Reincarnation is a concept that most people have a vague understanding of. In essence, this is an idea that suggests that all living creatures die and are reborn as another living creature after death. While there are many more intricacies to the concept, the core of it is quite easy to grasp. Despite this, many people are still somewhat confused about the topic when it comes up and some even write it off as a “new age” theory. In truth, reincarnation as an idea has been around for thousands upon thousands of years across many belief systems.
To better understand reincarnation, it can be useful to take a look at some of the more common facts surrounding it. By reviewing some of the easier ideas to understand, you are likely to get a more well-rounded view on how it fits into the grand scheme of things.
Where You’ve Been
People often view reincarnation as something in the future. This makes sense for many reasons, including the fact that people look at it as something that will happen to them upon death. What is often neglected, however, is that the life currently being lived is not the first life. To understand this, it can be beneficial to think of life and reincarnation as a series of links on a chain. You are one link somewhere in the middle of this chain. There are links in front of you, but there are also links behind you.
The links that are in your past are all of the lives that you have lived up until this point. This is where reincarnation changes depending on where you are learning about it from. Some religious beliefs state that a person’s past lives could be anything from a plant to a bug to a different human being. Other beliefs state that a person will only ever be reborn as another person. To learn the specifics on reincarnation and past lives, it can be interesting to research Hinduism and specific branches of Buddhism.
Seen and Unseen
When studying reincarnation, you are likely to notice that there are many people out there who are against the concept. This is due to the fact that many people only trust in what they can perceive with their senses. There is no quantifiable way to confirm or deny a person living another life before or after this one. This is enough disconnect to create millions of skeptics. You might even be one of those skeptics yourself. While it is easy to write off, the idea of reincarnation has been around a long time.
In fact, reincarnation is such an old concept that scholars have a very difficult time ascertaining when it first came about. Texts referring to reincarnation exist as far back as written language goes. Reincarnation was also mentioned in vastly different religions across the world. Celtic druids in what is now Ireland believed in reincarnation, as did the people of India, as did the people of China. With ancient texts discussing the topic and people all over the world believing in it, it stands to reason that there is something to be learned from it.
A Journey
Life is a journey, but it might not be a journey with the destination most people assume. Some religions promise eternal happiness after this life is complete, and others state that life never truly ends, it only changes from one state to another. No matter what your personal beliefs might be, looking into an idea like reincarnation can help to challenge your current beliefs and open your mind to all of the possibilities that exist in the universe.