Rebirth in Hinduism – Punar Janma

The concept of rebirth is widely believed in Hinduism as well as in the other religions. It poses critical questions about the existence of beings and life the death of their physical bodies.

Why is one born on earth, and why does one suffer? What happens to a soul after death, and what is its destiny? Why are there inequalities between one person and another?

This concept also known as Punarjanma (Punar – re, janma – birth) is  widely described in the Hindu religious literature. There are several references of reincarnation or rebirth in the Bhagavat Gita. Reincarnation in Hinduism is not limited to being born as human. One may have had prior lives as animals, plants, or as divine beings who rule part of nature. If it has life, then it is part of the cycle. Rebirth is best summarised by the following verse of the Bhagavad Gita:

“Just as a man discards worn out clothes and puts on new clothes, the soul discards worn out bodies and wears new ones.” (2.22)

What is Punarjanma?

According to Hindu theories of reincarnation or rebirth, individuals reincarnate repeatedly and pass through many cycles of births and deaths and live in numerous bodies, as they evolve from simple organism to complex beings and finally into humans. The process of rebirth ends when they finally attain perfection and achieve ‘Moksha’ (liberation). Before they are freed from the cycle of births and deaths, it is believed that they live upon earth for a long time. The idea of rebirth is said to drive an individual or a soul from ignorance to knowledge, untruth to truth, darkness to light, and death to immortality. It gives them an opportunity to start afresh on the path of liberation to use the lessons learnt in the past lives and work for their liberation.

Reincarnation hence, gives us the opportunity to evolve spiritually through the various experiences we acquire in our different incarnations. It ultimately drives us through the state of realising God. After realizing God, we go beyond all desires, because we no longer lack anything. We transcend the chain of repeated births and deaths. In Hinduism, one who such soul is called a liberated soul.

“We do not always reincarnate right after death. Nothing happens to the atma (soul) which is merely a witness. It is the subtle body that is affected by death”

The supreme goal of the body is Moksha (liberation) but not Rebirth/PunarJanma. Those who fail to liberate from this material world are the ones who reincarnate.

Death & Rebirth

According to the Upanishads when a person is about to die, his senses are withdrawn into the mind, the mind into the breath. The soul then escapes from the material body. Once the soul leaves the body, the person becomes lifeless. The body is then cremated and its elements (Mahabhutas) are returned to the elements. It is said that when a person dies, their physical body is left behind and the soul consisting of their mind, intellect, vital energy and their motor and sense organs, goes to a different plane of existence. Such a plane of existence is called a Loka in Sanskrit. According to popular understanding there are three major Lokas. They are Swarga, Martya and Patala.

However, the ancient and prominent Scriptures of Hinduism mention other Lokas also. The Kaushitaki Upanishad (1.3.) mentions Brahmaloka, Prajapatiloka, Indraloka, Adityaloka, Varunaloka, Vayuloka and Agniloka as the seven higher Lokas.

• Swarga Loka (Heaven): It is believed to be the residence of the greatest of gods, Lord Indra. Lord Indra, devatas (deities), Gandharvas (heavenly beings) and Apsaras (celestial maidens) live here. The souls of the humans that attain liberation, further marking an end to the cycle of births and deaths, is said to ultimately reach this Loka. It is home to happiness and pleasantness.
• Bhur Loka (Earth): It is where the living beings live and continue the chain of sufferings and reincarnations. The earth and the solar system with thousand other systems in the universe are an integral part of this plane. ‘Bhur’ means the earth. It is considered as the normal plane above and below which the Swarga and Pataal lokas respectively exist. It is home to ignorance and sufferings of human beings due to their previous actions (Karma).
• Paatala Loka (Hell): It the lowest realm and the region of the Nagas. It is known to be ruled by Vasuki. It is where the souls go through sufferings for their bad actions (karma) in Bhur Loka. Human beings suffer consequences of their bad actions here. There are twenty-eight sub hells. It is where humans suffer according to their sins. They then proceed their journey towards the ultimate loka – Swarga Loka.

Hindu beliefs strongly state that the material or physical world is a personification of the God of Death, known as Kala (Time). From the tiniest living organisms to the most complicated ones, every living being at a point, is food to Death. No one has escaped it ever since the existence of life. Death touches and destroys everything in the object world when its time comes. Although, death is just for the physical bodies and not for their souls. The soul of a dead being further escapes from the body to take birth again. Death is therefore, considered a break in the series of continuing events known as life. Through death, the individual soul changes its body.

A verse from the epic Bhagavat Gita attempts to describe the happenings after death of a living being:

शरीरं यदवाप्नोति यच्चाप्युत्क्रामतीश्वर: |
गृहीत्वैतानि संयाति वायुर्गन्धानिवाशयात् || 8||

‘When he gets a new body or abandons an old one, the Jiva, the lord of the body, moves, carrying them (the mind and the senses) with him, as the wind carries smells from their seats (in flowers and the like).’

