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 somebody is talking about past lives, it is usually meant that there has been a number of past lives and births before the present status. One can be reborn in different types of physical bodies, or actually be reincarnated. From times immemorial, the ancient civilizations and cultures that are much more advanced spiritually has been researching about past lives and the characteristics of the human soul.
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.
The Hindus believe that the soul has to travel to a cycle of birth and rebirth which is called samsara. This continues till the soul attains nirvana or the highest level of spiritual wisdom. During the process of birth and rebirth the life it leads, the work it does are termed as karma.
The karma determines the condition and the experience the soul go through in the next rebirth. With every rebirth the soul comes closer to attaining the state of moksha or nirvana. When finally it attains nirvana the soul is set free and attains the much awaited 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.
The Western civilization does not have much belief about past lives. Whatever has evolved is from the Hindu line of thoughts that has reached the West. The philosophy of thoughts about past lives has given rise to the subject Theosophy which is rather the first institution to give tutelage to the western culture about past lives and the concept of rebirth.
This doctrine believes that the soul is a formless, all pervasive force which descends from ethereal planes to the world through the rhythmic process of birth, death and rebirth in order to know itself. After it has expressed itself and gained experience from a birth, it attains purity in death and ascends to the sublime planes once again. After it has cleansed off itself from the personal experiences thereof, it once again waits in its timeless, formless self to be reincarnated into the rhythmic manifestation towards increased self expression.
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