Eternal Entanglements

‘I’ve been here before’

If I were ever asked to share the one opening line that is sure to make me read any book or watch any movie, it is this line. A line that hints of an existence prior to this lifetime, and of memories from a time gone by rising to surface when confronted with places or people one had known in a past life.

It may sound strange but this is a belief shared by many across the globe. That we have shared an earlier life with others and have painted a personal history with them using brushes soaked in love, passion, betrayal, sorrow, hatred and happiness. These emotions that mark each existence create eternal entanglements.  And, I am not alone in thinking that some unfinished business lingers on from past lives impacting our present; leading us to people and paths destined for us. The ever popular notion of each of us having a soulmate is also closely linked to reincarnation. Reincarnation is the philosophical concept that states the soul can survive the body after death and begin a new life in another body. Just like we change clothes, our soul changes bodies with each lifetime spent in a different garb or body. 

The theory of Karma, an integral concept of Hinduism, also gives credence to reincarnation by stating that we are all governed by a universal principle of cause and effect. Our thoughts, actions, and words ( in this lifetime and previous incarnations) determine our fate in life. There are three types of Karma in Hinduism:

• Sanchita- Karma that has been accumulated over lifetimes or sum total of all karma
• Prarabdha - Karma that is manifesting in this lifetime or already yielding its effect
• Kriyamana/Agami- Karma that we are currently creating in this lifetime each moment

Illustration of Reincarnation ( Image Source- Wikipedia)

The theory of Karma proposes that no good deed goes unrewarded and no bad deed is left unpunished. A very simple example would be that if you were good to someone in some life you may find that person supporting you in this life even though you may not know why. Alternatively, if you were bad to someone you may experience the anger and hatred of this person and wonder why this person is being so harsh towards you when you haven’t done anything to deserve it. But you have. Just not in this life. For every action you take, there is a deserving reaction. Surely a notion that carries immense satisfaction, if not relief. 

Because of this deep fascination for karmic ties that bind us across lifetimes, reincarnation fiction is my favorite genre and some of the books that find a place on my Keepers Shelf are:

1. Yes, My Darling Daughter- Margaret Leroy (“I lived there, Grace. Before.” Grace has to accept that her daughter may be remembering a past life.)
2. A Memory of Demons- David Ambrose (Why does Julia insist that her name is Melanie?)
3. Sweet Heart-Peter James (Sinister memories of a previous lifetime start to haunt Claire)
4. Sleep No More-Greg Iles (The beautiful stranger John Waters has just met reminds him too much of his old girlfriend-because she is)
5. Caught in the Light- Robert Goddard (Is Marian Esguard still alive? But she was a 19th-century gentlewoman with a talent for chemistry.)
6. Midnight Bayou- Nora Roberts (Declan is seeing visions from a century past)
7. The Revenge of Kaivalya- Sumana Khan (Uncover a terrifying truth that binds lifetimes)

Others waiting to be read that find a place on my TBR Shelf are:

• All Susanna Kearsley books
• All M J Rose books
• Threads- Nell Gavin
• Green Darkness- Anya Seton

And what better way to conclude this post than with a befitting quote from Paulo Coelho’s Eleven Minutes:

“Important encounters are planned by the soul before the bodies see each other”