nature's law. Prakrteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani sarvasah [bg. 3.27]. We are completely under the grip of nature's law. We cannot change it. If we challenge that "There is no death," no, death will come. That is nature's law.