After all, what is reincarnation? Do you believe in life after death? And in the possibility of returning in another body, with the mission of evolving as a human being? This is an almost infinite discussion and it gives a lot of cloth to sleeve. Between those who believe and those who do not, there are several arguments (pros and cons). But it is not today that this is discussed, and we are not far from a conclusion on whether or not it is true. Even because we will only really know when we die.
The history of reincarnation is as old as human existence itself. It is an age-old belief. Since the most remote antiquity, many civilizations have accepted the incarnation as a fact. At least 12 years ago – in the Stone Age –, it was customary to bury the dead in the fetal position, which led scholars to deduce that it was a preparation of bodies to enter a new life.
Reincarnation was seen differently among civilizations. In some, with the possibility of being reborn in other bodies; in others, only with the immortality of the soul.
India – the first reference
The oldest records of reincarnation come from the East. More precisely in India, around 1500 BC, having as a formal representation the final part of a set of traditional chants (the Vedas). According to these records, at the origin of every human being there is a spark of spiritual consciousness. The body dies, but not this essence, which has its new beginning as an ignorant being, with the soul covering matter in a transitory way and suffering successive rebirths, trials and deaths.
According to this concept, each life comes in the form of a being suited to what has been learned. If that soul has had an existence marked by negative and harmful actions towards other beings, karma is suffering. Charitable actions mean inner evolution. That is, evolution depends on the behavior of each individual. This evolutionary trajectory culminates in the definitive union with the spiritual world.
Egypt – eternal life alongside the gods
The ancient Egyptians kept texts in the coffins (coffins) extolling the qualities of the dead. This was a way of trying to convince the god of the beyond, Osiris, to allow them to reincarnate. But apparently, for the Egyptians, reincarnations were not infinite, their entire life cycles did not exceed 3 years.
According to Egyptian belief, after death, the soul of each individual went through three phases, which culminated in their perfect life in heaven (if they passed the tests). However, these phases were not properly related to reincarnation, in a new existence in a physical body. But the souls lived free to circulate anywhere, even being able to return to Earth (being invisible) and make use of the offerings made by friends and relatives. There are records that these souls could still transform into some birds, snakes, hybrid creatures (birds with a human head), lotus flower, among other creations. But these are voluntary metamorphoses, contrary to the concept of reincarnation for atonement and learning, as in the case of the law of karma.
Reincarnation and religions
For some religions, such as Buddhism and Hinduism, for example, reincarnation is a natural process. Among Christians, however, there is no belief in reincarnation (but in the resurrection of Christ. The resurrection is the return to the original body). Deserving souls go to paradise. Among evangelicals, there is also no possibility of reincarnation. Muslims believe that the soul waits for Allah's judgment to know whether to go to heaven or hell. For them, there is also no reincarnation. Judaism believes that the soul can survive, but does not clearly speak of life after death (some currents believe in reincarnation, others in resurrection).
In Candomblé, the concepts of heaven, hell and punishment do not exist. When dying, the person's spirit goes to another plane. If his destiny is not fulfilled, he may wander among the living, and may negatively interfere in the lives of mortals. For Umbanda, good spirits can become protectors, helping with earthly matters. The ones with little evolution can become disturbing. The issue of reincarnation is not evident for religions of African origin.
Spiritism is not necessarily a religion, but a doctrine. But he advocates reincarnation as a way to help with spiritual evolution. It is through various incarnations that the spirit has a chance to improve. Those who do good, evolve faster. For spiritualists, God is not responsible for goodness or badness. Man has free will to decide his nature.
The evolution
Reincarnation, in all religions and doctrines that defend it, is an opportunity for spirits to evolve to reach eternity. We learn from our mistakes, and “return” to the earthly world to repair the wrong we have done. If we are not able to act in this way, we will return until we can learn and evolve.
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The way we reincarnate is also related to our behavior in the previous life, according to some of these currents. If we had a harmful existence, we come back as increasingly inferior beings so that we can learn and learn.
We are in this world to learn. But we should not necessarily consider only that we can do this by reincarnating. Let us do our best in this life, which is the only one of which we are materially certain. Whether you believe in reincarnation or not, or even in eternal life and the possibility of living eternally in paradise, do good. Be polite, loving, patient, supportive, empathetic. Without thinking of spiritual or material reward. The teaching is this.
