Reincarnation - Would you believe it?

Reincarnation - the theory that the soul of a person is indestructible. It keeps taking different forms till it is pure enough to cohere with the purest divine soul called God.

There are different interpretations about what really happens. The most popular belief is that 'karma' in this birth defines your life for the next. However, is every birth a fresh start? Or is there some part of us that relates to our previous visit on Earth? I chanced upon a book which provides examples that buttress the latter thought. Although you may choose to trash these calling them mere coincidence, the examples given are truly super-natural phenomenon.

It is claimed that each person brings with him some effect of his previous incarnation. This is reflected to some extent in his appearance and to a very large extent in his thinking pattern. Based on studies scientists have found SRK to be a reincarnation of Sujata Bose who was a theatre artist. There are other examples as well.

Believing in reincarnation is a matter of personal choice. But consider if it were true that we have some remembrance of our past wouldn't it be great to start life right from where we had left it. It wouldn't be wrong then to say that we get another chance to correct our mistakes. As children we would enjoy our childhood more than we have for we would know that those are the best days of life. As we grow we would understand the ill-effects of practices like castism, communalism, terrorism and can be better prepared to deal with them. People would understand the importance of supporting each other and living harmoniously. We would be aware of the mistakes that have been already committed and would not repeat them. We won't have an economic crisis nor terrorist attacks. Won't the World, with each successive generation, become a better and better place to live in.

On the contrary knowing your past can be a nightmare as well. Suppose you were a lion earlier. The King of the jungle. Your only aim in life was to fend for your meals. Now you become a human. So much more pressure is loaded on to you. You might wish to be a lion again. Or it may be the other way round. As an ant you might feel life as a human was much better. In both scenarios you won't be able to enjoy life as it is given to you (assuming lions and ants enjoy their life as well :)).

There can be no specific answer to this dilemma. Perhaps that is the reason God himself wasn't able to decide what to do. That is why some people are born with the knowledge about their previous incarnation and others are not.