Do you believe in Reincarnation or Transmigration?

I'm curious to get a feel for the sangat's votes.
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Ishna ji,

Guru Fateh.

Could you please enlighten me what reincarnation and transmigration are and how one is able to understand them?

I notice you write "believe" in your question which shows that it is a belief as used in a belief system.

Allow me to give my 2 cent worth.

Sikhs are Truthseekers. The first pauri of Jap shows us that and I am sure you are aware of it that tells us that truth is fluid, hence there is no absolute truth as dogmatic religions like Abrahamic and others promise us, but truth is absolute in Sikhi.

Truth stands on its own and does not need a belief system but a way of life because Sikhs do not believe in any god but for Sikhs, IK ONG KAAR IS.

I apologise in advance if my post may have offended you in any way. We are all Sikhs- seekers, learners,students and we can only learn from each other via interacting.

Thanks and regards.

Tejwant Singh

Sat Sri Akal Tejwant Ji

No offense taken - this is a forum where everyone presents their views and polite frankness is appreciated.

This thread here does a better job of discussing transmigration / reincarnation: http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/gurmat...n-of-soul.html

One should be able to understand the spiritual matter of reincarnation and transmigration from Gurbani and discourse with the sangat. Personally I'm finding Gurbani very difficult to understand because I haven't read it all, I don't understand it all, and it's very easy to make it say whatever the heck you want it to say (example: you can make Gurbani sound like it prohibits or encourages meat eating.. similarly you can make it sound like it supports or rejects reincarnation and transmigration).

I used "believe" for a couple of reasons: 1. the poll may sound biased if I phrase the choices as if they have already been answered. 2. when it comes to a religion, I think belief does have a place. How else can you "believe the Truth"? Doesn't believe mean that you accept the concept presented as true? 3. some Sikhs might NOT believe in reincarnation and transmigration.

Gurfatehji
Ishna

Ishna Ji,

I've been wondering about this. About why we're even here???

God is perfect, loving, compassionate, powerful...we go knocking at his door. but why did he even create imperfect creations? us, little ants who love, suffer, and struggle. If his light is in all, in us, and the ultimate goal is to merge in God's light, why did he immerse us in this maya, this game? Is this the ultimate humility of God, that even though God could have perfection, he chooses not to? Does this mean love, the source needs to be in action in order to grow and sustain itself?

Navdeep ji,
The portrait you paint has characteristics of an Abrahamic God. Ik Oankaar is not a person who would play games. When you think about the universe or even lab experiments every effect has other effects that were not anticipated. Gas collapses in on itself, a star is form. This is Akaal Purakh's creation. A side effect of this process is the creation of precious metals. What is the purpose of a honeybee? What is the purpose of a flower? What is the purpose of worms? Everything has a function in the grand order (I have been watching too many nature programs lately!!). I think humans are here to realise our consciousness. It is not God that separates but we build walls ourself the way a child keeps falling when learning to walk. We should be the caretakers of this Earth but instead we are destroying it!


Ishna ji,
You may enjoy this thread, I did when it was active. It goes through the shabads on reincarnation and looks at them in several different ways. This may help you make your own mind up!
http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/sikh-s...carnation.html

I voted "Other."

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I believe in the karma/transmigration theory.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/questions-and-answers/36845-do-you-believe-in-reincarnation-transmigration.html

On Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, I believe that when we die, we are dead.

On Sunday, I eat Doritos.

I think all of us are as old as this universe is! All of us are our own ancestors, and our descendants are again us only!

Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=36845
Just my random thoughts!

Way ji, that link is precisely what I'm looking for, thank you! _/\_

At the risk of sounding like a nut... I believe in reincarnation because I have an instinctive feeling about it, and because I have seen things. I believe in it because some of us seem to be much older and more mature than others spiritually, and it can't always be explained by our environment. My feeling about transmigration is not as strong, but it sort of makes sense to me. If we have souls, animals must too; and we must have been something other than human if our souls were around before human bodies began to exist on Earth.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=36845

Um... karma. I think it is when we give the idea too much power and detail that it begins to sound ridiculous. What if karma is simply a natural law of cause and effect? If you work to improve the world, the world will be that much nicer for you and others. If you are a jerk, people will be jerks to you. And maybe we are here in the circumstances we are born into, to learn something we could never learn otherwise.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=36845

The bottom line is that I really know nothing. I don't even know WHY our existence is so hard to understand. I can only hear other people's ideas and try to do what seems right.