Re: Rebirth as an animal
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté
This is a very interesting question that comes up once every 2 years or so. One can look at this several ways.
The first way is very practical. Even if you are reborn ( or your next halting place (paḍvīśa) is an animal , does it matter? It is not as if you would be thinking, oh here I am, a deer, running though the woods . If I had just done this/that and the other as a human I would not be stuck running away as fast as I can from these tigers.
The other view is the following. The wise see those that have not recognized their own being, their Self, as the paśu – any tethered animal or a domesticated animal.
We are viewed as paśu ( or paśūni) due to blemish that one sees themselves as the body, 'tethered' to the body. Even if one is the domesticated paśu(learned, educated) they still can have this blemish.
So if you are the mṛga (a forest animal, a wild beast) or the human (paśu) not living one's true nature, it seems to me ( and me only) does it really matter ? Let's look to one view by Ādi Śaṅkara. He mentions the following¹ :
For all things subject to birth, birth in a human body is rare. Even rarer to obtain are strength of the body and mind . Rarer still is purity. More difficult than these is the desire to live a spiritual life. Rarest of all is to have an understanding of the scriptures.
He continues in the 3rd śloka and says, rare and difficult to obtain are these 3: A human birth (narajañma), the burning desire for liberation (mumukṣutvaṁ) and the association with great (spiritual) beings i.e. the wise ( mahapuruṣa). These are the results of divine grace (daivānugraha).
My teacher said, make hay while the sun shines.
iti śivaṁ
words
- paśu – any tethered animal; a domesticated animal, compare this to a wild animal mṛga
- mṛga – a forest animal, a wild beast.
- Ādi Śaṅkara's writings in his Vivekacūḍāmaṇi; 2nd & 3rd śloka
यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
because you are identical with śiva
_
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