RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY AND THE MODERN WORLD

Can Human Beings Be Reborn as Animals?

Human and animal evolutions are generally distinct. Once a soul has advanced to the human level, which affords easier access to higher states of consciousness than the animal state, it seldom falls back into animal births. Yet souls who are in the transitional phase between animal and human births may go back and forth for several incarnations. Human beings who have done much evil may also temporarily sink into some animal birth owing to the density of their karma.

However, while the general rule is that animal and plant evolution is lower than human evolution, there are exceptions. Sometimes even great sages can take animal births like that of a bird, monkey or deer, or plant births, like that of a great tree. Such births allow the sage to devote more time to meditation as they are less likely to be bothered by other people. Realizing the same Self in all beings they can experience these lower forms of life as part of the same Divine existence. For example, Ramana Maharshi brought his cow to a state of liberation or Self-realization, demonstrating that spiritual practice is not achievable only for human beings.

Liberated sages can also manifest or communicate to us through plants and animals, and through the whole world of Nature. This is because they themselves have become the entire universe. In this case the forces of nature become their vehicles, though they might not actually take birth within them.

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