Gita key verses course 3 – What is death & reincarnation? Do we all have soulmates? – Gita 2.22

Today is our third session, and after the session, I’ll be sending you a broad outline of what we will be covering in the 51 sessions. Each session will be based on one question that addresses both the philosophy of the Bhagavad Gita as well as some contemporary need or concern that we all have in our lives. And so, in today’s session, we’ll be discussing what is death, what is reincarnation, and do we have soul mates. And basically, these are the three topics we will cover. And here, this is the slideshow. These three topics I’m going to cover today. And each topic—so we will be discussing based on a verse from the Bhagavad Gita. Each topic. So today, I’m discussing from 2.22 in the Bhagavad Gita. So 2.22 is…

So the body is like a cloth, and the soul is like the wearer of that cloth. The body is like a cloth, and the soul is like the wearer of that cloth. And when the cloth becomes old and worn out, at that time, a person leaves and discards that cloth and wears another set of clothes. So similarly, it is said that the soul leaves one body and goes to another body. So death is the most undeniable of the realities of life. Sometimes you may have this question, especially in today’s world where everything has been relativized: what is real? What is? Is the world real? When people behave properly with us, are they really good people? Is their good behavior real, or does it conceal a bad heart? The government media gives us some messages, some newspaper reports. Are they for real? There’s a whole lot of fake news. So we get the question: what is real? And we might gravitate to the idea that nothing is real. But even if we deny everything else, we can’t deny the reality of death. So there’s some founding realities with which we can rationally build a worldview. And that is what we’ll be doing over the course of our sessions. So what can be rationally understood? What can be scripturally understood through revelation? And how can that be integrated with our experience? So let’s begin with death.

So death is the most undeniable reality, and yet it is the most denied reality. And if somebody doesn’t accept some reality, it means that they are in denial. So similarly, when we don’t accept the reality of death, then we are in denial. Now, what does it mean to not accept the reality of death? If anybody is asked, “Are you going to die?” Unless the person is insane, most people will never say, “I will not die, that I am immortal.” So in what sense is anyone denying death? We accept that we are going to die, but we think of death as something so remote and distant, so abstract, as if it is happening to someone else. And as if it were going to happen to someone else in the distant future.

So it’s just like, if we knew that we are working on a job and we are going to be fired from that job—there is going to be retrenchment and we’re going to lose that job—then knowledge has no meaning without action. Knowledge is not real unless we apply it. If we knew we were going to lose a job, then we would immediately start looking for another job. If we knew that we are going to lose our house, maybe we are renting and the rent period is getting over, then we would start looking for a new house. So if we similarly knew—knew in the sense that we accept it as real—that we are going to die, then we would start asking, at least ask the question: what is death? Is there anything after death? What really counts in life?

So the fact that most of us don’t seriously ask this question, and certainly we don’t ask this question as seriously as, say, “Okay, what will I do if I lose my job?” or “What will I do if I lose my house?”—the seriousness of the question is seen by how seriously we look for some alternative arrangement. Somebody might say, “Okay, what happens after death is unknowable. So why bother about it?” Well, if we are going to think of it that way, even the future itself is unknowable. If we lose our house, what kind of house we are going to get, what kind of economic condition the country is going to be in, what kind of neighbors we are going to have—we can’t predict any of that. So just because we can’t predict a thing accurately, it doesn’t mean that we don’t think about it or plan for it. So yes, that’s the way. Why do we deny death like this? Because it is so scary. At one level, it is so scary, and it seems so unknowable what is going to come after death. And that’s why it’s important that we see through the eyes of knowledge. That is spiritual knowledge, scriptural knowledge, what is given in the Bhagavad Gita. In a later session, we will be discussing more in detail about the principle of revelation and how knowledge can come to us from a higher source. But let’s look at this from a rational perspective.

