Can a man take animal birth in his next birth? References!
A devotee (Name hidden) asked like this:
“Hare Krishna Prabhuji , If you can please provide information regarding below: I heard that once a soul take human body it will now not fall down to any other species except humans. Soul can take birth in any of the human life (I guess we have about lakhs human form )but not animal . Is this true ? because in reincarnation stories I have read human has again got a birth as human in a very very short span of time.”
REPLY:
This concept of “Humans will always take birth as humans” is propagated only by a small number of authors who are not at all qualified to explain Bhagavad Gita since they violate the very verse of Bhagavad Gita that speaks of fall down.
(HOW THE SOUL LEAVES AND ENTERS INTO BODIES? – STEP BY STEP EXPLANATION! READ HERE!)
Krishna has never said that a man will always be a man in all births;
But, He has said that he can fall down or get elevated in the further births in these verses:
Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita Ch-14 and Verses 14 and 15:
(14-14) :
When one dies in the mode of goodness, he attains to the pure higher planets of the great sages.
(14-15) :
When one dies in the mode of passion, he takes birth among those engaged in fruitive activities; and when one dies in the mode of ignorance, he takes birth in the animal kingdom.
This clearly shows that a man taking animal birth in his next birth is possible.
(WHY KRISHNA SUPPORTED ANIMAL SACRIFICE IN YAGAS AND YAJNAS? READ HERE!)
Krishna has clearly said in another verse:
Bhagavad-gita Ch-8, Verse-6:
Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, O son of Kunti, that state he will attain (that state) without fail.
Room Conversation:
“If you associate, infect tamasic, ignorance, then you go down and down, become animal.”
Room Conversation:
“They are living like cats and dogs and going to be cats and dogs.”
Life Comes From Life:
“Animals transmigrate in only one direction—upward—but human beings can transmigrate to either a higher or a lower form of life.”
“But once you come to the human form, if you don’t cultivate Krishna consciousness you may return to the body of a cat or dog.”
Srimad Bhagavatam (3.31.1):
“Under the supervision of the Supreme Lord and according to the result of his work, the living entity, the soul, is made to enter into the womb of a woman… to assume a particular type of body.”
“If you act like a dog, you get a dog body. It all depends on your KARMA.”
“If you do not make proper use of our rare human birth, then God will fulfill our desire and let us take birth in lower species.”
Room Conversation:
“Alive, we have been given chance to understand God. But if you don’t understand, then next life you become a dog.”
Bhagavad-gītā 13.22, Purport:
“As long as he is captivated by this false manifestation, he has to continue transmigrating… sometimes as a beast, as a bird, as a worm, as an aquatic… Due to his desire to lord it over material nature, he is put into such undesirable circumstances.”.
What these quotes show?
If a person thinks of dogs at the time of death or leads a life like dogs, he will take birth as a dog in his next birth.
Man can decide his next birth. Krishna says in Bhagavad-gita Ch-8, Verse-26:
(Do animals have soul or not and can they be killed since they have no soul? READ HERE!)
8-26 :
According to Vedic opinion, there are two ways of passing from this world – one in light and one in darkness. When one passes in light, he does not come back; but when one passes in darkness, he returns.
We can see such verses in Srimad Bhagavatam also (3-31-44):
In this way the living entity gets a suitable body with a material mind and senses, according to his fruitive activities. When the reaction of his particular activity comes to an end, that end is called death, and when a particular type of reaction begins, that beginning is called birth.
(What karma gives beautiful body in this birth? READ HERE!)
A man can become woman and vice versa in next birth:
If a husband is very much attached to his wife, he takes birth as woman and vice versa. Read here:
Srimad Bhagavatham (3-31-41) says:
A living entity who, as a result of attachment to a woman in his previous life, has been endowed with the form of a woman, foolishly looks upon māyā in the form of a man, her husband, as the bestower of wealth, progeny, house and other material assets.
What else to say?
Therefore, Read the Scriptures only from bonafide sources. Read the explanations given by the learned and matured devotees like Srila Prabhupada who come under bonafied sampradhaya.
(If the man came from animal, why he suffers since animals have no karma? READ HERE!)
As explained by Krishna Himself, it is possible for a man taking animal birth in his next birth! again if he behaves like an animal in his human birth now. And, if he has more animal like qualities now, as per the karma theary, he must be given a suitable animal body.
Examples:
(1) If a human has a habit of having uncontrolled sex with many persons without following any rules and regulations, he will be given a body of dog in his next birth because only the dogs can have such a kind of uncontrolled sex.
(2) If a person is taking plenty of meat and if he can’t live without eating meat, he will get a birth as a wild animal and he can eat as much animals as possible in the body of wild animal.
Hope you are clear now about whether a man can take animal birth in his next birth!
(Is it sinful to kill animals for research by the scientists and the employees? READ HERE!)