Is there Such a Thing as Rebirths?
Question 1: Is there such a thing as rebirth?
Answer 1: "The fool thinks not of the after-life, quite deluded by wealth as he is; 'This is the world, there is none other---so persuaded, he falls again and again into my net." [Kathopanisad 2:6].
Question 2: What happens when I lead an improper life now and I die in that state? What would my next life be?
Answer 2: "Entering into demoniacal wombs and deluded birth after birth, not attaining Me, they thus fall, O Arjuna, into a condition still lower than that." [Gita 16:20]
Question 3: How do I escape rebirths, then?
Answer 3: "Without hankering after paltry, terrestrial, things and causing your mind to fluctuate thereby, may you be immovable as a rock! Those who have no lower impulses drive away rebirths to a great distance from them." (pg. 72, Mind, Its Mysteries and Control by Swami Sivananda).
Question 4: Did I know my present family members in my previous life or lives?
Answer 4: "Those whom we love in this life have been dear to us in other lives also. (Paramahansa) Yogananda said that this is also true of those whom we hate. Love and hatred: both form subtle magnets. 'Sometimes,' the Master said, 'you see whole families that live in a turmoil of constant bickering. Their members are enemies from before, drawn together for the purpose of fighting it out, this time, at close quarters!'..." (pg. 267, Paramahansa Yogananda: A Biography by Swami Kriyananda)
Question 5: For every unfulfilled desire, there is a birth, I was told. So, desires are the causes of rebirths. Hence, to stop the cycle of births, one ought to destroy ALL desires. How do we do that?
Answer 5: Swami Sivananda's commentary on Gita 6:24. ".... you should completely abandon all desires without reservation. Desire is born of IMAGINATION. So destroy imagination first. If imagination is annihilated, then desires die by themselves. Note here that all senses must be controlled by the mind from all sides. even if ONE sense is turbulent in one direction, it will distract the mind very often. The senses are absorbed in the mind through constant practice of abstraction. The mind is then unable to think of the objects of sense-pleasure and becomes perfectly calm. Only that mind which is endowed with strong discrimination and dispassion will be able to control the whole group of senses in ALL directions. So develop discrimination between the Real and the unreal." (pg. 163, The Bhagavad Gita)
Answer 1: "The fool thinks not of the after-life, quite deluded by wealth as he is; 'This is the world, there is none other---so persuaded, he falls again and again into my net." [Kathopanisad 2:6].
Answer 2: "Entering into demoniacal wombs and deluded birth after birth, not attaining Me, they thus fall, O Arjuna, into a condition still lower than that." [Gita 16:20]
Question 3: How do I escape rebirths, then?
Answer 3: "Without hankering after paltry, terrestrial, things and causing your mind to fluctuate thereby, may you be immovable as a rock! Those who have no lower impulses drive away rebirths to a great distance from them." (pg. 72, Mind, Its Mysteries and Control by Swami Sivananda).
Question 4: Did I know my present family members in my previous life or lives?
Answer 4: "Those whom we love in this life have been dear to us in other lives also. (Paramahansa) Yogananda said that this is also true of those whom we hate. Love and hatred: both form subtle magnets. 'Sometimes,' the Master said, 'you see whole families that live in a turmoil of constant bickering. Their members are enemies from before, drawn together for the purpose of fighting it out, this time, at close quarters!'..." (pg. 267, Paramahansa Yogananda: A Biography by Swami Kriyananda)
Answer 5: Swami Sivananda's commentary on Gita 6:24. ".... you should completely abandon all desires without reservation. Desire is born of IMAGINATION. So destroy imagination first. If imagination is annihilated, then desires die by themselves. Note here that all senses must be controlled by the mind from all sides. even if ONE sense is turbulent in one direction, it will distract the mind very often. The senses are absorbed in the mind through constant practice of abstraction. The mind is then unable to think of the objects of sense-pleasure and becomes perfectly calm. Only that mind which is endowed with strong discrimination and dispassion will be able to control the whole group of senses in ALL directions. So develop discrimination between the Real and the unreal." (pg. 163, The Bhagavad Gita)
Comments
Post a Comment