So in the last session, I discussed how there are empirical pointers towards the existence of the soul, towards something that exists and goes from this body to another body. That’s how people have past life memories. So there is something spiritual within us which is indestructible. And that brings us to the question: okay, then what is death? So if the spiritual is indestructible, then that’s not going to die. So then what will death mean? Let’s look at this. So death is the departure of the soul from the body. Basically, our existence has three levels: the body, the mind, and the soul. I’ll talk about the mind more in detail in a later session. But suffice it to say at a simple level that the body is like the hardware, the mind is like the software, and the soul is the user. Now, say we are working on one particular computer.

We have a desktop at our workplace, and then we go somewhere else, get traveling, and then we reach there, and then we log into the computer over there. Now, as soon as we log into the computer, many of our details get linked with that computer. Say we buy a new computer. Once we log in, our bookmarks and our preferences all get linked with that computer. So similarly, what happens at death is that we leave one computer. The physical structure of the computer is the hardware, and that is like the body. And we, the user, are like the soul. So the soul leaves the body. The hardware is left behind.

Now, when we go to a new place, basically what happens with your computer is that we have certain memory—that is, we know our password—and suddenly we log in, then the remaining details get linked with that computer. So similarly, when the soul goes from one body to another body, along with the soul, the mind also goes, and the impressions that we have—the desires, the inclinations, the overall inspiration, and the overall kinds of actions that we have—are all impressed in the mind. And then the mind is what helps us interface with that next body. So basically, when the soul departs from one body and goes to the next body, that is death.

Now, if we look at reincarnation—now, what is reincarnation? Death is basically a departure of the soul from one body, and reincarnation is the entry of that soul into another body. And when the soul enters into the next body, what essentially is happening again? Essentially, for the soul, the body is like a tool.

So till now, I’ve talked about two distinct examples for reincarnation. One is like a dress. The second is like a computer. So if we consider it to be like a dress, one dress gets worn out, and we wear another dress. So for the soul, the body is like a dress. But the interface between the soul and the body is quite complicated. It is not as simple as simply raising our arms and slipping them through some sleeves and putting on a dress, putting on some clothes. The interface between the soul and the body is complicated. And that complicated interface is mediated through what the Bhagavad Gita calls the mind. So through the mind, the soul gets linked to the next body.

And reincarnation—the word reincarnation—literally means: karna is flesh, re is again, and ashen is to come again. So what reincarnation essentially is, is the soul comes back into the next body. So it comes into a new world, to come again in flesh. Now, reincarnation is something which is universal and unavoidable. That means the soul needs some physical interface for functioning in the world. So the soul needs some physical interface for functioning in the world. The soul is very different from the body. And just as, say, human beings, if we go to some environment which is unnatural for us—say if we go underwater—then we need a whole set of diving gear. We need some way to respire, to get oxygen. So without that gear, we cannot function in the environment which is alien to us. So if humans go into space, similarly, we need spacesuits.

So for the soul, the material environment is actually not natural. It is unnatural. And that’s why the soul basically needs some physical tool for interfacing with the material world. And that tool is the body, that tool is the material body that we have.

So reincarnation is mentioned here. Krishna talks about it again later in the 15th chapter, from 15.7 to 15.11, and there he says in 15.8, 9, 10 especially, so in 15.9, he says that the soul gets a new body. Basically, it gets a set of senses. That means the sense of hearing, the sense of seeing, the sense of touching. And these are the ways in which we interact with the outer world, basically gain knowledge from the outer world, and then we function in the outer world.

So reincarnation is something that happens to every single soul. Now, what kind of body the soul gets—that depends. That depends on what? Broadly two factors. So just as if we are having a particular dress, a particular set of clothes, and they get torn, and then we want to buy new clothes, how do we decide which clothes to buy? Basically two things: our budget and our likings. What we desire and how much we can pay. So similarly, for the soul, what body it will get in the next life depends on its desires. But not just on its desires. It also depends on the kind of karma that the soul has done.

