REBIRTH & REINCARNATION
"Reincarnation is believed to occur when the Soul or spirit, after the Death of the body, comes back to life in a new form, such as another animal or anthing that is living. However, once born sometime things from a person's previous life are forgotten. This doctrine is a central tenet within the majority of Indian religions traditions , such as Hinduism, Jainism and Sikkim the Buddhist concept of rebirth is also often referred to as reincarnation".
The Common word used for the doctrine of rebirth is ‘Punarjanam’. In Sanskrit ‘Punar’ or ‘Puna’, means, ’next time'or ‘again’ and ‘Janam’ means ‘life’. Therefore ‘Punarjanam’ means ‘next life’ or ‘the life hereafter’. It does not mean coming to life on earth again and again as a living creature. If one reads many of the references to Punarjanam in Hindu Scriptures besides the Vedas, keeping the life in the hereafter in mind, one gets the concept of the next life but not of rebirths or of life again and again. This is true for several quotations of the Bhagvad Gita and Upanishad which speak of Punarjanam.This concept of repeated births or of cycle of rebirth was developed after the Vedic period. This doctrine was included by humans in subsequent Hindu scriptures including the Upanishad, Bhagvad Gita and the Puranas in a conscious attempt to rationalize and explain the differences between different individuals at birth and the different circumstances in which people find themselves in, with the concept that Almighty God is not unjust. So to say that since God is not unjust the inequalities and differences between people are due to their deeds in their past live.
The law of karma explains why people are reborn into the samsaric realm, and is also the basis for determining how this occurs. Karma literally means 'action', and refers to the things we do. However, karma is also to do with looking at how someone has lived their whole life too. For instance, someone might have spent their whole life indulging in worldly pleasures, which although not deemed wrong by Hindus, shows that they love the things of this world rather than any other. So the law of karma will naturally lead them to be reborn into the world (again), whereas someone who has spent most of their life dwelling on more spiritual things will begin to progress on from this.Hindus believe that people remain on the cycle of samsara (birth, death, rebirth), because they are ignorant of their true (divine) nature. Naturally, this implies that once someone begins to realise, accept and embrace who they really are, that they will begin to progress towards God
Death, according to Hinduism, is a series of changes through which an individual passes. Hinduism speaks of the four courses that men follow after death. The first, called devayana, way of the gods, is followed by spiritually advanced souls who lead an extremely pure life, devoting themselves to wholehearted meditation on Brahman, but who have not succeeded in attaining complete Self-knowledge before death. They repair to Brahmaloka, the highest heaven, and from there in due course attain liberation. The second course, known as pitriyana, way of the fathers, is followed by ritualists and philanthropists who have cherished a desire for the results of their charity, austerity, vows, and worship. Following this path, they repair to Chandraloka, the lunar sphere, and after enjoying immense happiness there as a reward for their good actions, they return again to earth since they still have earthly desires. The third course, which leads to hell, is followed by those who led an impure life, performing actions forbidden by the scriptures. They are born in sub-human species. After expiating their evil actions, they are again reborn on earth in human bodies. The fourth course is for those who are extremely vile in their thoughts and actions. They are reborn again and again as insignificant creatures such as mosquitoes and fleas. Eventually, after the expiation of their evil actions, they too return to human bodies on earth. When a soul assumes a human body, it takes up the thread of spiritual evolution of its previous human birth and continues to evolve toward Self-knowledge. According to Hinduism, all souls will ultimately attain Self-knowledge.
Rebirth of Kalpana
Chawla???
Khurja (Uttar Pradesh), July 07: A four-year-old girl who claims her name is Kalpana Chawla and that she died up in the skies four years ago is drawing huge crowds in a village here in Uther Predesh. Residents of Nar Mohammadpur village, about 35 km from here, where little Upasana is visiting her relatives, think she might be the reincarnation of the India born astronaut Kalpana Chawla, who died when US space shuttle Columbia crashed four years ago.
The news of the girl's claim spread quickly in the area after she spoke to some villagers here.
'I am Kalpana Chawla,' says Upasana, who reportedly fears the sight an aircraft. She has been telling her illiterate parents that she died in a 'crash' up in the skies.
'Upasana has been telling us ever since she started speaking that her name was Kalpana Chawla and that her father's name was Banarsi Das Chawla but we could not figure out anything as we had never heard of Kalpana,' Upasana's father Raj Kumar told reporters Friday.
Raj Kumar is a resident of Pata village of Etawah district where he works as a labourer.
'Yet Upasana's proclamation led us all to believe that she was actually talking about her previous birth,' he said. 'She claims that the spacecraft was hit by a huge ball of ice that sent it crashing and ended her life.'
Upasana was born barely two months after the astronaut's death in 2003.
..................................................................
