Reincarnation is a claim that cannot be proven or disproven. Yet it remains one of the fundamental questions regarding consciousness, identity and the nature of reality.
It follows on from questions like: who am I? What happens when we die? Where do we originate?
The ancient Greeks, upon whom western philosophy is based, were believers in reincarnation, and called it "metempsychosis".
It was only when the Christian doctrine rose to power that the church eradicated the concept of reincarnation. That's why the west has no comprehension of the concept. It was expunged.
If we go even further back into history, we see that the ancient Sanskrit philosophers of India totally accepted reincarnation as part of their view of consciousness as being separate from and not limited to the body.
So it's only western Christian-based cultures that were kept in the dark by the church for purposes of control. Ignorant people are easier to control. And when you need a dogma that gives the priest and church full power over the souls of mankind, then it needs to exclude any philosophy that suggests that we get many chances in recurring lifetimes to make our way to heaven.
Buddhism, which is a later offshoot from Vedanta, concludes that since there is no individual soul or identity, then there is no one individual to reincarnate lifetime after lifetime. To Buddhism nothing is real, so to me Buddhism is unreal.
It's only the Vedic version, based upon Bhagavad Gita, etc, that clearly states the concept of reincarnation of the individual soul as doctrine. And this doctrine clearly outlines the nature of individual consciousness as one that is not bound by the body and is able to continue upon death of the body.
So based upon the teachings of Plato, Empedocles and Pythagoras in the west, and Vedanta in the east, the historical roots of reincarnation are deep and meaningful.
The foundation of the concept of reincarnation is that it provides the idea that death is not final. It also allows for moral continuity, based on the law of karma, or action and reaction. One cannot escape one's reactions across lifetimes.
This obliges people to behave morally, while simultaneously removing the illogical and unbalanced concept of only one life followed by eternal hell if you get it wrong. That equation sends to me to be way out of balance and illogical.
Reincarnation, however, allows for an equal and fair distribution of reaction based upon action.
From this side of the veil, we may never know for sure what happens when we die, although there is plenty of anecdotal evidence and case history of people, even children, remembering a past life.
Ultimately we will each need to come to our own philosophical conclusion regarding who we think we are and what is the nature of consciousness, in and beyond the body. Insights and realizations will differ based upon learning and intuition. It's your life. You decide.
Bhagavad Gita ch4:5
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
bahūni me vyatītāni
janmāni tava cārjuna
tāny ahaṁ veda sarvāṇi
na tvaṁ vettha parantapa
SYNONYMS
śrī bhagavān uvāca—the Personality of Godhead said; bahūni—many; me—of Mine; vyatītāni—have passed; janmāni—births; tava—of yours; ca—and also; arjuna—O Arjuna; tāni—all those; aham—I; veda—do know; sarvāṇi—all; na—not; tvam—yourself; vettha—know; parantapa—O subduer of the enemy
TRANSLATION
The Blessed Lord said: Many, many births both you and I have passed. I can remember all of them, but you cannot, O subduer of the enemy!
PURPORT
In the Brahma-saṁhitā we have information of many, many incarnations of the Lord. It is stated there:
advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam
ādyaṁ purāṇa-puruṣaṁ nava-yauvanaṁ ca
vedeṣu durllabham adurllabham ātma-bhaktau
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi.
(Bs. 5.33)
"I worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda [Kṛṣṇa], who is the original person—absolute, infallible, without beginning, although expanded into unlimited forms, still the same original, the oldest, and the person always appearing as a fresh youth. Such eternal, blissful, all-knowing forms of the Lord are usually understood by the best Vedic scholars, but they are always manifest to pure, unalloyed devotees." It is also stated in Brahma-saṁhitā:
rāmādi mūrttiṣu kalā-niyamena tiṣṭhan
nānāvatāram akarod bhuvaneṣu kintu
kṛṣṇaḥ svayaṁ samabhavat paramaḥ pumān yo
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
(Bs. 5.39)
"I worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda [Kṛṣṇa], who is always situated in various incarnations such as Rāma, Nṛsiṁha and many sub-incarnations as well, but who is the original Personality of Godhead known as Kṛṣṇa, and who incarnates personally also."
In the Vedas also it is said that the Lord, although one without a second, nevertheless manifests Himself in innumerable forms. He is like the vaidurya stone, which changes color yet still remains one. All those multi-forms are understood by the pure, unalloyed devotees, but not by a simple study of the Vedas: vedeṣu durllabham adurllabham ātma-bhaktau. Devotees like Arjuna are constant companions of the Lord, and whenever the Lord incarnates, the associate devotees also incarnate in order to serve the Lord in different capacities. Arjuna is one of these devotees, and in this verse it is understood that some millions of years ago when Lord Kṛṣṇa spoke the Bhagavad-gītā to the sun-god Vivasvān, Arjuna, in a different capacity, was also present. But the difference between the Lord and Arjuna is that the Lord remembered the incidence, whereas Arjuna could not remember. That is the difference between the part and parcel living entity and the Supreme Lord. Although Arjuna is addressed herein as the mighty hero who could subdue the enemies, he is unable to recall what had happened in his various past births. Therefore, a living entity, however great he may be in the material estimation, can never equal the Supreme Lord. Anyone who is a constant companion of the Lord is certainly a liberated person, but he cannot be equal to the Lord. The Lord is described in the Brahma-saṁhitā as infallible (acyuta), which means that He never forgets Himself, even though He is in material contact. Therefore, the Lord and the living entity can never be equal in all respects, even if the living entity is as liberated as Arjuna. Although Arjuna is a devotee of the Lord, he sometimes forgets the nature of the Lord, but by the divine grace a devotee can at once understand the infallible condition of the Lord, whereas a nondevotee or a demon cannot understand this transcendental nature. Consequently these descriptions in the Gītā cannot be understood by demonic brains. Kṛṣṇa remembered acts which were performed by Him millions of years before, but Arjuna could not, despite the fact that both Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna are eternal in nature. We may also note herein that a living entity forgets everything due to his change of body, but the Lord remembers because He does not change His sac-cid-ānanda body. He is advaita, which means there is no distinction between His body and Himself. Everything in relation to Him is spirit—whereas the conditioned soul is different from his material body. And, because the Lord's body and self are identical, His position is always different from the ordinary living entity, even when He descends to the material platform. The demons cannot adjust themselves to this transcendental nature of the Lord, as the Lord explains in the following verse.
Reference: Bhagavad Gita As It Is, translation and commentary by Swami A C Bhaktivedanta, original MacMillan 1972 edition,freely available at prabhupadabooks.com.
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