What is reincarnation?

[Guest guest]

Let us find out what you mean by reincarnation-the truth of it, not

what you like to believe, not what someone has told you, or what your

teacher has said. Surely, it is the truth that liberates, not your

own conclusion, your own opinion.... When you say, " I shall be

reborn, " you must know what the 'I' is. ... Is the 'I' a spiritual

entity, is the 'I' something continuous, is the 'I' something

independent of memory, experience, knowledge? Either the 'I' is a

spiritual entity, or it is merely a thought process. Either it is

something out of time which we call spiritual, not measurable in

terms of time, or it is within the field of time, the field of

memory, thought. It cannot be something else. Let us find out if it

is beyond the measurement of time. I hope you are following all this.

Let us find out if the 'I' is in essence something spiritual. Now

by " spiritual " we mean, do we not, something not capable of being

conditioned, something that is not the projection of the human mind,

something that is not within the field of thought, something that

does not die. When we talk of a spiritual entity, we mean by that

something which is not within the field of the mind, obviously. Now,

is the 'I' such a spiritual entity? If it is a spiritual entity, it

must be beyond all time; therefore it cannot be reborn or

continued. ...That which has continuity can never renew itself. As

long as thought continues through memory, through desire, through

experience, it can never renew itself; therefore, that which is

continued cannot know the real.

[Guest guest]

shriadishakti , " v_radha_om " <v_radha_om>

wrote:

>

> Let us find out what you mean by reincarnation-the truth of it,

> not what you like to believe, not what someone has told you, or

> what your teacher has said. Surely, it is the truth that

> liberates, not your own conclusion, your own opinion.... When you

> say, " I shall be reborn, " you must know what the 'I' is. ... Is

> the 'I' a spiritual entity, is the 'I' something continuous, is

> the 'I' something independent of memory, experience, knowledge?

> Either the 'I' is a spiritual entity, or it is merely a thought

> process. Either it is something out of time which we call

> spiritual, not measurable in terms of time, or it is within the

> field of time, the field of memory, thought. It cannot be

> something else. Let us find out if it is beyond the measurement of

> time. I hope you are following all this.

>

> Let us find out if the 'I' is in essence something spiritual. Now

> by " spiritual " we mean, do we not, something not capable of being

> conditioned, something that is not the projection of the human

> mind, something that is not within the field of thought, something

> that does not die. When we talk of a spiritual entity, we mean by

> that something which is not within the field of the mind,

> obviously. Now, is the 'I' such a spiritual entity? If it is a

> spiritual entity, it must be beyond all time; therefore it cannot

> be reborn or continued. ...That which has continuity can never

> renew itself. As long as thought continues through memory, through

> desire, through experience, it can never renew itself; therefore,

> that which is continued cannot know the real.

>

 

The Science of Reincarnation

Reincarnation in Judaism, Christianity, Islam

 

Hints of reincarnation are also common in the history of Judaism and

early Christianity. Information about past and future lives is found

throughout the Cabala, which according to many Hebraic scholars

represents the hidden wisdom behind the scriptures. In the Zohar,

one of the principal Cabalistic texts, it is said, " The souls must

reenter the absolute substance whence they have emerged. But to

accomplish this, they must develop all the perfections, the germ of

which is planted in them; and if they have not fulfilled this

condition during one life, they must commence another, a third, and

so forth, until they have acquired the condition which fits them for

reunion with God. " According to the Universal Jewish Encyclopedia,

the Hasidic Jews hold similar beliefs.

 

In the third century A.D., the theologian Origen, one of the fathers

of the early Christian Church, and its most accomplished Biblical

scholar, wrote, " By some inclination toward evil, certain souls ...

come into bodies, first of men; then through their association with

the irrational passions, after the allotted span of human life, they

are changed into beasts, from which they sink to the level of

plants. From this condition they rise again through the same stages

and are restored to their heavenly place. "

 

There are many passages in the Bible itself indicating that Christ

and his followers were aware of the principle of reincarnation.

