(Dr PVB subrahmanyam) Three stages of deed and its array formation gave birth to the theory or concept of rebirth. Rebirth is the consequence of fortune (prarabdha). Fortune is the result or ripening stage of seed of the deed. So acceptance of the deed forces the acceptance of rebirth. Unless and until a living or nonliving being takes rebirth it cannot go through or experience the consequences of its deeds. So rebirth is an integral part of deed and it cannot be thought separately.

Forms of rebirth

The form of rebirth is highly confusing though it is an interesting subject to discuss. The creatures on the earth including the human beings are stated to be eighty four lakh (8.4 million). All the forms of creatures are awaiting each and every body. That means each and every creature on the earth may take birth of any one or all of the forms of creature.

How it is possible?

Small explanations can brief the query. In our daily life we experience that millions of creatures lose their life within a span of a day. Many may last for days, some for couple of months and countable are in long lasting span of life. In this way the statement of getting all forms of life has some strength. Unless the rebirth concept is unproved, the theory of getting all or some of the forms of 8.4 million creatures cannot be denied or unaccepted.

One more interesting thing is there. Except human being no other creature gets it deed accumulated. That means no consequences of actions of all creatures excluding human being are stored. That means they get the reply of each deed on the spot.  Or it can be accepted that they go through the results of their previous deeds. This thought gives the conclusion that the birth of creatures and mini creatures except human being is just to pay off the previous deeds and at the end, once one pays of the misdeeds of the life he will get back the human life to try for a better position!

So any hypothesis, formulated to investigate the genesis requires to consider the zero point where the total number of creatures conclude and from where they start upraising. It implies that the end of the universe can be defined as nil property of universe and starting of the universe consist the frame where all the exhausted properties will have a chance to get the rebirth. It is called state of singularity in present day science (!)

Cycle of rebirth

Acceptance of deed’s full structure as stated above gives birth to the concept of rebirth. The word itself contains an array. Array rarely comes to an end. But, according to the Vedic literature, the beginning and end of this array have been clearly defined. But this definition becomes ultimate only if one accepts the deed and rebirth concept. So the point to think or investigate or verify is the nature of rebirth.

Rebirth can be accepted on the grounds of logic. But the present endeavor stresses to formulate a hypothesis to display it in modern style or scientific way.

What are the logics?

1. When we remember something positive (previously happened to us), we get a flash on our face. Those moments can give a smile on the face. This can happen in any stage, weather we are awake are in sleep. A person with some past life experience can go through such phenomenon.

But this happens in small children. A child with a past life of hardly two to three months also shows same activities. All of a sudden, while sleeping, he starts smiling and sometimes starts crying without any physical reason. That means he has some previous experiences which make him to do so. What may be the previous experience of a child with two to three months of age? What memories he can have?

2. What is the difference between a child born at a millionaire’s home and a child born at a beggar’s home? Why one received the advantage of silver spoon by birth and why the second one is deprived of food also by birth?

Logic can only work in such places. No scientific proofs can be submitted in this condition. Still, one cannot deny further research. Logic already proved on its base that the deeds of the both have forced them to take birth accordingly.

In similar way the case of differently abled children who are deprived of some organs by birth can focus the light on the deeds. There is no answer for the question why they were deprived? A married couple with a married life of 45 years with three to four tiers of the family raise question in the mind of a widow who lost his/her  life partner in the middle of the life, what is wrong with me? Why I was deprived?

3. Everyone on the earth is a unique entity. This is a natural statement everyone who fails to know the reason of deprivation says. The differences in each and every individual always raise the question of present life. Somewhere hard work fails and no work give results, somewhere eligible gets out of the contest and other one gets the opportunity. In all these conditions, the deprived try to blame others. They lose patience. They lose confidence. Some adopt wrong ways. Some become anti social elements etc. But it is also a natural answer that no one can remove the differences. No person. No government. No law. No movement. It has been proved in the long life span of human history. Then what causes all this mess? Who is responsible for this? What is the root cause of the difference? Can it be discussed? Can it be investigated? Can it be proved? Can it be thought of?

4. Human life is full of miracles. We say unexpected happenings as miracles. But why not miracles happen with each and every individual? The simple answer for these questions is previous deeds.

If one thinks in this way he will get some millions of such situations. A small visit to the hospital shakes a person’s thoughts. So ultimately everyone comes to the conclusion that the happenings have some link to their own deeds. But this conclusion is not a result of study. This conclusion is not a result of an investigation. It is not the outcome of any formula. Neither has it depended on the statistics.  Statistical data contains similar properties. In this matter no such classification can be made on the data collected.

Ultimately a study on the rebirth concept is only left in the frame of investigation. But it is unpredictable by nature.  No clue for the beginning and no clue of the end. In such a situation how it is possible to take it on. How the study can be formulated? How any hypothesis can take place?

Conclusion

Though everything seems out of range of study and investigation, the essence of available Vedic literature, lessons and concepts of Vedic literature undoubtedly has the potential to go through the subject. At the same time, the structure of modern science and the studies so far done by the western scientists add flavor to the possibilities of the study in this regard. So, a blend of east and west is the need of the hour and it is early to say that the hypothesis has been formulated.