The Pilgrimage of Life: Reincarnation

According to the seers all of life is a pilgrimage. It ends with the discovery or realization of the Self, the God who is not only above the heavens but also hidden in the heart of man. And where it begins no man can say. Hindu parents do not come together without prayer, and when they know that a baby will be born to them, they thank God and begin to pray for the health and safety of the soul who has come to their house. Every living creature is a soul. It lives in a body and a mind, which it wears like clothes. Just as a man when his coat is worn out throws it away, so, says the Gita, do we discard this body and again take a new one. So would your Hindu parents think of you -- as a soul which has lived on earth millions of times before, as plant, as animal, through all the stages of evolution up to man, and fortunate now to be born a human being. What they must do is to help you further along your journey to the goal. This in English we usually call reincarnation.
Suppose you were a newborn baby. Many ceremonies would lie ahead. In one of them your father with a pen dipped in honey would write on your tongue the sacred word OM. In another you might have your hair cut off to symbolize leaving the previous life completely behind. Father would give you your name by leaning over your ear and saying, "Now your name is----". Usually it refers to a deity, a great hero, or some noble virtue. This serves to remind both the person and those who address him of the Lord within. Some examples are: Parvati Charan Chatterji (one who is offered at the feet of the Divine Mother), Mohandas Gandhi (servant of Krishna) and M. S. Subbalakshmi (gracious Lakshmi). In this way every stage of a Hindu's life is marked by sacraments. If you were a boy of the higher classes there would be a special ritual, when you were eight or ten, called an initiation. A priest would shave your head and ask you to repeat the Gayatri prayer. Taking certain vows you would begin your student life.