Past Lives: Do They Matter ? How the Spirituality Affects Your Next Life ?

Abstract: In any authentic spiritual practice, we do not delve into our past lives. Any meditation we do, we do it for our peace, liberation and to find ourselves. Any meditation we do for getting to know our past lives, to gain psychic abilities mostly end up screwing ourselves. Instead these qualities and abilities should naturally stem from our genuine effort to know ourselves. As byproducts! Certain spiritual traditions highly emphasize about the reincarnation of human beings, ever running samsaric cycles. But if we forget what we become in next life, why bother ? Why practicing spirituality ? 

This goes like a conversation between a Master (not a teacher) and a Disciple.....

Disciple: Master, I do like to know my past lives. I want to recollect these memories. How to do that ?

Master: Why did you come here in the first place ? Why being distracted to know something else ? Why don't you meditate diligently and let everything reveal by itself ?

Disciple: I heard there are special meditative instructions and methods to gain this specific knowledge. 

Master: One may find such information or special techniques, from books or by other means. But the universe does not support such ventures. 

Disciple: Why so master ? I heard from a fortune teller that I was a king in one lifetime. This inspired me to find my ancient sword I wielded at that time. I want to bring the prosperity once we had to this world again. 

Master: Why do you think now you are poor ? You were a king, apparently a great mighty one. But now you don't have even 1/50 th of his wealth. Why so ?

Disciple: Mmm......... My bad luck ? My poor family ?

Master: None of these ! The universe does not give you the same prestige again and again. Its mission is to let you liberate from your samsaric self. On the other hand what joy, freedom is there being a mighty king ? There is no freedom, no good sleep. You have to keep your kingdoms and concubines safe. The latter is more difficult I suppose. Perhaps making one concubine safe from the other is the most difficult thing :D

Disciple: Then why I was born like that in one lifetime ? What is the point ? Why the universe acts in this way ?

Master: Otherwise how would you evolve ? Unless you become a king, you would never have evolved from that life to come to this stage. Unless this evolution takes place, you will reincarnate to be a king no matter what. You have to get that experience ! Then being a beggar too. That's how the Samsara makes your soul mature. Each lifetime, till finding truth, it takes you through many experiments. It is not for the universe. But for you.

Disciple: Is it same for all of us master ?

Master: The one who is destined to become a Buddha has the longest samsaric cycle to go. He has to serve the existence as kings, lords, leaders among humans. Only by this way a highly evolved consciousness can arrive. He is here for everybody.

Disciple: I was born a Buddhist. That means I only lived as Buddhists in my past lives ?

Master: (laughing) You know what ? I was born in a similar way. Once I had all my past lives recollected during meditation, and I was so surprised to know, nothing but one truth.

Disciple: (prostrating) Please share your wisdom venerable sir !

Master: Many thousand years ago, we were serving lord Krishna during Mahabharata war. He gave me an instruction or two. A later lifetime, we were practicing with prophet Elija. A few hundred years after, I was a wealthy layman who met Gauthama Buddha and heard his message. Then with master Jesus, I practiced prostrations. I was a Tibetan Tantric practitioner much later, there we were born to a rich family. Then we became "Kusulu" yogis and this is when we learnt meditation properly. We were neither monastic, nor non-monastic. In current life, I am appearing in this physical body before you.

Disciple: Woow, marvelous master. But I can't really believe you. You cannot become a Buddhist if you served other traditions and other masters in previous lifetimes. 

Master: Spirituality doesn't work like that. It does not know any labels, traditions, cultures. It serves only one purpose, awakening. Living by the universal energies. Whoever embodies that energy in each age, the matured souls are directed to them. It was because of these previous lessons, commitments I had towards these masters, I became like this in this lifetime. Finally I died to myself. This is how our souls really evolve. Our souls only understand energies. Therefore I prostrate to all these Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.  

Disciple: So your wealth, royalties did not come along.

Master: I told you ! Your jobs, wealth, education, PhD, MSc, degrees, money, properties, even your beauty do not come to your next life. But one thing, only one thing certainly comes along.

Disciple: What is it master ?

Master: Your spirituality ! Whatever you practice, cultivate in you, will be there. If you had at least a glimpse of "no-mind" (clear light) or upper spiritual chakras awakened (only from heart to crown) in this life, they will appear to you again in next lifetime. What we practiced as "Kusulu" yogis was directly influential for my progress in this lifetime. You will first encounter these experiences as kids. Even a Buddha cannot alter it. This is the real magic ! This is the magic of the universe. The evolution of consciousness. Nothing else !

Disciple: So then how should we treat these memories ?

Master: Memories are just memories. Once you become enlightened, you are free from your memories too. So why bother ? But sometimes this knowledge is useful to understand certain things. To explain certain things. Usually these memories are laying in the last layer of your mind. The deep darkness. Just before the great empty.