The Wilbur Smith Discussion Forums

A discussion involving the Sunbird made me think of starting this thread. I'm not a religious person, i would probably fit into the category of Atheist. However, with reincarnation i actually have a longing for it to be real. I doubt if it does happen but i would like it too! As long as i came back as something better and not worse than this life!! If i could pick, i'd come back as Sean Jnr

Anyone else have some thoughts on this? And who would you like to come back as?

I feel pretty much the same way, even though i'm not particularly religiously inclined either. I do feel sometimes like i've been somewhere before but in a completely different era.
There are plenty of types of people i'd like to come back as but i am not sure about Sean jnr? I don't think i would really want to share his body with you either

Interesting that you feel like you've been somewhere before but in a different time. Think Deja Vu comes into it??

As for Sean jnr if not him, then Hal...although he loses his legs so Tom then. Or how about coming back as the next Wilbur and writting brilliant books!

I wouldn't say I am an atheist, I can't deny the existence of any god cause I can't proof.
For myself I call me pagan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pagan) and it has a personla meaning for me beyond Wicca. According to this topic I think of reincarnation: the 'soul' goes back in some pool and is taken out for another life. Or as in a cinema: ypu lieave the door and step into another movie = life. And in the end (this is the buddhistic part) there is a status beyond ambition, desire and distress, where there is no need to make any other experience. This is the target.
Maybe that does explain deja vusi, the feeling that you were there before, had this before.

PS. Because it's not up to you to choose which life you get next you can't say you want to born as X. But if I choose I only would determine the epoch - the 19th century in Europe

But if I choose I only would determine the epoch - the 19th century in Europe

Any particular reason for choosing the 19th century WSI?

Monsoon wrote:

But if I choose I only would determine the epoch - the 19th century in Europe

Any particular reason for choosing the 19th century WSI?

sure. I'm fascinated by this epoch of changes. The French revolution brings up Talleyrand, Fouché and Napoleon and arranges Europa new. New ideas, new plans, new philosophy.
Probably at this time I only would be the one taking out the garbage; but just to see it live I'd take this risk

Dunno how I missed this topic!

I am religious, and would you know, my religion does believe in reincarnation

The Hindu people believe that the spirit cycles through every form of life before reaching the ultimate human form - and once you get there, it's a good bet you wanna stay there! (Very human-centric view of life, eh?) If you do truly despicable things in your time as human then your'e definately coming back as an amoeba or something

Sikhs (aka me) believe something similar, but for us, the be-all and end all is that your spirit should return to the Eternal Spirit (aka God ) So WSI is right in saying that you can't choose who, what or where you return as, but you will return.

I have had the dja vu thing too, but it's usually I feel I'm repeating some action, or conversation, word for word. Trippy.

Nefer wrote:The Hindu people believe that the spirit cycles through every form of life before reaching the ultimate human form

What do you mean by every form of life? Animal as well as human?


As for Deja Vu, i get it in the same sort of way as you do Nefer, with conversations, but also in certain situations where i just know whats coming next because i've seen it before....wether in a dream or not...i don't know. It's always a strange feeling

bacteria, plant & animal, the whole she-bang.

Thats a whole lot to go through!

Nefer wrote:Dunno how I missed this topic!

I am religious, and would you know, my religion does believe in reincarnation

The Hindu people believe that the spirit cycles through every form of life before reaching the ultimate human form - and once you get there, it's a good bet you wanna stay there! (Very human-centric view of life, eh?) If you do truly despicable things in your time as human then your'e definately coming back as an amoeba or something

Sikhs (aka me) believe something similar, but for us, the be-all and end all is that your spirit should return to the Eternal Spirit (aka God ) So WSI is right in saying that you can't choose who, what or where you return as, but you will return.

I have had the dja vu thing too, but it's usually I feel I'm repeating some action, or conversation, word for word. Trippy.

You're sikh? I'm Hindu And I do believe in reincarnation. This isn't because of my religion though. I like to think of it more scientifically (actually, I can't back it up with solid proof, but here goes..):

Every form of life consists of energy. Energy cannot be created, nor destroyed (I think that's still the case). Therefore, there must be some great resource of energy (possibly in the Earth, a la Gaia theory) and the energy would be used to either create humans or maintain them. When you die, the energy you consisted of must go somewhere as it can't be destroyed. Wherever it goes, it may be possible that it is called upon again to supply the energy for a new being.

I don't know if I am being naive, or just desperate to cling to some form of existence after death, but I really do believe in this theory.

The theory is sound... according to what I recall of Physics!!

Have any of you read Vikram Chandra's Red Earth and Pouring Rain? It delves into this subject in a really interesting story, and introduces non Hindu people to most of the Hindu Gods. It also gives you an understanding of who they are and what each represents.
Hannuman is in my house,
as well as Shiva, JesusChrist and The Virgin Mary.
I have a Sacred Heart and a House monster (scares Evil away).
I don't know what belief of the afterlife is correct but we all hope that there is something more.

That was a terrible book... I only read it to see what a fellow Indian writer had to say.. not much, apparently. The book didn't make much sense, even though I very diligently slogged through it.

Interesting to hear a non-Indians POV I had no idea that much information was in it!

Gotta disagree, there were some slow points but I liked it and I learned about the topic which we are discussing (reincarnation and religion).