See, our karma—if we do good actions, we get good results. If we do bad actions, we get bad results. We’ll talk more about the principle of karma in the future. But at this stage, this is going to be a simple understanding: that when we do good, we get good. When we do bad, we get bad. And some of the results of our actions come immediately, and some come gradually. So the actions that we do, they get accumulated, and they comprise our—we could say our karmic bank account, our karmic assets in the karma bank account. And depending on what kind of assets we have accumulated, what kind of actions we have done during the course of our life, we decide we get a particular body.

So that is reincarnation. Now, the concept of reincarnation is—now we are moving to the third question. So to summarize, say the body and the soul are here. This is a previous life. So this is death, meaning the soul leaves the body. And then after that, there’s another situation somewhere else, in a different place, at a different time. And then the soul enters into the body. And when the soul acquires a body, that is reincarnation. The departure from here is death. The entry over here is reincarnation. And the concept of reincarnation has been used quite a few times in today’s entertainment industry, and it has become romanticized and sensationalized.

There have been some researches on the concept of reincarnation conducted through hypnotic regression into past lives. Brian Weiss is a prominent researcher in this field, and he found that people often suffer from certain traumas, phobias, or behavioral deficiencies because these issues are carried over from a previous life.

For example, suppose someone is irrationally afraid of water—they have hydrophobia. Through hypnotic regression to a previous life, they might come to know the root cause of this fear. The therapist may guide the person backward in time by saying, “Remember when you were taking a bath… Remember when you were 10 years old… Remember when you were 5 years old… Remember when you were 1… Remember when you were 6 months… Remember when you were in your mother’s womb. What do you remember before that?” Gradually, as they are led backward, they might suddenly say, “Oh, I’m at this place,” and begin describing a very different environment. They may express vivid emotions and talk in detail about things that can often be correlated with actual historical facts.

Through such hypnotic regression, it might be discovered that the person who has hydrophobia in this life was drowned in a previous life. This realization can sometimes free them from the fear of water in the current life. Recollecting the hurts of a previous life, in this way, can help one heal from ongoing emotional or psychological pain in the present. If that happens, such a process is undoubtedly helpful.

This idea—that we may have had previous lives—is further substantiated by such findings. However, in the context of relationships, unresolved issues from past lives are often linked with the idea of reincarnation. To some extent, this notion has also been utilized by the entertainment industry. Many movies and stories portray a couple whose love was thwarted in a previous life. They die, reincarnate, long for each other, and eventually reunite in their new lives. Such people, when they meet each other, are often referred to as “soulmates.”

The concept of reincarnation has, therefore, been highly romanticized and sensationalized. Many people dream about finding their soulmate, thinking, “I wish I could find mine.” We all long for relationships and love, and this idea resonates deeply because relationships can feel like a gamble. Sometimes, we get involved with someone who turns out to be very different from what they initially seemed. Instead of joy, such relationships can bring pain. The idea of a soulmate aligns perfectly with our inherent longing for love.

In a spiritual sense, when people hear about reincarnation, they often wonder, “Do I have a soulmate? Can I find a soulmate?” However, the first thing to understand is that in discussions about the soul, spirituality, and reincarnation, the focus should be on the soul, not on the mate. This means that the priority is to understand oneself—who I am as a soul—and only then think about who to relate with.

If the focus shifts entirely to finding a mate or a partner, we risk missing the essence of spiritual knowledge. Are we truly gaining spiritual understanding, or are we simply indulging in the same desires as those who know nothing about the soul? While the longing for love and companionship is natural, it can sometimes overshadow or even sabotage our spiritual search and growth.

So, the first step is to focus on our true identity: “I am a soul.” What does this mean? The soul is connected to the body and related to it. Understanding this foundational spiritual truth is essential before thinking about relationships or external connections.

When we relate to people, say I am a soul residing in this body, and someone else is a soul residing in their body, quite often our attraction to others is based on their physical appearance. Of course, we may also be drawn to personality traits, which is perfectly fine. However, when we focus too much on the external aspects, we may mistake physical attraction for a deeper connection, believing someone to be our “soulmate.” This kind of infatuation can blind us—not only to our own spirituality but also to the spirituality of the other person—because we reduce them to their physical form rather than recognizing their essence as a soul.

