The Belief in Reincarnation - Essay Example

The Belief in Reincarnation Hindus believe in many things, just like any other religion. While other religions share some of the Hinduism beliefs, others are unique to Hindu religion. Founded by an Indian and mostly practiced by Indians, some of the Hinduism beliefs have their origin in the Indian culture. The religion draws other beliefs from the religion’s philosophies and concepts. One of these beliefs is the belief in reincarnation. According to this philosophical concept, Hindus belief that after the biological death of a person, the soul or the spirit takes a different form, beginning a new life in a new form, that could be another human being, animal or spiritual being (Fowler 10). However, this is depended on the moral quality of the actions in the previous life. According to the reincarnation beliefs, people take one form of life before taking a different form in another life (Somer and CarmitOr-Chen 460). As such, life does not stop at any particular time; rather, life is a process that keeps on evolving continuously. According to their beliefs, argues Burch (76), when one dies as a human being, he could take the form of an animal, which when dies may take the form of an insect. After the insect dies, it may assume the form of a carrot and later a human being again. There is thus no particular time when the life of one particular generation would ever end, concludes Davidson (123). Unlike other religions such as Islam and Christianity, which believe in the end of life after the death of a person, Hinduism holds different views. However, a person does not emerge in the next life as the previous life; he or she assumes this form as a spirit, and as such, point out Hui and Peter (453), people have hope that they will not entirely vanish from the world. Thus, a man who dies before the birth of his daughter could re-emerge in the daughter buy his spirit entering in the daughter. The belief tries to explain the similarities in people’s characteristics, behaviorisms, and mannerisms. Living people could possess characteristics of a long dead person, and thus, Hindus belief that the spirit of the long dead person reincarnated in the new person. Some Hindu cultures, due to the reincarnation belief, do not eat particular kinds of animals or plant’s (Waterhouse 97). To them, these are spiritual, and are the very kinds that people assume through their reincarnation process. Thus, eating such plants and animals would be killing a person. However, even if I were to believe in re incarnation, I would not agree with the argument that some of the animals having a higher likelihood of people reincarnating through them than others. I would argue that all animals and plants, just as if they have equal opportunities of life, have equal opportunities of taking part in the reincarnation process. After all, they all will die at some point, and are too have to reincarnate to one particular form. Although the belief has widely spread in other religions and cultural practices, initially, reincarnation was an eastern religions belief, especially within the Hinduism religion (McClelland 15). However, currently, philosophies such as dianetics and channeling appear to embrace the concepts of reincarnation. In the past, the eastern religions did not consider reincarnation as a good thing; instead, to them it was a bad thing. The ancient belief, assuming the state of nirvana in essence, to them was an escape from the wheel of rebirth. Further, the beliefs held that while reincarnating, when the metaphysical devotion of a soul enters the body of a person was an impure rite of passage. Although conceptually closely related to reincarnation (Almeder 81), I think the new age religions belief in being born again is a mirror concept to reincarnation. To these religion though, being born again is a good thing rather than a bad thing. Being born again, having a perverse goal differentiates it from the original meaning of reincarnation. Being born again prepares a person to what exactly one wants to come back in the afterlife. However, the belief makes people to be good societal guards hence preserving the moral fabric. Initially thought as just the manner in which people’s spirits assume a different form after their death, reincarnation has taken different forms, and the development of its concepts gone through scientific research. Different authors, through studies on the reincarnation process, have developed new age reincarnation. Diabetics are the new form of reincarnation, introduced by L. Ron Hubbard. According to his arguments, there is need to conduct an audit of the past lives in order to get the roots of one’s troubles (Hubbard 4). Hubbard argues that only scientific study has sought to explain the mechanics of death. According to him, in death, when the Thetans (spirit) find itself without a body, which already is dead, it starts looking for a new body. The Thetans hangs in the midst of the people, and when they spot a pregnant woman, they follow her down the street. All along, after spotting a potential woman, the Thetan tags along this woman to the time of delivery. Two or three minutes after birth, the Thetan slips into the newborn. Although closely related to dianetics, channeling argues that death does not put an end to the entirety of a person’s being. It is a temporal phenomenon as it keeps on passing from one life to another continuously (Brown 47). Channeling seemingly tries to explain why some personality traits trickle from one generation to another. However, I do not agree with such a belief since personality is derived from genetics and upbringing conditions. Although widely considered a strong belief among the Hindus, scientists have sought to conduct studies on its concepts. Even Christian theologies on a person being born again form the basis of current studies. These seek to answer questions that original reincarnation could not answer, such as why reincarnated beings take on different forms. I would not personally believe in reincarnation primarily because there is no scientific basis to such an argument. In addition the belief is arguably not plausible to me since the presently living beings cannot testify of what they used to be before reincarnation. Works Cited Almeder, Robert F. Death and Personal Survival: The Evidence for Life After Death. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 1992. Print. Brown, Michael F. The Channeling Zone: American Spirituality in an Anxious Age. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1999. Print. Burch, John. "Reincarnation Beliefs Of North American Indians: Soul Journeys, Metamorphosis, And Near-Death Experience."Library Journal 134.4 (2009): 76. Business Source Complete. Web. 20 Oct. 2013. Davidson, Jonathan R. T., Kathryn M. Connor, and Li-Ching Lee. "Beliefs In Karma And Reincarnation Among Survivors Of Violent Trauma." Social Psychiatry & Psychiatric Epidemiology 40.2 (2005): 120-125. Academic Search Premier. Web. 20 Oct. 2013. Fowler, Jeaneane D. Hinduism: Beliefs and Practices. Brighton [u.a.: Sussex Acad. Press, 1997. Print. Hubbard, L R. Dianetics, the Evolution of a Science. Los Angeles, Calif: Bridge Publications, Inc, 2007. Print. Hui, Victoria Ka-Ying, and Peter G. Coleman. "Do Reincarnation Beliefs Protect Older Adult Chinese Buddhists Against Personal Death Anxiety?." Death Studies 36.10 (2012): 949-958. Academic Search Premier. Web. 20 Oct. 2013. McClelland, Norman C. Encyclopedia of Reincarnation and Karma. Jefferson: McFarland & Co., Publishers, 2010. Internet resource. Somer, EliKlein-Sela, CarmitOr-Chen, Keren. "Beliefs In Reincarnation And The Power Of Fate And Their Association With Emotional Outcomes Among Bereaved Parents Of Fallen Soldiers." Journal Of Loss & Trauma 16.5 (2011): 459-475.Professional Development Collection. Web. 20 Oct. 2013. Waterhouse, Helen. "Reincarnation Belief In Britain: New Age Orientation Or Mainstream Option?." Journal Of Contemporary Religion 14.1 (1999): 97. Academic Search Premier. Web. 20 Oct. 2013. Read More