Muni Kishan Lal
The period between birth and death, a phase in which we are now, is what we call 'life'. The ending of the period of life has been termed as 'death'. The beginning of life after death, termed as 'birth', is what rebirth is all about. The life before this birth is known as past life. The question is natural...why does birth take place? Why does death occur after birth? The questions appear simple but their answer is neither easy nor simple.
A disciple was walking towards his Guru's room at night with a lamp in his hands. It was quite dark. The Guru asked the disciple, "From where has the light come into the lamp?" The disciple blew off the lamp and said, "It has gone wherever it had come from. Now please tell me where has it gone?" The Guru blessed the disciple. "You will succeed me. One who is able to understand where life has come from and where it is going after death, is the one who becomes truly enlightened. Birth and death are a cycle. Birth is at one end while death is a point at the other end - birth after death then life and death after birth. If we reflect on the life before this life, we will find past life and after death we will find another life."