This is the first point: the concept of soulmates, when misunderstood, can distract us from our spiritual growth if we allow infatuation to dominate our perspective.

Now, the question arises: are we, in our journey across multiple lives, destined to have some soulmates? The foundational idea in spiritual teachings is that the soul’s ultimate relationship is with the divine. The Bhagavad Gita (15.7) states that every living being is a part of God, and thus our eternal relationship is with Him.

In this eternal relationship with the divine (a vertical connection), we also form relationships with other souls (horizontal connections). However, these horizontal relationships are temporary because they are based on the material body. When we or those we love leave this world, those material relationships come to an end. In contrast, our relationship with the divine is eternal.

That said, it is possible for souls to meet again across different lifetimes. Some souls may journey through life, death, and rebirth, and encounter each other again. However, this is not very likely, as there are countless souls, each with its own unique karma, history, and trajectory. The destination of each soul after death is shaped by its individual karma, which may lead it to a very different path from others.

This is not to trivialize the relationships we form in this life. They are meaningful and valuable in their own ways. But we must balance this understanding with a reality check: our material relationships should not be unnecessarily sensationalized or eternalized. From a spiritual perspective, our ultimate soulmate is the Supreme Soul—God.

The purpose of transmigration (the soul’s journey through various lifetimes) is spiritual evolution. In biological evolution, living beings adapt to their environment and develop traits that help them survive. Similarly, spiritual evolution refers to the gradual improvement of our consciousness, enabling it to become more spiritual. As our consciousness evolves, we grow closer to the ultimate spiritual reality, which is Krishna (or God).

To the extent that we remain attached to the material world—its possessions, positions, and pleasures—our consciousness remains entangled and does not evolve. But when our consciousness rises above material attachments and connects with the eternal divine, we progress spiritually.

One significant barrier to spiritual evolution is the denial of death. When we deny death, we stagnate, as we fail to reflect on life’s deeper purpose or seek higher truths. Spiritual evolution requires us to expand our capacity to learn and love. This means learning what truly matters, what lasts, and directing our love toward that which is eternal.

For the soul, this eternal connection is with the divine. God resides in our hearts and accompanies us from one life to the next. While it is unpredictable whether we will meet the same souls across different lives, what is certain is that the divine always remains with us. In this sense, the divine is our ultimate soulmate, the one constant companion through all lifetimes.

Therefore, our focus should be on understanding the soul before seeking the mate. Once we understand the soul, we realize that our eternal relationship is not with another soul but with the divine. This is the connection we should strive to nurture above all else.

Developing relationships and building a connection with the ultimate reality is the essence of yoga. Specifically, bhakti-yoga is the path that helps us connect with the ultimate spiritual reality through devotion. While we’ll explore these concepts in more detail later, for now, it’s important to understand that when we begin by recognizing ourselves as souls and then reflect on the nature of relationships, the idea of a “soulmate” can inspire us to focus on spiritual evolution.

But what about our relationships in this world? It’s true that some people are more compatible with each other, and occasionally, two individuals may “click” so well that they believe they are soulmates. That’s perfectly fine. The key is to prioritize spiritual evolution. Even in the best relationships, there will be differences. Maturity lies in learning to live with and transcend those differences.

If we fixate on the horizontal level—constantly searching for the “perfect partner” or “soulmate”—our consciousness gets entangled in worldly desires, hindering our spiritual growth. On the other hand, when we focus on understanding ourselves and evolving spiritually, we become calmer, purer, and more self-aware. This clarity enables us to understand and relate to others more effectively. Consequently, our relationships can become more stable and harmonious, possibly even sweeter, as we cultivate spiritual maturity within ourselves.

