You have evolved through many Rebirths.....to be what You are today

We all have had many rebirths in the past. This body of ours is only one of the bodies in which your soul lives now. It lived in many other bodies in the previous births of yours. A person eveolves into a great soul only in evolution of his soul & becomes a great soul after getting knowledge of the God. Below verse of Bhagwat Gita points to that.

"bahunam janmanam ante
jnanavan mam prapadyate
vasudevah sarvam iti
sa mahatma su-durlabhah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Seven verse 19)

"Sri Krishna said to Arjuna : After many births and deaths / after taking many rebirths, he who is actually in knowledge of God, surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and Lord of this universe. Such a great soul is very rare."

Now do you believe in rebirth? Do you believe in your previous lives? What you were in your past lives? How many births have you been through prior to this life? How one is reborn? How soul travels from one body to the other? If all such questions are of any interest to you then this article shall also be of some interest to you.

All the Hindu & Buddhist religion is replete with rebirth stories. As per the philosophy of both the religions, soul of an individual being travels at death from one body to the other. In the case of Lord Buddha, he was able to see all his previous births with vivid clarity. Many Yogis & persons advanced in meditation can also see all their previous lives vividly. So can you if you are also advanced in meditation. As per Lord Buddha an individual soul goes through innumerable births & you have been in different bodies in your past lives before you were born this time. As per him this continuum of births was so lengthy that it did not make sense to see exactly where the process began. In the case of Lord Buddha, he acquired two sorts of insights, the ability to recall with visual clarity his previous lives & the ability to do so in the case of others too. All the previous lives of Lord Buddha are recorded as "Jataka Stories".

As per Lord Buddha he was in his previous many births, not only in human bodies but also took birth as birds & animals. Hindu religion also talks about 8.4 Million different types of species in this universe & a soul goes from one type of body to the other as per the Karmic law.

Below are few verses of Bhagwat Gita which explain about the rebirth:

"dehino-asmin yatha dehe
kaumaram yauvnam jara
tatha dehantar-praptir-
adhiras tatra na muhyati" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 13)

"Sri Krishna said: Just as boyhood, youth & old age are attributed to the soul & the embodied soul continuously passes through these cycles, similarly the embodied soul passes into another body at death. The wise man does not get deluded & bewildered with such a change."

"vasamsi jirnani yatha vihaya
navani grhnati naro ’parani
tatha sarirani vihaya jirnany
anyani samyati navani dehi" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 22)

"Sri Krishna said: As a human being puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones."

"jatasya hi dhruvo mrityur
dhruvam janma mrtasya cha
tasmad apariharye ’rthe
na tvam socitum arhasi" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 27)

"Sri Krishna said: One who has taken his birth is sure to die, and after death one is sure to take birth again. Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your duty, you should not lament."

"sri-bhagavan uvacha
bahuni me vyatitani
janmani tava charjuna
tany aham veda sarvani
na tvam vettha parantapa" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Four verse 5)

"Sri Krishna said: Both you and I have passed through many, many births. I can remember all of them, but you cannot, O winner of the enemy!"

Sometimes it happens in our life that some unknown out of the crowd seems so known to you, though you have met that person for the first time. If we meet someone & form meaningful close relationship with that person, then the assumption is that we may have previously met & have associated with that person in previous births also. As a Karmic connection we meet that person again & maintain connections in this lifetime also. Same is the case with all the persons who are close to us in this life. It is not just like that we have suddenly become so close to those people. It is only that all these people were in our lives in our previous births also. We are together here because we had been together before in our previous lives.

In Hindu scriptures Karma is related to the origin of one's own body. Karmas of earlier birth become the basis of this birth & Karmas of this birth become the basis of your next birth & so on. At death, soul of a person takes the stock of all Karmas (having its reservoir in that person's mind) & Divinity or God as per the divine law takes a handful of those Karmas & a new body is made with the seeds of these Karmas. So if a person has done good Karmas he/she gets a good godly body in heavens & if he/she has done bad karmas in this life then that person's soul goes to lower wombs of birds & animals. So it is generally said that we should do good Karmas only.

Below are few verses of Bhagwat Gita which explain about how a soul travels from one body to the other & where it goes as per the Karmic law:

"sariram yad avapnoti
yac chapy utkramatishvarah
grhitvaitani samyati
vayur gandhan ivasayat" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fifteen verse 8)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, As the wind carries away odours from their seat, even so the Jivatma (soul), the lord of the body, snatching these (the mind & the senses) from the body, which it casts off, migrates into the body, which it acquires.

"yada sattve pravrddhe tu
pralayam yati deha-bhrt
tadottama-vidam lokan
amalan pratipadyate" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fourteen verse 14)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, When one dies in the mode of goodness, he attains to the pure higher planets of the great sages."

