Karma and Reincarnation
Karma and Reincarnation
Karma and Reincarnation
A Philosophical Examination
By Joseph Morales
lumiere@home.com
Copyright © 1996-2000, All Rights Reserved
Being philosophically-minded, I have always found the descriptions of the doctrine of karma by Eastern
teachers to be frustratingly vague. So I set out to find out what, exactly, the doctrine of karma is, and why
we should believe it. The resulting study is somewhat lengthy, so I have now broken it into small topics
that you can read individually.
• Readings in the Theory of Karma
A selection of quotations from mostly Hindu scriptures and teachers, explaining all the major aspects of
the theory of karma.
• Problems in the Theory of Karma
An examination of the many difficult philosophical questions raised by the traditional Hindu theory of
karma.
• Evaluating the Theory of Karma
An attempt to evaluate the accuracy of the doctrine of karma, bringing a variety of different perspectives
to bear upon the problem.
• Buddhist Views on Karma
• Taoist Views on Karma
• A Sufi View of Rebirth: Bawa Muhaiyaddeen
A short article on a view of rebirth taught by a Sheikh of Islamic or Sufi mysticism.
• Karma Bibliography
A listing of the works quoted and referenced in the previous sections.
• The Hindu Theory of World Cycles
A systematic presentation of the theory of world ages described by Hindu scripture and its relationship to
modern science. The system of ages described in the Puranas is described in detail, including kalpas,
manvantaras, maha yugas, Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga, and Kali Yuga. Current scientific
theories of evolution and periodic mass extinctions are also explored.
Consider how it was with the forefathers; behold how it is with the later (men); a mortal ripens like corn,
and like corn is born again.
Katha Upanishad (Radhakrishnan), I.1.6
15:7 An eternal portion of Myself, having become a living soul in a world of living beings, draws to itself
the five senses, with the mind for the sixth, which abide in Prakriti.
15:8 When the lord acquires a body, and when he leaves it, he takes these with him and goes on his way,
as the wind carries away the scents from their places.
15:9 Presiding over the ear and eye, the organs of touch, taste, and smell, and also over the mind, he
experiences sense-objects.
15:10 The deluded do not perceive him when he departs from the body or dwells in it, when he
experiences objects or is united with the gunas; but they who have the eye of wisdom perceive him.
Bhagavad Gita
He, as the Self, resides in all forms, but is veiled by ignorance... At death he is born again, and the
circumstances of his new life are determined by his past deeds and by the habits he has formed.
Kaivalya Upanishad (Prabhavananda), 115
2:14. Experiences of pleasure and of pain are the results of merit and demerit, respectively.
Patanjali
4:7. The karma of the yogi is neither white nor black. The karma of others is of three kinds: white, black,
or mixed.
Patanjali
The desires we get are actually samskaras. They are formed in this way:
1. Having union with an object, possessing it.
2. The object is not present, but stays in the mind.
3. A craving for the object is created.
4. The craving makes a print on the mind which remains after death (samskara).
Desire is the third stage. We don't feel the first two stages, they are too subtle. Samskaras recreate desires
in the next birth automatically. A person can get the desire to steal though brought up in a good family.
He himself can't understand why he desires it.
These desires develop more when they are fulfilled. Desires can be overcome by controlling them; we
have to put a limit on desires.
Baba Hari Dass, 116
The karmic law requires that every human wish find ultimate fulfillment. Nonspiritual desires are thus the
chain that binds man to the reincarnational wheel.
Paramahansa Yogananda, 360
...Vedanta says that at the root of the source of the desires is your own Atma which is Truth personified.
As such, all desires, good or bad, have got to be materialized. They must be true, because they emanate
from Atma, the Truth incarnate. This very Atma, which is the source of all Power, is called God or
Ishwara. Therefore, all his desires must indubitably be fulfilled.
Well! The question is that, if in the opinion of Vedanta, all the desires are to be fulfilled, how is it that
they are not seen being fulfilled? No body sees his desires materialize all the time. Therefore, it may
appear that the assertion of Vedanta is wrong. But Vedanta clears this doubt as well... Some have too
many and also big desires within them... It is no wonder, if the cases of such persons (men of desires)
may take two, three or even more adjournments (lives and rebirths etc.) for the final judgment (fulfillment
of desires)... But it must be remembered that all desires are bound to be fulfilled in course of time. There
can be no doubt about it. Therefore, if the desires of any man are not fulfilled early, it means that it is due
to his own faults. If, however, they want to see their desires fulfilled early, they should have only a few
simple and selfless desires...
Vedanta says that the desires, being innumerable, are often left unfulfilled at the time of the death of a
man. To desire is also a sort of action. He, therefore, takes other birth or births to see his desires fulfilled.
And, the materialization of these unfulfilled desires may be called destiny. That is why, our scriptures
have mentioned that it is because of our own desires, hopes and aspirations that we take other birth or
births after death.
Swami Rama Tirtha, 263-265
Q. If a thing comes to me without any planning or working for it and I enjoy it, will there be no bad
consequences from it?
A. It is not so. Every act must have its consequences. If anything comes your way by reason of prarabdha,
you can't help it. If you take what comes, without any special attachment, and without any desire for more
of it or for a repetition of it, it will not harm you by leading to further births. On the other hand, if you
enjoy it with great attachment and naturally desire for more of it, it is bound to lead to more and more
births.
Ramana Maharshi, 221-222
Samskaras
2:12. A man's latent tendencies have been created by his past thoughts and actions. These tendencies will
bear fruits, both in this life and in lives to come.
2:13. So long as the cause exists, it will bear fruits--such as rebirth, a long or short life, and the
experiences of pleasure and of pain.
Patanjali
Every action that you do produces a two-fold effect. It produces an impression in your mind and when
you die you carry the Samskara in the Karmashaya or receptacle of works in your subconscious mind. It
produces an impression on the world or Akashic records.
Swami Sivananda (1), 95
If you eat a mango, if you do any kind of work, it produces an impression in the subconscious mind or
Chitta. This impression is called Samskara or tendency. Whatever you see, hear, feel, smell or taste
causes Samskaras. The acts of breathing, thinking, feeling and willing produce impressions. These
impressions are indestructible. They can only be fried in toto by Asamprajnata Samadhi. Man is a bundle
of Samskaras. Man is a bundle of impressions. It is these Samskaras that bring a man again and again to
this physical plane. They are the cause for rebirths. These Samskaras assume the form of very big waves
through memory, internal or external stimulus.
Swami Sivananda (1), 95
The impulse behind most human actions insofar as man is a psychophysical being comes from what are
called samskaras (subliminal and latent tendencies) and vasanas (desires rooted in the psyche at an
unconscious level but their force is also consciously felt). Each human being is born with a certain
configuration of these samskaras and vasanas (their precise nature determined by action in a previous life)
and these, felt as attraction towards some things and aversion towards others, act as driving forces behind
our actions, insofar as we act out the dharma of our being as part of nature.
Pratima Bowes, in Pappu, 175
According to some Hindu commentators on scriptures a jiva (life-force) is granted a human life only after
going through 8,400,000 previous incarnations of lower forms of life -- 2,000,000 as a plant, 900,000 as
aquatic, 100,000 as insects, 100,000 as a bird, 300,000 as a cow, 400,000 as a monkey.
Louis Renou, The Nature of Hinduism. New York: Walker & Co., 1962, pg. 67. Quoted by Pratima
Bowes in Pappu, 174
...Individualized souls transmigrate from one body to another after death in their passage of evolution
from vegetative kingdom to animal kingdom and finally to the human plane, human kind being the
perfect body. Vegetable, animal and human bodies serve the souls as vehicles in their upward journey.
The total number of different kinds of carriages is supposed to be 84 lacs.* But, human being the highest
evolved form, is the best instrument for God realization...
It is claimed that through human body only moksha or emancipation from the wheels of Maya is possible,
and not through the bodies of even gods residing in higher spheres. They too have to come down and take
up the bodies of men, which only hold key to the door of evolution to God realization.
Swami Vishnu Tirtha, 22-25 [*Ed. note: 1 lac = 100,000]
4:2. The transformation of one species into another is caused by the inflowing of nature.
Patanjali
In fact no evolution is possible from the stage of the mineral to that of the vegetable, for there is nothing
in the mineral that can evolve... The whole mineral kingdom has emerged out of the Tamasic aspect of
Maya and it forms the material which goes to make the bodies of the Jivas and their means and places of
support; mineral matter not composing the body of any Jiva is called "inanimate" or "inorganic," not
because there is no life at all in it--for it has its very existence in the life of Ishwara--but because there is
no separate coordinating life-principle connecting together the several atoms in harmonious co-operation
for serving some common end... The view that is now and then expressed from the modern Theosophical
platform: "every grain of sand has its Jivatma" is clearly wrong and opposed to the clear statement in the
holy books that the Jivas are to be found only in four classes of bodies, viz., Jarayuja, Andaja, Svedaja
and Udbhijja...
Swami Sivananda (1), 193-194
Karma is divided into four categories: sanchita karma, or the accumulated past actions; prarabdha karma,
or that part of sanchita karma which results in this present birth and is known as predestination;
kriyamana karma, or present willful actions, or free will; and agami karma, or the immediate results
caused by our present actions.
Sant Keshavadas, 8
Prarabdha Karma
Q. It is said that prarabdha karma is only a small fraction of the karma accumulated from previous lives.
Is this true?
A. A man might have performed many karmas in his previous births. A few of these alone will be chosen
for this birth and he will have to enjoy their fruits in this birth. It is something like a slide show where the
projectionist picks a few slides to be exhibited at a performance, the remaining slides being reserved for
another performance...The different karmas are the slides, karmas being the result of past experiences,
and the mind is the projector. The projector must be destroyed so that there will be no further reflection
and no further births and no deaths.