Once, the disciples of Jesus asked him about the Old Testament

prophecy that Elias would reappear on earth. In the Gospel of St.

Matthew we read, " And Jesus answered them, Elias shall truly first

come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, that Elias is come

already, and they knew him not. Then the disciples understood that

he spake unto them of John the Baptist. " In other words, Jesus

declared that John the Baptist, who was beheaded by Herod, was a

reincarnation of the prophet Elias. In another instance, Jesus and

his disciples came across a man blind from birth. The disciples

asked Jesus, " Who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was

born blind? " Regardless who had sinned, Jesus replied, here was a

chance to show a work of God. He then cured the man. Now, had the

man been born blind for a sin of his own, it must have been a sin

done before his birth—that is, in a previous life. And this was a

suggestion that Jesus did not dispute.

 

The Koran says, " And you were dead, and He brought you back to life.

And He shall cause you to die, and shall bring you back to life, and

in the end shall gather you unto Himself. " Among the followers of

Islam, the Sufis especially believe that death is no loss, for the

immortal soul continually passes through different bodies. Jalalu 'D-

Din Rumi, a famous Sufi poet, writes,

 

I died as a mineral and became a plant,

I died as a plant and rose to animal,

I died as animal and I was man.

Why should I fear? When was I less by dying?

 

The timeless Vedic scriptures of India confirm that the soul,

according to its identification with material nature, takes one of

8,400,000 forms and, once embodied in a certain species of life,

evolves automatically from lower to higher forms, ultimately

attaining a human body.

 

Thus, all of the major Western religions—Judaism, Christianity,

and Islam—have definite threads of reincarnation throughout the

fabric of their teachings, even though the official custodians of

dogma ignore or deny them.

 

The Quest for Immortality

 

We were behaving like we were going to live forever, which is what

everyone thought in the Beatles days, right? I mean, whoever thought

we were going to die? (Paul McCartney)

 

If you want to gain real control over your destiny, you must

understand reincarnation and how it works. It's that simple.

No one wants to die. Most of us would like to live forever in full

vigor, without wrinkles, gray hair, or arthritis. This is natural,

because the first and most basic principle of life is to enjoy. If

we could only enjoy life forever!

 

Man's eternal quest for immortality is so fundamental that we find

it nearly impossible to conceive of dying. Pulitzer Prize winner

William Saroyan (author of The Human Comedy) echoed the views of

most people when, in the days just prior to his death, he announced

to the media, " Everybody has got to die, but I have always believed

an exception would be made in my case. Now what? "

 

Most of us seldom, if ever, think about death or what happens

afterward. Some say that death is the end of everything. Some

believe in heaven and hell. Still others hold that this life is only

one of many we have lived and will live in the future. And more than

one third of the world's population—over 1.5 billion

people—accept reincarnation as an irrevocable fact of life.

 

Reincarnation is not a " belief system, " or a psychological device

for escaping the " grim finality " of death, but a precise science

that explains our past and future lives. Many books have been

written on the subject, usually based on hypnotic regression, near-

death experiences, accounts of out-of-body experiences, or deja-vu.

 

But most reincarnation literature is poorly informed, highly

speculative, superficial, and inconclusive. Some books purport to

document cases of people who, under hypnosis, have been regressed to

previous lifetimes. They describe in detail houses they lived in,

streets they walked on, parks they frequented as children, and the

names of their former parents, friends, and relatives. All this

makes for interesting reading, and while such books have certainly

stimulated the ever widening public interest and belief in

reincarnation, careful investigations have revealed that many of

these so-called past-life regression cases are rife with guesswork,

inaccuracies, and even fraud.

 

But most importantly, none of these popular works explain the

fundamental facts about reincarnation, like the simple process by

which the soul eternally transmigrates from one material body to

another. In rare instances when basic principles are discussed,

authors generally present their own theories about how and in which

particular cases reincarnation occurs, as if some special or gifted

living beings reincarnate and others do not. This type of

presentation does not deal with the science of reincarnation but

introduces, instead, a confusing array of fabrications and

contradictions, leaving the reader with scores of unanswered

questions.