We will explore relationships further in future discussions, but it is essential to address the idea of soulmates here. One last point before we move on to questions: the concept of reincarnation has often been sensationalized and romanticized. Much of what exists in popular imagination about reincarnation is shaped by movies, novels, or overly dramatized presentations of spirituality. These portrayals need careful evaluation.

For instance, some books on reincarnation sensationalize the idea by claiming, “This famous actor was this person in their past life,” or “This individual in this life resembles someone from centuries ago.” Such claims often use superficial methods, like comparing facial structures, to suggest connections between two lives. However, many people’s facial features could overlap significantly, especially when stripped down to skeletal structures. Such comparisons are not sufficient to establish evidence for reincarnation. When this kind of shallow “evidence” is debunked, people may dismiss the entire concept of reincarnation as baseless, which is unfortunate.

Serious research on reincarnation, however, has been conducted by credible scientists, yielding significant evidence. Ian Stevenson, one of the most prominent researchers in this field, has documented cases that go beyond superficial claims. However, even he does not place much credence in hypnotically induced past-life memories. For instance, in cases of hypnotic regression—where a person recalls a past life under hypnosis—it might appear that someone’s hydrophobia (fear of water) stems from drowning in a previous life. If revisiting that memory alleviates their phobia, it may seem like strong evidence for reincarnation.

While the therapeutic benefits of past-life regression are well-documented, they don’t necessarily prove the reality of past lives. It’s possible that such memories are fabricated by the mind, particularly under hypnosis, where individuals are highly suggestible. Just as the placebo effect can cause physical healing when someone believes they are receiving medication, a psychological placebo can also occur. For example, if someone imagines a past-life memory under hypnosis and that imagination leads to emotional or psychological relief, it doesn’t confirm the memory’s factual accuracy.

Serious researchers in this field take great care to avoid leading individuals under hypnosis with suggestive questions. However, even subtle or subliminal suggestions can influence a person’s recollections, making it challenging to determine the authenticity of such memories.

In conclusion, while the health benefits of practices like past-life regression can be appreciated, they should be evaluated critically. Rigorous research—like that conducted by Ian Stevenson—provides more credible insights into reincarnation, moving beyond the sensationalism and superficial claims often seen in popular media. By approaching these topics with care and discernment, we can better understand the profound spiritual truths they represent.

When we recall something during hypnotic regression, is it accurate? This question has both intriguing possibilities and significant limitations. While hypnotic regression can sometimes bring forth memories that seem to verify past lives, caution is necessary.

For example, cases of xenoglossy (speaking in a foreign language) and xenography (writing in a foreign script) during regression provide compelling evidence when verifiable facts emerge. There are documented instances where individuals, under hypnosis, recalled languages or scripts that had been extinct for centuries—languages they had no conscious knowledge of in their current life. Such tangible evidence can support the reality of past-life memories. However, not all regression cases hold up under scrutiny.

Memories accessed during regression can be influenced by the suggestibility of the individual, particularly when hypnotized. The mind, prone to imagination, can fabricate memories that feel real but are not factually accurate. Just as a placebo can produce physical or psychological benefits without actual treatment, regression can lead to emotional or psychological healing without confirming the reality of the memory itself.

Similarly, the notion of using regression to find a “soulmate” from a past life can be counterproductive. Romanticized depictions of soulmates in media often amplify our longing for idealized relationships but fail to align with spiritual truths. While such narratives might temporarily satisfy emotional cravings, they don’t guarantee actual connections to past lives.

Spiritual evolution is about understanding what is eternal and real. It focuses on connecting with the supreme spiritual reality, which offers lasting satisfaction, rather than romanticizing transient relationships. Ultimately, the culmination of reincarnation is to grow spiritually and reconnect with the divine.