Q. Who is the projectionist? What is the mechanism that selects a small portion of the sanchita karma and
then decides that it shall be experienced as prarabdha karma?
A. Individuals have to suffer their karma but Iswara manages to make the best of their karmas for his
purpose. God manipulates the fruits of karma but he does not add or take away from it. The subconscious
of man is a warehouse of good and bad karma. Iswara chooses from this warehouse what he sees will best
suit the spiritual evolution at the time of each man, whether pleasant or painful. Thus there is nothing
arbitrary.
Q. In Upadesa Saram you say that karma bears fruit by the ordinance of God [karta]. Does this mean that
we reap the consequences of karma solely because God wills it?
A. In this verse karta [God] means Iswara. He is the one who distributes the fruits of actions to each
person according to his karma. That means that he is the manifest Brahman. The real Brahman is
unmanifest and without motion. It is only the manifest Brahman that is named as Iswara. He gives the
fruit to each person according to his actions [karma]. That means that Iswara is only an agent and that he
gives wages according to the labor done. That is all. Without this shakti [power] of Iswara, this karma
would not take place. That is why karma is said to be on its own, inert.
Ramana Maharshi, 218-219
There is a poet-saint whose one statement is very well known in our country. He says that whatever is
written by destiny on the sixth day after your birth can never be blotted out. Shaktipat follows the writ of
prarabdha.
Swami Muktananda (4), 45
Types of Prarabdha
There are three types of prarabdha: iccha, aniccha, pariccha.
Swami Muktananda (3), 327
Prarabdha karma is of three categories, ichha, anichha and parechha [personally desired, without desire,
and due to others' desire]. For the one who has realized the Self, there is no ichha-prarabdha but the two
others, anichha and parechha, remain.
Ramana Maharshi, 220
Good and bad samskaras are like seeds of different plants kept in a bottle: some grow in winter, some in
the summer, and some in the rainy season. If you throw all the seeds on the earth, the seed which grows
in that season will grow and the others will remain dormant.
Exactly the same thing happens with samskaras. All kinds of samskaras are there but they grow according
to the person, place, or thing with which we associate. If we go with depraved people, the bad samskaras
will automatically come up and good samskaras will remain dormant. If we sit with a truthful person,
samskaras or truthfulness will automatically come up. A human being is not entirely bound by samskaras,
otherwise it would be useless to try to attain enlightenment.
Baba Hari Dass, 120
You might say that, according to the common belief, a man is reborn according to his thoughts at the time
of his death. How, then, can this belief be reconciled to the theory that the rebirth is caused by the
unfulfilled desires to be fulfilled in the next life? ...The ideas and the thoughts which come at the time of
the death of a man are responsible for his next life. But, at the same time, the Vedanta asserts that at the
time of death only those thoughts and desires come to mind, which were upper most during the life of the
man.
Swami Rama Tirtha, 265
So long as Prana pulls up and Apana pulls down the life-forces there is continuity of life. But the moment
either of these forces becomes weaker, there is an exit of the life-force. If the Apana gives way then Jiva
will pass out of the body through either the head or the nose or the ear or the mouth. If the Prana gives
way then it will pass out of the body through the anus.
Swami Sivananda (2), 199
Amrita: If all death is the same, regardless of how one dies, why did Bhisma wait for sixteen days on his
bed of arrows for the auspicious hour to die?
When a man dies he carries with him the permanent Linga Sarira, which is made up of 5 Jnana Indriyas, 5
Karma Indriyas, 5 Pranas, mind, Buddhi, Chitta, and Ahamkara and the changing Karmasraya (receptacle
of works), the actions of the soul, which determines the formation of the next life.
Swami Sivananda (2), 87
Q. Is the Buddhist view, that there is no continuous entity answering to the ideas of the individual soul,
correct or not? Is this consistent with the Hindu notion of a reincarnating ego? Is the soul a continuous
entity that reincarnates again and again, according to Hindu doctrine, or is it a mere mass of mental
tendencies--samskaras?
A. The real Self is continuous and unaffected. The reincarnating ego belongs to the lower plane, namely,
thought. It is transcended by Self-realization.
Reincarnations are due to a spurious offshoot. Therefore they are denied by the Buddhists. The present
state of ignorance is due to the identification of consciousness [chit] with the insentient [jada] body.
Ramana Maharshi, 195
But it must be distinctly understood that it is no soul which comes and goes, but only the thinking mind of
the individual, which makes it appear to do so. On whatever plane the mind happens to act, it creates a
body for itself; in the physical world a physical body and in the dream world a dream body that becomes
wet with dream rain and sick with dream disease. After the death of the physical body...soon it becomes
active again in a new world and a new body--the astral--till it assumes another body in what is called a
"rebirth."
Ramana Maharshi, 197
There are two states for man -- the state in this world, and the state in the next; there is also a third state,
the state intermediate between these two, which can be likened to dream. While in the intermediate state,
and man experiences both the other states, that in this world and that in the next; and the manner thereof
is as follows: When he dies, he lives only in the subtle body, on which are left the impressions of his past
deeds, and of these impressions he is aware, illumined as they are by the pure light of the Self. Thus it is
that in the intermediate state he experiences the first state, or that of life in the world. Again, while in the
intermediate state, he foresees both the evils and the blessings that will yet come to him, as these are
determined by his conduct, good or bad, upon the earth, and by the character in which this conduct has
resulted. Thus it is that in the intermediate state he experiences the second state, or that of life in the
world to come.
In the intermediate state there are no real chariots, nor horses, nor roads; but by the light of the Self he
creates chariots and horses and roads. There are no real blessings, nor joys, nor pleasures; but he creates
blessings and joys and pleasures. There are no real ponds, nor lakes, nor rivers; but he creates ponds and
lakes and rivers. He is the creator of all these out of the impression left by his past deeds.
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (Prabhavananda), 105
So those who know this, and those who in the forest meditate on faith as austerity (or with faith and
austerity) go to light and from light to day, from day to the bright half of the month (of the waxing moon),
from the bright half of the month to those six months during which the sun moves northward.
From these months to the year, from the year to the sun, from the sun to the moon, from the moon to the
lightning. There, there is a person who is non-human. He leads them on to Brahma. This is the path
leading to the gods.
Chandogya Upanisad (Radhakrishnan), V.9.1-2
Now, the self is the bridge, the (separating) boundary for keeping these worlds apart. Over that bridge day
and night do not cross, nor old age nor death, nor sorrow, nor well-doing nor ill-doing. All evils turn back
from it for the Brahma-world is freed from evil.
Therefore, verily, on crossing that bridge, if one is blind he becomes no longer blind, if wounded he
becomes no longer wounded, if afflicted he becomes no longer afflicted. Therefore, verily, on crossing
that bridge, night appears even as day for that Brahma-world is ever-illumined.
Chandogya Upanisad (Radhakrishnan), VIII.4.1-3
Now as for these arteries (channels) of the heart, they consist of a fine substance which is reddish-brown,
white, blue, yellow, and red. Verily, the sun yonder is reddish-brown, he is white, he is blue, he is yellow,
he is red.
Even as a great extending highway runs between two villages, this one and that yonder, even so these
rays of the sun go to both these worlds, this one and that yonder. They start from the yonder sun and enter
into these arteries. They start from these arteries and enter into yonder sun...
But when thus he departs from this body, then he goes upwards by these very rays or he goes up with the
thought of aum. As his mind is failing, he goes to the sun. That, verily, is the gateway of the world, an
entering in for the knowers a shutting out for the non-knowers.
On this there is this verse.
A hundred and one are the arteries of the heart, one of them leads up to the crown of the head. Going
upward through that, one becomes immortal: the others serve for going in various other directions, for
going in various other directions.
A hundred and one are the arteries of the heart; one of them leads up to the crown of the head. Going
upward through that, one becomes immortal; the others serve for going to various other directions.
Katha Upanisad (Radhakrishnan), II.3.16
It is necessary that the subtle forces and the manas which contains the consciousness of the dying man
should come out of the top of the head through a fissure called Brahma's hole, which plays a great part in
Asian anatomy.
If the human being disengages himself thus, says the tradition, he retains a clear consciousness of his
state, and, above all, at a given moment (twenty to twenty-five minutes after apparent death), experience
the ecstatic state which is an absolute reproduction of the samadhi of the yogi, a state which permits him
to realize his union with the divine. This is an opportunity open to every human being who dies, but
unfortunately very few become aware of this possibility.
J. Marques Riviere, 107
Then Raikva asked thus: Venerable Sir, How and by what means does this self which is a mass of
intelligence after leaving its seat and moving upward have its exit? To him he replied. In the center of the
heart is a red mass of flesh. In it is the white lotus called the dahara which has bloomed like a red lotus
with its petals spread in different directions. In the middle of it is an ocean. In the middle of the ocean is a
sheath. In it are four nadis called Rama, Arama, Iccha and Apunarbhava. Of these, Rama leads (the
practitioner of righteousness) through righteousness to the world of righteousness. Arama leads (the
practitioner of unrighteousness) through unrighteousness to the world of the unrighteous. Through Iccha
one attains whatever object of desire one recalls. Through Apunarbhava one breaks through the sheath.
Having broken through the sheath one breaks through the shell of the crust (skull). Having broken
through the skull, he breaks through the earth element. Having broken through the earth element he
breaks through water. Having broken through water, he breaks through light. Having broken through
light, he breaks through air. Having broken through air, he breaks through ether. Having broken through
ether he breaks through mind. Having broken through mind, he breaks through the subtle elements.
Having broken through the subtle elements, he breaks through the mahat tattva. Having broken through
the mahat tattva he breaks through the Unmanifested. Having broken through the Unmanifested, he
breaks through the imperishable. Having broken through the imperishable, he breaks through Death. Then
Death becomes one with the Supreme. In the Supreme there is neither existence nor non-existence nor
existence and non-existence. This is the doctrine leading to liberation. This is the doctrine of the Veda.
