Sri Bharatamata

Ashtottaram 32

 

32) OṀ PUNARJANMA SIDDHĀNTA BHŨMYAINA-

                                                                       MAH:

OṀ (AUM) -PU-NAR-JAN-MA-  SI -DDHAAN-TA-

                           BHOO- MYAI- NA--MA- HA

 

(Punarjanma: means-Re-birth, again and again, repeatedly; Siddhāntam: a fundamental law)

 

 

 

The theory of Karma and punarjanma or re-birth, is a basic tenet of Hinduism. The principle behind it is, 'As you sow, so you reap'. Punarjamna is regulated by prārabdhakarma (karma that has started giving the results). Hinduism accepts the regression of a soul into animal bodies, but only to exhaust the bad karmas, before being born again in a human body.

 

In the famous song Bhajagovindam, Sri Śankarabhagavadpāda told us about 'punarapi jananam, punarapi maraṇam' (the repeat cycle of birth and death). When the Jīva (soul) leaves this gross body, according to our karmas, the causal body transmigrates into different body. In Bhagavadgīta, Lord Sri Krishna also states that at the time of death we leave this body and enter another new body just like we discard a old shirt and put on a new one. Why and how the life-force enters a gross body was described in detail by our ancient sages with examples. So much was written in Vedas and Upanishads about the re-birth. We have the life-force from head to toe and the Ātma (Soul/Self) which pervades the whole body including the mind and the thinking faculties as awareness and consciousness.

 

So many westerners and research scholars from many countries have done research on this topic and wrote books about it as being scientific in basis rather than a belief system. Young children between the ages of 2-4 years had accounts of their previous lives with proofs like their birth places, important incidents and instances, previous parent's names, descriptions, etc. Their claims were proven to be true by the researchers to their astonishments. There were incidents where 3-4 year old child playing Barach, or Bethoven's symphony on the piano which can only logically be explainable by the fact that the child had knowledge of his previous birth. According to Vedānta sāstrās, re-birth is not mere belief but a fact. They claim that the bondage is the root cause of re-birth and we are caught in the cycle of birth and death due to our actions and results; and the only way to get out of it is realizing that ātma is eternal and getting rid of our ignorance about our true divine nature.

 

Our land which revealed the trans-migratory nature of the Jīva is 'PunarjanmaSiddhānta Bhūmi'.