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DOCTRINE OF TRANSMIGRATION: COROLLARY....
and takes on a new body, after death. This is possible through the process of “āvartana” (transference)."
The Tathāgata Buddha once explained that the pricks of thorn that he suffered were due to the violence or injuries caused to a human being in his ninety-one previous lives.
The newborn infant expresses various emotions like joy, fear and sorrow. These are due to its memories in the past life." The new born infant, starts sucking the milk from mother's breast, the moment he is born. This is due to its learning and habit that it had acquired in the past life." As the young boy grows into a youth, similarly the jīvas enter a new life and the body grows into full stature. The new born infant experiences pleasure and pain and expresses various emotions. All these can be traced to the dispositions (samskāra) acquired by the infant from its previous life due to the heritage of its karma, may call it collective unconscious, the rational-unconscious. These are due to impressions (saṁskāras) dragged on from previous life. In this way Indian philosophers have adduced arguments and have tried to show that rebirth is a fact of life. The soul gets involved in the wheel of life and is born and reborn in different existences."
Karma and rebirth are basal pre-suppositions and if we do accept the theory of karma, rebirth can be explained on the basis of karma. If rebirth were not to be accepted as a fact principle of life, it would be difficult to explain the prevalent inequality in this world and the experience of various types of existences in this world without reference to karma.
The Western philosophers also were not unaware of doctrine of rebirth although this doctrine was largely ignored in Western
13 Gītā, 2.22 "Nyāyasūtra, 3,1,11 15 Ibid, 3,1,12, "Muni Shri Nyāyavijayaji, “Jaina Philosophy and Religion”, P-495
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