This is the doctrine of the Veda.
Subala Upanisad (Radhakrishnan), XI.1
But those who practice austerity and faith in the forest, the tranquil knowers who live the life of a
mendicant, depart freed from sin, through the door of the sun to where dwells the immortal, imperishable
person.
Mundaka Upanisad (Radhakrishnan), I.2.5-10
Having entered on this path of the gods, he comes to the world of Agni, then to the world of Vayu, then to
the world of Varuna, then to the world of Indra, then to the world of Praja-pati, then to the world of
Brahma. This brahma-world, verily, has the lake Ara, the moments yestiha, the river Vijara, the tree Ilya,
the city Salajya, the abode Aparajita, the two doorkeepers Indra and Praja-pati, the hall Vibhu, the throne
Vicaksana, the couch Amitaujas, the beloved Mansi and her counterpart Caksusi, both of whom taking
flowers, verily, weave the worlds, the mothers, the nurses, the nymphs, and the rivers. To it (to such a
world) he who knows this comes. To him Brahma runs (advances towards), and says, "It is on account of
my glory, verily, he has reached the river, Ageless, He, verily, will not grow old."
8:12-13 He who closes the doors of the senses, confines the mind within the heart, draws the prana into
the head, and engages in the practice of yoga, uttering Om, the single syllable denoting Brahman, and
meditates on Me -- he who so departs, leaving the body, attains the Supreme Goal.
8:14 I am easy of access to that ever steadfast yogi who, O Partha, constantly meditates on Me and gives
no thought to anything else.
8:15 Having come to Me, these high-souled men are no more subject to rebirth, which is transitory and
the abode of pain; for they have reached the highest perfection.
Bhagavad Gita
Whosoever performs works, makes offerings when these (tongues) are shining and at the proper time,
these (offerings) in the form of the rays of the sun lead him to that (world) where the one lord of the gods
abides.
The radiant offerings invite him with the words, "come, come," and carry the sacrificer by the rays of the
sun, honoring him and saluting him with pleasing words: "This is your holy world of Brahma won
through good deeds."
Unsteady, verily, are these boats of the eighteen sacrificial forms, which are said to be inferior karma.
The deluded who delight in this as leading to good, fall again into old age and death.
Abiding in the midst of ignorance, wise in their own esteem, thinking themselves to be learned, fools,
afflicted with troubles, go about like blind men led by one who is himself blind.
The immature, living manifoldly in ignorance, think "we have accomplished our aim." Since those who
perform rituals do not understand (the truth) because of attachment, therefore they sink down, wretched,
when their worlds (i.e. the fruits of their merits) are exhausted.
These deluded me, regarding sacrifices and works of merits as most important, do not know any other
good. having enjoyed in the high place of heaven won by good deeds, they enter again this world or a still
lower one.
Mundaka Upanisad (Radhakrishnan), I.2.5-10
Then he said, those who, verily, depart from this world, they all, in truth, go to the moon. In the earlier
(bright half), it (the moon) thrives on their breathing spirits, in the latter (dark) half, it causes them to be
born (again). The moon, verily, is the door of the world of heaven. Whoever answers it (properly), him it
sets free (to go to the higher worlds). But whoever answers it not, him having become rain, it rains down
here. Either as a worm, or as an insect or as a fish or as a bird, or as a lion, or as a boar, or as a snake, or
as a tiger, or as a person or as some other in this or that condition he is born again according to his deeds,
according to his knowledge; when he comes thither, he asks him; who are you? He should answer. From
the far-shining, O ye Seasons, the seed was gathered, produced from the fifteenfold from the home of the
fathers (the ancestors) sent me in a man as an agent and with a man as an agent, placed me in a mother.
So was I born, being born in the twelfth or thirteenth month united to a father of twelve or thirteen
months; for the knowledge of this was I, for the knowledge of the opposite of this. Therefore, O ye
seasons, bring me on to immortality by this truth, by this austerity I am (like) a season. I am connected
with the seasons. Who are you? (the sage asks again) "I am you," he replies. Then he sets him free.
Kausitaki-Brahmana Upanisad (Radhakrishnan), I.2
A man...goes to the next world bearing in his mind the subtle impressions of his deeds; and after reaping
there the harvest of his deeds, he returns again to this world of action.
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (Prabhavananda), 109
...the scriptures do not proclaim any competence for acquiring fresh karma in heaven or hell or among
lower creatures...
When a man who has done meritorious actions dies, he becomes a Deva or god and dwells in heaven. He
enjoys various kinds of pleasures in heaven. During his period of stay in heaven he does not do any fresh
karma or action. Dwelling in heaven is simply a reward for his past good actions. In the Deva form he
does not perform any Karma at all.
Swami Sivananda (2), 115
But the disadvantages of heaven are great indeed. In the celestial region, a person, while enjoying the
fruits of acts he had already performed, cannot perform any other new act. He must enjoy the fruits of the
former life till they are completely exhausted. Further he is liable to fall after he has completely
exhausted his merit. These are the disadvantages of heaven. The consciousness of those about to fall is
stupefied. It is also agitated by emotions. As the garlands of those about to fall fade away, fear possesses
their hearts.
Swami Sivananda (2), 117
Heaven is a plane of enjoyment only... He cannot attain Moksha or final emancipation from there. He will
have to come down to this earth again for trying for his salvation.
Swami Sivananda (2), 152
Nay, even if a man ignorant of the kingdom of the Self should do virtuous deeds on earth, he would not
arrive through them at everlasting life; for the effects of his deeds would finally be exhausted. Wherefore
let him know the kingdom of the Self, and that alone.
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (Prabhavananda), 81
8:16 The dwellers in the worlds, from the realm of Brahma downward, are subject to rebirth, O Arjuna;
but for those who reach Me, O son of Kunti, there is no further return to embodiment.
Bhagavad Gita
After the death of men who have done bad deeds, another solid body, designed to be tortured, is born out
of the five elements. When (the living souls) here have suffered with that body the tortures given by
Yama, (the bodies) dissolve, each part distributed into its own basic element.
The Laws of Manu, 12:16-17
But the Yoga asserts that retribution is in exact proportion to the crimes and the faults committed, and
that what we have to do with is the exhaustion of a mental force generated by the human being in his
ignorance.
J. Marques Riviere, 109
Ten years of the earth plane is equal to ten days for the Devas in heaven
Swami Sivananda (2), 198
Q. Theosophy speaks of fifty to 10,000 year intervals between death and rebirth. Why is this so?
A. There is no relation between the standard of measurements of one state of consciousness and another.
All such measurements are hypothetical. It is true that some individuals take more time and some less.
Ramana Maharshi, 197
Having dwelt there as long as there is residue (of good works) they return by that course by which they
came to space, from space into air; and after having become the air they become the smoke; after having
become smoke, they become mist.
After having become mist they become cloud, after having become cloud he rains down. They are born
here as rice and barley, herbs and trees, as sesamum plants and beans. From thence the release becomes
extremely difficult for whoever eats the food and sows the seed he becomes like unto him.
Those whose conduct here has been good will quickly attain a good birth (literally womb), the birth of a
Brahmin, the birth of a Ksatriya, or the birth of a Vaisya. But those whose conduct here has been evil,
will quickly attain an evil birth, the birth of a dog, the birth of a hog or the birth of a Candala.
Chandogya Upanisad (Radhakrishnan), V.10.5-7
The moon, verily, is the door of the world of heaven. Whoever answers it (properly), him it sets free (to
go to the higher worlds). But whoever answers it not, him having become rain, it rains down here. Either
as a worm, or as an insect or as a fish or as a bird, or as a lion, or as a boar, or as a snake, or as a tiger, or
as a person or as some other in this or that condition he is born again according to his deeds, according to
his knowledge; when he comes thither, he asks him; who are you? He should answer. From the far-
shining, O ye Seasons, the seed was gathered, produced from the fifteenfold from the home of the fathers
(the ancestors) sent me in a man as an agent and with a man as an agent, placed me in a mother. So was I
born, being born in the twelfth or thirteenth month united to a father of twelve or thirteen months; for the
knowledge of this was I, for the knowledge of the opposite of this. Therefore, O ye seasons, bring me on
to immortality by this truth, by this austerity I am (like) a season. I am connected with the seasons. Who
are you? (the sage asks again) "I am you," he replies. Then he sets him free.
Kausitaki-Brahmana Upanisad (Radhakrishnan), I.2
Eventually it is brought back to earth with the rain, enters the food chain through absorption by a plant,
and finally becomes associated with the seed of a male who has eaten the fruit of that plant. The act of
intercourse thus "introduces" this soul into the womb where its new body will grow, and the entire
process begins once more. The force of karma operates here in determining which potential father will eat
which plant, thus guaranteeing the soul a set of circumstances appropriate to its prior experiences.
Padmanabh S. Jaini, in O'Flaherty, 220-221
...Jaina texts make absolutely no mention whatsoever of how a soul actually enters the body of the
mother-to-be. It is said only that the soul moves into a new embryo within a single moment (samaya)after
the death of the previous body.
Padmanabh S. Jaini, in O'Flaherty, 221
...the Vaibhasika theory that the transmigratory consciousness (referred to as gandharva) enters the vagina
at the moment of intercourse and is thus trapped therein.
Padmanabh S. Jaini, in O'Flaherty, 221-222
It is said in the Garbha Upanishad that when the fetus in the womb is seven months old, the soul receives
knowledge of its past and future. It knows who it has been and will be. When the movie of its lives passes
before its mind, it becomes frightened and begins moving restlessly here and there...Now, God has been
watching all this, and when at last the soul starts crying out and taking refuge in Him, God bestows His
grace upon it. He gives it instruction in so'ham, which means "That am I" and which is the same as the
hamsa mantra...However, when nine months are over, the fetus is forcibly ejected from its mother's
womb. The moment it comes out, it starts crying...It forgets the awareness of so'ham and cries ko ham,
which means "Who am I?"
