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Indian philosophy of reincarnation takes us to idea of basic morality, says Justice Nariman

Displaying his eidetic memory, Justice Nariman quoted effortlessly from the Rig Veda, the Old Testament and the Avesta. He spoke on the idea of reincarnation in all religions.

Govt should read our dissent order in Sabarimala verdict: Justice Nariman Justice Nariman was speaking as chief guest at the seventh Dr L M Singhvi memorial lecture. .(Express photo by Renuka Puri)

The Indian philosophy of reincarnation “takes us towards the idea of basic morality” and explains that one should be compassionate to every living being, Supreme Court judge Rohinton Fali Nariman said on Saturday.

Delivering a lecture on comparative religious perspectives on reincarnation, Justice Nariman said that out of six great philosophers — Pythagoras, Plato, Buddha, Mahavir, Confucius and Lao Tzu — four “gave the world the first theories of reincarnation.”

Justice Nariman was speaking as chief guest at the seventh Dr L M Singhvi memorial lecture. Former West Bengal Governor and diplomat Gopal Krishna Gandhi and L M Singhvi’s son, senior advocate and Rajya Sabha member Abhishek Singhvi, were also present at the event, where a coffee table book on the life of Singhvi senior, jurist, Parliamentarian, scholar, writer and diplomat, was released.

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Displaying his eidetic memory, Justice Nariman quoted effortlessly from the Rig Veda, the Old Testament and the Avesta. He spoke on the idea of reincarnation in all religions.

Justice Nariman, ordained as a Parsi priest from Bandra Agiary in Mumbai, is an expert on comparative religions. “Speaking for myself, I would prefer to be born as a dog in a dog lover’s house than as a human being who has to endure the suffering,” he said, tying the karma theory with the idea of reincarnation.

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“One of the pitfalls of the theory is that it does not take into account the situations one is placed in. It considers human birth as the greatest. But being a dog in a dog lover’s house and a police dog that is chained and perhaps beaten routinely are different situations,” he said.

Gopal Krishna Gandhi, who chaired the panel, praised Justice Nariman for his ability to speak on the complex idea of reincarnation with ease, and “without carrying even a shred of paper” while doing so.

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“I was told of great Justices who could complicate a simple thing so convincingly that we would agree with them but today we have seen a great judge who could simplify a complicated issue and have us agree with him,” Gandhi said.

Gandhi concluded the discussion commenting upon the “reincarnation of ideas,” on the 150th birth anniversary year of Mahatma Gandhi. “Ideas are also passed on from one generation to another, and they do not die with the person who created them,” he said.

First uploaded on: 17-11-2019 at 04:18 IST
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