Reincarnation and Karma: How They Really Work The Eastern Explanation of Our Past and Future Lives And the Causes for Good or Bad Experiences Stephen Knapp Dedicated to all who are searching for The real answers to Spiritual truth Copyright © 2005, by Stephen Knapp All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher, except for brief quotations. Other books by the author: 1. The Secret Teachings of the Vedas: The Eastern Answers to the Mysteries of Life 2. The Universal Path to Enlightenment 3. The Vedic Prophecies: A New Look into the Future 4. How the Universe was Created and Our Purpose In It 5. Toward World Peace: Seeing the Unity Between Us All 6. Facing Death: Welcoming the Afterlife 7. The Key to Real Happiness 8. Proof of Vedic Culture’s Global Existence 9. The Heart of Hinduism: The Eastern Path to Freedom, Enlightenment and Illumination 10. The Power of the Dharma: An Introduction to Hinduism and Vedic Culture 11. Vedic Culture: The Difference it can Make in Your Life 12. Reincarnation & Karma: How They Really Affect Us 13. The Eleventh Commandment: The Next Step for Social Spiritual Development 14. Seeing Spiritual India: A Guide to Temples, Holy Sites, Festivals and Traditions 15. Crimes Against India: And the Need to Protect its Ancient Vedic Tradition 16. Destined for Infinity, a spiritual adventure in the Himalayas 17. Yoga and Meditation: Their Real Purpose and How to Get Started 18. Avatars, Gods and Goddesses of Vedic Culture: Understanding the Characteristics, Powers and Positions of the Hindu Divinities 19. The Soul: Understanding Our Real Identity 20. Prayers, Mantras and Gayatris: A Collection for Insights, Protection, Spiritual Growth, and Many Other Blessings 21. Krishna Deities and Their Miracles: How the Images of Lord Krishna Interact with Their Devotees 22. Defending Vedic Dharma: Tackling the Issues to Make a Difference You can find out more about Stephen Knapp and his books, free ebooks, research, and numerous articles and photos, along with many other spiritual resources at: http://www.Stephen-Knapp.com Contents PREFACE: THE PURPOSE OF THIS BOOK CHAPTER ONE: REINCARNATION RECOGNIZED THROUGHOUT THE WORLD CHAPTER TWO: REINCARNATION IN CHRISTIANITY CHAPTER THREE: THE FIRST THING YOU NEED TO KNOW IS YOU ARE NOT YOUR BODY The Vedic Description of the Soul CHAPTER FOUR: WHAT IS REINCARNATION AND KARMA What is Karma * How We Reincarnate * Approaching Death * How the Soul Leaves the Body * Rebirth * The Reason for Reincarnation * Conclusion CHAPTER FIVE: THE LAWS OF KARMA AND DESTINY CHAPTER SIX: WHY IT MAY SEEM THAT BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE CHAPTER SEVEN: FREE WILL AND CHOICE CHAPTER EIGHT: THE MODES OF NATURE What the Modes of Nature Are * How the Modes of Nature Work * Where the Modes Take Us into Our Next Life CHAPTER NINE: HOW KARMA AFFECTS US THROUGH LIFE, DEATH AND BEYOND Life in the Womb and Birth of the Living Entity * Old Age and Death * The Afterlife--If One Goes to Hell * Descriptions of Hell * When One Goes to Heaven CHAPTER TEN: KARMA OF THE NATION CHAPTER ELEVEN: AVOIDING BAD KARMA Truthfulness * Austerity * Inner and Outer Cleanliness * Showing Mercy CHAPTER TWELVE: BECOMING FREE FROM KARMA AND REINCARNATION Becoming Free from the Modes of Nature * Getting Free of Karma * How Spiritual Activities Nullify Karma * Conclusion--Preparing for the Next Life NOTES REFERENCES ABOUT THE AUTHOR PREFACE The Purpose of This Book Everybody knows something about reincarnation and karma, but many people do not understand how it really works or the complexities that can be involved. Most of the information that is being accepted today is based on the teachings that we find in the ancient Vedic texts of India. These are the oldest spiritual writings on the planet and contain the original explanations on karma and the transmigration of the eternal soul. Therefore, after we look at some of the background of the worldview on reincarnation and the many other cultures and people who have accepted and know of it, we will explain what exactly is reincarnation and karma and how they mix together to determine one’s destiny as it is explained in the Vedic literature. We will use numerous references and quotes from these texts to supply the necessary insights into this deep subject so that it becomes easily comprehensible. After all these years, these references still supply the clearest understanding of the topic. Mix this with contemporary research on past life memories and experiences and you have a full explanation of how we are all affected by it. CHAPTER ONE Reincarnation Recognized Throughout the World Most everyone knows something about the principle of reincarnation, yet how many people truly understand it? Or how many people believe it? Nonetheless, it is a concept that