Swami Muktananda (1), 28-30
The Jiva can travel through space. It need not necessarily have any physical support like raindrops, earth
etc. It finds entrance into this physical world through raindrops, that is all. There are seven planes which
are interpenetrating one subtler than the other. Heaven is one of them...
Till the seventh month the Jiva remains in an unmanifested state. "The soul enters the foetus in the
seventh month" -- this does not mean that it newly enters. It only means that it begins to manifest in the
seventh month when the formation of the physical body completes.
Swami Sivananda (2), 196-197
He who spreads happiness will always get such favorable circumstances as can bring him happiness. He
who spreads pain to others will, doubtless, get such unfavorable circumstances, according to the law of
Nature as can bring him misery and pain.
Swami Sivananda (1), 83-84
If you develop a carbuncle or get a fracture of the leg or arm, this is obviously due to some bad Karma in
your previous birth. The bad Karma was the cause and the carbuncle or fracture is the effect... There is no
such thing as a chance or accident.
Swami Sivananda (1), 92-93
If the virtuous man who has not done any evil act in this birth suffers, this is due to some wrong act that
he may have committed in his previous birth. He will have his compensation in his next birth. If the
wicked man who daily does many evil actions apparently enjoys in this birth, this is due to some good
Karma he must have done in his previous birth. he will have compensation in his next birth. He will
suffer in the next birth. The law of compensation is inexorable and relentless.
Swami Sivananda (1), 102
"Suppose a man is fond of game shooting and kills one hundred animals in his life," said the Great
Master. "This heavy debt can only be cleared by all those animals taking the life of the hunter in their
turn. So he will require one hundred lives to adjust this account created by one bad habit only."
Great Master, 99
Penance
An evil-doer is freed from his evil by declaring (the act), by remorse, by inner heat, by recitation (of the
Veda), and, in extremity, by giving gifts.
The Laws of Manu, 11:228
Prayaschitta is done for the destruction of sin. In the Code of Manu you will find various kinds of
Prayaschitta for the destruction of various kinds of sins... Prayaschitta is of two kinds, viz., 1.
Extraordinary (Asadharana) and 2. Ordinary (Sadharana). Extraordinary penances are those which are
prescribed in the Code of Manu for the destruction of particular sins... If anyone repents and openly
admits his minor offenses, the sin is washed away. In doing Prayaschitta the offender actually suffers, he
punishes himself by long fasting and other ordeals as described above. Action and reaction are equal and
opposite.
Swami Sivananda (1), 208-209
Some souls enter a womb for embodiment; others enter stationary objects according to their deeds and
according to their thoughts.
Katha Upanisad (Radhakrishnan), II.2.8
12:3 The action that arises in the mind-and-heart, speech, and the body bears good and bad fruits; the
highest, lowest, and middle level of men's existences come from their actions.
12:9 A man becomes a stationary object as a result of the faults that are the effects of past actions of the
body, a bird or wild animal from those of speech, and a member of one of the lowest castes from those of
the mind-and-heart.
The Laws of Manu
12:35 When someone who has done, or is doing, or is going to do an act feels ashamed, a learned man
should realize that the whole act has the mark of the quality of darkness.
12:36 When someone hopes to achieve great fame in this world by a certain act, but does not feel sorry if
it fails, that should be known as (an act with the quality of energy).
12:37 But when he longs with his all to know something and is not ashamed when he does it, and his self
is satisfied by it, that (act) has the mark of the quality of lucidity.
12:38 Pleasure is the mark of darkness, profit is said to be the mark of energy, and religion the mark of
lucidity, and each is better than the one before it.
12:39 Now I will tell you, in a nutshell and in order, the transmigrations in this whole (universe) that one
achieves by each of these qualities:
12:40 People of lucidity become gods, people of energy become humans, and people of darkness always
become animals; this is the three-fold level of existence.
The Laws of Manu
[Note: The above version translates sattva as lucidity, rajas as energy, and tamas as darkness.]
12:81 But a man reaps the appropriate fruit of any act in a body that has the qualities of the frame of mind
in which he committed that act.
The Laws of Manu
14:14 If the embodied soul meets with death when sattva prevails, it goes to the spotless realms of those
who know the Highest.
14:15 If the embodied soul meets with death when rajas prevails, it is born among those who are attached
to action; and if it meets with death when tamas prevails, it is born in the wombs of creatures devoid of
reason.
Bhagavad Gita
"Remember, Nature is not extravagant. It gives that form to an individual in which he can best satisfy his
unfulfilled desires and cravings. If in human form, such desires and cravings are created that befit an
animal, the next birth must be degradation to an animal form."
Great Master, 149
Effects on Character
According as one acts, according as one behaves, so does he become. The doer of good becomes good,
the doer of evil becomes evil. One becomes virtuous by good action, bad by bad action.
Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad IV.4.6 (Radhakrishnan)
Actions produce Samskaras or impressions or potencies. The impressions coalesce together through
repetition and form habits. Tendencies develop into habits and character. The sum-total of the tendencies
of a man is his character. Karmas manufacture character and character manufactures will. If the character
is pure and strong, the will also will be pure and strong, and vice versa.
Swami Sivananda (1), 108
"Sir, how long does it take a Satsangi to reach Sach Khand?" Rai Sahib asked.
"There is no general rule for that. It depends on one's love, faith and devotion, one's zeal, and the effort
one makes," the Great Master replied. "The Lord's grace also plays an important part, and so does one's
karma...But one thing is certain. That is, after Initiation there is no going down below the scale of
mankind, and it takes no more than four births for an Initiate to reach Sach Khand."
"...People ask you to pray for their cows, horses, pet dogs, cats, and squirrels. Now, what does this
signify? They know--at least the Satsangis do--that all pain and disease come as the result of a jiva's past
karmas and this debt of karmas must be paid. Kal must have his pound of flesh if not from the jiva
concerned than from the Master who takes upon Himself the burden of that jiva."
Great Master, 137
Our happiness was suddenly marred after a fortnight by the Great Master falling seriously ill--in fact very
dangerously ill... The Great Master had initiated a large number of Nepalese and other people from the
surrounding hilly tracts, who throughout their lives had been killing goats and other animals for sacrifices
and also for eating. Before this also, after initiating people, the Great Master would always be slightly ill.
But this time it was much worse than usual, and it made us all very nervous and apprehensive. On the
tenth day his condition grew very serious. The doctors lost all hope. This state lasted for three days and
even after that we spent many sleepless nights and days. But during all this time the Great Master's
joviality and good humor remained the same...Soon after this he recovered very speedily.
Great Master, 130-131
Destruction by Meditation
4:6 Of the various types of mind, only that which is purified by samadhi is freed from all latent
impressions of karma and from all cravings.
Patanjali
4:11 Our subconscious tendencies depend upon cause and effect. They have their basis in the mind, and
they are stimulated by the sense-objects. If all these are removed, the tendencies are destroyed.
Patanjali
Q. The present experiences are the result of past karma. If we know the mistakes committed before, we
can rectify them.
A. If one mistake is rectified there still remains the whole sanchita karma from former births which is
going to give you innumerable births. So that is not the procedure. The more you prune a plant, the more
vigorously it grows. The more you rectify your karma, the more it accumulates. Find the root of karma
and cut it off.
Ramana Maharshi, 219
A. ...In other words, complete effacement of the ego is necessary to conquer destiny, whether you achieve
this effacement through self-inquiry or through bhakti marga.
Ramana Maharshi, 223
Q. Can people wipe out the consequences of their bad actions by doing mantras or japa or will they
necessarily have to experience them?
A. If the feeling "I am doing japa" is not there, the bad actions committed by a man will not stick to him.
If the feeling "I am doing the japa" is there, the consequences of bad actions will persist.
18:60 Bound by your own karma, O son of Kunti, which is born of your very nature, what through
delusion you seek not to do, you shall do even against your will.
Bhagavad Gita
Those who know that what is to be experienced by them in this life is only what is already destined in
their prarabdha will never feel perturbed about what is to be experienced. Know that all one's experiences
will be thrust upon one whether one wills them or not.
Ramana Maharshi, 221
Q....can it be that all the details of his life, down to the minutest, have already been determined? Now, for
instance, I put this fan that is in my hand down on the floor here. Can it be that it was already decided that
on such and such a day, at such and such an hour, I should move the fan like this and put it down here?
A. Certainly. Whatever this body is to do and whatever experiences it is to pass through was already
decided when it came into existence.
Q. What becomes then of man's freedom and responsibility for his actions?
A. The only freedom man has is to strive for and acquire the jnana which will enable him not to identify
himself with the body. The body will go through the actions rendered inevitable by prarabdha and a man
is free either to identify himself with the body and be attached to the fruits of its actions, or to be detached
from it and be a mere witness of its activities.
Q. So free will is a myth?
A. Free will holds the field with association to individuality. As long as individuality lasts there is free
will. All the scriptures are based on this fact and they advise directing the free will in the right channel.
Ramana Maharshi, 222-223
Karma Yoga
A man acts according to the desires to which he clings. After death he goes to the next world bearing in
his mind the subtle impressions of his deeds; and after reaping there the harvest of his deeds, he returns
again to this world of action. Thus he who has desires continues subject to rebirth.
But he in whom desire is stilled suffers no rebirth. After death, having attained to the highest, desiring
only the Self, he goes to no other world. Realizing Brahman, he becomes Brahman.
