Why I Believe in Re-birth

At the outset, let me make a few statements :
• I am a Hindu by birth, but I have not been to a temple since I was a child.
• I believe that there is One God, whatever name one uses to refer to Him. No explanation of the Universe is logical unless one accepts this fact.
• I believe that religion is a “Way of Life”, not a mass of rituals.

The school that I went to was run by Jesuit Fathers, members of the “Society of Jesus” founded by St. Francis Xavier. The Prospectus of the school started with these words :

“St Xavier’s School is an academy for the education of catholic boys. Boys of other religious denominations, however, are also admitted.”

We used to have a subject called “Moral Science”, which delved into moral issues such as honesty, integrity, truthfulness, morality etc.

Being a somewhat precocious kid, I had the temerity to ask the Father who taught us Moral Science, the following series of questions :

Qs : Is God All-knowing ?
Ans :Yes, my son. (This “my son” was the standard way for a Father to speak to a
student.)
Qs : Then God knows everything that will happen in the future ?
Ans : Yes, my son.
Qs : Then, the moment I was born, God knew everything that I will do in my entire life ?
Ans : (Shocked silence).
Qs : Then why should I go to heaven or hell for doing whatever I was going to do in my life ? God knew it all the moment I was born. Why would He punish or reward me, for all eternity, for doing what He knew I would do anyway ?
Ans : Hush, my son. You must have faith. We humans do not know the ways of God. We must believe !

Believe what ?

How can I believe that for the good or evil that a human being does in a life-span of a mere 80 years (if that) is the measure for committing that person’s soul to eternal heaven, or eternal hell ?

How can I believe that this is logical ?

How can I believe that I must merely believe, and not question ?

For a long time I, by no stretch of imagination a religious scholar, or even a religious person, have come to the conclusion that one life, that too pre-ordained by an All-knowing God, is simply put : totally illogical.

Let me divert for a moment to a small, but an all-important, reference to the word “Timshel” in a book named “East of Eden” written by John Steinbeck.

Steinbeck interpreted this word as “Thou mayest”.

This means: you may choose.

I believe God’s will is all about choice.

If one chooses to do good, one should be rewarded. If one chooses evil, punishment is inevitable.

But is this reward and punishment, for all eternity, for the actions during a time-span of maybe 80 years, fair ?

I cannot believe that God, being Merciful, Benevolent and Forgiving, as all religions have stated He is, would think it to be fair.

What would be fair, then ?

To give another, and yet another, chance to the soul which God created.

That is re-birth.

I cannot logically find any other solution to the riddle, if I think for myself, and do not merely “believe”.

There is a twist to this.

If one has done evil in one’s previous life, one’s chances of doing good in the next life must, logically, be reduced. It is only fair that if a soul that had a great opportunity for doing good chooses to do evil, that soul must face more difficult odds in the next life.

Here comes the role of circumstances.

A re-birth in a good family, with honest and caring parents, a good education etc must place a soul in a position to do good, rather than evil. This places the soul in an even better position to secure the subsequent re-birth in even better circumstances.

However, a soul re-born into very poor circumstances, e.g. a family which thrives on stealing, will have a very difficult time to do good.

In India, circumstances strangle millions of people, those in poverty, those in low castes, those belonging to minorities etc.

But some people have broken the chains of circumstances, e.g.:

1. Ex-President Narayanan, a “Harijan” (untouchable) who overcame immense barriers to secure education, and finally became the President of our country.
2. Another President, APJ Abdul Kalam, the son of a fisherman, and a Muslim as well, who became our country’s leading scientist, and then the President.

There are numerous other examples, but these two will suffice.

Why did these two luminaries start their life where they did, at the bottom ? Is it because of what they did in their past lives ?

Indeed, are there any past lives, or are we playthings for our God, to reward or condemn for eternity ?

I do not know the answers to these questions.

What I do know is this :

• There is a God.
• He is eternal, omnipotent, omnipresent, merciful and forgiving.
• There will be a judgement for each of us after we have lived this life.

What I hope for is this :
• The judgement will not be eternal.
• I will have another chance.

That is why I believe in re-birth.