Summary:

1. Death and Reincarnation: At death, the soul leaves the body and carries impressions from the mind (akin to software) into the next body (hardware). The soul is the user, transitioning from one life to the next. Denial of death often hinders preparation for it, but inquiry into the afterlife is the first step to readiness.
2. Horizontal and Vertical Relationships: Relationships in the material world are horizontal and temporary, while the soul’s ultimate vertical relationship with the divine is eternal. The divine, as the indwelling Supersoul, accompanies us through every life, making it our true “soulmate.” Connecting with the divine is the ultimate purpose of reincarnation.
3. Soulmates and Reincarnation: While it’s possible for two souls to reconnect in future lives, it’s not probable due to individual karmas. Focusing on spiritual growth fosters inner stability and clarity, allowing us to form relationships based not on infatuation or neediness but on maturity and compatibility.

To evolve spiritually, we must prioritize our relationship with the divine, rather than becoming overly attached to idealized notions of past-life relationships. In doing so, we can cultivate deeper, more meaningful connections in this life and beyond.

And with whoever we are already relating, we can relate more maturely with them. Sometimes concluded by, we need to have, whenever any past life memories are touted, we need to have a little critical attitude; we can’t be completely naive about it. So, just facial matches do not point to the soul from a previous level in the next life. And even if, through hypnotic respiration, sometimes a soul, somebody’s healed of some fear—say, somebody’s healed of hydrophobia—that could be a placebo effect at a psychological level, which need not indicate the reality of the memory.

Similarly, just because we feel that we can relate strongly with someone, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are our soulmates. So, we focus on using our intelligence. And with respect to past life memories, when there are objective, evidential things, like, say, zero-glossier or zero-mammography, then the memories can be real. Similarly, we use our intelligence to make decisions about our relationships and about our life. As we evolve spiritually, we learn to raise our consciousness from the material towards the spiritual. We learn about the spiritual, and we learn to love the spiritual. That’s how our reincarnation will ultimately attain its culmination in a connection—in a reconnection with the divine.

Thank you very much. Now, we have some questions over here. So, mind is a subtle body; doesn’t the subtle body elements like mind—it is a false ego—die? No, the subtle body is not so easily destructible. It’s not physical. It’s not gross physical. See that we differentiate between the physical and the material. Physical usually refers to that which is perceivable by the physical senses. So, form, shape, and smell—all these are physical sense objects. The physical things are destroyed, but the mind, intelligence, and false ego—they are subtle. So, they are not destroyed. They go with the soul.

The soul is here; around the soul is the mind, and the soul along with the mind goes to the next body. These will be not exactly destroyed but dissolved at the time of ultimate liberation. The soul goes out of the material world to the spiritual world at the time of liberation. Then the mind, intelligence, and ego—they dissolve while the soul is going through its journey of transmigration and ultimate journey toward liberation. At that time, they dissolve, but they are not destroyed.

So, how long is the time between death and reincarnation? The time is variable. Generally, each soul has some of its own karma to process. The soul is in this body and goes to the next body. In between, the soul has to stay, and how long it has to stay depends on various factors. Just like, say, if we are at one place and we go to another place, sometimes we might do the journey, take a flight, and reach in a few hours. Sometimes we might take a car, and it might take more time. Sometimes we might go by foot, wanting to enjoy a trek. It might take a longer time.

That’s why the time a soul takes to go from one body to another body varies. Just as our karma and how much we can pay for determines whether we take a flight or hitchhike, the kind of karma the soul has done also plays a role in determining how long the soul takes to go from one body to another.

Where does the soul go in between? Broadly speaking, if the soul is in a human body, it can go to another human body, to a lower body (an animal body), or to a lower or higher level of existence. There are higher heavenly levels of existence and lower hellish levels of existence. The soul can go there. If it goes to the lower species or the lower lokas, that transition may take much more time. Where exactly the soul goes depends on karma.

In between states, the soul stays in a disembodied state. There are two different cases here. One is during the journey when the soul leaves this body and gets another body. As explained in the Garuda Purana, in between, the soul gets a temporary covering. It’s not exactly a body but a temporary covering grosser than the subtle body and subtler than the gross body. This becomes the transition body, sometimes called Preta.

