Reincarnation and Eternal Life

Spirituality Religion
#1

I am not asking these questions with an intent to criticize or debate, (and neither do I expect to be persuaded), but because I want to know and understand what exactly is believed.

Is there any continuity of memory from one incarnation to the next?

Is there any way of knowing whether someone is of their first incarnation? Are there any such people right now?

Do people ever reincarnate as animals?

I assume the process stops at some time and at that time of the last incarnation, after death does this soul live on forever with a remebrance of his last earthy incarnation? Does he remember all his previous incarnations?

When a person dies, does he immediately reincarnate, or is there a time he is disembodied and if so, is he conscious that he is disembodied, and of who he was when in a body?

Is a person unique and distinct from God?

#2

I will answer in the order you asked:

1.Yes, memories can and do continue from your past life. They are more commonly remembered by children than adults. However, these memories are rare and a sort of abnormality, as you are not really suppose to remember them. The memories are stored in your chitta(memory bank) in your unconscious mind. When you are reborn you have a new body and brain which does not have any pointers to the chitta, as a result of which you do not consciously remember your past life. However, if you were to tap your unconscious mind you could reactivate your past life memories.

Although most people do not remember their past lives, their past life habits are always affecting them subconsciously. Based on this they develop likes and dislikes, attitudes, personality traits and aptitudes. So for example if you were a mathematician in your past life you are likely to be born with natural aptitude for mathematics. If you died a traumatic death by drowning in a past life, you are likely to have a fear of swimming or water in your current life. Past life memories can also have physical manifestation. Such as injuries to the body in previous lives, can appear in this life as well.

  1. This will not be our first incarnation. We have already had incarnations before as humans and as animals.

  2. Yes, you can reincarnate as an animal depending on your karma. It is rare, however, because your state of consciousness has to be very underdeveloped for you to be reincarnated in an animal body. Most people will reincarnate as humans.

  3. Yes, once the process stops, you will remember all your previous incarnations. Krishna says in the Gita, “I remember all my previous incarnations, but you don’t”

  4. When a person dies they go through an intermediate stage where the soul dissassociated from the body and wanders the etheric reality level for a while, coming to terms with the fact that it has now passed over. This is what we refer to as ghosts. Then it leaves the etheric level and enters the astral plane where it experiences its own subconscious state of mind and reviews its entire life. It is said that during this process the soul is helped by other souls such as friends, family and spiritual guides. After the life review the soul remains for a temporal period in the astral plane readying itself for a new incarnation.

  5. A soul is unique and distinct from the supreme soul that is god, but they are of the same nature.

#3

So after the final incarnation and death, does the soul live disembodied in Heaven forever?

I watchted a youtube lesson about Hinduism, and got the impression that the Hindus believe that everything eventually dissolves back into God and then starts over.

At any rate, you are saying that the soul is self-aware and is a person, and remains that same person for eternity?

But how do you know this is not your first incarnation? You have to have a first incarnation. Have all first incarnations already happened?

#4

So after the final incarnation and death, does the soul live disembodied in Heaven forever?

I cannot answer this question because this question is asking a finite mind what is the infinite like. I can only relate to the notion of the infinite as an abstract notion. The wise sage and philosopher Adisankara has answerd this question by saying the question itself is invalid.

Yes, universe issues forth from god and dissolves back into god. The universe is forever expanding and contracting and each cycle is of the duration of 311 trillion years according to our sages. The ultimate understanding, however, is that creation is only phenomenal and not an actual real event. It is the ignorance born our faulty perception that makes one think that there is time and space and an objective existence, when this ignorance is removed, then one realises that existence is actually eternal and it is pure consciousness - “I am ness”

The reason I know that this is not my first incarnation is because humans do not come first in the evolutionary cycle, they are preceeded by animals and single celled organisms. As a modern human there has been now millions of years since the prehistoric humans on the planet and therefore I have most likely been around for millions of years on this planet alone. This is reflected in the development of my brain and body.

We are constantly evolving and there is still a long way to go for humans. However, individuals do not have to develop at the same pace as humanity. They can accelerate their growth through Yoga.

#5

I remember clearly as a little child that I was unfamiliar with the family and new life I was presented with.

Ive mentioned before that I used tp have an odd habit of sitting under a large living room table draped with a big table cloth, in the dark. Here I would sit quietly, meditating, until I was distracted out by luncheon or dinner etc. I was very happy doing this as I was familiar with it.

I only realised much much later that I was meditating. I also preferred silence, which was not a family trait. Sometimes I would look at my family and miss my previous existance. I should add I had/have a good family but I knew I was somewhere new.

I was born Cesarean, emergency op, the umbilical chord wrapped tightly round my neck (1950’s) and sometimes wonder now that it was a bit of a mistake that I am here! Probably a Buddhist error in the death journey!!

#6

There so much gobbldigook and non-science (non-sense) here is this religious forum, I don’t know where to start. We obviously struggle to understand things we have evidence for, like evolution, let alone things we don’t, like reincarnation. There’s so much speculation, assertion, and guess work here, it’s draining my energy.

#7

[QUOTE=kareng;39591]
I was born Cesarean, emergency op, the umbilical chord wrapped tightly round my neck (1950’s) and sometimes wonder now that it was a bit of a mistake that I am here! Probably a Buddhist error in the death journey!![/QUOTE]

Wow. Do me a favor and don’t tell me why I came out backwards (1950). :roll:
Oh well, anyway, we’re here now. :smiley:
Best regards, Gil.

