The present human psychology is largely governed by conditioned thought along lines of ‘my religion’, ‘my country’, ‘my race’ etc. Sectarian practices have divided humanity and have incited cold wars and hot wars across those divisions. What is happening is a far cry from the state of unconditional love embracing humanity in its sacred fold and obviating the abominable violence of man against man. The ego-culture that man has thoughtlessly brought upon himself captures children early in their lives and the sad story continues generation after generation. As J. Krishnamurti says, “Violence is everywhere, among the highly educated and the most primitive, among the intellectuals and the sentimentalists. Neither education nor the organized religions have been able to tame man; on the contrary, they have been responsible for wars, tortures, concentration camps and for the slaughter of animals on land and sea.” One of the major reasons for this deplorable situation is that our education does not bring about a cosmopolitan and compassionate outlook in the children from their young days; it only encourages self-importance, ambition, envy and competition – ‘crush the other to go up’ kind of destructive psychology. The one thing that can bring about the much-needed change is the exposure of the youngsters to the cosmological context in which our lives are transpiring. Many near death experiences amply exemplify that context. The calmness that ensues from our awareness of the immensity keeps us company during our daily life. Mental conflicts begin to dissolve because we see others as part of a larger scheme of things and hence accept them as they are.
The ancient spiritual developments in India and China gave importance to the cosmology of the universe. They could perceive the astronomical scales of time and the many lives the soul goes through in order to understand the immensity in which we live. The ancient seers specially remarked on the cyclic order of natural events. Their meticulous observation of natural phenomena attests to their scientific and logical temperament. Whatever is created in time cannot be eternal. Consequently the universe, which was created in time (in a particular Kalpa or cosmic era), will have an ending in time. At the end of a cycle all beings enter into the Divine Nature; again, at the beginning of the cycle they are brought forth. As Carl Sagan, a leading astrophysicist, remarks in his book ‘Cosmos’, only a cyclic process can be eternal.
With the expansive vision on life arising out of understanding reincarnation, the claustrophobia in time disappears. Life’s vista expands. Reincarnation is not a sectarian belief but a cosmological fact covering all humanity, irrespective of whether the person is from New Delhi, Sydney or Timbuktu! It does not allow prejudices to interfere in dealing with people of other faiths or culture. We sense the soul’s need for being born in different cultures and backgrounds to broaden its evolutional understanding and growth towards Divinity. It augments loving relationships with everyone, no matter what that person’s affiliation is. For the same reason, we would not push our convictions on others or try to convert them to our own religious or spiritual views; rather support the view that each person’s situation is good for him or her in the cosmological context.
Related matters are covered in the website http://spirituality.yolasite.com