"rajasi pralayam gatva
karma-sangisu jayate
tatha pralinas tamasi
mudha-yonisu jayate" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fourteen verse 15)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, When one dies in the mode of passion, he takes birth among those engaged in fruit producing activities (i.e. as a man or woman on earth); and when one dies in the mode of ignorance, he takes birth in the bird & animal kingdom."

As per the Hindu Philosophy, any "Karma" done by a person, remains with that person, unless he/she has enjoyed the consequential Fruit arisen out of doing that Karma. For a good act done by him, he shall bear good result & enjoy it. Similarly for a bad act done by him, he shall bear bad result & shall have to bear punishment for it. So, whatever, action/karma we perform with our body, mind or even speech, it should not do harm to others but should be of some use only to others. By doing good Karmas only we shall get good life in future births & shall finally meet the God.

Jai Shri Krishna

Understanding Karmayoga as per the Hindu Philosophy

In the Earlier post on Karma, we have known & understood in detail about the "Karma" & how it is related to the origin of one's own body. How Karmas of earlier births become the basis of this birth & how Karmas of this birth become the basis of one's next birth & so on. Now in this post we shall understand about the Karmayoga & how one can know God through Karmayoga.

Simple meaning of Yoga is to get attached to God or to get one with the God. To attain this, there are many types of Yogas that are expounded in the Bhagwat Gita, like Sankhyayoga or the Yoga of Knowledge, Karmayoga or the Yoga of Selfless Action, Bhaktiyoga or the Yoga of Devotion etc. Among all these Yogas, Karmayoga is the one through which one can attain God by just devoting all his/her daily actions to God i.e. doing service of God by doing/devoting all life actions to Him.

Below are the verses from "Bhagwat Gita-Chapter Twelve- Verse - 6-7", in which God is asking his disciple Arjuna to do all his actions / activities for Him only.

'Ye tu srvani krmani
myi sanyasya mat-para
anany-naiv yogen
maam dhyayant upasate'

'Tesham-aham samud-dharta
mrityu-sansar-saagrat
bhavami na-chirat parth
mayy-avesita-chetsam' ( Bhagwat Gita: Chapter XII verse 6-7 )

'Those people, who worship Me by surrendering all their activities unto Me, are always devoted to Me, always meditate upon Me, Having always fixing their minds upon Me, O Parth - to them, I swiftly rescue from the ocean of birth and death.'

Through above verse 6 & 7, God is telling 'Parth' (another name of Arjuna, his disciple), that those people who work for God only & offer all their activities & work to Him only, to such a Soul He shows great mercy, always protects him & finally rescues him during & after death.

Now, how can we work for God only? This whole world is the creation of God only & knowingly, unknowingly, we all are working for the maintenance of this world only. Just introspect & see that, whatever, work or job (good one), you are doing in this world, it is helping in someway or the other in maintaining & sustaining this world. Just take it in that sense, that if all the people of the earth stop doing their daily work, duties, this whole world shall come to a standstill. In that case nobody shall grow food, vegetables, fruits & other things which sustain our life & hence we shall all die. Same is the case with other professions & each person is adding value to this world by doing his/her duty.

Now, though we do duty to sustain this world only but we don't realize that. As this world is a creation of God, so we should work for Him only. If we develop this sense that we are working selflessly to sustain this world created by God only, then also we shall develop an affinity towards God. In the above verses, God is making very clear that if a person offers all his work & activities to God, thinking this world to be a creation of God only, then also He shall be happy with that person & shall protect & shall deliver that person from the cycles of birth & death. By working for God, we shall attain peace & shall attain His love & devotion. So Let's all Work for God only.

Below is a verse from "Bhagwat Gita-Chapter Two Verse - 47",

"karmany evadhikaras te
ma phalesu kadachana
ma karma-phala-hetur bhur
ma te sango ’stv akarmani" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 47)

"Sri Krishna said: You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty.

In the above verse God is asking his disciple Arjuna to perform his prescribed duty & not get attached to the fruits of its action. If one does all his/her actions without considering or thinking about the Fruits these actions shall produce & devotes that action & its fruit to the God only, then he/she is not bound by that action & that action shall not bear such fruits which shall be the cause of his/her next birth. Once a person is relieved of taking rebirths then that person can go to the abode of God & live there with Him & he becomes a liberated soul.

Art of doing actions for the sake of God only & doing all his/her actions without thinking or keeping in mind the fruit of that action is only what is called Karmayoga.

Jai Shri Krishna

Understanding Karma as per the Hindu Philosophy

"Karma" in its simplest term is "Action" only. Any action that we do with our body & mind is termed as "Karma" but the word "Karma" has a much greater significance as per the Hindu Philosophy than just simple meaning as "Action". In Hindu scriptures Karma is related to the origin of one's own body. Karmas of earlier birth become the basis of this birth & Karmas of this birth become the basis of his next birth & so on. This relation of Karmas to rebirth in Hindu Philosophy is the key thing which makes it different from doing just any action in life. Now how these Karmas are related to rebirth as per the Hindu Philosophy?

