Guest guest Posted December 21, 2003 Report Share Posted December 21, 2003 hi, its me again!.....my humble respects to all... I have another(some)question here....i'm sure many ppl out there not only me, like to seek an answer for this question.....a few months ago i was talking with my friend about spiritual,god and that kind of subjects....he is a Christian and i'm a Hindu....while we were talking we came across the topic 'Rebirth and Next Life!.....when I tell him that any living entity will reborn again after his death and lead a life according to his past karma....but he rejects that....he said that after death the soul will either go to Heaven or Hell depending on his past karma.....I have so little knowledge that I couldn't answer him.....In fact I myself has questioned myself bout this things many time....I have always wanted to lay this questions here...I think today is the time....Hope somebody here will give me a concrit,genuine and satisfying answer!.....I know there are many learned and knowledgeable ppl here....so I humbly seek an answer from any of you...Here are the questions:- What is the point of rebirth if the soul cannot realize or remember his past karma or his past life?Won't the soul still be doing the same thing?We punish someone if he/she did something wrong, for example: if he is a little boy we hit him or ground him and advise him, making him to realize his faults....same goes to criminals, we prison them....this give them chance to realize their bad dids(hope got my point)....but imagine if someone is reborn and don't have any idea about his past karma and his past life.Won't it be such a waste?....and even worst to be born as an animal or a tree!...how can a human born back as an animal or a tree and can't learn what is good and what is bad, can undo his past karma?....ok lets take me as an example,I don't remember my past life...i don't know what wrong i did then.....won't it be possible for me to do the same thing?....now I eat meat...I donno whether i was born again because of eating meat!....so how can I know it is wrong or not?....ok lets say that i did reborn and all my sufferings are because of my past dids....how do i know that and correct myself?.....how do you think this method is efficient?.... well guys I shall stop here...Hope this questions can be answered....peace to all.... ENLIGHTEN ME -Hare Krishna- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkEye Posted December 21, 2003 Report Share Posted December 21, 2003 sorry forgot to login... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kulapavana Posted December 21, 2003 Report Share Posted December 21, 2003 if God is supposed to be just, why would He punish us with eternal damnation (hell) for just one life of sin and ignorance? you would not be able to go through life in a normal fashion if you remembered your past lives. sometimes the memories from just this life drive us crazy, what to speak of many lives (and deaths) just two points for your consideration... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kulapavana Posted December 21, 2003 Report Share Posted December 21, 2003 do not think that this material world is designed for your convenience in returning to the spiritual world (that is only one of the options available here). this world is designed to allow you to try enjoying life without Krishna. Lord Krishna is so kind, that He never tries to impose Himself on living entities. While we may not remember past lives, we retain the basic tendencies and interests of our personality from life to life, such as inclination to be religious, to follow the rules of the scriptures, etc. That is why some people exhibit different tendencies from the very early age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahnava Nitai Das Posted December 21, 2003 Report Share Posted December 21, 2003 he said that after death the soul will either go to Heaven or Hell depending on his past karma.....I have so little knowledge that I couldn't answer him..... There is no answer to give, as he is simply stating what his religious books say. Just because he says souls go to heaven after people die doesn't mean he has defeated the entire concept of reincarnation. It's just his opinion. As far as logic goes, why does a just and merciful God put some people into situations where they can never have a chance to know about Jesus Christ, and thus end up in eternal hell. Take the example of children born deep in the amazon, who never get a chance to know that a Jesus Christ exists. Its no fault of their's, but God decided that they would be born in a place where there are no Christians and thus get a ticket to eternal hell. What about children who die when they are one year old due to some disease? They didn't get to accept Jesus Christ either. What about the children who die in abortions? Do they go to eternal hell as well for not accepting Jesus. They all have the burden of the "original sin" which they must repent for. They didn't accept Christ, so they must suffer forever in hell. What about children born with terrible diseases, abject poverty, in war torn countries, etc. Why is God punishing them for something they never did? Why does God put some of us in rich families, and some of us in poor families. Why does God make some of us healthy and some of us born with horrible uncurable diseases? And after God plays his cruel game of giving random suffering, He blames these small children for not accepting His religion and surrendering to his only son? If God wanted someone to become his follower, why did he make them born in the middle of Afghanistan surrounded by mullahs? And according to this God's view, that boy is supposed to magically accept Jesus Christ and repent otherwise he gets an eternal life of hell and damnation. As long as we do not accept the principles of reincarnation and karma, religion becomes an illogical joke and God becomes a tyrant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ancient_paztriot Posted December 21, 2003 Report Share Posted December 21, 2003 The Bible is alright for beginners I guess. But not if you want good philosophy and religion too. "What is the point of rebirth if the soul cannot realize or remember his past karma or his past life?" With reincarnation in mind here, I'll say that all those activities and memories don't mean nothin'. This is all the stuff we are trying to forget… "ME" on the center stage. Now if you had memories of a religious life, that may help. But just seeing yourself with your fat chin in the pigpen (figure of speech) is not gonna help you understand much except maybe animal propensities. What we need to know in order to get our life back does not come from this world. So it doesn't matter how much you know about your lifetimes here, the real point is how to get out. And that information you have in religious texts, the absolute best being the Vedas. "but imagine if someone is reborn and don't have any idea about his past karma and his past life.Won't it be such a waste?" In your examples, there are people who are very concerned with the merits of a particular individual. Likewise, there are those who keep track of ours. Much of that merit is based on what we know and how we act. Human life is meant for religious yoga. People who don't care for this are called animals. The "waste" is doing it all again! He doesn't have any idea? Well, that's what the scriptures are for… to give him that idea. We hear about laws and punishment as we grow. Similarly, we hear from religious philosophy how karma prevails over several lifetimes. If one doesn't believe, what can be done? Truth is not subject to what we believe. Rather, we are subject to what we believe about the truth. If one chooses a belief system that doesn't make much sense… well that doesn't make much sense. People don't know or can't know because of seeing only this life? No! The information is there in religion. Reap what you sow. It is scientific. It is authoritative. And it puts the proper spin on things… forget this world. You just can't win. If people think they are gonna get knowledge and wisdom (such as vegetarianism) from memories of eating meat, let's say, then they have ALOT of lifetimes to experience. So this wanting to understand my way is a bluff. You can't do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ancient_paztriot Posted December 21, 2003 Report Share Posted December 21, 2003 Now life as we experience it and define it consists of emotions; attachments, bonding, etc. Wouldn't it really screw up your life to "remember" those other sentiments from previous lives? And even if you did remember being a happy pig in that pig sty, is just knowing that fact that you've had different lives gonna make you devotional? No. Then Krsna would have to deal with alot cheaters who want not to love Him, but just want exploit Him in the name of good choices… "What do I do to avoid hell and increase heaven?" So the lines would blurr and become much more problematic. As it is, the insincere don't even bother. They're counting on their experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShegavichaRana Posted December 23, 2003 Report Share Posted December 23, 2003 This is what I would have liked to say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 30, 2003 Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 Thanks all...now i'm clear....sorry for my late reply...have been busy lately....i still have some questions but i think i don have the time now...maybe sooner or later...thank you all... ENLIGHTEN ME -Hare Krishna- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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