has been around for many thousands of years. However, these days there is more scholarly and professional information and research going on that confirms the existence in life after death than ever before. For example, Dr. Brian Weiss has studied the affects of reincarnation on people while they are under hypnosis. He published his famous book, Many Lives, Many Masters, about a woman who described numerous lives she had previously experienced. This came about practically by accident when he was treating her for phobias. Then under hypnosis, he took her back to the time when the symptoms appeared. While in her trance, she began to recall a scene from a previous existence, one while she was in Egypt in 1863 BC. During this lifetime she died in a flood. Upon remembering these things, her phobia of drowning was alleviated. After that there were more lifetimes she described. After some time, this resulted in his book that he reluctantly published a few years later. There are also such people as Dr. Ian Stevenson, the distinguished scholar who holds an endowed professorship at the University of Virginia. He has been traveling around the world for over 37 years investigating thousands of cases of children who have remembered past lives and details that could be verified. Carol Bowman is another who continues her investigation of children’s past life memories. It appears that in such cases a child remembers or begins talking about a past life between the ages of two and four. This begins with the child mentioning the names of people or places that he or she knew before, or by talking of previous activities, most of which make no sense to the present family. The child may also talk of how he or she died. It seems that when a child remembers his previous death, it was often one from an accident, a murder, or a disease at a young age. A young or premature death may be a reason why the child quickly takes birth again, which may be to continue with its karma or destined experience. And this experience often seems to continue in a family of similar social status or near the same area. Sometimes the child will also insist that he or she belongs to a different family, or has different parents, and needs to find his real home in some other town. All this may go on for years, much to the consternation of the present family who often will try to ignore or suppress the child’s memory of the past life. Occasionally, the child may be traveling with his family and simply recognize places where he had lived before. Or word will get out about the child’s past life recollections, or his family will allow the child to explore his past life memories and assist him to find the people and places he knew before. The child will recognize those he had previously known, or call them by familiar names, or even lead the way to the house and recognize items like toys that once belonged to him or her. The child may also speak of past events, or show surprise at any changes since when he was there, or even reveal issues that only the previous family would know. However, whatever he or she remembers is often only up to the point of death. Yet, there are those, although fewer in number, who remember the experience of what happened after death or before the new birth. So parents should be willing to listen to their children if they begin to show signs of remembering events and people from a previous existence. Mr. Frederick Lenz, Ph.D. is another who has done much research into the cases wherein adults have spontaneously and naturally remembered past lives. His book, Lifetimes: True Accounts of Reincarnation, gives the insights into his research. Such cases include people from all walks of life, various religions, ethnic backgrounds, and geographic locations. Many of them contain parallels and similarities to one another in the way that such memories and experiences occur. Mr. Lenz’s interest began in 1969. After he collected a sizable amount of information, he began to lecture at colleges and universities on reincarnation. This process exposed him to many more people who wanted to share their memories of a past life. Many of these cases seemed to follow the basic process of reincarnation that has been explained in such books as The Tibetan Book of the Dead and other Eastern texts. All of these cases and research show that reincarnation is not merely a theory, a hypothesis upon which to speculate, but a reality to understand. It is a natural event that has been discussed and taught and incorporated into people’s lives for hundreds of thousands of years. For this reason, this book uncovers the original understandings and teachings of reincarnation from the ancient texts of India and the East, and brings it out of the religious doctrines in which they are often buried.