1. REINCARNATION

2. Reincarnation is the religious or philosophical concept
that the soul or spirit, after biological death, begins a
new life in a new body that may be human, animal or
spiritual depending on the moral quality of the previous
life's actions. This doctrine is a central tenet of the
Indian religions and is a belief that was held by such
historic figures as Pythagoras, Plato and Socrates. It is
also a common belief of pagan religions such as
Druidism, Spiritism, Theosophy, and Eckankar and is
found in many tribal societies around the world, in
places such as Siberia, West Africa, North America,
and Australia.

3. Although the majority of sects within the
Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and
Islam do not believe that individuals reincarnate,
particular groups within these religions do refer
to reincarnation; these groups include the
mainstream historical and contemporary
followers of Kabbalah, the Cathars, and the Shia
sects such as the Alawi Shias and the Druze
and the Rosicrucians.

4. The historical relations between these sects and
the beliefs about reincarnation that were
characteristic of Neoplatonism, Orphism,
Hermeticism, Manicheanism and Gnosticism of
the Roman era, as well as the Indian religions
has been the subject of recent scholarly
research.

5. In recent decades, many Europeans and North
Americans have developed an interest in
reincarnation. Contemporary films, books, and
popular songs frequently mention reincarnation.
In the last decades, academic researchers have
begun to explore reincarnation and published
reports of children's memories of earlier lives in
peer-reviewed journals and books. Skeptics are
generally incredulous about this and any other
claims of life after death.

6. Patrick Olivelle asserts that the origin of the
concept of the cycle of birth and death, the
concept of samsara, and the concept of
liberation in the Indian tradition, were in part the
creation of the non-Vedic Shramana tradition.
Another possibility are the prehistoric Dravidian
traditions of South India. Some scholars suggest
that the idea is original to the Buddha.

7. In Jainism, the soul and matter are considered eternal,
uncreated and perpetual. There is a constant interplay between
the two, resulting in bewildering cosmic manifestations in
material, psychic and emotional spheres around us. This led to
the theories of transmigration and rebirth. Changes but not total
annihilation of spirit and matter is the basic postulate of Jain
philosophy. The life as we know now, after death therefore
moves on to another form of life based on the merits and
demerits it accumulated in its current life. The path to becoming
a supreme soul is to practice non-violence and be truthful.

8. In Hinduism, the holy book Rigveda, the oldest
extant Indo-Aryan text, numerous references
are made to rebirths, although it portrays
reincarnation as "redeaths" . One verse reads
"Each death repeats the death of the primordial
man , which was also the first sacrifice" (RV
10:90).

9. SHORT QUIZ
1.Reincarnation is
a) Life after the death
b) Life before being born
c) new life in a new body
2. Who claims that the origin of the concept of the cycle of birth and
death, the concept of samsara, and the concept of liberation in the
Indian tradition, were partially the creation of a non-Vedic tradition?
a) Buddha
b) Patrick Olivelle
c) Shramana

10. BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reincarnation

11. THANK YOU FOR WATCHING
BY
BARTOSZ
HERMANOWSKI