As per the Hindu Philosophy, any action that we do, produces some fruit or has a consequence. In simplest term, if a man works for 8 hrs in a mall, he expects his salary of 8 hrs at the end of his job. It may be given to him at the end of the job on that day, may accrue to his account weekly or monthly, but the man expects that he shall get his salary after doing the asked for job. So this "Expected Salary" is the "Fruit" of his 8 hrs of "Actions". Similarly any other "Action" or "Karma" done in life automatically has some "Fruit" attached to it. In terms of "Karmas" done by a man, all the consequential "Fruits" are determined by God himself. Say you donate some money to a Charity or you feed a poor man, what "Fruit" shall incur to you for this good work done by you? Or say some man beats a poor man or a man murders someone, then what "Fruit" shall incur to him for this ghastly act done by that person? In all such acts or Karmas done by all persons, the consequential "Fruits" are determined by God himself as per the divine laws & not by any human being.

So by now we have seen that all "Karmas" or actions done by a man have a Fruit related to it & that Fruit is determined by God only. But how these Karmas become the basis of Rebirth as per the Hindu Scriptures?

As per the Hindu Philosophy, any "Karma" done by a person, remains with that person, unless he/she has enjoyed the consequential Fruit arisen out of doing that Karma. For a good act done by him, he shall bear good result & enjoy it. Similarly for a bad act done by him, he shall bear bad result & shall have to bear punishment for it. Unless that person enjoys good or bad result/fruit arisen out of doing that Karma, it shall remain forever with that person & leave that person after that person has enjoyed the fruit arisen out of doing that Karma. Now whatever action/karma one performs with his body, mind or even speech, that Karma after getting finished, goes in to his reserved stock of Karmas i.e. it adds up to all the other accumulated karmas earlier done by him.

This stock of Karmas (having its reservoir in that person's mind) is having all the Karmas done by that person in this life & also done by that person in earlier births taken by that person. At the death of a person he/she takes with him/her all that accumulated Karmas which contain Karmas done in this birth & also the Karmas from the previous births for which its fruit is yet to be enjoyed .

So at the death of a person, out of this accumulated Karmas which that person carries, Divinity or God as per the divine law takes a handful of those Karmas which have begun to bear the fruits & a new body is made with the seeds of these fruit bearing Karmas. So basically any Karma done becomes the seed of the next birth. In Hindu Philosophy all these Karmas which become the basis of or the seeds of a new birth of a body, are called "Prarabdha" or "Fruit bearing actions" or "Fate" even. In the next birth, a person again does Karmas & these gets added to his earlier accumulated, unspent stock & so on this cycle goes on for a soul of taking birth after birth.

So in this way, so long as the reserve stock of Karmas remains with that person, a part of it continues to be taken out of that reserve stock by the Divinity as "Prarabdha" or "Fruit bearing actions", for being enjoyed in one life-time of that person. A soul's perpetual journey from one birth to next birth goes on like that with the law of karma. This soul knows no liberation, so long as this stock of un-disposed off actions or karmas performed in number of lives of that person is not completely exhausted.

Below are the verses from "Bhagwat Gita-Chapter Twelve- Verse - 6-7", in which God is asking his disciple Arjuna to do all his actions / activities for Him only.

'Ye tu srvani krmani
myi sanyasya mat-para
anany-naiv yogen
maam dhyayant upasate'

'Tesham-aham samud-dharta
mrityu-sansar-saagrat
bhavami na-chirat parth
mayy-avesita-chetsam' ( Bhagwat Gita: Chapter XII verse 6-7 )

'Those people, who worship Me by surrendering all their activities unto Me, are always devoted to Me, always meditate upon Me, Having always fixing their minds upon Me, O Parth - to them, I swiftly rescue from the ocean of birth and death.'

Jai Shri Krishna

Why Bhishma Pitamah had to Suffer on a Bed of Arrows?

When Bhishma Pitamah was struck down by Arjuna,in the Mahabharata War, he fell down from his chariot. But since the arrows had pierced his chest (gone aar-paar), he did not touch the ground, but remained lying on the bed of arrows. His head was hanging, he needed to rest it, and told Arjuna to make some provision. Arjuna immediately stuck 3 arrows beneath his head to support it. Bhishma remarked joyfully - "What a fitting pillow for a warrior like me - a pillow to match the bed !". Next he asked for water, since he was thirsty. Arjuna once, more, struck a mighty arrow right through the earth, and Ganga maiya surged up to pour cool water in the parched mouth of her beloved son. So Bhishma Pitamah had to suffer the pangs on the bed of arrows in battlefield before attaining final beatitude and redemption to Vaikuntha Loka.