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (Prabhavananda), 109
3:9 The world becomes bound by action unless it be done for the sake of Sacrifice. Therefore, O son of
Kunti, give up attachment and do your work for the sake of the Lord.
4:14 Action does not defile Me; nor do I long for its fruit. He who knows Me thus is not bound by his
action.
3:19 Therefore always do without attachment the work you have to do; for a man who does his work
without attachment attains the Supreme.
3:30 Surrendering yourself to Me, with mind intent on the Self, freeing yourself from longing and
selfishness, fight -- unperturbed by grief.
3:35 Better one's own dharma, though imperfectly performed, than the dharma of another well performed.
Better is death in the doing of one's own dharma: the dharma of another is fraught with peril.
9:27 Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer in sacrifice, whatever you give away, and
whatever you parties in the form of austerities, O son of Kunti -- do it as an offering to Me.
9:28 Thus you shall be free from the bondage of actions, which bear good or evil results. With your mind
firmly set on the yoga of renunciation, you shall become free and come to Me.
Bhagavad Gita
"We perform actions with certain desires. These desires forge chains for our future bondage. So the only
way to get released is to perform desireless actions. Do your duties in a detached manner without any
thought for the result of your actions. Take everything, your body, mind, possessions, children, etc. as a
trust from the Lord, and look upon yourself only as a trustee, as His agent. All responsibility for the acts
of the agent are transferred to the principal. The agent is not liable for any loss or profit. Trouble comes
only when we try to misappropriate the trust property."
4:7 The karma of the yogi is neither white nor black. The karma of others is of three kinds: white, black,
or mixed.
Patanjali
The karma of ordinary people is either black (bad,) white (good), or mixed. But when a man has attained
samadhi his acts will cease to produce karmas for him, of any kind (see I,18). Nevertheless, since the
illumined yogi continues to act, karmas are being produced, and there may even be some admixture of
evil in them. Who gets these karmas? Shankara gives an interesting answer to this question. He says that
those who love the illumined yogi will receive the good effects of his karmas, while those who hate him
will receive the bad.
Such is not the case, however, with an avatar or divine incarnation. An avatar, such as Krishna, Christ, or
Ramakrishna, is an actual incarnation of the Godhead. He enters the phenomenal world by an act of grace
and divine free will, not because he is forced to do so by the karmas of previous births. He comes into the
world without karmas, and his acts in this world produce none. Therefore, the effects of his karmas
cannot be received by others, either for good or for ill.
In Hindu religious literature, there are numerous stories of men who hated God or an avatar...And, in all
these instances, these men attained liberation...It is best to love an avatar, but it is better to hate him
passionately than to be indifferent to him...Rajas is spiritually higher than Tamas. By way of rajas, we
reach sattwa...
Q. If I am not the body why am I responsible for the consequences of my good and bad actions?
A. If you are not the body and do not have the idea "I am the doer," the consequences of your good or bad
actions will not affect you. Why do you say about the actions the body performs "I do this" or "I did
that"? As long as you identify yourself with the body like that you are affected by the consequences of the
actions, that is to say, while you identify with the body you accumulate good and bad karma.
Ramana Maharshi, 219
...Prarabdha karma is of three categories, ichha, anichha and parechha [personally desired, without desire,
and due to others' desire]. For the one who has realized the Self, there is no ichha-prarabdha but the two
others, anichha and parechha, remain. Whatever a jnani does is for others only. If there are things to be
done by him for others, he does them but the results do not affect him. Whatever be the actions that such
people do, there is no punya and no papa attached to them. ...So long as one identifies oneself with the
body, all this is difficult to understand. That is why it is sometimes said in response to such questions,
"The body of the jnani will continue till the force of prarabdha works itself out, and after the prarabdha is
exhausted it will drop off." An illustration made use of in this connection is that of an arrow already
discharged which will continue to advance and strike its target. But the truth is that the jnani has
transcended all karmas, including the prarabdha karma, and he is not bound by the body or its karmas.
Ramana Maharshi, 220-221
When a meditator whose Kundalini is awakened becomes stabilized in the sahasrar, piercing all his
chakras, he dies right then -- he dies to the state of bondage. He knows no other death. He continues to
live in his physical form only on account of his prarabdha.
Swami Muktananda (3), 156
The yogi can enter a dead body and make it get up and move, even while he himself is working in another
body. Or he can enter a living body, and hold that man's mind and organs in check, and for the time being
act through the body of that man.
Swami Vivekananda, quoted in commentary to Patanjali, 133
Collective Karma
The collective Karma of a race or a nation is as much a fact in Nature as an individual one. The same
principles underlying the Karmic laws apply, without much wide difference, to national and collective
Karma. Nations rise and fall, empires flourish and are dismembered on the same ground. The wise heads
in a nation should not neglect the dominating sway of this law.
In the midst of a national calamity it is well to remember that nothing can come to us which we have not
deserved. We may not be able to see the immediate cause of the catastrophe, but it does not follow that it
took place without sufficient cause.
Dr. M. H. Syed, quoted in Swami Sivananda (1), 89
Whose Samskaras?
Both Ramana Maharshi and Swami Muktananda refer to prarabdha karma (that karma that reaches
fruition in our current life) as being of three types: iccha (desired), aniccha (undesired), and pariccha
(desired by others). Unfortunately, I haven't found the scriptural source for this doctrine, but we'll take it
as a given.
If you relate these categories to samskaras, my guess would be that
• Iccha karma corresponds to your own samskaras from your own unfulfilled desires
• Aniccha karma corresponds to your own "inverted" samskaras that resulted from your
own actions
• Pariccha karma corresponds to the samskaras of other people
This list raises the interesting question: In actions involving two or more people, is the later repayment
caused by the samskaras of the person who committed the original action, by those of the person who
received the action, or by neither? The following examples explore this question.
Physical Anomalies
Are we to suppose, for example, that Basil's karma caused the cable to fray and break sooner than it
otherwise would have? In this case, a scientist observing the cable minutely would see an anomalous
acceleration in the fraying process; one that could not be explained by known physical laws.
If fact, considering the omnipresent role of karma in human life, human beings would be everywhere
surrounded by disruptions of normal physical causality.
If this is true, then why have not these disruptions been noticed? Following are some possibilities:
Complexity
Psychological Anomalies
Another alternative is to suppose that karma is fulfilled entirely through the subconscious motivations of
individual people. For example, we can postulate that the girder was going to fall that day for good
physical reasons, regardless of whether or not Basil was standing beneath it. Some aspect of Basil's
psyche drove him to organize his day so that he would be walking underneath the girder at the exact
moment it fell
Note that this theory depends on some notable peculiarities of Basil's subconscious, which we'll call Sub-
Basil:
• Sub-Basil is omniscient or highly psychic. It has knowledge of things that cannot have
been gained through ordinary sensory input.
• Sub-Basil does not directly share its knowledge with Basil, even when his health and
happiness are greatly at stake.
• Sub-Basil forces Basil to do things for reasons different than the reasons Basil thinks he
is doing them. Basil thought he was just taking a shortcut to the office. Sub-Basil planted this
suggestion insidiously to hide the real reason for the trip, which was to lead Basil to his death.
• Sub-Basil is interested in administering justice to Basil, regardless of whether the
process is pleasant to Basil himself.
Psycho-Physical Anomalies
In many ways, the characteristics of Sub-Basil are not that different from the way many modern
psychologists describe the subconscious. In fact, it is probably my modern background that makes me
interpret the theory of karma in these terms.
However, one sticking point for the modern psychologist is the claim of psychic omniscience for Sub-
Basil. The question of where such an omniscient faculty resides in the human brain, or if external, how it
communicates its information to the human brain, remains unanswered. This is allowable in part because
the details of brain function are far from understood at this time anyway.
Paranormal Knowledge
To begin with, it is important to recognize that knowledge through paranormal sources is a recognized
part of the traditional theory of yoga. Thus, Patanjali says:
The knowledge which is gained from inference and the study of scriptures is knowledge of one
kind. But the knowledge which is gained from samadhi is of a much higher order. It goes beyond
inferences and scriptures.
Patanjali I:49
Patanjali gives a long list of the types of knowledge that a yogi can gain through meditation on particular
objects.
The knowledge-status of such paranormal perceptions is slightly different from those experiences we call
"divine revelations" in the West. Revelations seem to be given at unpredictable intervals to people whom
God has chosen for His own inscrutable reasons. In yoga, by contrast, psychic powers are considered a
normal side-effect of advanced states of meditation, and at least in principle, are attainable by anyone.
Second-Hand Knowledge
The upshot is that, for ordinary people, the belief in reincarnation is based on trust in others who are
thought to have superior access to spiritual knowledge. Those others might be ancient authors of the
scriptures or the modern sages whose experiences confirm the scriptures.
For most ordinary people, then, the question becomes one of: Why should I trust the assertions made by
these gurus? What reason do I have to believe that their teachings are correct? Following are some of the
criteria we can apply when evaluating the doctrines of those who speak from revelation or psychic
perception:
• Consistency and Explanatory Power
• Correctness of Related Teachings
• Intuitive "Rightness"
Explanatory Power
What does the doctrine of karma and rebirth explain? Some of the candidates are:
• Why bad things sometimes happen to good people, and why good things sometimes
happen to bad people.
• Why we are born with instinctive types of knowledge.
• Why some people are born with extraordinary talents.
• Why we experience "deja vu."
• Why yogis have visions of heavens, hells, etc.
• Why some people have memories of past births.
However, all of these items are explainable in other ways, viz.:
• Why bad things sometimes happen to good people, and why good things sometimes
happen to bad people.
Explanation: Because there is no personal God and there is no moral order to the universe.
(There are other explanations for this dilemma, but the no-God explanation is obviously the
simplest one. Other theories tend to require a good deal of theological tap-dancing.)
• Why we are born with instinctive types of knowledge.