Bhuta or ghost is different. A ghost exists when the soul leaves the physical body but does not get a gross body at all. For instance, when someone commits suicide, the soul may not get another body for the remaining time they were supposed to live in the original body. If they were meant to live for 70 years but commit suicide at 40, their next 30 years might be spent in a disembodied state.

In this disembodied state, the soul is there, and the mind is there, but the physical body is absent. This is called a ghostly body. Living in such a state is distressing because the soul has desires that cannot be fulfilled. For instance, the soul might desire to eat but lacks the physical tongue to do so. Sometimes, such souls, to fulfill their desires or resolve unfinished issues, try to possess someone, which is known as possession—the ghost entering into someone.

Yeah. Now, normally, when somebody dies, we say conventionally “Swargavasi” or “Narakavasi” or something similar. But that is more of a conventional saying. Where exactly the person goes will vary from person to person. I answered this earlier. Regarding this Bhoga Yoni, I discussed scientific proof for reincarnation in my previous session. Please refer to the previous session for that.

Why do other religions not talk about reincarnation? It’s not exactly true that they don’t. In my book on mysticism and reincarnation, I have discussed other religious traditions as well. I can’t go into all of them now, but Buddhism does accept reincarnation. However, since it was a heterodox tradition that emerged as a rebel tradition from Hinduism, it tried to assert its philosophical autonomy by rejecting the idea of a soul. According to the Bhagavad Gita, the soul reincarnates, but Buddhism refuses the idea of the soul while still accepting reincarnation. This raises the question: if there is no soul, what exactly reincarnates? This is something Buddhist thinkers find difficult to explain.

If we consider the original writings of Buddha, he was remarkably non-philosophical. He did not address such questions much. It can be reasonably said that he did not deny the soul, but later Buddhist thinkers rejected the idea of the soul. Nonetheless, reincarnation is still accepted in Buddhism. If reincarnation exists, something must reincarnate, and the soul is the most logical explanation.

Christianity, on the other hand, accepts the soul but rejects reincarnation. However, this rejection is not explicitly stated by Jesus. For instance, there is a famous incident where Jesus was asked about a person born blind. The disciples asked whether the person was blind due to their own deeds or their parents’ deeds. Interestingly, this was not about an adult but a newborn child born blind. If reincarnation is dismissed, what could the child have done to deserve blindness? Could they have committed some act in the womb? That makes no sense.

Jesus answered the question differently, stating that the person was born blind so that the power of grace could be demonstrated. He then performed a miracle and restored the child’s eyesight. But not everyone who is blind receives such a miracle. If Jesus had wanted to categorically deny reincarnation, this would have been the perfect opportunity to do so. The very fact that his disciples asked if the blindness was due to the person’s own deeds suggests they believed in the possibility of pre-existence, which aligns with the idea of reincarnation. Pre-existence refers to what happens before this life, while reincarnation refers to what happens after. So, accepting pre-existence implicitly means accepting reincarnation.

In the history of Christianity, the rejection of reincarnation became prominent later. Early Christian thinkers like Origen openly discussed reincarnation. St. Augustine, considered one of Christianity’s foundational theologians, also entertained questions about it. However, when Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, political purposes began to dominate. Roman emperors like Constantine and Justinian wanted Christianity to ensure moral conduct among people, as morality made people more governable. To enforce morality, they promoted the idea of “one life” followed by eternal reward or punishment. This historical shift sidelined the discussion of reincarnation, even though it was never categorically denied.

For more on this topic, you can read my book Demystify Reincarnation. Devotee scholar Steven Rosen has also written a book on reincarnation in world traditions.

Now, regarding horizontal relationships, I will talk about them in my next session. Horizontal relationships are important, and I will discuss them along with other topics like dealing with bad habits in a future session. If something is unexplainable, don’t worry too much about it. Focus on learning to deal with it as best as you can. More important than where something comes from is where it is taking us. Instead of questioning why you have a particular impression, focus on how to deal with it now. Bhakti involves a process of purification, which helps us handle such issues. In the third chapter of my discussion, I will talk about past bad habits and how to overcome them.