 

For example: Does one reincarnate instantaneously or slowly, over a

long period of time? Can other living beings, like animals,

reincarnate in human bodies? Can man appear as an animal? If so, how

and why? Do we reincarnate forever, or does it end somewhere? Can

the soul suffer perpetually in hell or enjoy forever in heaven? Can

we control our future incarnations? How? Can we be reborn on other

planets or in other universes? Do good and evil actions play a role

in determining our next body? What is the relationship between karma

and reincarnation?

 

Coming Back fully answers these questions, because it scientifically

explains the true nature of reincarnation. Finally, this book

provides the reader with practical instructions on how to come to

grips with and rise above the mysterious and generally misunderstood

phenomenon of reincarnation—a reality that plays a vital role in

shaping man's destiny.

 

The Mystery of Consciousness

 

Death. Man's most mysterious, relentless, and inevitable adversary.

Does death mean the end of life, or does it merely open the door to

another life, another dimension, or another world?

 

If man's consciousness survives the death experience, then what

determines its transition to new realities?

 

In order to gain a clear understanding of these mysteries, man has

traditionally turned to enlightened philosophers, accepting their

teachings as representative of a higher truth.

 

Some criticize this method of acquiring knowledge from a higher

authority, no matter how carefully the seeker may analyze it. Social

philosopher E. F. Schumacher, author of Small Is Beautiful, notes

that in our modern society, when people are out of touch with nature

and traditional wisdom, they " consider it fashionable to ridicule

and only believe in what they see and touch and measure. " Or, as the

saying goes, " Seeing is believing. "

 

But when man endeavors to understand something beyond the scope of

the material senses, beyond instruments of measurement and the

faculty of mental speculation, then there is no alternative but to

approach a higher source of knowledge.

 

No scientist has successfully explained through laboratory

investigations the mystery of consciousness or its destination after

the destruction of the material body. Research in this field has

produced many divergent theories, but their limitations must be

recognized.

 

The systematic principles of reincarnation, on the other hand,

comprehensively explain the subtle laws governing our past, present,

and future lives.

 

If one is to understand reincarnation at all, he must acknowledge

the fundamental concept of consciousness as an energy distinct from

and superior to the matter composing the physical body. This

principle is supported by examination of the unique thinking,

feeling, and willing capacities of the human being. Can DNA strands

or other genetic components possibly induce the feelings of love and

respect one person has for another? What atom or molecule is

responsible for the subtle artistic nuances in Shakespeare's Hamlet

or Bach's " Mass in B Minor " ? Man and his infinite capabilities

cannot be explained by mere atoms and molecules. Einstein, the

father of modern physics, admitted that consciousness could not be

adequately described in terms of physical phenomena. " I believe that

the present fashion of applying the axioms of science to human life

is not only entirely a mistake, but also has something reprehensible

in it, " the great scientist once said.

 

Indeed, scientists have failed to explain consciousness by means of

the physical laws that govern everything else within their purview.

Frustrated by this failing, Nobel laureate in physiology and

medicine Albert Szent-Gyorgyi recently lamented, " In my search for

the secret of life, I ended up with atoms and electrons, which have

no life at all. Somewhere along the line, life has run out through

my fingers. So, in my old age, I am now retracing my steps. "

 

Accepting the notion that consciousness arises from molecular

interaction requires an enormous leap of faith, much greater than

that required for a metaphysical explanation. As Thomas Huxley, the

well-known biologist, said, " It seems to me pretty plain that there

is a third thing in the universe, to wit, consciousness which I

cannot see to be matter or force or any conceivable modification of

either... "

 

Further recognition of the unique properties of consciousness was

given by Nobel laureate in physics Niels Bohr, who remarked, " We can

admittedly find nothing in physics or chemistry that has even a

remote bearing on consciousness. Yet all of us know there is such a

thing as consciousness, simply because we have it ourselves. Hence

consciousness must be part of nature, or, more generally, of

reality, which means that quite apart from the laws of physics and

chemistry, as laid down in quantum theory, we must also consider

laws of quite a different kind. " Such laws might well include the

laws of reincarnation, which govern the passage of consciousness

from one physical body into another.

