Question
24.
Is there rebirth for human beings? If so, what causes it?
There is rebirth for human beings and it is Karma that causes it. It
is common experience that an injury.caused by a few
seconds' exposure to fire will take several days (=3Dmillions of
seconds!) to heal up. On the same analogy, for reaping the fruits of
aft our actions, both good and bad, done in a lifetime we need
several lives. This will be possible only if we admit future lives.
During the recent decades, a lot of investigation has been carried
out in the field of rebirth, or reincarnation, as it is More
commonly called, resulting in the publication of several good books.
There seems to be a much greater
acceptance of the reincarnation theory than before, The
varieties and mutual differences found among human beings do not
seem to be directly related to their present circumstances. For
instance, children being born with defective limbs, or the
differences in the mental make up of even identical twins, are cases
to the point. Hence, it is more reasonable to concede that
these are the results of one's past Karma or actions. Since Hinduism
accepts that the Atman or the soul is immortal, the
theory of Karma and reincarnation fits admirably into that
framework. Jainism and Buddhism also believe in this theory.
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