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and is reborn a man. This too is not proper. The other-worldly. existence is caused by karman which having diverse causes is diverse in nature. If karman is diverse, its effect, the otherworldly existence too must be diverse and so it cannot be said that a man should be reborn as a man and so on, that is to say, that the jāti (genus) should remain the same (1798).
. Moreover if genus or class (jāti) were to remain the same then the betterment or deterioration in the same class could not be explained. He who is prosperous in this life should be prosperous in the other-worldly, existence also and he who is poor should be such. Thus there should be no scope for betterment or deterioration in the other-worldly existence. If this were so, acts of charity, etc. would be in vain, that is to say, would have no fruit. But this cannot be, for people are inspired to perform acts of charity, etc. in the hope that they will get the prosperity of gods ani thus better their lot. If such auspicious acts were to bear no fruit, people would not perform them. Hence even similarity in respect of genus should not be insisted upon (1799).
Further if similarity in respect of class is insisted upon, the Vedic statement that he who is cremated along with the feces will be born a jackal, will be contradicted for according to it a man is said to be reborn as a jackal. We have other statements to the effect that 'One who desires heaven should perform Agnihotra' (agnihotrain juhuyāt svargakāmaḥ) and 'One wins the kingdom of Yama by Agniștoma' (agniștomena yamarajyam abhijayati) and which yield promises of betterment of lot in heaven. This shows that even in the Vedic view there is no indication that the jāti (genus) remains the same. As to the statement that a man is reborn as man and animals as animals (puruso vai puruşatvam aśnute pašavaḥ paśutvam), Sudhairmā had not understood its meaning and hence his doubt. What it means is that a man who is by nature good, polite, kind, free from malice binds unto himself such two karmans called nāma (body-making) and gotra (status-determining) as enable him to be reborn as man again after he is dead. But this is not so
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