CHAPTER III.
RE-BIRTH.
THE evolution spoken of in the last chapter is carried on by the Jiva passing from body to body, the bodies improving as his powers unfold; this is called re-birth, re-incarnation, or transmigration. The word re-incarnation means literally taking flesh again, coming again into a physical body. The word transmigration means passing from one place to another passing into a new body.Either word can be used equally well.
Let us see what is the process described by these words. The Jiva, we have seen, is a portion of Brahman, "a portion of myself, a Jiva," says Shri Krshna. He contains the powers of Brahman, is Brahman. "Thou art That," the Shruti teaches. But yet there is a difference in Space and Time, as the seed is different from the tree.
The tree produces a seed, giving it its own nature; it drops the seed on the ground, and the seed slowly grows, putting out its hidden powers, until it becomes a tree like its parent; it can become nothing else, because its nature is the same as that of the parent. And so with the Jiva; like a seed he is dropped into matter by Ishvara, he slowly grows, putting out his hidden powers, until he becomes Ishvara; he can become nothing else, because his nature is the same as that of his Parent, Ishvara.
ज्ञाज्ञौ द्वावजावीशनीशावजा ह्येका भोक्तृभोग्यार्थयुक्ता।
अनन्तश्चात्मा विश्वरूपो ह्यकर्ता त्रयं यदा विन्दते ब्रह्ममेतत्॥ श्वेयेताश्वतरोप १/९
Ishvara is said to be wise and powerful, Jiva to be unwise and powerless;*ज्ञाज्ञौ (ज्ञः ईश्वरः अज्ञः जीवः) सर्वज्ञ ईश्वर और अल्पज्ञ जीव दोनों अजन्मा हैं। (* Shvetashvatarop-1/ 9.) but the Jiva grows into wisdom and power, and that growth is what is called Evolution. We have seen that the Jiva begins in the mineral kingdom his long pilgrimage through the physical world. At that stage he is unconscious of the outer world. His attention is called to it, its existence is forced on him, by violent shocks and blows from outside ; earthquakes, volcanoes, land-slips, the rolling of the furious surf, these and many other violent agencies arouse the Jiva's attention to the fact that he is not alone, that there is some-thing outside him.
If the student reads the accounts of the very early periods of the earth's history, he will be struck by the number of big catastrophies ; all these were necessary to awaken the Jivas.After a very very long time, the Jivas were sufficiently awake to be fit for softer and more flexible bodies than minerals, and they went on into plants, while others, coming out later from Ishvara, took their places in the mineral kingdom.
The Jivas in the plants now became more conscious of the outer world, feeling the warm sun, and the gentle breezes, and the life-giving rain. As they grew older and more sensitive, they passed into the longer-lived plants, such as shrubs and trees, and in these more of their inner powers unfolded, till they were ready to go on into the animal kingdom, while the younger ones came on into the vegetable kingdom, and others still younger into the minerals.\
And now in the animal kingdom the Jivas got on much faster, and by hunting for food, and fighting and outwitting each other, the senses and the simple mental powers were brought out and strengthened ; until at last the animal forms were no longer good enough for them, and they needed the human in order that their evolution should not stop.
The student may ask :- What makes the forms evolve to suit the Jiva ? The Jiva's own efforts. He wants to look oat through the wall of matter that encloses him ; he tries to see, and his out-wardgoing energy works on the wall, and slowly, very very slowly, evolves an eye ; and so with all the senses and all the organs. The senses are pierced from within outwards, we are taught. The Jiva shapes them all to suit himself, so that he can use his powers in the outer world, and the Devas help him by giving him materials that are suited to the organ he wants to build.
When he is trying to see, Agni gives him some of his own fiery matter, which vibrates when touched by rays of light. When he wants to taste, Varuna gives him some of his own watery matter, which makes tasting possible. And so on. In this way he makes his bodies, and when he has shaped one as much as he can, and it is of no further use to him, he throws it away and makes another. He evolves faster and faster as he goes on, because his powers, as they work more freely, can bring about results much more quickly than in the earlier stages. This is the general process of evolution, and the succession has been told about as though it were unbroken, so that the student may grasp the main idea.
But, in nature, while the general stream is onwards, there are many little twists and turnings and runnings up into bye-ways. A Jiva may slip backwards for a time, stay a while in a stage that he has long left behind him. There is something he has not quite learned, some power he has not quite evolved, and he falls by this into a lower stage again as a boy at school, if he were idle, might be put back into a lower class. A Jiva which has reached the human stage may be attached to an animal, or to a plant, or, if he be very tamasic, even to a stone, till he has learned to use the human form better. Then he is like a man in prison, shut out from human society, and unable to use his human powers, for want of freedom.
