“It is said in all the Sastras that of Jiva’s eighty-four lakhs of births the human birth is the most fruitful. In no other birth can Jiva acquire knowledge of the truth. Human birth is the stepping-stone to the path of liberation. But rare are the meritorious who come by it”
“ O Daughter of the mountain, Jivatma, which decreaseth not, passes through eighty-four lakhs of births as inorganic things, insects, birds, beast, and the like. And after that, O Supreme Devi, it attains that human body which is so difficult to acquire.” Devi Mahatmyam.
Jiva attains the position of the twice-born, having had thirty lakhs of births as inorganic things, nine lakhs of births as aqueous animals, ten lakhs of births as creeping animals, eleven lakhs of birth animals of the air, twenty-four lakhs of births as beasts, and four lakhs of births as human beings, having thus in all travelled through eighty-four lakhs of births. When Jiva attains the human body, it becomes lord of Dharma. It is again born and again dies. In this manner, controlled by the bonds of Karma, the Jiva takes birth from various sources, and dies eighty-four lakhs of times. By the command of Yama, Jiva goes to Brahmaloka. On its return from thence, it obtains the human body, which is so rarely obtained, and is able to secure from good Guru initiation in the mantra of Mahavidya and knowledge of the truth. Then alone does the Jiva gain the supreme liberation, and by the grace of Mahavidya has not to return of births as inorganic and organic things, beasts, birds, insects, flies, and the like, the Jiva enjoys longevity according to its Karma. Some live one hundred years, some a thousand, some a lakh, some even more, and some live crores and crores of years. It passes my understanding that Sastra can be your authority for the notion that all Jivaa-past, present, and future- of this enormous cycle will attain the highest Samadhi, owing to the simple circumstance that an age has come to an end, and this in spite of the fact that their Karma is of all forms fulfilled, unfulfilled, and partly fulfilled, and partly unfulfilled, worked out and unworked out, partly worked and partly unworked out.
But you, may, as a last resort, say:” I do not believe in eighty four lakhs of birth.” But it does not become you to say this either; for the very authority and reasoning upon which you accept the four ages spoken of in the Sastras are the same as that on which you are bound to accept the statement as to eighty-four lakhs of births.Both are conclusions of Sastra. Who will believe the man who accepts one part of the Sastra and judges the other mistaken? Who thinks the right half of a man’s body to be conscious and the left unconscious? Let me put you a plain question. Why you should not believe? What is cause of your unbelief? You will say, the number eighty-four lakhs. But I reply that very number which is the cause of your unbelief is the ground of my firm faith. Who are you to say that, because these eight-four lakhs of births are unseen by you and me, that what is unseen does not exist? The most you can say is that you do not know whether they exist or not. For the same reason, that I cannot say that it exist, because I have not seen it, you cannot say that it does not exist because you have not seen it. If it is non-existent because I have not seen it, then the world does not exist for the blind man. The blind man, moreover, does not see himself. It matters not if he does not exist. But I ask, who is it that affirms the negative? He who is himself non-existent cannot affirm or deny anything.
At the time of the happening of that cause which gives fatherhood to man and motherhood to woman, the child exists in the atoms of semen and blood. He doesn't see that incident. Why do you, then, without visual evidence on your part and on the faith of others words believe that those who are called your father and mother are such? May be on principle you wilk object and say that you do not believe in that also. On rare occasions a real cause may exist for this unbelief. But, being a man,can you boldly assert it?. Are we to suppose that every father and mother in the world is subject to such a doubt?. Such a statement, even if one were able to make it, would be nothing but the raving of a madman. I have no objection to your doubting the eighty-four lakhs of births. But I say in that case let it be strictly a doubt. Do not bring it under the category of things certain. For the doubt is whether the eighty four lakhs of births exist or not, and no doubt can exist without knowledge of either exiatence or non-existence. There can never be a doubt about the existence of that which you know to be non-existent. It does not exist. This is not a doubt, but a certainty. This is why I said that, should you be doubtful, say that you do not know whether the eighty-four lakhs of births exist or not. To arrive at once at conclusion that they do not exist because it is doubtful whether they do exist is but a shocking manifestation of ignorance. In our discussion upon reincarnation we will set ourselves to dispel this doubt. Here we shall say this much- that when the number of eight-four lakhs is definitely given, it would be wise to believe in it. Of him who does not admit the fact of reincarnation in any manner, whether partly or incompletely, directly or indirectly. I ask: “ Are the eighty-four lakhs of births mentioned in the religious book of any other religious community of any country of which we know the history?” Can either the philosophy of Carvaka, or the Koran or bible, proclaim boldly that the Jiva takes eighty-four lakhs of births? Whose sight can stretch to the extremity of the universe, so as to be able to penetrate through the molecules and atoms of the fourteen worlds- namely, Bhuh, Bhuvah, Svah, Mahah, Janah, Tapah, Satya, Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Talatala, Rasatala, Mahatala, and Patala, and thus gaining knowledge of the nature of every Jiva with grave solemnity affirm and say: “Jiva has eighty-four lakhs of births. True, true, true again- true, there is no doubt.” Not to speak of pointing this out, how can one even boldly say that the number of births is eighty-four lakhs? The Jiva, through change of the curtain of memory in every birth, forgets its previous birth. Its memory is opened and closed. It is not, then, within its power of intelligence to say with certainty either by philosophy, science, perception, or inference, that the number of births eight-four lakhs. Only that Dharma and number of births is eighty-four lakhs. Only that Dharma and that Sastra can affirm this, which takes its birth in the heart whose substance is will of Her who is the infinite and eternal Intelligence, who dwells in the hearts of alk Ji as who are manifested with Her breath. Who can measure the extent of the births of Jiva but that Sastra which has emanated from the mouth of Anandamayi Herself, at whose feet this small world is but a plaything for Her eternal play? It is only Sastra which dances with joy at the sight of creation, preservation, and destruction taking place at every twinkling of the eye which can boldly assert that the number of births is eighty-four lakhs. If other Sastras be astounded, let them remain so. You and I have no need to faint away on hearing that. At present merely understand this much: that as he who can count a thousand has surely known the mathematical sign for that number, so he who can assert the number of eight-four lakhs of births has surely seen them.
Source- Vedas and Aagama Tantras, Sir Jhon Woodroffe.
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