The concept of reincarnation is related to karma, karma deals with a system of rewards and punishment based on the actions of the individual (Oxtopy & Segal 266). Due to bad karma by the individual, it takes many lifetimes for the karma to be worked out; reincarnation also known as samsara in Hinduism is an ongoing cycle of death and rebirth. To be released from the cycle of samsara, to achieve moksha one must reach enlightenment (Oxtopy & Segal 266-267). In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna, an incarnation of the ultimate deity as a personal god in the Hindu religion, explains three ways to moksha: the way of action, the way of knowledge, and the way of devotion. The Gita also made it clear that one should strive for moksha in everyday of our life as long as we act without attachment (Oxtopy & Segal 274). Reincarnation a concept widely receive by Hindu’s around the world, there are evidence to support the truth of this concept.
J. W. Dunlap, an educational specialist and a medium, in her article “REINCARNATION AND SURVIVAL OF LIFE AFTER DEATH,” defines reincarnation as life being eternal and with a purpose that each individual will experience and continue to experience after death. The belief in reincarnation is universal in certain aspect of the world; based on the lives of Africans and Native Americans there is a strong belief in the concept of reincarnation from past human history (Dunlap 157-170). Looking at some Africans, they have a strong belief in ancestral rebirth; they do not believe that once an ancestor died they will never see them again; they believe that it is just a separation and only temporary (Dunlap). Some Native Americans have a different view; they have a spiritual, philosophical view with regards to reincar...
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...ers guide their subjects to having memories of past life. There will always be those that will deny the evidence that is shown to their face, it is up to each individual to accept or reject the evidence provided. Based on the research provided through Ian Stevenson, a psychiatrist, and the arguments presented, reincarnation cannot fully be rejected.
Works Cited
1. Dunlap, J. W. (2007). REINCARNATION AND SURVIVAL OF LIFE AFTER DEATH: "IS THERE EVIDENCE THAT PAST LIFE MEMORIES SUGGEST REINCARNATION?". Journal Of Spirituality & Paranormal Studies, 30157-170.
2. Mysore Nagaraj, A., Bevinahalli Nanjegowda, R., & Purushothama, S. M. (2013). The mystery of reincarnation. Indian Journal Of Psychiatry, S171-S176. doi:10.4103/0019-5545.105519
3. Oxtopy, W., & Segal, A. (2007). A concise introduction to world religions. (1st ed., p. 258). New York: Oxford University press.
As a last resort, Guatama began intense yogic meditation under a papal tree. One night, he went into a deep trance, and moved through different levels of being. First, he saw all of his previous lives, living through each one over and over again. He then realized that reincarnation is based on how you treat all living things and whether you do right or wrong. He then achieved the knowledge of everything there is to be known in the world, and he attained perfection. He became the ?Buddha?, which means ?Enlightened One?, and he found the release from reincarnation. Buddhacarita, the best k...
In the chapter on Hinduism in Philip Novak’s book The World’s Wisdom the section titled “The Transmigration of the Soul” describes the Hindu concept of reincarnation, the wheel of life, and ultimately becoming one with god. The lines in this passage very concisely describe the Hindu concepts of Brahman, Atman, Samsara, Karma, Maya and Moksha (Molloy). I believe that these concepts are at the core of all of the expressions of the Hindu religion; which makes understanding this paragraph the key to having a basic understanding of the Hindu religion.
... philosopher reviewed the history of brain, mind, soul, and body. What these things were and how they were perceived through the ages and now through science. His research indicates, that through certain stimuli on the brain any number of things may be experienced. Also, that in the cases of brain damage the mind suffers, which returns to the point of ASCs being real or not. No doubt people have had experiences, but science tells us those can only occur in the brain (perhaps beyond the rational portion), and that ASCs may occur from trauma. To that end, whatever a person experiences is their own, it cannot be rationalized beyond their own mind, for it is an experience of which only their mind may have. Otherworldly journeys are themselves a characteristic of the human mind, but more than that is that in many cases they are deliberately caused by some form of trauma.
It is comparable to the belief in reincarnation. Reincarnation is the belief that a person is born innocent and perfect. If during life if perfection is not achieved, birth and rebirth will continue until it is ultimately accomplished. This is similar to grief. When tragedy strikes it leaves heartbreak, and so a person begins the grieving and healing process and it is similar to life in reincarnation. A person becomes imperfect and has flaws as they grieve. Depression and anger will surface before peace and understanding is achieved. By the time the healing process is complete, the original person has died and is reborn into a stronger, more perfect person because of the journey grief took them
Reincarnation is an answer that fills many with the question "what happens after we die?" The Hindus believe that the soul leaves one body and enters another. It is a very rare and fortunate thing when a soul is born as a human. It can take any form of life however, when born as a human being; this gives the soul a chance "to advance toward its ultimate goal of liberation from rebirth and merging with the Absolute Reality." (pg 86)
Melton, J. G., & Baumann, M. (2010). Religions of the world: A comprehensive encyclopedia of beliefs and practices (2nd ed., Vol. 1). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.
