How do karma and yoga relate to reincarnation

They know that not all reactions are immediate; that they are cumulative and in some cases rebound unexpectedly. The wise understand penance as a self-inflicted karma or prepayment of a reaction expected because of a previous action caused.

Penance well performed intercedes between the action and the reaction, counterbalancing both and smoothing out the karma. Life does not end at the death of the physical body. The body dies but the soul does not. It lives on in a counterpart of the physical body which is called the astral body. The astral body is made of astral matter and resides in a world not unlike this one, called the Devaloka or Second world. In other words, in order to perfect itself, to spiritually unfold and evolve, the soul lives on in another body after death, the astral body.

At the right time, according to its karma, it is reborn into a flesh body. Thus the astral body, with the soul within it, enters a new physical body. This same cycle is repeated many times until the soul spiritually unfolds and reaches a certain state of perfection or mature evolution.

These repeated cycles of births and deaths are known as samsara. The soul passes from one physical body to another. Each time it does so, the Hindu says, the soul has reincarnated. Therefore, the Hindu does not believe in a single life on earth, followed by eternal joy or pain. Hindus know that all souls reincarnate, take one body and then another, evolving through experience over long periods of time. To a Hindu death is not fearsome.

The soul never dies. It is immortal. Physical death is a most natural transition for the soul, which survives and, guided by karma, continues its long pilgrimage until it is one with its creator, God.

When we die, the soul leaves the first world physical body, it lives for a while in the Devaloka, the Second World, before returning again to earth, the Bhuloka or First World.

Reincarnation is many-faceted. Through the ages it has been the great consoling belief within our religion, eliminating the inborn fear of death. Hindus do not fear death, nor do they look forward to it. Each one knows being is eternal. In stepping out of the physical body, consciousness continues in unbroken continuity in the astral body, its exact duplicate.

In the Devaloka, mind continues, emotions continue, associations continue. We must re-experience the karma that we have created, be it joyous, painful or mixed. Thus turns the slow wheel of samsara. The next question the rishis asked the Gods: What must a person do if he wishes to reach the blissful state of union with God?

Is there a state that not only confers upon us supreme, unbroken bliss, but also puts an end to pain, sorrow and suffering? Does this process of reincarnation go on forever? The Gods explained: No. Each time the soul takes on a new body, it get closer and closer to becoming perfect. To gain a better birth each time, one must live according to the natural laws that Hinduism proclaims and live out the karma in this life positively and fully while at the same time refraining from creating painful new karmas.

After a number of such excellent incarnations, and after God-realization has been attained, the soul body becomes mature enough that it no longer needs to take a physical incarnation. Instead, it continues its evolution on inner planes of consciousness. This release from samsara is called Moksha. The soul is said to be freed from the bondage of birth and death. These are natural pursuits, to be sure, but our real purpose on this earth is to know, to love and to serve God and the Gods.

After many lifetimes of wisely controlling the creation of karma and resolving past karmas when they return, the soul is fully matured in this love and trust in God and the Gods and their goodness, and in the knowledge of these divine laws and the wise use of them.

Therefore there is no longer a need for physical birth, for all lessons have been learned and all karmas fulfilled. After Moksha, it was revealed to our rishis, our soul continues its evolution in the inner worlds, eventually to merge into God as a drop of water merges with its source, the ocean. Moksha comes when all extraneous karmas have been resolved and God has been fully realized.

This means that before Moksha, the soul must have gone through all the experiences of life in the physical world. Once having faced in the spirit of love and understanding all of these various and varies experiences, Moksha comes and marks the way-station where the liberated soul is free from rebirth. When our soul has sufficiently evolved and undergone all necessary karmas in this physical universe and God-Realization has been attained, it will not return to the First World.

All the worlds rejoice when an old soul is freed from samsara, the cycle of birth, death and rebirth. Moksha is sought for and is expected to be attained by every Hindu.

But every Hindu does not expect that it will necessarily come in this present life, even though it is sought for as the ultimate goal. Hindus know this and do not delude themselves that this life is the last.

Seeking and attaining profound spiritual realizations, they nevertheless know that there is much to be accomplished on the earth and that only a rare few attain Moksha. One can know past and future births. By getting rid of desire, one can put an end to birth altogether; this great truth all Hindus know. My present birth God will terminate. To make me free of future births God gave His grace to me.

Hindus know that because of the law of karma we will have to be born again and again to reap the fruits of all actions, good, bad and mixed. How then do we stop the process? Understanding the way karma works, the Hindu naturally seeks to live a good and virtuous life through right thought, right speech and right action.

When one thinks, speaks and act correctly, one feels good about oneself, for we are then living in harmony with the whole of creation, expressing the higher qualities of our own divine soul.

We perform an action without expecting or wanting anything in return. In the Jewish world the idea of reincarnation called in Hebrew gilgul ha'neshamot is an accepted teaching of the Hasidic community and in Kabbalah teachings of Jewish mysticism. In secular philosophy, we find that Plato also believed in reincarnation. Elements of Eastern faiths and New Age thinking have been widely adopted by 65 percent of U.

What accounts for the popularity of these Eastern beliefs? Well, the first and most obvious attraction of reincarnation is that is supports our fantasy that death is not really real. If our souls are recycled, then we never really die. We just keep living in new lives forever or as Hinduism teaches we eventually achieve release moksha from the cycle of rebirth and achieve ultimate enlightenment.

The Hindu belief in reincarnation is connected to the Hindu belief in karma, which is the belief that our soul atman bears the impression of every good and bad deed we perform while we're alive.

If the sum of our deeds is positive, we are reborn into a higher level. If we were corrupt, we are reborn into a lower level. Karma is appealing to all who believe God is just. Evil is punished by being low born and goodness is rewarded by being high born. The problem with karma is that it teaches that people in this life who suffer are suffering justly for evil deeds they did in a previous incarnation, and this is a double burden. Heaven or hell is not somewhere in the skies.

It is on earth when we take rebirth. Therefore if there is no Karma, there is no reincarnation. Reincarnation is proof of Karma and Karma is proof of reincarnation. Karma relates to reincarnation because without karma you can't be reincarnated as something as a higher or lower being. My teacher explained karma to me like this: You kill some one, then they kill you in your next life. When you are reincarnated.

According to your The Law of Cause and Effect karma you get Reincarnation punarjanma in your next life. The people who believe in reincarnation and karma are the Hindus and people in the Buddhism religion. Karma Yoga - book - was created in My world religions class did a project on different religions, and i remember that Jainism included the Karma and Reincarnation..

Aupmanyav adds: Hinduism also connects karma with caste in reincarnation. They also have belief in Reincarnation punarjanma. Karma is the idea that you will be reborn accourding to their deeds. Hinduism believes in reincarnation and karma dharma. Karma yoga emphasizes charity, service to others, non-aggression and non-harming as means to awareness and peace. God is one - he says that all demigods are his forms but covered up by his delusional energy - Maya.

Therefore - different paths lead to the same God. Karma and reincarnation are true. I f you understand ,all religions of world include Karma and reincarnation theory include christianity for more ask me. Don Darnell has written: 'Moral-spiritual-religious unity through reincarnation and karma' -- subject s : Reincarnation, Karma.

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