Rebirth
Our scriptures talk about rebirth of
an individual. It is also referred to as reincarnation. In Sanskrit, it is called punar-janma. Punar means again and janma means birth. To understand the
concept of rebirth, we need to understand an individual from scriptural
perspective. An individual is not just a body. Body is like an external layer
of a person. Individual transcends his body.
Death is change of body. When the body gets worn out, the
individual leaves the body. We call it death. Death is not the end of the
individual. Bhagavadgita compares death to change of garments. Just as a man
discard old cloths and puts on new ones, an individual gives up his old body
and takes up a new body.
The new body we get depends on how we lead our present life.
All our activities, good as well as evil, bear result. We cannot see the
results immediately. It remains invisible for a long time, until it gets proper
occasion to manifest. Virtuous actions of an individual leads to a better life
hereafter. One can even go to higher worlds and become a devata - celestial
being. One can also be reborn as a human being. If one has led an unrighteous
life, he can take birth as an animal or plant.
The cycle of life and death continues incessantly, until one
gets Moksha. Moksha is freedom from embodiment and merger into the infinite.
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