Is reincarnation true?
Yes. We repeatedly are reborn on earth taking up another life using another body and with a different "personality".
Are we ever reborn as an animal?
No. That is a misunderstanding in some traditions. (The original teachings of those traditions did not hold this view.) Once an individual has reached the level of complexity of a human being, he or she must reincarnate as a human being to continue to work out the relationships of the past and to develop and grow in an environment of suitable complexity.
By the way, you mention "he or she". Could I have been one of the opposite sex in a previous reincarnation?
Yes, definitely. The soul is sexless. It may reincarnate in either sex and it may change from one to the other gender in different lives.
When I die, do I come back immediately?
No. There is a definite cycle of life as a whole. Our life from infant to old-age is a part of that cycle. Death itself is a process divided into recognizable stages. There is a period of long rest between "lifetimes". Typically, for the mass of humanity, that period of rest is about 1,000 to 1,500 years. Then the individual is reborn.
But exactly what is reborn?
A "higher" spiritual part of us is reborn. Theosophy says the "personality" was left behind at the previous death. Certain of that personality's tendencies, lessons learned, character and pure spirit are assimilated from the previous life and remain with the "individual" to be reborn again. The important distinction is between "personality" and "individuality". Over the course of lives, the individuality increases and the personality becomes of less importance. Theosophy has much more detailed information on this question. For the best introduction to that information see How can I learn more described below.
Strictly speaking, we should not say we "have" a soul. Rather, we are a soul and the soul "has" a body it has aquired and is working through. Part of our task is to become aware of this truth.
Why don't I remember my previous lives?
It was a different brain that knew the details of your previous life - so that life and the preceeding ones are not normally remembered in detail. The influences of those lives will of course remain. However at the moment of death we will sometimes see the past life details and as we progress in our individual evolution we come to be able to remember the past lives that had previously been forgotten.
Are such things actually know facts?
Yes - there are masters of wisdom, great adepts, who are actual living human beings that collectively retain and advance the knowledge of these matters. They can see the progress of the soul as it moves through these stages. For them, this is directly observable information. It was taught to Blavatsky during her stay in Tibet and she promulgated it to the world during the 19th century. For more info see Source of Theosophy.
What is the point of the reincarnation?
We must back up a little. Our souls are all part of one soul. At root we are one. Brotherhood is actually a fact in nature when we look to the underlying reality. Each of these seemingly separate individualities gains experience, learns lessons - and ultimately, the consciousness of the universe gains increasing experience, increases in relative perfection, and increases in self-conciousness.
Does reincarnation then, never stop?
Yes and no. From our relative point of view we are aiming for perfection. This will take many many more incarnations. At a very advanced stage we may choose to take a well earned rest or to return as a bodisattva to help suffering humantiy. But then the cycle continues at a higher level. In the largest sense, there is no end to the cycle and no end to increasing perfection.
Returning to an earlier question - don't some individuals reincarnate much earlier than 1000 - 1500 years?
Yes. Children who die young may return quickly. Those who die from accidents may return quickly. Those committed to service and the cause of spiritual truths may return faster to speed up the service and growth and the help to humanity.
2 comments:
Krishnamurti, I believe, looks at reincarnation only from the cosmic viewpoint. According to him, what continues is only an accumulated bundle of memories, assuming a pseudo individuality. Krishnamurti says that the stream of sorrow does not admit of fragmentation as I and you, and hence if an individual is related to the stream as a whole, not divided as an observer, he contributes to something beyond the stream, which a mystic friend of mine calls the pool of goodness. The man who understands that he is not different from the stream enters into the pool of goodness, and manifests from there, being related to the stream through compassion. But if an individual does not end the psychological memory, labouring under the notion that he is different from the stream, he contributes to the stream, wherein lies great sorrow. This is the viewpoint of K. K does not admit anything, steering clear of all dual ideas. According to K, even, here and now, you are not a particular entity to be reborn, but a representative of the entire mankind, and hence it is a great responsibility to wipe off this momentum. K speaks only from the absolute standpoint like the Buddha.
U.G.Krishnamurthy, although he looks askance at J.Krishnamurti, speaks only of K's wisdom giving a shock treatment to this followers. Even the small tinge of positive thoughts that exists in K's teachings is denied by U.G. From the beginning K was not exposed to the world, being a born mystic. But U.G was exposed to the world, did all sadhanas, and ultimately went beyond that. In that U.G is very unique. Osho is a flower growing in a pot, whereas U.G and K are great forests, being original like the SWAYMBU LINGAM.
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