 

To begin understanding these laws, we may note that reincarnation is

not an alien, antipodal event, but one that occurs with regularity

in our own bodies during this very lifetime. In The Human Brain,

Professor John Pfeiffer notes, " Your body does not contain a single

one of the molecules that it contained seven years ago. " Every seven

years one's old body is completely rejuvenated. The self, however,

our real identity, remains unchanged. Our bodies grow from infancy,

to youth, to middle age, and then to old age, yet the person within

the body, the " I, " always remains the same.

 

Reincarnation—based on the principle of a conscious self

independent of its physical body—is part of a higher-order system

governing the living being's transmigration from one material form

to another. Since reincarnation deals with our most essential

selves, it is a subject of the utmost relevance to everyone.

 

Coming Back explains the fundamentals of reincarnation presented in

the timeless Vedic text Bhagavad-gita. The Gita, thousands of years

older than the Dead Sea Scrolls, provides the most complete

explanation of reincarnation available anywhere. It has been studied

for millennia by many of the world's greatest thinkers, and since

spiritual knowledge is eternally true and does not change with each

new scientific theory, it is still relevant today.

 

Harvard biophysicist D. P. Dupey writes, " We may lead ourselves down

a blind alley by adhering dogmatically to the assumption that life

can be explained entirely by what we know of the laws of nature. By

remaining open to the ideas embodied in the Vedic tradition of

India, modern scientists can see their own disciplines from a new

perspective and further the aim of all scientific endeavor: the

search for truth. "

 

In this age of global uncertainty, it is imperative that we

understand the real origin of our conscious selves, how we find

ourselves in different bodies and conditions of life, and what our

destinations will be at the time of death. This essential

information is comprehensively explained in Coming Back.

 

Chapter One shows how reincarnation has profoundly influenced many

of the world's greatest philosophers, poets, and artists, from

Socrates to Salinger. Next, the process of reincarnation as

expounded in Bhagavad-gita, the oldest and most respected sourcebook

on the subject of transmigration of the soul, is presented.

 

Chapter Two, a lively dialogue between His Divine Grace A. C.

Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and noted religious psychologist

Professor Karlfried Graf von Durckheim, clearly shows how the

material body and the antimaterial particle, the spirit soul, can

never be the same. In Chapter Three, a famous heart surgeon urges

systematic research into the soul, and Srila Prabhupada cites the

Vedic version, thousands of years older and strikingly more

informative than modern medical science. Three fascinating

narratives from the Vedic text Srimad Bhagavatam constitute Chapter

Four. These accounts stand as classic examples of how the soul

transmigrates through different types of bodies under the control of

the precise laws of nature and karma.

 

In Chapter Five, excerpts from the writings of Srila Prabhupada

clearly demonstrate that the principles of reincarnation can be

easily understood in terms of ordinary events and common

observations that regularly occur in our daily lives. The next

chapter describes how reincarnation embodies a universal and

infallible system of justice, wherein the soul is never banished to

eternal damnation but is constitutionally endowed with a permanent

opportunity to escape the perpetual cycle of birth and death.

 

Common misconceptions and chic notions about reincarnation form the

subject of Chapter Seven, and the concluding chapter, " Graduate

Samsara: End the Cycle of Birth and Death, " presents the process

through which the soul can transcend reincarnation and enter realms

in which it is finally freed from the prison of the material body.

Having once achieved this status, the soul never again returns to

this endlessly mutable world of birth, disease, old age, and death.

 

The Science of Reincarnation

http://www.mantra-meditation.com/mystery-of-consciousness.html