Now what was the Karmic reason that Bhishma Pitamah had to Suffer on a Bed of Arrows? To the question as to why Bhishma Pitamah was suffering this punishment even when he had not committed any sin during past 72 birth lives (Great Bhishma could peep into his past lives through Samadhi), Lord Krishna replied him that he committed a folly in past 73rd life birth when he inflicted injuries to insects by piercing thorns / needles into their bodies. Those thorns have now appeared as bed of arrows for you. Your sinful Karma remained dormant as you were a pious person throughout theses lives but since you have now become a party to Adharma of Duryodhana, the sanchit evil Karma’s of 73rd life has ripened now.

So if a person has done good Karmas in past lives, he/she gets a good life in future births & if he/she has done bad karmas in past lives then that person has to suffer bad fruit of those bad Karmas. So it is generally said that we should do good Karmas only.

Below are few verses of Bhagwat Gita which explain about how a soul travels from one body to the other & where it goes as per the Karmic law:

"yada sattve pravrddhe tu
pralayam yati deha-bhrt
tadottama-vidam lokan
amalan pratipadyate" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fourteen verse 14)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, When one dies in the mode of goodness (after doing good Karmas) , he attains to the pure higher planets of the great sages."

"rajasi pralayam gatva
karma-sangisu jayate
tatha pralinas tamasi
mudha-yonisu jayate" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fourteen verse 15)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, When one dies in the mode of passion, he takes birth among those engaged in fruit producing activities (i.e. as a man or woman on earth); and when one dies in the mode of ignorance (after doing bad Karmas) , he takes birth in the bird & animal kingdom."

So it is said that we should do all our Karmas for the God only as by doing such Karmas no evil result shall come out of those Karmas in future lives.

"yajnarthat karmano ’nyatra
loko ’yam karma-bandhanah
tad-artham karma kaunteya
mukta-sangah samachara" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Three verse 9)

"Sri Krishna said: Work done as a sacrifice for Vishnu has to be performed, otherwise work causes bondage in this material world. Therefore, O Arjuna, perform your prescribed duties for His satisfaction, and in that way you will always remain free from bondage."

So let’s do Good Karmas only so that we shall get Goof Fruits of those Karmas in future births. Let’s do all the Karmas for God only as by that way God shall protect us always.

Jai Shri Krishna

Our Present Life is The Result of Our Deeds in Past Lives

At the end of Kurukshetra War, when Bhishma was lying down pierced by thousand arrows of Arjuna, then Pandavas asked Bhishma to give them knowledge of life & past life. Pandavas said:

“O Great Bhishma! Some people in this life earn money without any effort and some people do not get a single pie inspite of their strenuous efforts. Some people, inspite of having lots of money, are not inclined to enjoy the life. Some people, without learning anything from any Guru, acquire more knowledge and intelligence. Some people, inspite of serving many gurus, learn nothing in life. Some people, inspite of suffering with number of diseases and receiving death blows with lethal weapons, do not meet their death. But some people, even though they are strong and mighty, meet their death by receiving a smallest blow from a small piece of stick. What is the reason for all these adversities & why it happen like that?

At this Bhishma siad:

“O Pandavas! the only answer for all the above questions is the result of their deeds in past life. Without sowing seeds, plants never sprout. Similarly, good or bad deeds done in past life give good and bad results in the present life. By making charities in past life, one gets enormous wealth in present life without any effort. Tapas made in past life yields pleasures in present life. Service done to elders and gurus in past life results in acquiring knowledge and intelligence without studying under any guru. If one observes non violence in past life then that person lives for long age in present life. Therefore, Sadhu / Saintly people always observe nonviolence, make charities, regard gurus, serve elders and guests etc. Then only they enjoy pleasures in next life. So it’s all about doing Good or Bad Karmas in past life that one get a good or bad result in present life."

In Hindu scriptures Karma is related to the origin of one's own body. Karmas of earlier birth become the basis of this birth & Karmas of this birth become the basis of your next birth & so on. At death, soul of a person takes the stock of all Karmas (having its reservoir in that person's mind) & Divinity or God as per the divine law takes a handful of those Karmas & a new body is made with the seeds of these Karmas. So if a person has done good Karmas he/she gets a good godly body in heavens & if he/she has done bad karmas in this life then that person's soul goes to lower wombs of birds & animals. So it is generally said that we should do good Karmas only.

Below are few verses of Bhagwat Gita which explain about how a soul travels from one body to the other & where it goes as per the Karmic law:

"sariram yad avapnoti
yac chapy utkramatishvarah
grhitvaitani samyati
vayur gandhan ivasayat" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fifteen verse 8)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, As the wind carries away odours from their seat, even so the Jivatma (soul), the lord of the body, snatching these (the mind & the senses) from the body, which it casts off, migrates into the body, which it acquires.