Explanation: The theory of evolution, proposed by Darwin and refined by later scientists, is
taken by many to be an adequate explanation of this point.
Caste System
The first sticking point for a Westerner studying Hinduism is generally the caste system. Thus, in one of
the most famous of the Vedic hymns, we read:
When they divided the Purusa, into how many parts did they arrange him? What was his mouth?
What his two arms? What are his thighs and feet called? The brahmin was his mouth, his two
arms were made the rajanya (warrior), his two thighs the vaisya (trader and agriculturalist), from
his feet the sudra (servile class) was born.
— Purusa Suktam, quoted in Radhakrishan and Moore, A Sourcebook in Indian Philosophy
The Bhagavad Gita goes further to say:
Better is one's own dharma, though imperfectly performed, than the dharma of another well
performed. Better is death in the doing of one's own dharma: the dharma of another is fraught
with peril.
— Bhagavad Gita 3:35
The above is in the context of Krishna urging Arjuna to do battle because it is his duty as a kshatriya
(member of the warrior caste). A remarkable point is that Krishna appears to acknowledge that one's
innate talents can differ from one's caste, but that being true to one's caste is nevertheless more important.
Surely such values would lead to a fantastic waste of talent.
The following quote perhaps gives us an idea of what Krishna meant by "fraught with peril." This passage
from the Laws of Manu gives the karmic punishments of those who stray from the duties of each of the
four castes: priest, ruler (or warrior), commoner, and servant.
But those classes who slip away from their own innate activities when they are not in extremity
pass through evil transmigrations and then become the menial servants of aliens. A priest who
has slipped from his own duty becomes a "comet-mouth" ghost who eats vomit; a ruler becomes
a "false-stinking" ghost who eats impure things and corpses. A commoner who has slipped from
his duty becomes a ghost "who sees by an eye in his anus", eating pus; a servant becomes a
"moth-eater" ghost.
— The Laws of Manu, 12:70-72
The Laws of Manu also states that sudras must not read the Vedas. On the other hand, a correspondent of
mine named Vishal Agarwal informs me that the Yajurveda, White or Vajasneyi Samhita, contains the
following verse, which clearly mentions instructing sudras about the Word:
I do hereby address this salutary speech for the benefit of humanity—for the Brahmanas, the
Kshatriyas, the Shudras, the Vaishyas, for them who are your own and the foreignor alike.
—Yajurveda XXVI.2
Sacred Animals
The Hindu attitude of reverence toward cows is of course well known. In this connection we find:
He should never emit excrement or urine while facing the wind or looking at fire, a priest, the
sun, water, or cows.
The Laws of Manu, 4:48
The punishment in hell for those who break this rule is picturesque:
Crows rip out the intestines through the anus of men who urinate in front of cows, brahmins, the
sun or fire.
Vamana Purana, in Classical Hindu Mythology, p. 51
The Hindu regard for cobras is a little less well-known. In this regard, we find
The cobra is responsible for many deaths each year in India, where it is regarded with religious
awe and seldom killed. (Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia)
There is nothing logically inconsistent with supposing cows or cobras to be sacred. Hinduism is far from
being the only religion to regard selected animals as specially sacred or specially unclean. However,
when you compare various religions, you find that they do not agree about which animals are special. A
Hindu incurs sin by eating beef, because cows are divine. Meanwhile, a Jew or Moslem can eat cows
because they're really nothing special, but eating pork is bad because pigs are unclean. In Ancient Egypt,
each county regarded a different animal as sacred, and one easy way to insult your neighbors was to eat
their sacred animal. In other words, if there is any objective truth underlying most world religions, the
rules about sacred and unclean animals are not part of that truth.
Status of Widows
Like the caste system, the status of widows in Hinduism is an element that seems at first to be morally
indefensible, but which becomes more complicated and difficult to define when you pursue it further. To
begin with some of the worst examples, we find the following in The Laws of Manu:
A virtuous wife should never do anything displeasing to the husband who took her hand in
marriage, when he is alive or dead, if she longs for her husband's world (after death) . . . She
should be long-suffering until death, self-restrained, and chaste, striving (to fulfill) the
unsurpassed duty of women who have one husband . . . But a woman who violates her (vow to
her dead) husband because she is greedy for progeny is the object of reproach here on earth and
loses the world beyond.
The Laws of Manu, 5:156,158,161
The policy with regard to widowers, however, is quite different:
When he has given the (sacrificial) fires in the final ritual to the wife who has died before him,
he may marry again and kindle the fires again. He must never neglect the five (great) sacrifices,
but should take a wife and live in his house, in accordance with this rule, for the second part of
his life.
The Laws of Manu, 5:168-169
In discussing the punishments meted out in hell for various crimes, the Puranas yield the following
insight:
Also those who remarry widows... must eat ants and worms.
Vamana Purana, in Classical Hindu Mythology, p. 51
World Cycles
Refer to "The Hindu Theory of World Cycles" elsewhere in this study.
Geography
The Puranic description of the geography of Earth is full of fabulous elements. For example,
Earth, composed of seven continents, together with the oceans extends 500,000,000 leagues
across. Holy Jambudvipa lies in the middle of all the continents; in its center is said to be lofty
Mt. Meru, bright as gold. Its height is 84,000 leagues, and it extends 16,000 leagues below the
earth; its width at the top is 32,000 leagues, and its diameter at the base is 16,000 leagues.
Kurma Purana, in Classical Hindu Mythology, p. 52
In this quote, "league" is presumably a translation of a Sanskrit term at least loosely approximating the
usual English meaning of "league" (about three miles). At this rate, Mt. Meru is something like 252,000
miles high. The tallest actual mountain on Earth is Mt. Everest, at about 29,000 ft, or less than six miles.
Intuitive "Rightness"
Although we have been speaking in a fairly analytical way up to this point, it is well to bear in mind that,
in daily life, most of our knowledge is not arrived at through analysis. It is thought by many that the
intuitive faculties of the human mind can draw on much more information than we can assess
analytically, and certainly there are a lot of remarkable anecdotes about the power of dreams and intuition
in problem-solving. Thus, it seems worthwhile to take a look at the intuitive appeal of karma.
Continuing Existence
Although there is much to indicate that we each exist only for a short lifespan, humans have long denied
that this is so. Intellectually one can grasp the fact that we are bound to die; but the idea remains an
abstraction, hard to relate to in a personal sense. It seems that some part of us does not really expect to die
and does not really believe that we can simply cease to be.
Similarly, for some the experiences of deja vu can be very strong. People visiting regions far from home
may have a sudden sense of "homecoming" or some other intense emotional response that has no obvious
cause. Even when simply reading of ancient cultures, one may feel an abiding sympathy with some and
an instant antipathy to others, as if we have been biased by previous experiences long lost to conscious
memory.
Related to deja vu is the sense of predestination and hidden causalities in life. When we reflect on the
little incidents that first bring us into contact with the person we wind up marrying, we may find it hard to
believe that it all happened by chance. When we go on a trek to the Gobi desert and unexpectedly run into
an old friend from high school, we are surprised by the coincidence, and understandably curious to know
what hidden force has brought us back together.
All these feelings accord well with the doctrine of karma and reincarnation.
Symmetry
Symmetry in general also has a powerful aesthetic appeal, and when described in simplistic terms, the
theory of karma sounds nicely symmetrical. Thus, karma is sometimes summarized by the statement that
"every action has an equal and opposite reaction," just as in Newtonian physics.
Unfortunately, this perception of symmetry is based largely on an incomplete knowledge of karma
theory. The fact that people have differing natures makes it unlikely that people will return to you exactly
the deeds that you did to them. Thus you are faced with reprisals that come through other people or that
take a form quite different from the original act (for example, your repayment might be a bodily disease).
Simplicity
A striking feature of the theory of karma is that it seems to become more complex and baroque the more
closely you look at it, with areas that are obscure and mechanisms that in some cases seem redundant.
Our discussion of "Problems in the Theory of Karma" yielded many examples of these complexities and
obscurities, such as :
• The fact that repayments for our actions occur both in future human births and in the
various heavens and hells between births. There is no clear rationale for why both mechanisms
should be necessary or how results are divided between them. Further, there are hints that the
division was not always understood in the way it is now. Thus, the Upanisads state that we are
not reborn on Earth until our karmas are exhausted in the heavens and hells; Sankaracarya is
then hard put to it to explain how there can be leftover karma to determine our worldly
existence.
• The existence of the Law of Desire and the Law of Action, which appear to work in
opposite ways. To resolve this difficulty, I had to make assumptions that are only loosely
supported by scripture.
• The question of whose karma causes a recompense to occur--my own, or that of the
person whose action repays me.
Scientific Study
And as far as the plausibility of rebirth is concerned, physical sciences and their theories are
irrelevant. The methodology of physical sciences is made to measure for the investigation of
physical energy. If there is more to a human being than physical energy as the philosophy of
rebirth certainly believes there is, science cannot be the last word on what is or is not possible
where human beings are concerned.
--Pratima Bowes, in Pappu, 186
Does the doctrine of karma assert that there is "more to a human being than physical energy"? At first
glance, it would certainly appear so. After all, after death the physical body remains inert and eventually
decomposes, while according to karma theory, the individual person has left the body and moved on to
other realms.
However, what we are dealing with here is not simply a distinction between two realms of existence,
material and spiritual, or between a body and a soul. The situation is more complex than that, for
Hinduism recognizes several different layers or envelopes in the human constitution. There is the gross
physical body, the subtle body, the causal body, and according to some teachers, the supracausal body as
well. (Riviere 28-32; Muktananda (2), 86; Woodroffe (2), 54-58). Each of these bodies is more subtle
than the preceding one. We experience the waking state in the gross body, the dream state in the subtle
body, the dreamless sleep state in the causal body, and the turiya (enlightened) state in the supracausal
body. The latter three (subtle, causal, and supracausal) all survive bodily death.
