Message #23778

[Jitendra Hydonus]

I do agree with your friend about the injustice reincarnation and have pointed out its problems before. You have to ask yourself what kind of God would be punishing people for crimes they can't remember committing. Could there be a more ineffective form of punishment than that? The punishment being so far removed from the crime that one is likely to need regular reminding of what he's being punished for. And of course, in practice, nobody ever knows what they are getting punished for. A man born blind has no way of knowing what he did in the past to incur such a penalty. At best he has to rely on shoddy psychics and other hucksters to give him a dubious speculation. With such a harsh punishment, one would think that you'd at least be entitled to know what you were supposed to have done.

In fact, this very scenario was brought to Jesus in the bible and Jesus seems to deny this "punished for your last life" theory outright.

His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened that the works of God would be displayed in him. 4

John 9:3

Jesus statement that the man was born not because of his sin or the sin of his parents is a source of bewilderment to many, who think he meant that God arbitrarily denied sight to the man in order that his divine healing power might be manifested through Jesus. To those who know God as the the all-compassionate father, it is inconceivable that he would use one of his children to suffer for years merely to create an opportunity for a miraculous display.

Rather, Jesus meant that the mans affliction was linked to hidden causes formulated in his past lives that brought him to his present condition, and not anything he or his parents had done on their current incarnations. In any case, since the man was born blind, there was no opportunity for any sin in his present existence to be the cause of his malady. Nevertheless, being good in his present life, and drawing from past-life virtues, he had accrued sufficient good karma " that the works of God should be made manifest in him" that is to merit a miracle of divine healing by his coming in contact with God's emissary, Jesus.

Paramahansa Yogananda

.... He approved very dearly and blessed me for writing these interpretationss. This I can say without pride, because the interpretation of Christ's herein is not mine. It has been given to me; but I am not the author. It is Christ. I am only the vehicle through which it is explained.... Paramahansa Yogananda

Reincarnation assures 'Freedom, for it gives immortal souls ample time and opportunity to divest themselves of all false notions of earthly fulfillment, and to realize through wisdom their already perfect divine natures. P.Y.

Reincarnation alone can explain the inequalities and seeming injustices that visit human beings from their birth. P. Y.