Well, I can say exactly the same about you. Obviously, what you state is in tune with Hindu beliefs, without a hint of agnosticism.
For me , reincarnation is a fact because of a very large body of credible evidence available to me both from eastern and western sources.
I know of my own past lives, so the question of agnosticism does not arise for me anymore naturally. It is an experiential and intellectual understanding for me and also have been of great utility to me practically as well, in bringing more postivity and knowledge to my life.
As previously stated, I'm prepared to explore reincarnation with you. I would prefer if this was started in another thread that allows for debate and we are focusing more specifically on the reincarnation. However, because the belief in reincarnation is a significant point of difference between many Hindus and Baha'is and contributes to us interpreting the Bhagavad Gita differently, I'm prepared to to discuss it here..
See, one should be attached to the truth, not Hindu or Bahai beliefs.
My understanding of reincarnation gravitates me to the Dharmic religions, but I am also ready to criticize these faiths and make them open to new modes of knowledge and action and get rid of obsolete ones.
Belief may also be true or not. There is insufficient evidence to determine whether our beliefs are true. I would consider the existence of night and day based on the movement of the earth and sun as being factual. I would consider many religious beliefs to lack the same standard of proof as facts. That includes not just the belief in reincarnation but also some of my beliefs such as the existence of an eternal soul, the existence of One God and indeed whether or not any of the people Baha'is consider Manifestations of God, are indeed Manifestations of God. The lack of sufficient evidence does not disprove them. It means we can not be certain about whether or not they are in true in the same way as established facts. So in regards all these matters, I'm agnostic and base my beliefs on faith..
I do not base my beliefs on faith but evidence and proofs.
I was an atheist and rationalist who did not believe in reincarnation. But when I got evidence and proofs I revised my attitudes towards the same.
It would have been dishonest and impractical on my part to reject it out of former habit or conditioning or peer pressure.
Often in religious debate forums I see religious adherents presenting their beliefs as facts. Is that your approach with reincarnation? Is reincarnation a fact for you or a belief?.
Not at all. As I stated earlier, I don't go by faith but by proofs, evidences.
I have offered criticism to the Dharmic faiths as well.
We can not be certain that Krishna even existed let alone He taught reincarnation. I believe Krishna did exist. We have no way of establishing for certain whether the Bhagavad Gita reflects the actual words Krishna spoke. Guatama certainly has a stronger historical basis for establishing He was a real person.
Krishna's words were recorded by Vyasa who lived in the same time as Krishna, and Krishna's life is represented in the Srimad Bhagavatham as well as Mahabharatha, and both are huge epics which takes a certain amount of time to read and comprehend.
Krishna's birthday is celebrated every year for milleniums.
Krishna united various practices into a systematic and integral whole at that time, and this is reflected in the Gita. This ended conflict between them to a large extent which were prevalent then.
Even if Krishna did not exist , the teachings in the Gita are of utility in itself as a form of philosophy and methodology .
Guatama certainly has a stronger historical basis for establishing He was a real person. We can not with any certainty, attribute any of the Buddhist Canon to the actual words of Guatama Buddha.
Faith is not important in Buddhism as well, but experiential understanding is.
'O monks and wise men, just as a goldsmith would test his gold by burning, cutting and rubbing it, so must you examine my words and accept them, not merely out of reverence for me.' ~ Buddha
You can see here Buddha emphasizing experiential understanding for oneself and not merely blind belief and faith in what he says.
In the Gita too, Krishna emphasizes Vaada or logical discussion and inquiry to arrive at the truth over other means .
In the field of argument and logic, jalpa means to find fault with the opponent’s statements, for the sake of establishing one’s own opinion. Vitanda means to avoid proper deliberation on the truth through evasion and frivolous arguments. Vada is the logical conclusion of the discussion. Logic is the basis for communication of ideas and establishment of truths. ~ Swami Mukundananda
Chapter 10, Verse 32 – Bhagavad Gita, The Song of God – Swami Mukundananda
You may want to review your historical knowledge of Australasia (Australia and New Zealand).
I am well aware of the history of Australasia and have educated others too on the matter.
When I found an Australian speaking ill and harshly on the refugees from an another formerly prosperous nation tragically affected by civil strife, I reminded him of the convicts and poverty-strickent immigrants escaping feudalism, who migrated from Britain to Australia. Many had died on the sea journey itself due to callous government apathy and indifference.
Many of these early settlers died in Australia during the early stages due to lack of self-sufficiency in necessary life skills and harsh conditions around, and it was only later on after much hardship that things turned around.
When I pointed out these facts to the Australian, he reduced his harsh tone on the refugees considerably and hopefully he would be more sensitive to suffering of humanity worldwide through this understanding.
History of Australia - Wikipedia
British settlement begins in Australia
They are both well developed countries with effective health systems whose health professionals are familiar with international literature. We are closely allied with Europe and North America..
They have reached prosperity in a generation or two after laborious efforts in a harsh, isolated region, which is remarkable, but they cannot be called an ancient civilization like the Greek or Indian or Egyptian or Babylonian or Jewish.
Reincarnation isn't an established fact anywhere within Western Health systems. There are always those within the profession who use their status to promote their personal ideologies. That is very different from reincarnation being endorsed by any professional medical body..
For Dr. Brian Weiss, who is of atheist-Jewish affiliation in the beginning, he was also highly surprised encountering past life descriptions of his patients under hypnotic regression, and researched the same extensively in his library.
For most of the time, Weiss did not talk about his findings in reincarnation as he was concerned about damage to his reputation, as he was a well-established and respected person in the psychiatric field.
He eventually felt it would be dishonest on his part to be secretive about it, and eventually wrote a book on his findings. He had in the beginning felt that even if a single person benefited from the books, it would be beneficial to him and even gave the books to bookstores personally in a rented van.
However the book (Many Lives, Many Masters ) became a best-seller and its success encouraged him to write few more books on the subject.
I read the book around a decade back, and gifted it to many of my friends.
Here you can see that it was not personal ideology that prompted Dr.Weiss to author these books on reincarnation as he affiliated with atheism and Jewish culture, where reincarnation is not taught.
The mainstream Hindu and Buddhist perspectives differ considerably in regards beliefs about the nature of the soul and whether it is eternal. The different worldviews can be linked to concepts such as karma, dharma and moksha of course.
These, eternality of the soul or not, are just some points of philosophical differences. Many Hindus study Buddhist philosophy as well to finetune their understanding and Hindu masters like Sivananda had endorsed study of buddhist philosophy along with Hindu philosophies. Buddha is also revered as an Avatar by Vaishnavite sects.
Sree Narayan Guru incorporated many Buddhist teachings in his own philosophical system and advocated their adherence to his disciples and lay followers.
Vivekananda created the practice in the Ramakrishna Mission of initiating monks before a statue of the Buddha.
Karma, dharma and moksha/nirvana are commonalities of all dharmic religions.
As previously expressed, I am an agnostic about reincarnation. Although I don’t believe in it, I acknowledge the possibility it may be true..
I thank you for this statement.