Now, the important point is that these various layers of the human constitution apparently all interact.
Thus, physical disciplines such as yoga postures can be undertaken to purify channels and chakras that
really are components of the subtle body; and meditation which is a subtle practice is nevertheless
supposed to be good for physical health. So what you have is a more complex form of the traditional
mind-body problem of Western philosophy: if the mind is not physical, how does it interact with the
physical brain and body? Or if the subtle, causal, and supracausal bodies are not physical, how can they
interact with the physical body?
Conclusion
My study of karma and rebirth has yielded no certain results. However, in general the more closely I have
looked into the topic, the less satisfied I have become with the whole theory. I have found that:
• The scriptures that expound the doctrine also assert other doctrines that we know to be
untrue.
• The theory is described in traditional sources in a very incomplete manner, and the
more you think about how the system could actually work, the more complex it becomes.
Buddhist Cosmology
Metaphysical speculation is discouraged . . . but in practice Buddhists do share a set of common views
about the universe — views derived from three sources. They are: (1) the cosmological and metaphysical
beliefs of the Buddha's contemporaries; (2) relevant passages gleaned from the Buddha's own teaching
and that of later generations of monks; (3) intuitions of the nature of reality which dawn on adepts during
meditation. The following notions have almost the force of dogmas, though no Buddhist is compelled to
subscribe to them.
It is held that the universe is not the work of a supreme god— indeed, not a creation at all. Rather it is a
delusion, part and parcel of the delusion which makes each being suppose that he has a separate ego, a
genuine self-contained entity. This conviction leads to self-love, which serves in turn to solidify the ego-
consciousness and immure us in the virtually endless round of birth and death known as Samsara. Thus
we are governed by Avidya—primordial ignorance or delusion. . .
Clinging to the false notion of its permanency, the wretched ego suffers successive rounds of death and
rebirth, aeon upon aeon, during which it fashions its own rewards and retributions; every thought, word,
and action produces karma, a force which brings results exactly consonant with their causes. Whatever
tends to diminish the ego-illusion loosens the grip of karma; whatever strengthens it draws tight the
bonds. None of the infinite number of states in Samsare is altogether satisfactory; progress lies not in
trying by good works to achieve rebirth, say, among the gods; even the gods have dissatisfactions to put
up with and, when their good karma is exhausted, they will have to descend to more painful states. The
remedy lies in freeing oneself from Samsara forever by destroying the last shreds of egohood.
— John Blofeld, The Tantric Mysticism of Tibet
What Reincarnates?
The profane generally imagine that Buddhists believe in the reincarnation of the soul and even in
metempsychosis. This is erroneous. Buddhism teaches that the energy produced by the mental and
physical activities of a being brings about the apparition of new mental and physical phenomena, when
once this being has been dissolved by death.
There exist a number of subtle theories upon this subject and the Tibetan mystics seem to have attained a
deeper insight into the question than most other Buddhists.
However, in Tibet as elsewhere, the views of the philosophers are only understood by the elite. The
masses, although they profess the orthodox creed: "all aggregates are impermanent; no 'ego' exists in the
person, nor in anything," remain attached to the more simple belief in an undefined entity traveling from
world to world, assuming various forms.
— Alexandra David-Neel, Magic and Mystery in Tibet
Though the notion of an eternal soul free from the laws of transience and absence of own-being is
rejected, it is recognized that the bundle of characteristics which constitutes a man's personality does
persist—though of course in changing form—from life to life and aeon to aeon. Just as the middle-aged
man has gradually developed out of the boy he has ceased to be, so has each of us developed from the
being we used to be in our previous existence, bringing with us into this life many of the relatively long-
term characteristics which determine our present circumstances and personality. Thus the Buddhist
equivalent of the Christian concept of the soul is a continuum that changes from moment to moment, life
to life, until the ego is negated and Nirvana won.
— John Blofeld, The Tantric Mysticism of Tibet
Bodhisattvas
The term "Bodhisattva" may also mean an Enlightened Being . . . For Mahayanists it has the special sense
of Enlightened Beings who renounce Nirvana's bliss in order to remain in the universe and aid the
liberation of their fellow beings. Pious Mahayanists often take a solemn vow to seek Bodhisattvahood,
thus dedicating themselves long in advance of their Enlightenment to the service of others; Theravadins,
however, deny that such a choice is possible, holding that once the karmic accretions have been burnt up
with the false ego, nothing remains to be reborn as a Bodhisattva or in any other form.
— John Blofeld, The Tantric Mysticism of Tibet
Heaven
But those who have realized God in this lifetime do not linger in the grave:
If one has made the world die within him while in this world itself, then as soon as he is placed
in the grave and the mourners walk seven steps away, he is brought back to life immediately,
and that moment becomes his day of reckoning. The inquiry is immediate. When they wake him
in the grave, his light and beauty and the treasure he acquired from Allah will be revealed. he is
given eternal life and is taken immediately from the grave. (p. 158)
When that day comes, such a person will no longer be in the grave. He will be in heaven,
because any place he is will be heaven. He has no death. Wherever he lives, it will be a palace.
On the earth he lives in a palace, and in heaven he lives in a palace. When he is buried, he is in a
palace. He has a palace on the outside and one on the inside. (p. 117)
Mankind is divided into seventy-three groups. Out of these only one group goes directly to
barzakhul-'alam without having to face any questions. These are people who have no
attachment. They have died while still in the world, while still alive. (p. 172)
The glossary to the book describes barzakhul-'alam as
That sphere or realm between this world and the hereafter . . . That place is in the heart (qalb).
The soul resides there and is concealed . . . The place where the soul is contained in the body
between the time of death and the time it is raised from the grave is known as barzakhul-'alam.
(p. 240)
We create our heaven through our own actions:
Hell
Bawa had some extremely bad news for us in the hell department:
I did see hell with my own eyes. When I was flying over, I could see each one of the seven hells.
Finally, I saw the fire of hell. I also saw the different beings who had fallen into hell. They no
longer looked like human beings, but had the appearance of dogs and various other animals, with
their tongues and noses either missing or crushed . . . Even now, when I think of it, I shudder
with fear.
There is such a thing called hell. However, it is the hell that exists within us that God shows us
on the outside. If we have overcome it here, then we will overcome it there. Those who have not
overcome it here in this world cannot overcome it there. There is no hell there that is not present
here. Only God can save us. (p. 105)
Then he ['Izra'il] motioned me to go further and look, and I saw that the number of people going
to heaven were few and the number of people going to hell were many. (p. 101)
Addendum
I have received some correspondence from devotees of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen that I would like to cite
here.
In the first place, Bawa seems to have had a complex relationship with Hinduism. He is said to have
deeply studied Hindu scriptures such as the Puranas and given talks upon them. However, he could be
critical of many Hindu gurus, including Muktananda, though Bawa once was invited to visit and gave a
teaching at the latter's ashram.
Another correspondent places a good perspective on the deeper spiritual issues in Bawa's teaching. I
quote his message with permission:
I just read your piece on Bawa Muhaiyaddeen where you review the To Die Before Death book.
I had the privilege of writing the introduction to the book so I feel qualified to comment on your
work. You are questing for the one good point, the placeless location where each joins with the
All, and that questing has allowed you to benefit from reading Bawa's material. The evidence is
your insight that Bawa remains interested in the transforming
power of experience of the Real rather than the coherence of theology or religion. It is to open
the heart, the doorway beyond egoism, that should motivate the reader of his work. If that
motive is there, then each work will demonstrate a nuanced power to cause the remembrance to
happen. He said different things to different people. If one understands that the mind trap is like
a labyrinth and the Guru's words the map out, it stands to reason that he would give a slightly
different map to different people. Yet, certain principles remain:
1. Only God is real.
2. Wisdom is required to know God.
3. Divine Qualities must be developed to lay the foundation for wisdom to dawn.
4. We are here together to learn, thus always be a student.
So much more to say, but may I suggest that you would enjoy Bawa's Book of God's Love very
much,
Love,
Ahamed Muhaiyaddeen
More Information
To Die Before Death: The Sufi Way of Life, by M. R. Bawa
Muhaiyaddeen
Many of Bawa's books are available through Amazon.com, including the book from which
most of the quotations in this article were taken.
The Illuminated Prayer, by Coleman Barks and Michael Green.
Maha Yugas
The smallest cycle is called a maha yuga. A maha yuga is 4,320,000 human years. Each maha yuga is
subdivided into the following four ages, whose lengths follow a ratio of 4:3:2:1:
Satya Yuga (also called Krita Yuga)
This first age is 1,728,000 human years. Also known as the Golden Age or age of Truth. The
qualities of this age are: virtue reigns supreme; human stature is 21 cubits; lifespan is a lakh of years,
and death occurs only when willed.
Treta Yuga
This second age is 1,296,000 human years. Also known as the Silver Age. The qualities of this age
are: the climate is three quarters virtue and one quarter sin; human stature is 14 cubits; lifespan is
10,000 years.
Dvapara Yuga
This third age is 864,000 human years. Also known as the Bronze Age. The qualities of this age are:
the climate is one half virtue and one half sin; lifespan is 1,000 years.
Kali Yuga
The fourth and last age is 432,000 human years. Also known as the Iron Age. This is the age in
which we are presently living. The qualities of this age are: the climate is one quarter virtue and three
quarters sin; human stature is 3.5 cubits; lifespan is 100 or 120 years.
Toward the end of a Kali Yuga, various calamities cause a good deal of destruction. Baba Hari Dass
states that creation disappears at the end of a Maha Yuga and remains in seed form inside Brahma.
However, other sources do not suggest anything so drastic; it is possible that Hari Dass was really
thinking of the end of Brahma's daytime or Brahma's life when he wrote this description.
