Long since humanity has asked what is waiting for us beyond life? Each religion offers its own, special, version of the answer. But one of them in different versions occurs in almost every sacred book. And this is reincarnation. Is it possible that we are waiting for rebirth?
Reincarnation - what is it?
Reincarnation is the rebirth of the soul in the material world after death. Each degeneration of the personality changes, a certain higher part remains, untouched, sometimes called the Higher Self. There the memory of all incarnations is preserved. In different religions, the rebirth of the soul is treated differently. Sometimes as part of the natural continuation of life on Earth, sometimes as an instrument of spiritual evolution, leading to the transition of the soul into a more perfect form of existence.
Reincarnation in Christianity
Official Christianity rejects the idea of the rebirth of souls as creating a direct contradiction to the idea of the Apocalypse and the Last Judgment, but, interestingly, once reincarnation in the Bible is mentioned. In John 9: 2, the following is said: "And passing through, I saw a man who was blind from birth. His disciples asked Him: "Rabbi! Who sinned, he or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered: "He neither sinned nor his parents ...".
It's about a person who is blind from birth. That is, he could not sin on his own in this life. If Jesus did not answer that man did not sin, one could argue that the question of disciples is due to the ideas of Judaism, but Christ rejected this concept completely. The full quotation includes the answer of Jesus, that neither the blind man's parents nor he himself is sinful.
In any case, the idea of reincarnation in Christianity is considered heretical. For her in the Middle Ages severely persecuted members of heretical groups.
- Cathars;
- Albigenses.
Reincarnation in Buddhism
If we consider the teaching offered to the world by the Buddha , then there is no concrete idea of reincarnation, as the birth of an immortal soul. This is characteristic of Hinduism, Krishnaism and other Hindu religions. Buddhism operates with the concept of the length of consciousness in all six worlds of samsara .
- hellish creatures;
- hungry ghosts;
- animals;
- of people;
- asuras;
- gods.
Based on karma, the totality of reasonable and unreasonable actions, consciousness finds its embodiment in one of the worlds (the higher for good deeds, the lower for evil). The journey continues until the goal of reincarnation is achieved-the liberation of consciousness from the shackles of illusions. In Tibetan Buddhism, reincarnation and karma are interrelated in the concept of the Dalai Lama, the earthly incarnation of a bodhisattva of mercy. After the spiritual leader dies, they are looking for a replacement among the children born at a certain time. It is believed that thanks to this procedure, the Dalai Lama each time becomes one entity.
Is it worth believing in reincarnation?
A unambiguous answer, whether there is reincarnation, is impossible to give. If you rely on this issue on the official points of view of science and different religions, you will get the following.
- Beliefs of reincarnation and Christianity are incompatible in essence.
- Buddhism allows three options: reincarnation is, it is not; it does not matter if it exists. Buddha Shakyamuni himself said that it is absolutely not important whether the disciple believes that the consciousness does not dissipate with death. The main thing is nobility and purity of mind.
- Hindu religions believe that the law of reincarnation is a manifestation of divine mercy and justice, which enable them to correct their mistakes on their own.
- In Judaism, it is considered that the soul of one of the members of the clan group is sure to be in the newborn. In none of the sacred books this possibility is mentioned, appeared later, in the works of Rabbi Yitzhak Luria.
- The possibility of a renewed rebirth on Earth was provided for in some pagan religions.
- Science as a rule denies the possibility of the rebirth of the soul "since the existence of the object of rebirth is not proved."
How does the soul reincarnate?
If we consider the general concept of reincarnation, in isolation from specific religious views, then the following is obtained: the soul is conditionally divided into several parts. The so-called Higher Self does not accept participation in reincarnation, it is possible to accumulate experience gained in various incarnations. The rest of the soul reincarnates, changing the conditions and circumstances of each birth. In this case, the choice of the body for the subsequent incarnation is based on the totality of the karma of the previous ones. For good deeds the conditions improve, for the bad things get worse.
For example, a conditional scoundrel, who has done a lot of wickedness in his life, is reborn into a patient with an incurable, painful illness of the child. Or, if you allow the possibility of the soul's transition not to the human body, living under difficult conditions to animals that have suffered bullying from the people. On the other hand, a beneficent person who has not attained enlightenment, but who has not done evil, will have the opportunity in the next life to leave our part of samsara or reach a high position in the material world.
Types of reincarnation
Consider two large categories of karma: personal and collective. Collective is the karma of those groups to which a person belongs (family, nation, race). Its elaboration is most of all happening during wars, catastrophes and similar shocks. The personal is divided into three more types.
- Mature . This is a set of actions and decisions, accumulated in lives already lived. They do not limit free will, but predetermine possible options for the development of events. Sometimes the accumulated cargo is so large that the slightest push for realization of intention suffices. As a rule, this applies to extraordinary acts, the motives of which are not completely clear to the person himself.
- Hidden . This part of karma is reflected in the character, but can not be realized, for the reincarnation of the soul has already occurred, and the opportunities for working out some of its aspects have not yet appeared. Partially reduce it can consciously work on themselves.
- The creative . These are the actions in the current life that a person performs consciously, not under the influence of the two previous species.
Evidence of Reincarnation
Since the official science has not yet been able to prove the existence of the soul (the object of reincarnation), it is impossible to talk about its irrefutable proofs. Supporters of this theory consider such cases of memories of past lives and personal experiences during meditation. The whole truth about reincarnation to mankind is still unknown.
Reincarnation - interesting facts
In the twentieth century, along with interest in Asia, fashion appeared on Asian religion and philosophy. In the process of studying them, some interesting facts about reincarnation also emerged.
- The past life is remembered only by children under 8 years old.
- The first recorded case of faithful memories of a previous birth is the Indian girl Shanti Davy.
- Professor of Psychiatry Jan Stevenson studied the cases of reincarnation confirmed by memories.
Books about reincarnation
About whether there is a reincarnation of the soul, written art and esoteric works.
- Michael Newton "The Journey of the Soul".
- Denise Lynn "Past lives, current dreams".
- Raymond Moody "Life After Life".
- Sam Parnia "What happens when we die."
- Hildegard Schaefer "Bridge between worlds".
- Jack London "Before Adam."
- James Joyce "Ullis".
- Honore de Balzac "Seraphite"
- Michael Moorcock all books about the Eternal Warmaster
- Richard Bach "A Seagull named Jonathan Livingston".