Rebirth and the Refinement of Consciousness #45
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Teachings from the Bhagavad Gita transmitted by Sri Krishna are as valid and beneficial today as they were in ancient India. To become aware of one’s past lifetimes is to step halfway inward towards Enlightenment itself. Further, it is helpful for the aspirant after realization to come to know the stages of the rebirth process in terms of how the soul refines itself using spiritual practice lifetime after lifetime until perfection returns.
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As the Great Soul, Swami Vivekananda, has reminded us in these modern times, all beings are not created equal. This is true not just of their lives; their mental makeup also varies, often in the extreme. And though the philosophy of Nonduality tells us that change is nonactual, that transformation is a myth, these changes that the soul (mind) passes through in relativity serve a purpose of not only gradating the millions of beings embodied in form, but also of supplying a way of ascension up and out of form when the soul is through with it. Finally, this inward ascension introduces us to advanced souls who enter our lives, and lifetimes, often unasked, but always for the betterment of all involved.
The Three Bodies Comprising the Nonself #63
Unknown to most living beings on this earth today, the human being has three bodies, not just one. Even to merely entertain this idea will begin to break down mental and psychological barriers and open up doors to higher wisdom, while to take it up as a subject for ongoing and extended meditation will, over time, help release the embodied soul from attachment to all forms, leading to Freedom. Preoccupation with both the idea that one is the body, as well as remaining unaware of the existence of a subtle and a causal body that one experiences in dream and deep sleep, are the causes of avidya, or ignorance of one’s true nature, or Atman, beyond all bodies. The Eternal Way leading to Ultimate Reality is thus paved by the three paths of knowledge of the three bodies, and their inspection in deep meditation.
The Painful Thorns of Desire-Ridden Rebirth #241
One of Sri Ramakrishna’s favorite stories for communicating to people the reasons for their suffering involves the camel and its habits in life. Desire and habit cause the camel to consume thorny bushes. It loves the taste of these, but has to suffer the thorns piercing through the mouth, cheeks, and tongue. Still, it goes on eating. It will have to take another camel body later based upon its heightened and unfulfilled desire for this taste. This example provides apt analogy for human beings as well, as they go on with whatever preoccupation that pleases them, continuing in it despite the attending suffering that comes to them in the process. Camels become camels again, drug addicts become drug addicts, athletes become athletes, war-mongerers become war-mongerers, intellectuals become intellectuals again — all based upon this inexorable law of karma. Only those who court freedom escape these suffering-prone cycles by getting over their desires.
The Nine Ways of Dealing with Desire #103
Dharmic teachings concerning great cycles of existence — whether they be wheels of life, wheels of death, wheels of transmigration, or wheels of suffering — prove the fact that both philosophical schools and individual souls are specifically interested in knowing the inner dynamics of bondage and freedom. In Maya, or samsara, the matter of release from its limitations is not a simple one, as it also incorporates the karmas of individual souls and entire races — even up and into the realm of the ancestors. There may be wheels inside of wheels, then, all with intricate workings of their own. Since desire is generally accepted by all religions as the creator of bondage and suffering, it will benefit all seekers after true liberation to know how to deal with desire, and how to discern which methods in spiritual life and practice will be effective in removing them for good.