Rebirth of Jivatma 3

The statement 'nara janma durlabham' occurs in vivekachudamani. To get the human birth one requires a unique combination of punya and papa. If punya outweighs papa, one gets a devata janma. Likewise, if papa dominates his karma, he gets lower janmas - plant animal etc. To get a huma birth, he should have a mixture of both punya and papa in almost equal proportions. One may arrive at such a combination after many janmas - after exhasusting many types of papas that he has done in his previous human lives.

The statement in Vivekachudamani emphaszes on making use of the opportunity to pursue moksha. One can pursue moksha only in human life. If one misses this opportunity, one may have to wait for many more lives before one returns to an ideal human life agian.

Rebirth of Jivatma 2

 A jiva that has taken an animal body to exhaust its papa karma returns to human janma once its papa gets exhausted. One does not exhaust all one's karma in one janma. Even after exhausting the karma responsible for the animal body, there will be many more karma in store. Some of the karma causes the human body once again. After getting the human body one does fresh karma once again.

The same is applicable to devata sharira as well. One may take a devata janma and enjoy the result of punya karma. On exhaustion of the punya responsible for that janma, one takes human birth again.

One can both ascend and descend in the cycle of janmas. A jiva who has become an animal can return to human janma. Then he can also go to a devata janma and so on. Likewise, a devata can descend to human and then get into an animal body.

Rebirth of a Jivatma

 

An individual soul is called jiva or jivatma. Jivatma goes through the cycle of lives on account of its karma. The Kathopanishad verse “yonimanye prapadyante shariratvaya dehinah. Sthanumanyenusamyanti yathakarma yathashrutam” (Kathopanishad 2.2.7) explains the rebirth of an individual.

If the jivatma has a human body at present, it is not necessary that it gets a human body in the next janma (birth) also. It may get an animal body or a plant body. it might as well get a devata body. The rebirth is determined by its karma. If it has more punya karma than papa, it gets devata sharira – the bodies that are considered more pleasurable and durable than human body. If it has more papa than punya, it takes birth as a plant or animal, depending of the intensity of the papa.

The transmigration of a jivatma is not linear or evolutionary in nature. A jivatma that is human being at present can take many other bodies and then return to human birth once again. However, one is able to do fresh karma in human body. In plant and animal bodies, one can only experience the results of karma that was done in some past human birth.

 

Guru and Popular Speaker

People often think that a real guru should be a popular speaker. Unfortunately, it is not true. One becomes popular when he validates the people instead of correcting them. We do not like when someone tells us that we are wrong and tries to correct our conclusions and actions. On the other hand, we are happy when someone acknowledges what we think and do.

The duty of a guru is to point out the mistakes of a shishya and to correct him. He corrects our thoughts and actions based on the teachings of the shastras. Such people seldom become popular.

One who wants validation for his wrong thoughts and actions cannot be a true shishya. A true shishya, on the other hand, should be open to the revelations of the shastras and show readiness to correct himself if he is wrong in his actions as well as in his understanding of the reality. Such shishyas are rare. Hence an earnest teacher of the shastra cannot expect to be popular. A few understand his worth and benefit from his teachings.