What does Samsara or rebirth even mean?

• To the modern world, ideas like Samsara and rebirth seem like antiquated nonsense.
• Hey, hasn't science junked all these iron age theories?
• Is it not time to embrace atheism, science and junk silly stories of our ancestors.

All the above ideas describe my thoughts less than two years ago before I began delving deep into Hindu and Buddhist thought. I now realize that Indian thought is way more sophisticated than I would have assumed.?Most things that science can throw at religion cannot be handled by traditional religion but are easily handled by Indian philosophy. I will discuss evolution, heredity, common ancestors, simulations and Boltzmann Brains today.

Samsara means that we keep living after death. How is that even remotely possible? Hindu texts talk of infinite births. Is that not ridiculous? If you believe in science, repeating the cycle of life is the most common theme. Let us examine the most traditional relationship between parent and child. Ask any parent about their experience, and they will tell you that the children are an extension of their self. Even medical research notes that a mother's self of her body expands inside her brain to cover her newborn baby. For parents, children are a way for individuals to gain immortality. From a genetic perspective, it makes complete sense. Human bodies are a way for genes to gain immortality. However, the direction of immortality works only in one direction. No child identifies with the parent; they consider themselves unique. Since time flows forward, the genes inside children cannot gain immortality by looking backwards at their parents.

In the same way, no individual came into existence by themself. Every living being has a parent. Each being inherits both life and consciousness from their parents. The answer to when you started living starts with your parents, not with you. In the same way, the parent's life came from their parents and so on. Quickly, we see that all human life on earth has to begin from a single point. If you think further, all life comes from a single point. All biological scientists know this fact well. Let us call this inherited consciousness by some name, Hindus term it Atman. Now, you can see what consciousness and Atman mean and how they are linked. Now, you get an idea of infinite cycles of birth and death, also called Samsara.?

You do not need to be a great scientist to understand the ideas of Atman and Samsara. A bit of common sense goes a long way. If you pooh-pooh the ideas of Atman and Samsara, saying that it is all humbug, then you are in open rebellion with all of established science.

I have covered the materialistic perspective to show folks can begin their journey. Hindu thought is more complex. Rebirth is not just about genetics and having children. People cannot escape rebirth by refusing to procreate. The Upanishads talk about how we conjure up our universe in our minds. Anybody who slams this Hindu idea as more nonsense need to think twice. Please read up about Boltzmann Brains and tell me how Hindu thought differs from Boltzmann's idea. The Upanishads state that the Atman creates the universe inside the mind through latent desires. Science says that Boltzmann Brains create whatever universes they want inside itself. Let us also remember that Boltzmann is no amateur; he founded thermodynamics.

Anybody who is a philosopher of science knows that we make mental simulations of the universe, and our perception of the universe is ultimately a part of our inner simulation. Every objection to Boltzmann Brains comes from scientists who assume that Boltzmann Brains are the highest possible reality. If they had bothered to read about Hindu thought that the reality of the Brahman is even higher than the reality of the Atman, they would have their objections vanish into thin air. However, they do not read Indian thought and continue to argue incessantly.

Before dismissing ideas, it is essential to understand how other cultures have dealt with the same problems. The issue with Indian thought is that all the great works, like the Upanishads, are in Sanskrit. Few understand Sanskrit and can read the originals for themselves. Fortunately, my knowledge of Sanskrit from school and my efforts to learn Sanskrit recently helped me a lot here. The only real option for most people is to read translations. Most translations are terrible and often malicious, driven by the agenda of British colonial masters who were more interested in besmirching Indian thought rather than extolling it.?

Use reliable translations. I depend on English translations from the Ramakrishna Mission, Chinmaya Mission, Advaita Ashrama, etc. These places are filled with lifelong ascetics who have dedicated their lives to saving Advaita texts. Some often spend decades translating one book to get the meaning perfectly right. Be thoughtful about what you read and where you read it. The promise of Advaita is an entirely unique perspective of the world that will blow your mind.

If you have other topics or burning questions, please give me your feedback here.