Is reincarnation true?

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“Since the soul is not found without body and yet is not body, it may be in one body or in another, and pass from body to body.”

-Giordano Bruno, Italian Philosopher

Reincarnation is the belief that the soul is reborn repeatedly. When one body wears out, it is cast off like a garment and soon another one is put on. The concept of reincarnation seems to offer one of the most attractive explanations of humanity’s origin and destiny. It is accepted not only by adherents of Eastern religions or New Age spirituality, but also by many who do not share such esoteric interests and convictions. To know that we lived many lives before this one and that there are many more to come is a very attractive perspective from which to judge the meaning of life.

According to the movie Avatar, the spirit or consciousness of a person (Jake Sully) is always the same but the body changes in different incarnations. The body dies but the spirit remains intact. When consciousness comes back to its original source after having experienced life in different bodies, it comes back wiser, better, richer, and full of love.

According to the Hindu philosophy, every person incarnates many times on earth in order to acquire knowledge and wisdom through the process of incarnation. While according to Buddhism, the relocation from one body to another is essential, demonstrating the belief that life is a constant cycle which never ends unless nirvana is achieved. Everything in nature moves in cycles, just like the daily cycle of day and night. We see a cycle in the process of our own daily lives – what goes around comes around. The Vedas (Hindu scriptures) tell us that the universe is born from a violent explosion, expands and then contracts, all of this taking trillions of years and then the process is repeated ad infinitum.

On the one hand, reincarnation is a source of great comfort, especially for those who seek liberation on the exclusive basis of their inner resources. It gives assurance for continuing one’s existence in further lives and thus having a renewed chance to obtain liberation. On the other hand, reincarnation is a way of rejecting the monotheistic teaching of the final judgment by a holy God, with the possible result of being eternally condemned to suffer in hell.

A major reason for accepting reincarnation by so many people today is that it seems to explain the differences that exist among people. For example, some are healthy while others are tormented their whole lives by physical handicaps. Eastern religions explain these differences as a result of previous lives, good or bad, which bear their fruits in the present one through the action of karma. Therefore, reincarnation seems to be a perfect way of punishing or rewarding one’s deeds, without the need of accepting a personal God as ultimate reality.

We are learning to be as God is. When one has become the perfection that God is, no further births and deaths are necessary. We graduate. The exception would be to continue to incarnate for the well-being of those still studying in the schoolroom of earth. These souls are called Bodhisattvas in Sanskrit. Jesus, Buddha and Krishna were such souls. They were already perfect in God but came here out of compassion as teachers.

On the other hand, God’s answers can be easily identified when we allow the Bible to interpret itself. For example, at Genesis 3:19, we can find God’s words to Adam after Adam and Eve disobeyed Him. God said: “In the sweat of your face you will eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For dust you are and to dust you will return.” Adam was created from the dust. At death, he returned to dust. That was God’s clear statement on the matter. So at death, a person is not reborn as someone else but ceases to exist. Also, each of us is unique together with our own bodies and spirits. We have our own purpose in this world. One life is enough in order to learn and become better beings.

Recollections of past lives must therefore have other explanations. The workings of the human mind, including the subconscious, and the effects of medication or traumatic experiences are still not fully understood. Dreams and imagined events based on the colossal amount of information stored in the memory bank of the brain can be so vivid that they appear to be real.

In the end, it is up to the individual to what he/she will believe in. The important thing is that we should live our lives to the fullest, and serve our own purpose. We should make use of our lives wisely and appreciate it just like receiving a wonderful gift. Indeed, we can find the true meaning of life by our own actions and way of thinking.

What is the highest level of love?

Shakespeare’s 116th sonnet:

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
Oh no! It is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.
Love’s not time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending, sickle’s compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

People perceive love in many ways. Universally, love refers to a passionate affection for another person or a feeling of warm personal attachment. Furthermore, it is a form of a “survival instinct” because humans are affectionate beings, and as such, they need to be loved so that they will be able to survive and interact with other people.

Eros love is known as erotic love. It is based on strong feelings toward another. Eros love can only succeed in the long-term if it progresses into a higher form of love. Otherwise, it will not last. We must love a person for his/her uniqueness, not because we simply want to feel the joy of being in love. Such love is concerned more with the self rather than with the partner.

Philos love is a love based on a friendship between two people. This is in contrast to a man-woman romantic relationship which starts out by “eros love”, meaning, we get attracted by physical/mental traits alone. This is a love based on a “give-and-take” basis, where two people benefit each other in a mutual way.

The highest type of love is “agape”, or unconditional love. Agape love is above philos love and eros love. It is a love that is totally selfless, where a person gives out love to another person even if this act does not benefit him/her in any way. However, the highest type of agape love is not human at all, but divine – God’s unconditional love for us, His children. In the New Testament, it refers to the covenant love of God for humans, as well as the human reciprocal love for God; the term necessarily extends to the love of one’s fellow man.

God’s love was shown to us the most when God the Father sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ to His suffering and death on the cross for our salvation. There is no greater love than this. Jesus had no obligation to die for us, but He chose to.

The sins of mankind have become so many and so great that no man can redeem himself by his own means alone. Even if each person suffered and died on the cross, it will not be enough to repay debts to God. Only the Begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ Himself, dying on that cross for us would repay our debts of sin.

In essence, eros love is “physical”, philos love is “mental”, and agape love is “spiritual”. Thus, it is made up of the three fundamental elements of man: physical, mental and spiritual.

Just like in the movie Avatar, Jake Sully decided to go back to Na’vi for love. Despite being able to earn the trust of the natives to achieve their plans of getting resources to solve the earth’s energy crisis, he still chose to be with the natives because he was able to discern the genuine value of the concept “love” with them. For Jake Sully, the epitome of love is being able to be one with a community in terms of empathy, emotion, beliefs, and set of morals.  He was able to identify his own true identity with the community that developed his love to be realized in its highest level. The height of his love even went to the point of fighting for the Na’vi against his fellow humans, which showcased selfless love.

The best things in life are to love and to be loved. Love alone can change the whole world. Some show it through sacrificing the most important things they have – even by giving up their own life. Loving someone can change a person, for it can influence their decision making skills, character and attitude. On the bad side, love can also pull people down, especially those who are incapable of meeting the needs of the other party. Sadly, with these factors, a person may feel emotionally depressed which eventually will lead to isolation or even worse, suicide. The most severe consequences of love addiction can lead to violence which comes from the agony of love withdrawal.

To conclude, love either in the form of eros, philos, or agape can still be classified as love and is prevalent to both historical and modern society. It is of a great influence to humans regardless of what type of love or culture a person is in. Love is still shown inevitably in whatever circumstance.