Indra found this out the hard way. He was the king of the gods (Lidke 10-24-2017). The narrative starts off with this king meeting a brahmin boy, who begins to speak about the many universes and how there are infinite Indras (Lidke PPT 7, 18-20). Then suddenly ants rush in all in a line into Indra’s palace (Lidke PPT 7, 18-20). The boy begins to explain to Indra that the ants represent his past lives, and that each ant is another reincarnation of himself (Lidke PPT 7, 18-20). Indra then begins to realize that his destiny can be shaped instead of repeating itself (Lidke PPT 7, 18-19). We see through this that karma is a force that can be manipulated into something we can use to achieve
Many religions and philosophies attempt to answer the question, what happens after a person dies? Some religions such as Christianity and Islam believe there is an afterlife. They believe that good and moral people enter Heaven or paradise and that bad and immoral people go to Hell. Other religions and cultures believe that death is final, and that nothing happens after a person dies. Buddhism and Hinduism have a different idea about death. Both of these religions originated in India. Buddhists and Hindus believe that death is not final. They believe that a person comes back after he or she dies. This process is known as reincarnation, and it provides opportunities for people to enter the world multiple times in different forms. Buddhists and Hindus want to reenter the world as humans, and they want to improve their status through reincarnation. In ancient India, many members of lower casts wanted to come back as members of higher casts. While this is an important goal of reincarnation, the main goal is to reach either moksha (Hinduism) or nirvana (Buddhism). In other words, the goal is to reach a point of spiritual enlightenment that removes the person from the reincarnation process. Geoff Childs, an anthropologist examines the views of the Buddhist religion by studying the lives of the people in Tibetan villages. He looks at issues that adversely affect these people such as infant mortality. He carefully looks at the lives of people who have been left behind by deceased loved ones, and he pays careful attention to customs and traditions surrounding death. Tibetan Buddhists view death as a means of reaching spiritual perfection, and they seek to reach this level of spiritual perfection through living spiritually meaningful lives....
In the western world, a dominant belief is that after life, a person’s soul is sent to a place of eternal bliss, heaven, or a place of eternal damnation, hell. To Buddhists, this concept is not the norm. Buddhists believe that a person is reincarnated into another life form, either human or animal. What life form a person is reincarnated as is determined by the person’s karma. The concept of karma not only affects reincarnation, but also what path a person’s life takes. While much of the concept of karma is believable and comprehensible by a person of any denomination, some aspects are dependant upon a belief in reincarnation and that a person will eventually be punished for his sins or rewarded for his good deeds, whether in this life or the next. At the same time, in order to believe in how reincarnation works, a person must understand the idea of karma.
Atman, known as the inner self, is believed to be eternal by Hindu’s. The atman is sometimes thought of as the consciousness of the body and can spread throughout causing uncomfortable symptoms to span into the soul. At times the body can become caught in a web of distress, or even happiness, that dictates sensations or reactions that the body feels. The goal of the atman is to not let the body be effected by these feelings that can interrupt the success of the soul, which is to achieve moksha, and rest eternally with Brahman the ultimate reality of the universe. If the atman cannot reach this perfection during the body’s lifetime then it will have to experience rebirth, or samsara as it is known in Hinduism. This rebirth can continue on
Oxtoby, Willard Gurdon., and Alan F. Segal. A Concise Introduction to World Religions. Don Mills, Ont.: Oxford UP, 2007. Print.
Oxtoby, Willard G., and Alan F. Segal. A Concise Introduction to World Religions. Oxford, Canada: Oxford University Press, 2007.
Reincarnation is the concept that at the point of death only the body is lost. The soul or spirit lives on and is reborn into a new body. " All things, on both the microcosmic level of humankind and the macrocosm itself are subject to this cyclical nature of existence, so what is born must die and what dies must be reborn" (Fowler. 1999. p208). Hinduism tells us that a spirit is not reborn into a random body, the karma and jivatman decide on an appropriate womb. This means that a sport oriented person will always be reborn into a family who have sport orientated lives.
Everyone has their own opinions and beliefs and can interpret information as they see fit. Both Bertrand Rusell and Richard Swinburne have expressed their views on the topics of the mind soul and the after life. These are very complex areas of science and have their own ideas of what the mind and soul are and what there purposes are.
The mind’s conditioning reflects “Habituated Unconsciousness”, NOT your Essence. The mind creates everything in its image… and its image is based upon its conditioning. Who you think you are has actually been created