But the Jiva is not to be tied for ever to the wheel of births and deaths. The ropes that tie him to this wheel are his desires. So long as he desires objects that belong to this earth, he must come back to this earth in order to possess and enjoy these objects. But when he ceases to desire these objects, then the ropes are broken, and he is free. He need not be born any more; he has reached liberation. He is then called a Mukta, a free Jiva.
Often Muktas remain in this world to help its progress, so that other Jivas may get free sooner than they otherwise would. We read about such Muktas in the Vedas and Puranas and the Itihasa; sometimes they are great Rishis or Kings, and sometimes they are quite simple people. But whatever they may be in outside appearance, they are pure and unselfish and calm, and live only to help others. They are content to labour for the good of the world, and they know that they are one with Ishvara.
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देहिनोऽस्मिन्यथा देहे कौमारं यौवनं जरा।
तथा देहान्तरप्राप्तिर्धीरस्तत्र न मुह्यति।।2.13।।
"As the dweller in the body experienceth, in the body, childhood, youth and old age, so passeth he on to another body. The steadfast one grieveth not thereat."
अन्तवन्त इमे देहा नित्यस्योक्ताः शरीरिणः।
अनाशिनोऽप्रमेयस्य तस्माद्युध्यस्व भारत।।2.18।।
य एनं वेत्ति हन्तारं यश्चैनं मन्यते हतम्।
उभौ तौ न विजानीतो नायं हन्ति न हन्यते।।2.19।।
न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचि
न्नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूयः।
अजो नित्यः शाश्वतोऽयं पुराणो
न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे।।2.20।।
वेदाविनाशिनं नित्यं य एनमजमव्ययम्।
कथं स पुरुषः पार्थ कं घातयति हन्ति कम्।।2.21।।
वासांसि जीर्णानि यथा विहाय
नवानि गृह्णाति नरोऽपराणि।
तथा शरीराणि विहाय जीर्णा
न्यन्यानि संयाति नवानि देही।।2.22।।
देही नित्यमवध्योऽयं देहे सर्वस्य भारत।
तस्मात्सर्वाणि भूतानि न त्वं शोचितुमर्हसि।।2.30।
"These bodies of the embodied One who is eternal, indestructible find boundless, are known as finite. Therefore fight, O Bharat .
"He who regardeth this as a slayer, and he who thinketh he is slain, both of them are ignorant.He slayeth not, nor is he slain. "He is not born, nor doth he die: nor, having been, ceaseth he any more to be; unborn, perpetual, eternal and ancient, he is not slain when the body is slaughtered.
"Who knoweth him indestructible, perpetual, unborn, undiminishing, how can that man slay, Partha, or cause to be slain ? "As a man, casting off worn-out garments, taketh new ones, so the dweller in the body, cast- ing off worn-out bodies, entereth into others that are new. "This dweller in the body of every one is ever invulnerable, Bharata. Therefore thou shouldst not grieve for any creature."
तद्यथा पेशस्कारी पेशसो मात्रामपादायान्यन्नवतरं कल्याणतरं रूपं तनुते । एवमेवायमात्मेदं शरीरं निहत्याविद्यां गमयित्वान्यन्नवतरं कल्याणतरं रूपं कुरुते । पित्र्यं वा गान्धर्वं वा दैवं वा प्राजापत्यं वा ब्राह्मं वान्येषां वा भूतानाम् ॥ बृह. ४,४.४ ॥
"As a goldsmith, having taken a piece of gold, maketh another form, new and more beautiful, so verily the Atma, having cast off this body and having put away Avidya, maketh another new and more beautiful form . "
ब्रह्मण्याधाय कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा करोति यः।
लिप्यते न स पापेन पद्मपत्रमिवाम्भसा।।5.10।।
कायेन मनसा बुद्ध्या केवलैरिन्द्रियैरपि।
योगिनः कर्म कुर्वन्ति सङ्गं त्यक्त्वाऽऽत्मशुद्धये।।5.11।।
युक्तः कर्मफलं त्यक्त्वा शान्तिमाप्नोति नैष्ठिकीम्।
अयुक्तः कामकारेण फले सक्तो निबध्यते।।5.12।।
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