–Gita 15.8

The physical body dies but the mind and the senses leave the physical body. Persons who have not attained Moksha are part of the life-death-life…. cycle. They may also have to stay in heaven or hell for some time if they have done a particularly good thing or a heinous crime, respectively. After the merit of their particular good karma or the demerit of their particular bad karma is exhausted, they will again be born into the Earth plane. The process is linked to the concept of residual karma. This residual karma idea and what happens to evil-doers is explained in Brahma Sutra.

Why Rebirth?

Living beings desire, in the physical life on earth. When a living being dies, even the strongest of these desires remain unfulfilled by the physical body. It is believed that their souls constantly yearn for the fulfilment of those desires. It is believed those unfulfilled desires eventually bring them back to the earth, causing a rebirth. Hence, the unfulfilled wishes are primarily responsible for rebirth of beings on earth.

The cycles of births and living are categorised under one broad concept called Samsara. Samsara translates to ‘wandering’ or ‘world’, indicating its cyclic nature. This idea governs the rules of rebirth and deaths in Hinduism. It is also known to be the ‘Cycle of Life’. In Hinduism, it is known that everything is connected, cyclical and composed of soul and physical body. It is believed that death is only for the physical body and soul is take the form of eternal reality.

The Law of Karma & Reincarnation

Rebirth is said to be governed by the law of Karma. According to this law, man is the architect of his own fate and maker of his own destiny. Hence, all the actions that humans indulge in would later on lead to some consequences. These consequences are further faced by these humans itself. Such consequences would lead them to their destiny in their lives and living. Therefore, Law of Karma signifies the way of life. It governs everything that we do, from what we think, say, to what we do and it brings conditioning of the mind. It is the root cause of embodiment.

In this physical world, reality is neither good nor evil. There is nothing in the universe which is absolutely good or absolutely evil. It means that neither good or evil would continue to remain for all time. Good and evil are known to be judgments made by the individual or person’s mind in keeping with its inner disposition caused by past karma. In Hinduism, it is believed that good is something that takes a person closer or near to their own real self. On the other hand, evil is something that creates a distance between a person and their real self. Hence, the law of karma is known to be the law of automatic justice.

In simpler words, Law of Karma states that no action goes away without causing some result. As one sows, so shall one reap. The circumstances of our present life, our pains and pleasures, are all the results of our past actions in this existence and in countless previous existences. Hence, the actions one indulges in, in their previous births would reflect their results in their present birth or reincarnation. The actions that one indulges in the present – in the current life, would cause appropriate circumstances in their next life or reincarnation. The happiness and suffering of a human individual are of their own making, in their previous reincarnations. Good and evil are mind-made and not God-created. The ultimate destiny of an individual is to attain or reach to self-realisation.

Would the Cycle of Incarnations Ever End?

In Hinduism, it is believed that any individual soul passes through the cycle of successive lives and deaths. The reincarnation of such individual soul is always dependent on how righteous have they lived their previous life (Law of karma). In a lifetime, an individual builds up both good and bad karma. This individual takes upon the responsibility of their actions in their present life or their future lives.

Moksha (salvation) is considered to be the ultimate end to this cycle of births and reincarnations. Hinduism depicts four main aims of human life:

1. Moksha – Spiritual Values
2. Dharma – Moral Values
3. Artha – Economic Values
4. Kama – Psychological Values

Here, Moksha is called the Parama Purushartha. Here, Purushartha means ‘Purpose of Human’s Life’. Hence, it precedes over all other aims. It can be achieved both in this life and after death. Moksha is achieved by overcoming ignorance and desires of the physical world. However, it is a paradox that overcoming materialistic and other desires also includes overcoming the desire for moksha in itself.

The Bhagavat Gita quotes an incident where Lord Krishna conveys to Arjuna on how he can attain liberation or Moksha:

sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śharaṇaṁ vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣhayiṣhyāmi mā śhuchaḥ

Translating to: Abandon all varieties of dharmas and simply surrender unto me alone. I shall liberate you from all sinful reactions; do not fear.

Rebirth & Evolution of Species

Although reincarnation or rebirth is a concept that is widely believed in Hinduism, there are several statements against it. The ones who do not accept the idea of reincarnation sometimes argue that the number of human beings should have decreased and not increased. This argument is made considering the fact that many human beings have been liberated from death and rebirth since the beginning of creation.  They state that this concept is not valid in reality.

However, the religious texts of Hinduism strike away these objections. They state that many subhuman beings (life forms other than human beings) in the course of evolution are being born as human beings. Consequently, the number of human beings is on the increase. Hinduism states that all life beings are equally placed in the cycle of births and deaths. It is ultimately done to attain Moksha or liberation.

Lord Krishna in the Bhagavat Gita, says that reincarnation of a soul is inevitable. This cycle of births and deaths goes on until liberation of the soul. He says that one who has taken birth will surely die and one who has died is sure to take birth again.

जातस्त हि ध्रुवो मृत्युर्ध्रुवं जन्म मृतस्य च ।

तस्मादपरिहार्येऽर्थे न त्वं शोचितुमर्हसि ||

– Gita 2.27