Wondering About Past Lives?

When one talks about past lives, he undoubtedly refers to the immortality of the

human soul and his discussion transcends into and around the ancient, complex but popularly believed concepts of reincarnation and rebirth.

When you are talking about past lives it is to be taken into account that there may have been a number of past lives or births before the one that is present. What happens is that the soul is reborn in a completely different physical body which can be termed as reincarnation. The ancient civilizations and cultures who have much more spiritually advanced than the others, have distinct beliefs about past lives and similar concepts.

The basis of the concept about past lives and reincarnation stands on the point that the human soul is immortal. When a person dies, his physical body ceases to exist but at the same time the soul leaves the physical body and later comes back to the human world in the form of a new born. The whole process of reincarnation is also termed as transmigration of the soul.

Most of the ancient civilizations and several religions have made studies in depth and researched about past lives and the process of reincarnation. The theory of reincarnation forms the core base for Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism as well as Sikhism. Ancient Greek philosophy talks about reincarnations. However Christianity and Islam have different views regarding the concept.

Let's take a peek on what Hinduism has to say about past lives. It says that the soul or the Atman has to travel through a cycle of birth, death and rebirth called Samsara until it achieves moksha or the highest level of spiritual wisdom and is set free. During the process of birth and rebirth, the soul has to go through the life and its deeds and behaviors, otherwise known as Karma.

His conditions and experiences in his next rebirth are mainly governed by the karma of his past lives. Through each rebirth, he gradually becomes spiritually wiser and finally when is able to realize the universal truth and his true potential, he is known to attain the state of moksha or nirvana. His soul is free and attains eternal peace and happiness.

Buddhism has separate beliefs about past lives. The religion does not lay much importance on the immortality of the soul but stresses on the process of reincarnation and thinks that it is a kind of evolvement of the consciousness. The supreme soul or the atman does not tie one life with the next rebirth. What the Buddhists believe is that with every birth the consciousness of the soul evolves and there emerges new personality from the same stream of consciousness.

Coming to the modern west, it is seen that there is no beliefs existing about past lives as such. The philosophy which has emerged in the recent past talking about past lives and believing the Hindu line of thought is that of Theosophy. Theosophy is thus the first institution to talk about past lives in the modern western world.

The doctrine of Theosophy stands on the point that the soul is a formless, all-encompassing force. It comes down from the higher planes to the human world and goes through a cycle of birth, death and rebirth. In every step there is a gathering of knowledge and experience. The death brings purity to the soul and it travels to he ethereal planes once again. There it waits in a timeless and formless state for another reincarnation.

by: Allison Small

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