There are many events in life which may not matter but they start the bizarre flurry of thoughts after. One such event made me wonder if our actions really have a cosmic purpose or are they just mere coincidences. Is it true that the universe has already made plans for us or are we changing the course with our karma? Are we scribbling our own destiny or are we destined already? What role does karma play?
Some religions believe that our actions are stored as karma score and this very score decides happenings in this birth. The final tally ends with reincarnation, meaning “entering the flesh again“. The gradation of body form depends on one’s karmic retribution and ranges from algae to human. Like I’m pretty sure, Osama bin laden has come back as a parasite on your toilet brush.
Digging up, I found there are a few religions which do not believe in reincarnation. What if I belong to one such religion and I don’t believe in karma, will it help me escape bad karma? Or is it just like judicial system where if one is found guilty, punishment will be imposed, irrespective of one’s belief in law and order. Also, during calculation of karma score, are past sins taken into account? Or can i simply get away with it? Are scores settled in this very birth itself or are they carried?
Amidst the daze I had another skeptical thought, since reincarnation is rebirth of a soul in a new body, so the number of souls should remain constant, which in turn would automatically restrict the population, but mysteriously population has been increasing at a high rate. This leaves us with the mother of all questions, Is reincarnation really taking place?
I read an article, where it said that reincarnation is happening, and just like a star breaks up into several pieces and crowds the space; something similar is happening here too. Souls are breaking up and forming other souls. Though it did prove the increment, I am left with more serious questions. Say, if one’s soul is actually broken into two pieces, is it possible that a part of it comes back as a DOG, and the other as a Human?
Also since we are on the subject of soul, I couldn’t help but wonder about soul-mate. What if that one soul-mate’s “soul” was broken up into pieces, does that mean I’ve options? options to fall in love more than once? Is that why people fall “in and out” of love for more than once these days? This explains divorces and break ups at least. Another thing, what if my soul itself was broken up into pieces, is that why we sometimes meet total strangers who replicate our habits, thoughts or at times even words?
Not convinced by what I call the “star-smithereens theorem”, I moved on to another article supporting reincarnation. It mentioned that the number of “souls” in after-life(the dead world) was much greater than the number of souls who were actually residing in a body, and now those “after-life souls” are reborn in bodies. Hence, the increase in population. It also said, the time between the birth and rebirth is not constant explaining the fluctuation in population. Apparently, this added more curiosity. Well to begin with, who counted the after-life population and how? How the heck did he manage to get the time period? Is the unit of time same as here?
Some other philosophies said living things like trees and millions of bacteria are now decreasing and they are turning into humans. I wonder, all of a sudden what did bacteria do to gain karma score and come back as a human? Then again, there were some philosophies which considered the whole universe and not just earth, so rebirth into other planets as aliens is a possibility.
Caught between the confusing-karmic-queries and the reality, I am not denying reincarnation; it’s actually fascinating, may be a little tough to understand, but I do believe in the thing it is based on: good deeds or good karma. I do not know whether good deeds are paid back, but they surely do not harm either.