This post continues our series of selections from Sanatana Dharma: The Eternal Religion, published by Light of the Spirit Press, following The Soul’s Journey Through Samsara. Having considered the vast world-process in which consciousness unfolds, we now turn to rebirth: why the soul takes successive bodies, what it gains through these experiences, and how it reaches liberation.
Through passages from the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita, this selection presents life as the gradual unfolding of the soul’s inherent divine possibilities. Like a seed growing into a tree, the individual soul journeys from ignorance toward the direct knowledge of its eternal nature.
Why the Soul Is Reborn—and How Rebirth Ends
“In the vast Brahma-wheel, the source and support of all jivas, the hamsa (the individual) is made to wander, thinking himself and the Ruler different. United with Him, he obtains immortality” (Svetashvatara Upanishad 1.6). Here, in a single sloka, we are given the reason of rebirth and its ending. Man wanders about in the universe so long as he thinks of himself as different from Ishwara; knowing (not just believing) himself to be one with Him, he obtains liberation.
The Divine Nature of the Individual Soul
In Shruti and Smriti, in Purana and Itihasa, the Self in man is declared to be of the nature of Brahman. “Then, having known the Supreme Brahman, the Supreme Immensity, as the Essence hidden in all creatures, the one Pervader of the universe, the Lord, they become immortal. The measure of a thumb, the purusha, the inner Self, ever dwelling in the heart of men” (Svetashvatara Upanishad 3.7, 13). “He, this Self, is Brahman” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.4.5). “He, this great unborn Self, (is) He who (is) this intelligence in living creatures, He who (is) this akasha in the heart” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.4.22). “He, this great, unborn, undecaying, deathless, immortal, fearless Self, (is) the fearless Brahman” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.4.25).
It is this nature, identical with Brahman as the sparks from a fire are identical with the fire, which evolves, unfolds itself as the jivatman in all living beings. As a seed grows to be a tree like its parent, so the jivatmic seed grows into self-conscious deity. Samsara exists that the jivatman may learn to realize himself. The jivatman differs from Brahman only as the seed from the tree that bears it. “Wise and unwise, both unborn, powerful and powerless” (Svetashvatara Upanishad 1.9).
From Body to Body: The Meaning of Reincarnation
Therefore, although unwise and powerless, the jivatman can become wise and powerful; to this end he must evolve, and his evolution is on the wheel of births and deaths. Transmigration is the word usually given to this journey, for the jivatman transmigrates from one body to another–as one grows old and wastes away he takes another. “Even as a man casts off his worn-out clothes and then clothes himself in others which are new, so the embodied casts off worn-out bodies and then enters into others which are new” (Bhagavad Gita 2:22). The word “reincarnation” (in Sanskrit, punarjanma) is also very generally used in modern days, the stress being here laid on the body rather than on the jivatman; it again takes a fleshly covering.
How Rebirth Gives Purpose to Life
This truth of the evolution of the jivatman from ignorance to wisdom, from feebleness to power, is definitely revealed in the Shruti, and a knowledge of it is necessary as a basis for good conduct and for the wise shaping of life. Man is not a creature of a day, here today and gone tomorrow, but an unborn immortal being, growing into a knowledge of his true nature and powers. Everything is within him, the fulness of divine wisdom and power, but this capacity has to be unfolded, and that is the object of living and dying. Such a view of man’s nature gives dignity and strength and sobriety to life. It has been believed in by wise men in all ages, and has been a part of every ancient religion.
Only in modern times, during a period of great ignorance, was this truth lost sight of in the West, and very irrational and fantastic notions have in consequence grown up there as to the human soul, its nature and destiny, undermining belief in the just and loving rule of Ishwara. But even in the West such great scientific thinkers as Professor Huxley have begun to recognize the continued existence of the jivatman from life to life. “Like the doctrine of evolution itself,” he says, “that of transmigration has its roots in the world of reality; and it may claim such support as the great argument from analogy is capable of supplying” (Evolution and Ethics, p. 16.)
The Unfolding of Consciousness Through Living Forms
The jivatman contains within himself infinite possibilities, but when first descended into prakriti, embodied in a rupa (body) made up of the five elements, all these are inherent, not manifest. He passes through the diversified existences of the mineral kingdom, and of the plant and of the animal realms–the udbhijah (born by fission in the minerals and plants); the swedajah (born by exudation or gemmation, in certain low forms of plants and animals); the andajah (born first as eggs, the oviparous animals)–before coming into the jarayujah (the viviparous, womb-born, higher animals and the human kingdom).
Frequently Asked Questions About Rebirth
Why does the soul undergo rebirth?
In this selection, rebirth continues while the individual soul experiences itself as separate from Ishwara. Successive lives provide the field in which its inherent capacities unfold and it grows toward direct knowledge of its true nature.
What passes from one life to another?
The jivatman, or individual soul, passes from one body to another. The Bhagavad Gita compares this change to a person putting aside worn-out clothing and putting on new garments. The body changes; the Self is unborn and deathless.
What is the difference between transmigration and reincarnation?
Both describe the soul’s passage through successive lives. Transmigration emphasizes the soul’s journey from body to body, while reincarnation emphasizes its taking another bodily form. The Sanskrit term punarjanma means rebirth.
If the Self is already divine, why is spiritual evolution necessary?
The passage distinguishes between possessing divine possibilities and consciously realizing them. A seed contains the potential of a tree, but that potential must unfold. Similarly, the soul grows into the conscious realization of the wisdom and power inherent in its nature.
What brings the cycle of rebirth to an end?
The opening Upanishadic passage points to the direct realization of unity with Ishwara. The text emphasizes that liberation comes through knowing this unity, beyond merely accepting it as a belief.
How does understanding rebirth affect daily life?
The selection presents each lifetime as part of a continuing spiritual education. Our conduct and the way we shape our lives matter because life offers opportunities to unfold wisdom and realize the Self. This understanding gives life dignity, purpose, and a sense of responsibility.