Free The Rozabal Line by Ashwin Sanghi

to the ancient Greek and Roman mythologies. However, unlike the Greeks or Romans, Hindus hold the view that all their gods are merely different mani-festations of the same supreme God. Thus, Hinduism is mono-theistic, not polytheistic.

    'Hinduism talks of Brahman, or the one supreme and divine entity. The fundamental belief is that every living thing has a soul which is connected to the greater being, Brahman. Hindus believe that they have eternal life due to their fundamental belief in reincarnation.' Terry noticed a student in the front looking sceptical. He paused and asked, 'Any questions?'
    35

    The sceptical one raised her hand and said, 'Professor Acton, in your recently published book you have said that the word reincarnation is derived from the word carnate, which translates into flesh. Therefore, incarnate means entering the flesh and hence reincarnate means re-entering the flesh. You say that the soul enters the body at birth and leaves the body upon death, and that this is a continuous cycle. Why? What is the purpose of such a cycle?'

    Terry smiled at the rather lengthy but fundamental question and replied, 'With each life, the soul learns something more until the soul reaches the stage of Mukti, or complete enlighten-ment. This is the goal that all Hindus must work towards. At the stage of Mukti, which happens after many lifetimes, the soul is reunited with Brahman.
    Now, you may ask, what determines when and where a soul is reborn?

    'This brings us to the theory of karma. Karma literally means deed, and as a theory it outlines the cause-and-effect nature of life. Karma is not to be confused with fate. Man has free will and creates his destiny based upon his actions. The most dramatic illustration of karma is found in the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata. The Hindu concept of karma was also adopted by other religions, such as Buddhism. 33

    'The theory of karma is not really crazy when one thinks about it. Almost all religions have at some point of time in their histories believed in reincarnation--including Christianity. References to reincarnation in the New Testament were deleted only in the fourth century when Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. It was sometime in the year A.D. 553 that the second Council of Constantinople declared reincarnation as heresy. These decisions were intended to increase the power of the Church by making people believe that their salvation depended solely on the Church.' 34

Chapter Seven
    Northeastern Tibet, 1935

    'Tah-shi de-leh. Khe-rahng ku-su de-bo yin-peh?' asked the leader of the search party. Little Tenzin Gyatso looked up innocently and replied, ' La yin. Ngah sug-po de-bo yin.'35

    Dalai Lamas were manifestations of Buddha who chose to take rebirth in order to serve other human beings. The thirteenth Dalai Lama had died in 1933. The Tibetan Government had not only to appoint a successor but also to search for and discover the reincarnation of the thirteenth Dalai Lama.36

    In 1935, the Regent of Tibet travelled to a sacred lake near Lhasa. The regent looked into the waters and saw a vision of a monastery with a jade-green and gilded roof and a house with turquoise tiles.

    Soon, search parties were sent out to all parts of Tibet to search for a place that resembled the vision. One of the search parties went east to the Tibetan village of Amdo, where they found a house with turquoise tiles sitting dwarfed by the hilltop Karma monastery. The monastery had a jade-green and gilded roof.

    The leader of the search went into the house and found the child, Tenzin Gyatso, 36

    playing inside. He had been born to his parents on 6 July 1935.

    'Hello. How are you?' asked the leader of the search party to little Tenzin Gyatso in Tibetan. Tenzin looked up innocently and replied, 'I am fine.' Then the little boy immediately and authoritatively demanded the rosary that the leader of the search was wearing. It was a rosary that had belonged to the thirteenth