#8

Ha…gilyoga…I do come out with stuff at times!!!..just slapping myself

Yogiadam…im laughing out loud…trust you to come back on this one!!! You could have at least picked something, someone else…ha…I have no defense on this one!!!

#9

[QUOTE=kareng;39776]Ha…gilyoga…I do come out with stuff at times!!!..just slapping myself

Yogiadam…im laughing out loud…trust you to come back on this one!!! You could have at least picked something, someone else…ha…I have no defense on this one!!![/QUOTE]

I wish I could pick something else, but I’m an atheist trapped in the religious forum for a month lol

#10

I don’t know. Reincarnation and eternal life doesn’t seem like much fun really if I can’t remember a damn thing about my past lives.

I guess technically we all live forever when all mass is conserved and whatever atoms and elements we are made from gets redistributed and reused.

#11

Do you really want to remember how you have raped a woman in a past incarnation? Not pleasant I can assure you!

#12

I dont remember anything of my previous life now thst I am grown up…just as sense Ive been here before and a remembrance it all looked very different to now…but nothing specific

There was/is a subtle thing, I think, of not liking to sit cross legged, I have always resented doing this…?
I remember when I was in school assembly, sitting cross legged with everyone in front of me doing the same and me not enjoying it?? I also disliked wearing socks, shoes, elasticated clothes and itchy wool or cloth…I wonder if this is any reference to a previous life somewhere.?

#13

[QUOTE=Pandara;39881]Do you really want to remember how you have raped a woman in a past incarnation? Not pleasant I can assure you![/QUOTE]

So, is it normal to be reincarnated with a completely different personality?

Now, if it were robbing banks and getting away with it…

#14

[QUOTE=Pandara;39881]Do you really want to remember how you have raped a woman in a past incarnation? Not pleasant I can assure you![/QUOTE]

Is rape a sin God won’t forgive?

At any rate, I find the idea of reincarnation to be most depressing. What good is it to have another incarnation if there is no continuity or memory? It’s the same as being an entirely new person.

Regardless, I don’t believe in it, and believe we have ONE incarnation, and one lifetime in which to choose Heaven or Hell.

#15

Thomas do you think that hell will be permanent for say a rapist?

#16

I believe there is a permanent Hell for those who die hating God.

But I also believe any sin can be forgiven, and could not claim to know who did or did not repent in their last moments of life, so could not say for certain that Hitler or anyone is in Hell.

#17

Buddhists with abilities to do this have been known to see/visit some of the different hells that exist in other dimensions…there is one account where a person is rescued from a hell by Buddhist intervention in numbers…Using specific actions

#18

[quote=FlexPenguin;39885]So, is it normal to be reincarnated with a completely different personality?

Now, if it were robbing banks and getting away with it…[/quote]

Have robbed many people in past incarnations, sorry poverty is not as pleasant in the next!

Flex, i can’t say if it is normal to reincarnate with a completely different personality everytime, what I can say is based on my experience in seeing and reliving many of my past incarnations in order to balance karmas with people I am in this life with. It seems to me that I had a different personality in each incarnation, depending on what I had to do and learn. However, I do recognise my essence as very distinct when I see myself in a vision, the same with other people, each person has a distinct essence and that stays with them from one incarnation to the next it seems. I had visions about people with me in this life where they would look completely different in another life, will be a different sex as well, but I would recognise them by their essence. Best I can describe this.

My mom always tells me that they were very worried about me when i was younger, I only started to talk at age 3 and a half and when I started one of the first things I told them apparently was that I was a train driver with my cousin between De Aar and Pretoria (a town and a city in SA) and I live now in Pretoria. I also apparently told them what I looked like etc. the more my parents told me that I wasn’t a train driver and that I don’t have a cousin old enough at that stage to be a train driver, the more I insisted that it was true. Eventually my dad told me one day to keep this to myself and to never talk about it. Since then I would keep all my visons I had about lifes to myself. Now here is the interesting fact: When I moved to Pretoria in 1991 to study here, I went to the State department that runs our train service and I asked permission to search their records and archives and I have found the records of the person I belief I was as well as his cousin’s records. It was most interesting.

For me reincarnation is a fact and very real.

#19

[quote=thomas;39887]Is rape a sin God won’t forgive?

At any rate, I find the idea of reincarnation to be most depressing. What good is it to have another incarnation if there is no continuity or memory? It’s the same as being an entirely new person.

Regardless, I don’t believe in it, and believe we have ONE incarnation, and one lifetime in which to choose Heaven or Hell.[/quote]

Thomas,

I do not belief in the fact that anything has to be forgiven by God, he would be to busy just to forgive Christians and would have no time for the rest of the world. So I belief God has created reincarnation with karma to help us and himself along the whole evolutionary process.

There is continuity of memory, it just isn’t that obvious to us. We all have glimpses of past lifes, but most people choose not to recognise those moments and glimpses.

I am not here to convince you otherwise and I merely offer this as an alternative that there are others out there with different experiences and truths.

#20

Fine, but I don’t see how you can reconcile reincarnation with your beliefs in Jesus and the Gospels. There’s nothing there to support reincarnation, and everything points to life, death, and then heaven or hell.