"yada sattve pravrddhe tu
pralayam yati deha-bhrt
tadottama-vidam lokan
amalan pratipadyate" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fourteen verse 14)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, When one dies in the mode of goodness, he attains to the pure higher planets of the great sages."

"rajasi pralayam gatva
karma-sangisu jayate
tatha pralinas tamasi
mudha-yonisu jayate" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fourteen verse 15)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, When one dies in the mode of passion, he takes birth among those engaged in fruit producing activities (i.e. as a man or woman on earth); and when one dies in the mode of ignorance, he takes birth in the bird & animal kingdom."

As per the Hindu Philosophy, any "Karma" done by a person, remains with that person, unless he/she has enjoyed the consequential Fruit arisen out of doing that Karma. For a good act done by him, he shall bear good result & enjoy it. Similarly for a bad act done by him, he shall bear bad result & shall have to bear punishment for it. So ,whatever, action/karma we perform with our body, mind or even speech, it should not do harm to others but should be of some use only to others. By doing good Karmas only we shall get good life in future births & shall finally meet the God.

Read also...............Understanding "Karma" as per the Hindu Philosophy?

Read also...............Is there Life after death?

Jai Shri Krishna

Reincarnation & Scientific Community

Bhagwat Gita & other Hindu scriptures give details about rebirth or reincarnation. As per these every person is an immortal soul which reincarnates after death of the body & the individual soul transmigrates from one body to the other. When such cases happen in society then Scientific Community gets puzzled with such instances. Now what Scientific Community says about these instances. Here below is an article which gives thoughts of modern science regarding that only.

Read here about what Scientific Community says about rebirth or reincarnation.

Read also............Why Indians believe in Rebirth / Reincarnation?

Rebirth or Reincarnation

We all have heard of the stories of small boys or girls claiming to remember their past life, in which they tell exact details of their previous life. Many times such a child tells about his previous birth's father-mother & even the address of them. In such stories, the present parents have sometimes tried to verify the said facts by going to the previous birth's father-mother & all told by the child comes to be true. All around the world, especially in India, many people believe in rebirth, reincarnation etc.

What is the reason that such a big population on earth believes in rebirth/ reincarnation? Main reason for this is Hindu & Buddhist Spiritualism & also the actual instances of rebirth that press & TV news channels etc. are able to expose. Now what is the truth about rebirth or reincarnation?

In simple terms of Hindu Philosophy, every single person on this earth is a unique soul (Jeeva). In this soul, all the database of life's learning & actions go on a permanent basis & all this database remains always in soul in dormant state. There is not only the database of this life but also of previous lives in this soul (Jeeva). At the death of a person, one person's memory and knowledge remains in dormant state in soul & temporarily suppressed while that soul takes a new birth in a new body. So whenever, a person is born, he/she is always carrying the database of his/her previous lives with them. Though most of the time it remains in dormant state but is always reflected as our likes and dislikes, moods & skills. That is the reason that you may find a child prodigy who suddenly excels in something without any experience. In all such cases past lives memories & skills play a major part.

Though modern science do not believe in soul but it is a matter of individual faith as it is endorsed by many religions & Hindu religion is one of them. As per Bhagwat Gita it is told that individual soul is immortal & everlasting; though human body dies, soul does not. It changes the body when the old body dies. It just does that like the way we change our clothes for a new pair, when the old one's are torn. Below are verses of Bhagwat Gita in which Lord Sri Krishna is telling his disciple Arjuna, the mystery of soul & it's rebirth:

"dehino-asmin yatha dehe
kaumaram yauvnam jara
tatha dehantar-praptir-
adhiras tatra na muhyati" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 13)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Just as boyhood, youth & old age are attributed to the soul & the embodied soul continuously passes through these cycles, similarly the embodied soul passes into another body at death. The wise man does not get deluded & bewildered with such a change."

"na jayate mriyate va kadacin
nayam bhutva bhavita va na bhuyah
ajo nityah sasvato ’yam purano
na hanyate hanyamane sarire" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 20)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, The soul is never born nor dies at any time. Soul has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. Soul is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. Soul is not slain when the body is slain."

"vasamsi jirnani yatha vihaya
navani grhnati naro ’parani
tatha sarirani vihaya jirnany
anyani samyati navani dehi" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 22)

"Sri Krishna said: As a human being puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones."

"nainam chindanti shastrani
nainam dahati pavakah
na chainam kledayanty apo
na sosayati marutah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 23)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, The soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind."

“acchedyo-ayam adahyo-ayam
akledyo-asoshya ev ch
nity sarv-gatah sthanur
achalo-ayam sanatanah” (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter II verse 24)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, For this individual soul is incapable of being cut; and insoluble, and can be neither burned nor dried. This soul is eternal, constant, omnipresent, unchangeable, immovable and everlasting."

