Metaphysical Arguments Metaphysical arguments, as such, in favor of reincarnation do not exit, because no philosophical schools of Hinduism deny this doctrine79. It is, in fact, a question of faith that one tries to understand, without putting it to discussion or deny it. The karma-samsara is Original Sin for the Hindus and is one among the very few dogmas of faith, as we have mentioned above. Modern Hindu philosophers, however, propose a metaphysical argument, viz.,...

What is the condition of the liberated soul? According to Advaita Vedanta, the individual soul (atman) looses its false individuality by realizing its identity with Brahman: "I am Brahman" (A ham Brahmasmi). It is a state of supreme beatitude, bliss, knowledge and pure existence. For the Nyaya Vaiseshika and the Mimamsa schools, the liberated soul exists deprived of any pleasurable or painful experience; it does not have neither happiness nor consciousness. According...

The fundamental teaching of the four Vedus, the Bhagavat Gim, the Puranas and other religious texts of Hinduism, is not reincarnation, rebirth, but the ultimate liberation or salvation. In fact the necessity of transmigration is a nightmare for the Hindus77. The ultimate scope is moksha or multi, and in order to arrive at moksha, Hinduism proposes different ways (yoga or marga), by which one can reach spiritual perfection and finally eternal salvation of the soul: the...

Three elements of popular faith merge together in the doctrine of karma: the spirits of the dead exist as preta, in a quasi-material state; the concept of a tribunal in the kingdom of god Yama (the king of the dead, also Dharmaraja, the king of justice); the ascent of the soul to heaven. The soul as preta lives in an intermediary state (pretyabhava) in which it can die again (punarmyrtyu), which can be averted through performing religious rites. Other conceptions make...

The Dharmashastra dedicates an entire chapter on the theme of karma-samsara, where the mechanism of the transmigration of soul is explained7'. The Book of Manu introduces a threefold origin of karma: manas (mind), vac (speech) and deha (body) (12.3). Sinful actions which spring from the mind will lead to rebirth in a low caste, evil actions from speech will cause rebirth as a bird of a beast and bodily sinful actions will lead one to be reborn as something inanimate....

If one can reverse fate, one can certainly reverse karma and its consequences. In fact in severe! chapters of the oldest Puranic writings one can read how a sinner can save himself from going to hell. A sinner can save himself by giving gifts (various types) to Brahmins. By giving gifts one can acquire merit and thus abolish even rebirth 64. Yoga became another means of overcoming karma. Thus for example, in the Markandeya Purana, after setting up an inexorable karma...

A child's birth is affected not only by the karma of the jiva and of the parents, but also by other factors, among which fate plays an important role. "By karma impelled by fate a creature is born in the body; taking refuge in a drop of the seed of a man he enters the belly of a woman". Yet karma and fate are often said to work together, or even to be the same55. [In a myth found in the Lingua Purana, a sage tries to dissuade Parasara from killing all the demons in...