Brahma Years
A year of Brahma is composed of 360 day/night cycles of Brahma, or 720 kalpas, or 8.64 billion human
years.
Brahma Life
The lifespan of Brahma is 100 Brahma years, or 72,000 kalpas, or 311.04 trillion human years.
At the end of the life of Brahma, all worlds are completely dissolved (mahapralaya). No one is
reincarnated from these worlds ever again.
Manvantaras
Another cycle that overlaps the others is that of manvantaras. Each kalpa is reigned over by a succession
of 14 Manus, and the reign of each Manu is called a manvantara. A single manvantara is approximately
71 maha yugas.
Coomaraswamy states: "Each Manvantara is followed by a Deluge, which destroys the existings
continents and swallows up all living beings, except the few who are preserved for the repeopling of the
earth."
Sri Yukteswar
In the introduction to his book The Holy Science, Sri Yukteswar describes an interesting variant of the
Hindu theory of ages. According to him,
...the sun, with its planets and their moons, takes some star for its dual and revolves around it in
about 24,000 years of our earth-a celestial phenomenon which causes the backward movement
of the equinoctial points around the zodiac. The sun also has another motion by which it
revolves round a grand center called Vishnunabhi, which is the seat of the creative power,
Brahma, the universal magnetism. Brahma regulates dharma, the mental virtue of the internal
world.
Yukteswar goes on to explain that the sun's 24,000 year revolution around its companion star takes the
sun progressively closer, and then progressively further away from the mystic center Vishnunabhi. In his
system, dharma increases as we approach Vishnunabhi and decreases as we draw away from it. The cycle
of yugas takes place twice in each 24,000 year revolution. As the sun recedes from Vishnunabhi, the ages
pass in the usual order: Satya, Treta, Dvapara, Kali. As the sun approaches Vishnunabhi, the ages pass in
the opposite order: Kali, Dvapara, Treta, Satya.
The length of the yugas is: Satya Yuga, 4800 years; Treta Yuga, 3600 years; Dwapara Yuga, 2400 years;
and Kali Yuga, 1200 years. The yugas during the approach to Vishnunabhi he calls 'ascending' yugas;
those during the retreat from Vishnunabhi he calls 'descending' yugas. The most recent ascending Kali
Yuga began in 499 A.D. Since 1599 A.D. we have been in the ascending Dwapara Yuga, with consequent
advances in human culture and knowledge.
Yukteswar goes on to say that the Hindu almanacs, which correspond to the traditional Puranic model
described previously, are in error. The error crept in during the dark years of Kali Yuga when scholars
misinterpreted the scriptures. Regarding the conventional view that we are currently in Kali Yuga,
Yukteswar says flatly that it is not true.
Yukteswar's model thus differs from the traditional in the following respects:
• A cycle of four yugas takes 24,000 years instead of 4,320,000.
• The yugas alternate between ascending and descending trends instead of always
proceeding in the same order. This alternation becomes necessary once you posit that the ages
result from our changing distance from Vishnunabhi, rather than a deliberate divine intervention
at the end of Kali Yuga.
• The greater cycles like kalpas, manvantars, and lifespan of Brahma go unmentioned.
Paramahansa Yogananda
Paramahansa Yogananda was a disciple of Sri Yukteswar and one of the best-known Hindu teachers ever
to visit the West. He wrote the perrenial bestseller Autobiography of a Yogi.
In the latter book, Yogananda describes and endorses Yukteswar's theory of world cycles. However, in a
footnote, Yogananda adds the following:
The Hindu scriptures place the present world-age as occurring within the Kali Yuga of a much
longer universal cycle than the simple 24,000 year ecquinoctial cycle with which Sri Yukteswar
was concerned. The universal cycle of the scriptures of 4,300,560,000 years in extent, and
measures out a Day of Creation. This vast figure is based on the relationship between the length
of the solar year and a multiple of pi (3.1416, the ratio of the circumference to the diameter of a
circle).
The life span for a whole universe, according to the ancient seers, is 314,159,000,000,000 solar
years, or "One Age of Brahma."
David Frawley
David Frawley is a Westerner who has become a scholar of Vedic scriptures, Jyotish (Indian astrology),
and Ayurveda (Indian medicine). He has written a number of books on various aspects of Vedic culture
and wisdom.
Like Yogananda, Frawley adopts Yukteswar's 24,000 year maha yuga and views it as a smaller cycle
within the larger maha yugas described traditionally. Frawley likewise introduces some twists in the way
he interprets both the smaller and the larger cycle.
With regard to the 24,000 year cycle, Frawley begins like Yukteswar by ascribing the cycle to the sun's
revolution around a companion star. Frawley says that this revolution varies the amount of cosmic light
we receive from the galactic center. Thus, he seems to have identified Yukteswar's Vishnunabhi with the
center of the galaxy, which Yukteswar never explicitly does. Still, it is a plausible interpretation.
Unfortunately, a 24,000 year orbit would make only a negligible difference in our sun's distance from the
galactic center, which is at a vast remove from us. Presumably because of this, Frawley abandons
Yukteswar's notion that it is our varying distance from Vishnunabhi that causes the cycles of yugas.
Instead, he posits that our companion star is a dark star, and when it passes between us and Vishnunabhi,
tends to eclipse some of the cosmic light from that source, thus causing the decline into the less inspired
ages like Kali Yuga.
In describing the greater cycle, Frawley states
The greater cycle consists of 8,640,000 years, and what it corresponds to astronomically is not
now known. In this cycle we are in a dark or Iron age, whose duration is 432,000 years. Exactly
when it began or when it will end are not clearly known either. (Some begin it at 3102 B.C. but
this is just to confuse it with the beginning of the Bronze age or the dark half of the lesser cycle.)
In this passage, Frawley gives the traditional length for Kali yuga while giving double the traditional
length for the cycle as a whole. Why? Presumably he considers that the greater cycle follows the same
pattern as the lesser, with both ascending and descending yugas. Thus a full cycle would consist of Satya-
Treta-Dvapara-Kali-Kali-Dvapara-Treta-Satya. Presumably also the whole cycle follows as a result of our
overall revolution around some object more distant than the "companion star" or "dark star."
Cyclic Catastrophes
A number of periodic catastrophes are described in the Hindu scriptures:
• At the end of each Kali Yuga, some type of destruction takes place. The most recent
instance would be a bit under 4 million years ago. Other instances should be found every
4,320,000 years before that.
• At the end of each manvantara, a great flood wipes out most life on earth. The most
recent occurrence would be 120,534,000 years ago. Other instances would occur at intervals of
306,720,000 years.
• At the end of the kalpa, all life on earth is destroyed. The most recent instance would be
2,267,574,000 years ago.
• At the end of a life of Brahma, the entire universe and all its heavens and hells are
destroyed. The current universe would have come into existence more than 150 billion years
ago.
Interestingly, current scientific research does support the existence of occasional mass extinctions in
earth's history. These include the following major extinctions:
• At the Ordovician/Silurian transition, about 425 million years ago.
• Near the Devonian/Carboniferous transition, about 345 million years ago.
• At the Permian/Triassic transition, about 230 million years ago.
• At the Triassic/Jurassic transition, about 180 million years ago.
• At the Cretaceous/Tertiary transition, about 63 million years ago.
Additionally, some scientists have identified what they believe is a cycle of periodic mass extinctions
occurring every 26 million years.
Unfortunately, none of these specified dates corresponds to the catastrophes called for by the Hindu
theory.
Current scientific estimates of the age of the universe range from 7 billion to 20 billion years. By contrast,
the Hindu theory calls for a universe more than 150 billion years old.
Downward Trend
By far the greater divergence from modern science is in the overall pattern of the Hindu theory. The
Hindu and scientific patterns differ in the following ways:
• The main pattern in the Hindu theory is one of cycles.
• In the Hindu theory, life follows a downward trend most of the time, from the finest age
to the worst. At the end of the worst age, Kali Yuga, divine intervention rapidly destroys the
wicked and restores everything to its pristine state.
• In the Hindu theory, humanity is always present. The concept of evolution is confined
to spiritual evolution; that is, each soul takes life in a series of lower to higher animal forms
before finally incarnating as a human being.
By contrast, the fossil record of life on earth indicates that life began with very simple forms and later
developed more complex organisms. The advent of humanity appears to be an extremely recent
development when compared to the history of life on earth. Humanity itself does not appear to have
existed long enough to have participated in the vast cycles of ages posited by Hindu theory.
Conclusion
There is no scientific support for the Hindu theory of world cycles. Further, current scientific theory
contradicts Hindu theory in many respects. It is best to begin by acknowledging this truth, as such an
acknowledgement can form the basis for interesting discussions of the different ways of knowing that
underly the more specific differences. Such, however, must be the substance of another paper.
References
Traditional Puranic Chronology
(Anonymous), Introduction to Kashmir Shaivism. S.Y.D.A. Foundation, Oakland, California, 1977. See
pp. 69-70.
Ananda K. Coomaraswamy & Sister Nivedita, Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists. Dover Publications,
Inc., New York, 1967. See pp. 392-395.
Baba Hari Dass, Silence Speaks. Sri Rama Foundation, Santa Cruz, California, 1977. See pp. 79-80.
Cornelia Dimmitt & J.A.B. van Buitenen, Classical Hindu Mythology: A Reader in the Sanskrit Puranas.
Rupa & Co., Calcutta etc., 1983. See pp. 19-24, 36-43.
Swami Vishnu Tirtha Maharaj, Devatma Shakti (Kundalini): Divine Power. Pub. Swami Shivom Tirth,
1962. See pp. 29-30.
W. J. Wilkins, Hindu Mythology. Rupa & Co., Calcutta etc., 1983. See pp. 353-360.