We are all lovers, devotees of a higher power, thousands of lovers, but the Beloved is one for all. He whom we desire is the beloved of the whole world and is the one God for all men, not specifically for Muslims only, or for Hindus only, or for Christians only.
          Sant Kirpal Singh

Reincarnation


Q. Do you think my hus­band who passed away last May has rein­car­nated yet?

A. It does not fall within the pur­view of sacred teach­ings to dis­cuss or dis­close the Divine dis­po­si­tion about the rein­car­na­tion of those souls who have passed away. Suf­fice it to under­stand that unions and sep­ar­a­tions in this phys­i­cal plane are veiled and gov­erned by the inex­or­a­ble law of karma. There is noth­ing ‘premature’ as the Divine machin­ery works with metic­u­lous pre­ci­sion and noth­ing hap­pens hap­haz­ardly, although it may look to us as such. Just as a man stand­ing at the power-house can see quite dis­tinctly as to how the small­est cogs and spin­dles are work­ing, but the per­son who can­not look beyond these small units can­not under­stand as to how these are being oper­ated by the Divine will of the Lord. Rein­car­na­tion is a spir­i­tual phe­nom­e­non which can­not be under­stood ade­quately by lim­ited human intel­lect.

Q. How does rein­car­na­tion fig­ure numer­i­cally? For instance in plant and insect life, does each flower or bug have an indi­vid­ual soul? What about a worm that divides itself, or a cutting from a plant or tree that takes root and becomes another plant or tree? What is the expla­na­tion regard­ing soul in each case?

A. The entire uni­verse is hum­ming with one life impulse call it as one may. Each flower and each fruit when on the par­ent tree or shrub is acti­vated by the self-same life prin­ci­ple, but when it is plucked or falls down, it begins to shrivel up and decays. But the life con­cen­trated in the tiny seed at the core remains intact and once again springs up into form and col­our when the seed is sown in proper soil and nur­tured care­fully. Sim­i­larly the freshly cut-branch when engrafted or trans­planted from one soil to the other, car­ries with it its power to grow anew with the sus­te­nance it draws from nature. It is only the forms and col­ours that change and not the life prin­ci­ple which remains eter­nally the same. Some worms, when cut into two, retain the life cur­rent just for a while and even­tu­ally it dis­ap­pears.

Q. In ‘Spir­i­tual Gems’ page 313 it says: ‘When spirit is at­tached to Naam, it draws one toward itself and the door is opened. Until this hap­pens, no one need think he can get in.’ Please explain if one does not get ‘through the door,’ but desires never to rein­car­nate but does one’s best, even if it is only a ‘widow’s mite’, need one rein­car­nate?

A. The account of those who have received ini­ti­a­tion is in the hands of the Mas­ter from the time of ini­ti­a­tion. If a dis­ci­ple after ini­ti­a­tion keeps faith with an intense love and strong long­ing for the Mas­ter, does not fall into bad hab­its and does not com­mit foul deeds; but has not, due to adverse cir­cum­stances, or for some other rea­sons, been able to give full time to the spir­i­tual prac­tices, he is, after death made to stay at some inter­me­di­ate stage to com­plete Bha­jan and Sim­ran before he is even­tu­ally taken upwards. Rebirth is only for those who lost their faith, go in actual oppo­si­tion to the instruc­tions of the Mas­ter or who do foul deeds and have very low desires and gross worldly ten­den­cies. That pan of the scales goes down which is over­loaded, and not the other, is the law.