"sariram yad avapnoti
yac chapy utkramatishvarah
grhitvaitani samyati
vayur gandhan ivasayat" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fifteen verse 8)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, The living entity (individual human soul) in the material world carries his different conceptions of life (individual tastes & actions/karmas) from one body to another as the air carries aromas from one place to other. Thus he takes one kind of body and again quits it to take another."

"srotram chaksuh sparshanam cha
rasanam ghranam eva cha
adhisthaya manas chayam
visayan upasevate" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fifteen verse 9)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, The living entity (individual human soul), thus taking another gross body, obtains a certain type of ear, eye, tongue, nose and sense of touch, which are grouped about the mind. He thus enjoys a particular set of sense objects through the another body."

"utkramantam sthitam vapi
bhunjanam va gunanvitam
vimudha nanupasyanti
pasyanti jnana-chaksusah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fifteen verse 10)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, The foolish cannot understand how a living entity (individual human soul) can quit his/her body, nor can they understand what sort of body he enjoys under the spell of the modes of nature. But one whose eyes are trained in knowledge of soul can see all this."

"yatanto yoginas chainam
pasyanty atmany avasthitam
yatanto ’py akritatmano
nainam pasyanty acetasah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fifteen verse 11)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, The endeavoring transcendentalists, who are situated in self-realization, can see all this (soul transmigration) very clearly. But those whose minds are not developed in this knowledge and who are not situated in self-realization cannot see what is taking place, though they may try to."

Read also...............Our Previous Births

Our Previous Births

Do you believe in rebirth? Do you believe in your previous lives? What you were in your past lives? How many births have you been through prior to this life? How one is reborn? How soul travels from one body to the other? If all such questions are of any interest to you then this article shall also be of some interest to you.

All the Hindu & Buddhist religion is replete with rebirth stories. As per the philosophy of both the religions, soul of an individual being travels at death from one body to the other. In the case of Lord Buddha, he was able to see all his previous births with vivid clarity. Many Yogis & persons advanced in meditation can also see all their previous lives vividly. So can you if you are also advanced in meditation. As per Lord Buddha an individual soul goes through innumerable births & you have been in different bodies in your past lives before you were born this time. As per him this continuum of births was so lengthy that it did not make sense to see exactly where the process began. In the case of Lord Buddha, he acquired two sorts of insights, the ability to recall with visual clarity his previous lives & the ability to do so in the case of others too. All the previous lives of Lord Buddha are recorded as "Jataka Stories".

Jataka Stories have been an integral part of Buddhist culture through the ages. ‘Jataka Stories’ are a collection of tales about Gautama Buddha’s previous births as a "Bodhisatva". Collections of Buddhist legends compiled at various dates in several countries; the oldest and most complete has 547 stories. So there are 547 recorded past lives stories of Lord Buddha. They were collected before AD 400. They give an account of previous incarnations of the Buddha. The various "Bodhisattva births" (earlier births of Lord Buddha) portrayed in the Jataka stories range from gods to fairies, to kings, Brahmins, merchants, craftsmen, potters, slaves and outcastes, to animals, birds, and fish. So as per Lord Buddha he was in his previous many births, not only in human bodies but also took birth as birds & animals. Hindu religion also talks about 8.4 Million different types of species in this universe & a soul goes from one type of body to the other as per the Karmic law.

Below are few verses of Bhagwat Gita which explain about the rebirth:

"dehino-asmin yatha dehe
kaumaram yauvnam jara
tatha dehantar-praptir-
adhiras tatra na muhyati" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 13)

"Sri Krishna said: Just as boyhood, youth & old age are attributed to the soul & the embodied soul continuously passes through these cycles, similarly the embodied soul passes into another body at death. The wise man does not get deluded & bewildered with such a change."

"vasamsi jirnani yatha vihaya
navani grhnati naro ’parani
tatha sarirani vihaya jirnany
anyani samyati navani dehi" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 22)

"Sri Krishna said: As a human being puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones."

"jatasya hi dhruvo mrityur
dhruvam janma mrtasya cha
tasmad apariharye ’rthe
na tvam socitum arhasi" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 27)

"Sri Krishna said: One who has taken his birth is sure to die, and after death one is sure to take birth again. Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your duty, you should not lament."

"sri-bhagavan uvacha
bahuni me vyatitani
janmani tava charjuna
tany aham veda sarvani
na tvam vettha parantapa" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Four verse 5)

"Sri Krishna said: Both you and I have passed through many, many births. I can remember all of them, but you cannot, O winner of the enemy!"

Sometimes it happens in our life that some unknown out of the crowd seems so known to you, though you have met that person for the first time. If we meet someone & form meaningful close relationship with that person, then the assumption is that we may have previously met & have associated with that person in previous births also. As a Karmic connection we meet that person again & maintain connections in this lifetime also. Same is the case with all the persons who are close to us in this life. It is not just like that we have suddenly become so close to those people. It is only that all these people were in our lives in our previous births also. We are together here because we had been together before in our previous lives.

