Reinkarnacijos samprata Rytų ir Vakarų kultūrose krikščioniškojo mokymo požiūriu

Abstract

Reinkarnacija, t. y. žmogaus atgimimo arba persikūnijimo idėja, gimė Rytų filosofijoje. Pastaruoju metu ši idėja vis labiau plinta Vakarų pasaulyje. Vakaruose plintanti reinkarnacijos teorija gerokai skiriasi nuo rytietiškosios ir iš esmės skiriasi nuo krikščioniškojo mokymo apie pomirtinį gyvenimą. Straipsnyje norima išryškinti skirtumus remiantis krikščioniškuoju mokymu

Reincarnation is found both in Hinduism and Buddhism, but their conceptions slightly differ. Hindus believe that it is not an individual soul that is reincarnated, but the absolute reality – Brahman, who exists as a form of Atman in every person. A person is necessarily embraced into eternal circulating process of samsara, which he must submit to. This process determines that a person has to reincarnate, though his position and quality of life in new reincarnation is determined by karma, law of causality in the moral context. The goal of reincarnation is to disengage from the cycle of reincarnations, from one self and to merge together with Brahman. Buddhism talks more about disengagement from painful rebirths than reincarnation. With a help of reincarnation a person seeks to disengage from misery, desires, lust and worldly reality, which is nothing else but the illusion, and to reach the final goal of enlightenment – nirvana. A syncretistic construct has formed in the West, which includes European conception of a human being and Hinduist belief about constant human reincarnation. The Western world is bound to relate the main elements of reincarnation teaching with modern evolutionism and progressive optimism. In Hinduism a human is condemned to travel from one body to another and inevitably participate in this process, which oppresses him and thus is negative. Therefore, if in Eastern religions the reincarnation is conceived as necessity and inevitability, then in the West it is conceived, firstly, as a new opportunity. Even though the personal “one self ” remains, differently from the Eastern conception, but the goal of reincarnation is not to improve after disengagement from painful and negative cycle of rebirths and to reach final bliss merging with divinity, but to use the worldly possibilities and amenities continually returning to the Earth. [...]