We’ll come to it eventually.
Now, as far as performing religious rites for deceased relatives, that’s fine. If that is part of our family tradition, we can do it. It’s part of a religious obligation that we may want to follow. But the essence—see, every culture will have its own traditions. And there are spiritual principles which are cultural, and there are spiritual principles which are transcultural. So we need to primarily focus on the spiritual principles that are transcultural, that is, connecting with the divine. And certain spiritual principles that are cultural, if it’s our culture, we follow them. If it’s not our culture, we don’t follow them. That is a matter, and that is something which can be decided based on individual discretion. We’ll talk more about relationships in the future.
Okay, so I’ll keep questions about that.

So why are life’s punishments so acute?
Let’s discuss this more in a future session because we cannot—let’s stick to the philosophy here, what we discussed in the session.

Is our soulmate already determined by destiny, or is it based on our conscious soul that we pull toward us?
See, destiny should never be used as a reason for irresponsibility. That means we have been given intelligence in this life, and we have to use that intelligence to choose wisely, to choose responsibly. And we use our God-given intelligence whenever we are forming any relationship.
Now, what exactly is destined and what is not destined, that is quite difficult to say. Broadly, you could say destiny is like a weather forecast. A weather forecast means that if we are going on a drive, it’s good to know that it’s going to be rainy, stormy, dark, or misty. Similarly, destiny gives us some kind of weather forecast about what kind of situation we’re going to get in our life. And now, how well we drive—that’s up to us. That is not determined by destiny.
Similarly, for us, what we do and how we relate to people is not determined by destiny. So we need to be as responsible as possible in our relationships, in forming relationships, and growing those relationships.

So is it that our life partners are already determined?
Well, much of the romantic literature depicts that. And sometimes some people might quote something from scripture also to support that. But the broad idea is that it’s not necessary that everything is predestined. And that’s why it’s very difficult to say this.
So we, rather than thinking that there is some perfect partner out there who I need to find, we need to use our intelligence to find the best that we can in our situation.
Is it that if our consciousness is not good, then we attract someone who leaves us, or who doesn’t stay with us?
Well, it’s not that simple. It’s not that simple that our consciousness does affect our decisions, and sometimes we may take bad decisions because of that. But is it that simply bad consciousness will naturally mean that we will attract a bad person? Maybe, maybe not. It depends on context. Sometimes people may not have any spiritual consciousness, but still, they may have very good relationships at a practical, functional level, at a familial level. So relationships are complex.
The past life karma is complex, and we can’t reduce them to oversimplified statements of what is to be done and what is not to be done.
Chakras I’ll talk about in a later session.
Where is the soul living while in the transition body?
The transition body basically is around the soul, just like our physical body is around the soul. That’s how the soul is around the— that’s how the transition body is around the soul.
What is the guarantee that we will not reincarnate if we practice devotional service?
Ultimately, we have to understand what is the purpose of why we are existing in this world. God loves us, and He doesn’t want us to be in the world. If, by the time of our death, our love for God has become greater than our love for the things of this world, then there is no reason for God to keep us in this world. He will go with us to the next world. That’s how, if we consider simply from a logical perspective, we stay in this world because we desire to enjoy the world. If the desire is no longer there, then we will leave this world.
Does our love for God go with us? Yes, definitely.
Or to speak of love for God, even broad spiritual inclination also we carry from this life to the next life. Well, liberation, as a subtle body, dissolves by liberation or going back to Godhead. Both are essentially the same. The ultimate liberation is to go back to Godhead. And the subtle body dissolves when we go out of this material world and enter into the spiritual sky.
So thank you very much for your questions. And we’ll continue in our next session. I’ll be sending the topic for the next session shortly. Basically, we’re talking about how do we deal with the loss of a loved one, and does spirituality mean suppressing our emotions or sublimating our emotions? We’ll discuss this in our next session.
Thank you very much. Hare Krishna.