In Hindu scriptures Karma is related to the origin of one's own body. Karmas of earlier birth become the basis of this birth & Karmas of this birth become the basis of your next birth & so on. At death, soul of a person takes the stock of all Karmas (having its reservoir in that person's mind) & Divinity or God as per the divine law takes a handful of those Karmas & a new body is made with the seeds of these Karmas. So if a person has done good Karmas he/she gets a good godly body in heavens & if he/she has done bad karmas in this life then that person's soul goes to lower wombs of birds & animals. So it is generally said that we should do good Karmas only.

Below are few verses of Bhagwat Gita which explain about how a soul travels from one body to the other & where it goes as per the Karmic law:

"sariram yad avapnoti
yac chapy utkramatishvarah
grhitvaitani samyati
vayur gandhan ivasayat" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fifteen verse 8)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, As the wind carries away odours from their seat, even so the Jivatma (soul), the lord of the body, snatching these (the mind & the senses) from the body, which it casts off, migrates into the body, which it acquires.

"yada sattve pravrddhe tu
pralayam yati deha-bhrt
tadottama-vidam lokan
amalan pratipadyate" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fourteen verse 14)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, When one dies in the mode of goodness, he attains to the pure higher planets of the great sages."

"rajasi pralayam gatva
karma-sangisu jayate
tatha pralinas tamasi
mudha-yonisu jayate" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fourteen verse 15)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, When one dies in the mode of passion, he takes birth among those engaged in fruit producing activities (i.e. as a man or woman on earth); and when one dies in the mode of ignorance, he takes birth in the bird & animal kingdom."

As per the Hindu Philosophy, any "Karma" done by a person, remains with that person, unless he/she has enjoyed the consequential Fruit arisen out of doing that Karma. For a good act done by him, he shall bear good result & enjoy it. Similarly for a bad act done by him, he shall bear bad result & shall have to bear punishment for it. So ,whatever, action/karma we perform with our body, mind or even speech, it should not do harm to others but should be of some use only to others. By doing good Karmas only we shall get good life in future births & shall finally meet the God.

Read also...............Understanding "Karma" as per the Hindu Philosophy?

Read also...............Is there Life after death?

What is Karmayoga?

In the Earlier post on Karma, we have known & understood in detail about the "Karma" & how it is related to the origin of one's own body. How Karmas of earlier births become the basis of this birth & how Karmas of this birth become the basis of one's next birth & so on. Now in this post we shall understand about the Karmayoga & how one can know God through Karmayoga.

Simple meaning of Yoga is to get attached to God or to get one with the God. To attain this, there are many types of Yogas that are expounded in the Bhagwat Gita, like Sankhyayoga or the Yoga of Knowledge, Karmayoga or the Yoga of Selfless Action, Bhaktiyoga or the Yoga of Devotion etc. Among all these Yogas, Karmayoga is the one through which one can attain God by just devoting all his/her daily actions to God i.e. doing service of God by doing/devoting all life actions to Him.

Below are the verses from "Bhagwat Gita-Chapter Twelve- Verse - 6-7", in which God is asking his disciple Arjuna to do all his actions / activities for Him only.

'Ye tu srvani krmani
myi sanyasya mat-para
anany-naiv yogen
maam dhyayant upasate'

'Tesham-aham samud-dharta
mrityu-sansar-saagrat
bhavami na-chirat parth
mayy-avesita-chetsam' ( Bhagwat Gita: Chapter XII verse 6-7 )

'Those people, who worship Me by surrendering all their activities unto Me, are always devoted to Me, always meditate upon Me, Having always fixing their minds upon Me, O Parth - to them, I swiftly rescue from the ocean of birth and death.'

Through above verse 6 & 7, God is telling 'Parth' (another name of Arjuna, his disciple), that those people who work for God only & offer all their activities & work to Him only, to such a Soul He shows great mercy, always protects him & finally rescues him during & after death.

Now, how can we work for God only? This whole world is the creation of God only & knowingly, unknowingly, we all are working for the maintenance of this world only. Just introspect & see that, whatever, work or job (good one), you are doing in this world, it is helping in someway or the other in maintaining & sustaining this world. Just take it in that sense, that if all the people of the earth stop doing their daily work, duties, this whole world shall come to a standstill. In that case nobody shall grow food, vegetables, fruits & other things which sustain our life & hence we shall all die. Same is the case with other professions & each person is adding value to this world by doing his/her duty.

