Reincarnation is the belief that an aspect of every human being continues to exist after death. We can see reincarnation in the cycle of nature. An apple's life cycle you see rebirth on full display. Seed, seedling, tree, flower, apple, then apple decays to regrow the seed in the center. Reincarnation is a central component in many different religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Indigenous Spiritualism, Jainism, and Sikhism. We are going to be taking a look at reincarnation and how it aligns with my personal views. Reincarnation can be traced back to at least 1000 BC in Northern India. It is not just limited to Asian culture it dates just as far back in Western culture as well. Reincarnation is also known as rebirth. Reincarnation believes that the soul of a human being is immortal. Upon death, the soul merely becomes transmigrated into a newborn baby or an animal to continue its immortality. The term transmigration means the passing of a soul from one body to another after death. In the Christian religion, your spirit goes to Heaven or Hell at the time of death. Like in many religions your accumulated karma depends on where your soul goes. In reincarnation, it also determines the new body/life you go into. We will feel like we are living a great, life, and spreading kindness then something shifts. We are in a negative situation or a constant state of suffering. We are asking ourselves why. Sometimes our past karma is telling us we need to go through this aspect of suffering for growth and enlightenment. This is why at times we may not always be able to understand why we are put in certain situations. It is believed that each cycle of reincarnation is there to bring you to your ultimate spiritual goal. Some believe there will be an end to the reincarnation cycle which can go by many names: moksha, nirvana, mukti, and kaivalya. Reincarnation is not linked to only one religion; many different religions hold this belief. The ancient Jaina philosophy assumes that the soul, jiva not only exists but is eternal. In Jainism, a soul travels to any one of the four states of existence after death depending on its karmas. The jiva passes through cycles of transmigration. After transmigration, the soul passes instantaneously into a new body. We see reincarnation in Taoism as well. In Taoism life exists because nothing dies, everything is flowing within the Tao. Taoists do not believe the cycle of reincarnation ends instead as your cycle flows you become one with the Tao, achieving immortality. It has been stated in many Buddhist scriptures, that Gautama Buddha believed in the existence of reincarnation, and an afterlife in another world. The Buddha views the soul as the anattā. The anattā is not a permanent energy source, that keeps the body going. Instead, the anattā moves from one life to another life. Life and all of its difficulties are called the dukkha. This cycle of life is designed to be the source of suffering, and pain. It is believed that through the dukkha you will achieve a state of nirvana. Life is seen as a suffering cycle of life, death, and rebirth, without beginning or end. Buddhists viewed reincarnation as part of life as the wheel of existence. With having lived so many lives in the past it is only natural to have some memory or sense of it. It is believed there are many different signs that a person can have if you have been reincarnated in the past. Some children when they are born will have certain traits, that you know you did not raise them to have. There have been many well-documented cases of young children who have told of very specific details of a past life. Only to be later verified by investigators. Some connections go beyond this lifetime. You may meet a person and instant liking or disliking for that person, for no apparent reason. A subconscious memory may be the root cause of this initial reaction. This means you may have had a negative or positive encounter with that person in the past. I knew when I met my husband that we had a long history. I saw all of our past lives flash in front of me. "I know I am deathless…We have thus far exhausted trillions of winters and summers. There are trillions ahead, and trillions ahead of them."
|
As a mom of three boys who go to public school I started to notice that some things were not being taught in detail so I decided to create lessons for them. Many of these lessons cover science, history and of information about Paganism. I share crafts for the all different holidays and cultures as ways that they can learn and have fun at the same time.
Archives
November 2023
Categories |