Reincarnation. Life after Life

Reincarnation – it is the ability of the soul to take new birth after death and get a new body. The body dies, but the soul reincarnates to a new body.

Some people believe, some don’t, and some have their own experience. Religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism their principles based on karma and reincarnation. Western religions think that humans live one life and after death go to hell or heaven.

In most ancient scriptures, Vedas, the Rigveda, Yajurveda, Upanishadas, Mahabharata, and the Ramayana, we can find knowledge about reincarnation. In Buddhism and Hinduism, there is an understanding of samsara – the wheel of life and death. Sansara means the cycle of life and death when the soul is reborn life after life.

According to Buddhists, there are six worlds where a soul can be reborn:

1) Hell worlds.
2) Worlds of hungry ghosts pretas.
3) Worlds of animals.
4) Human world.
5) Asuras (demons) and semi-gods worlds.
6) Gods worlds.

In Buddha’s teachings, there are sayings that one of the enlightenment levels is when you remember all your previous and future lives and the lives of all living beings. You can find it in the Maha-saccaka Sutta. Also in Jatakas you can find many reincarnation stories.

Reincarnation was accepted by very famous people and philosophers: Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle, Heraclitus, Voltaire, Schopenhauer, Goethe, Honoré de Balzac, Kipling, Salvador Dalí, Victor Hugo, Salinger, and many more.

There are 2 scientists who dedicated their whole lives to studying past lives:

1) Raymond Moody – American physician. For 30 years he was searching for parents whose kids remember their previous lives. Found more than 1000 cases.

2) Yan Stivenson – Canadian psychiatrist and professor—found more than 3000 cases of reincarnation in Sri Lanka of kids.

Usually kids remember their name, previous parents, and family members, they remember in what circumstances they died. Stevenson preferred spontaneous memories (without regression).

There are many examples when young children show phenomenal talents: speaking different languages, playing musical instruments, imitating the voices of birds, and cooking like the best chefs.

Sometimes we can see people who look very similar to animals.

We can find on the internet many videos of animals acting like humans: dogs dancing, cats barking, and parrots talking. It’s not a coincidence. It’s very sad understanding that those souls before had human bodies, and they degraded in their evolution because of their deeds.

There are 3 things that we take from life to life after death:

1) Karma (good and bad deeds).
2) Experience in yoga practice (sadhana).
3) Wisdom (that we get by making various decisions in life and understanding what is good and what is not).

How to stop reincarnation? It is a spiritual path, a path of enlightenment.

Reincarnation is a very important principle for people who practice yoga.