Now, though we do duty to sustain this world only but we don't realize that. As this world is a creation of God, so we should work for Him only. If we develop this sense that we are working selflessly to sustain this world created by God only, then also we shall develop an affinity towards God. In the above verses, God is making very clear that if a person offers all his work & activities to God, thinking this world to be a creation of God only, then also He shall be happy with that person & shall protect & shall deliver that person from the cycles of birth & death. By working for God, we shall attain peace & shall attain His love & devotion. So Let's all Work for God only.

Below is a verse from "Bhagwat Gita-Chapter Two Verse - 47",

"karmany evadhikaras te
ma phalesu kadachana
ma karma-phala-hetur bhur
ma te sango ’stv akarmani" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 47)
"Sri Krishna said: You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty.

In the above verse God is asking his disciple Arjuna to perform his prescribed duty & not get attached to the fruits of its action. If one does all his/her actions without considering or thinking about the Fruits these actions shall produce & devotes that action & its fruit to the God only, then he/she is not bound by that action & that action shall not bear such fruits which shall be the cause of his/her next birth. Once a person is relieved of taking rebirths then that person can go to the abode of God & live there with Him & he becomes a liberated soul.

Art of doing actions for the sake of God only & doing all his/her actions without thinking or keeping in mind the fruit of that action is only what is called Karmayoga.

What is Karma?

This article is about Understanding "Karma" or knowing what is "Karma" as per the Hindu Philosophy?

"Karma" in its simplest term is "Action" only. Any action that we do with our body & mind is termed as "Karma" but the word "Karma" has a much greater significance as per the Hindu Philosophy than just simple meaning as "Action". In Hindu scriptures Karma is related to the origin of one's own body. Karmas of earlier birth become the basis of this birth & Karmas of this birth become the basis of his next birth & so on. This relation of Karmas to rebirth in Hindu Philosophy is the key thing which makes it different from doing just any action in life. Now how these Karmas are related to rebirth as per the Hindu Philosophy?

As per the Hindu Philosophy, any action that we do, produces some fruit or has a consequence. In simplest term, if a man works for 8 hrs in a mall, he expects his salary of 8 hrs at the end of his job. It may be given to him at the end of the job on that day, may accrue to his account weekly or monthly, but the man expects that he shall get his salary after doing the asked for job. So this "Expected Salary" is the "Fruit" of his 8 hrs of "Actions". Similarly any other "Action" or "Karma" done in life automatically has some "Fruit" attached to it. In terms of "Karmas" done by a man, all the consequential "Fruits" are determined by God himself. Say you donate some money to a Charity or you feed a poor man, what "Fruit" shall incur to you for this good work done by you? Or say some man beats a poor man or a man murders someone, then what "Fruit" shall incur to him for this ghastly act done by that person? In all such acts or Karmas done by all persons, the consequential "Fruits" are determined by God himself as per the divine laws & not by any human being.

So by now we have seen that all "Karmas" or actions done by a man have a Fruit related to it & that Fruit is determined by God only. But how these Karmas become the basis of Rebirth as per the Hindu Scriptures?

As per the Hindu Philosophy, any "Karma" done by a person, remains with that person, unless he/she has enjoyed the consequential Fruit arisen out of doing that Karma. For a good act done by him, he shall bear good result & enjoy it. Similarly for a bad act done by him, he shall bear bad result & shall have to bear punishment for it. Unless that person enjoys good or bad result/fruit arisen out of doing that Karma, it shall remain forever with that person & leave that person after that person has enjoyed the fruit arisen out of doing that Karma. Now whatever action/karma one performs with his body, mind or even speech, that Karma after getting finished, goes in to his reserved stock of Karmas i.e. it adds up to all the other accumulated karmas earlier done by him.

This stock of Karmas (having its reservoir in that person's mind) is having all the Karmas done by that person in this life & also done by that person in earlier births taken by that person. At the death of a person he/she takes with him/her all that accumulated Karmas which contain Karmas done in this birth & also the Karmas from the previous births for which its fruit is yet to be enjoyed .

So at the death of a person, out of this accumulated Karmas which that person carries, Divinity or God as per the divine law takes a handful of those Karmas which have begun to bear the fruits & a new body is made with the seeds of these fruit bearing Karmas. So basically any Karma done becomes the seed of the next birth. In Hindu Philosophy all these Karmas which become the basis of or the seeds of a new birth of a body, are called "Prarabdha" or "Fruit bearing actions" or "Fate" even. In the next birth, a person again does Karmas & these gets added to his earlier accumulated, unspent stock & so on this cycle goes on for a soul of taking birth after birth.

So in this way, so long as the reserve stock of Karmas remains with that person, a part of it continues to be taken out of that reserve stock by the Divinity as "Prarabdha" or "Fruit bearing actions", for being enjoyed in one life-time of that person. A soul's perpetual journey from one birth to next birth goes on like that with the law of karma. This soul knows no liberation, so long as this stock of un-disposed off actions or karmas performed in number of lives of that person is not completely exhausted.