This talk on reincarnation takes a different angle from our earlier discussion in the Bhagavad-gita Wisdom Series. Last time, we explored how we came to have our present body. In this session, we shift the focus to discussing two common ideas about reincarnation — that it offers a second chance to “get things right,” or that it’s like being stuck on an endless treadmill.
As part of the discussion we also delve into the Vedic perspective on the repeated cycle of birth and death, known as saṁsāra.
The link to the ancient Vedic story about Jaḍa Bharata which I mentioned in the talk is here:
Mistaking a Saint for a Fool – Jada Bharata - https://open.spotify.com/episode/0pwBt4zs0EqWUDMmWYNURx?si=5QF4-a-IRNGhBGw_GIpyvQ
The Vedic verses I quote in this talk:
As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change. - Bhagavad-gītā 2.13
As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones. - Bhagavad-gītā 2.22
Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, that state he will attain without fail. - Bhagavad-gītā 8.6
The living entity in the material world carries his different conceptions of life from one body to another as the air carries aromas. - Bhagavad-gītā 15.8
The caterpillar transports itself from one leaf to another by capturing one leaf before giving up the other. Similarly, according to his previous work, the living entity must capture another body before giving up the one he has. This is because the mind is the reservoir of all kinds of desires. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 4.29.76-77
The living entity, thus taking another gross body, obtains a certain type of ear, tongue, and nose and sense of touch, which are grouped about the mind. He thus enjoys a particular set of sense objects. - Bhagavad-gītā 15.9
When the living entity passes from the present body to the next body, which is created by his own karma, he becomes absorbed in the pleasurable and painful sensations of the new body and completely forgets the experience of the previous body. This total forgetfulness of one’s previous material identity, which comes about for one reason or another, is called death. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.22.39
Other online resources about this topic
Reincarnation the ins and the Outs - https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/acharya-das/episodes/182-Reincarnation--the-Ins-and-the-Outs-e1gju35
Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People? – Understanding Reincarnation - https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/acharya-das/episodes/150-Why-Do-Bad-Things-Happen-to-Good-People-e1giggf
Purpose, Reincarnation, and Suffering – an online Q&A session - https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/acharya-das/episodes/177-Purpose--Reincarnation--and-Suffering---an-online-QA-session-e1gjsmn
