It is easy to interchange rebirth and reincarnation, in the beliefs of the Yorubas One can be said to be good, the other gets whips if it so appears in the body of a child. Abiku is the common word for a reincarnated human, Atunbi will be the appropriate nomenclature for ‘Rebirth’. Reincarnation is a concept that cuts across cultures and religions, but we are not here to discuss that are we?
Rebirth is so defined by humans who believe themselves to be sane as “a period of new life, growth, or activity; a revival.” I find this definition encompassing and covering more than what reincarnation covers. To politicians of Nigerian or Nigerien origin, Rebirth may easily be defined as; The sneaky or public change of political party. Of course that would mean their former party was what made them evil and that the logo change in their new membership card purges them off all former ‘misappropriations’
An adherent of the Islamic faith will see the yearly pilgrimage as a rebirth as it is said that the proper completion of the rites of ‘Hajj’ washes you off all previous sins, while the well-learned Muslim will frown and disprove of ‘Reincarnation’, the one with experiences of abiku and a shaky faith will argue.
Rebirth can be a plague. Hear me out, it can be when a well-known Poet all together chooses to delve into acting or into a genre of literature where he/she is less proficient. Rebirth can be death. A shallow grave filled with worms and vermin of the wet soil. We sometimes seek this out of Pride, sometimes out of adventure and sometimes out of confusion of our present selves.
We race and pace to become new, to revive ourselves, oft times we ache to transport ourselves into a new vessel, to grow, to evolve. The exposure of the inner self to change suddenly or intermittently can be damning to oneself. It can crush and sometimes churn out only waste products.
To be “born again”, to renew one’s faith in Christ and to attach one’s eternal success to the acceptance of ‘Jesus’ as the supreme being, this is the Factional belief of Christians. It is the process of renewing one’s self and purging oneself off of all previous misdeeds. To some, doing good in the absence of religiousity is just enough to make you a reborn being.
While the larger population of the human race find it better to continue in one’s present self, a fraction tend to differ, this fraction seek out various ways to sate this new hunger to be free, new, and clean. The need for rebirth can be from a life altering encounter or even something as simple as getting tired of one’s routine-like lifestyle.
People have argued that there is no Scientific explanation for the religious explanation of rebirth, hence the concept of rebirth in science is subtle and undiscussed due to the lack of substantial proof. It is said that “Science is not capable of knowing that life exists beyond the body or any of the possible events that may occur when the body dies.” Hence, rebirth or even reincarnation is outside the realms of scientific inquiry.
In all trustfulness, Rebirth is what each individual or what a member of a sect agrees it to be, it can be to be reborn, it can be dipping ones head in a river or pool, it can be sleeping at night and waking a new person. Rebirth can be wholesome or fractional, it can be negative or positive. The reason behind rebirth is also of utmost importance as it is what shapes the rebirth journey. Rebirth can be hectic, it can also be simple. It can be a year journey, it can also be in a blink of an eye. Nick Nolte is noted to have said “Birth is violent, and out of that violence is our only chance of rebirth.” Ponder on that and maybe have a nice time with the thoughts it leaves behind.
