Reincarnation – Part One
Reincarnation
As explained in Part One of the post “Beyond the Grave“, the world we see and sense around us does not exist as an objective reality as scientists would have us believe. Instead, it is a projection of our minds.
And we who sojourn in this illusory world and space and time, act according to the prompting of our desires. These actions bring results which are the harvest of those desires that we ourselves have sown.
As it is on earth while we are alive, so it continues after death. As recorded in the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad, dating back to the sixth century BC:
“A man acts according to his desires to which he clings. After death he goes to the next world bearing in his mind the subtle impressions of his deeds; and after reaping there the harvest of his deeds, he returns again to the world of action. Thus he who has desire continues subject to rebirth.”
What this Vedic quotation reveals is that death does not bring an end to our cycle of life.
Instead, it is this thread of unfulfilled desire that chains the individual to the wheel of life, and draws them unerringly back to another form in which to continue to pursue the fruits of their desires.
It is only when all of these bonds of desire are finally broken, that the “I am” merges with its source of Supreme Reality and the cycle of rebirth is finally at an end.
One of the mysteries that has long puzzled the human mind is this concept of “Reincarnation”. The word itself is derived from a Latin term meaning “to take flesh again”.
The first recorded writings on this subject date back to the philosophical traditions of India and Greece about the 6th century BC. Since that time, different religions have formulated different answers to this puzzle.
Three of these religions began in India, while three others began in the Middle East. The teachings of these religions can briefly be summarised as follows.
Hinduism
The Hindu interpretation of reincarnation is based on the teachings of the original Indian Rishis (Sages) as recorded in the Vedas, a Sanskrit word meaning “knowledge”.
According to these Sages, the world that we ordinarily think of as “real” is actually an illusion – just like a dream. Together with other illusory states like hypnosis and drug-induced visions, these states are not permanent.
They always come to an end. However, according to these Sages, life does not end there. It continues in an after-death state, which is followed in due course by a new cycle of birth and death which the Hindus call Samsara.
We continue to be trapped in this illusory cycle until such time as we awaken from our ignorance of the true nature of our existence. This awakening is referred to by such Sanskrit terms as Mukti or Moksha.
The individual soul (Jiva) continues to be bound by action (Karma), and every action that we take has a reaction according to the dictates of our own desires. And it is these actions that determine our next incarnation.
We are reborn through desire. We choose to be reborn so that we can continue to enjoy the delights which bodily existence provides. And this continues for as long as we hanker for the pleasures of the flesh.
It is only after numerous births and deaths that we eventually become dissatisfied with our human lives, which can never bring deep, lasting happiness and begin to yearn for higher forms of happiness (Ananda).
When, after long spiritual practice (Sadhana), a person comes to realise that their immortal soul is their true “Self” rather than a physical body, their interest in the desires of the physical body begin to fade.
When all desires are extinguished, the soul that previously sought physical existence will never be born again. Their cycle of rebirth comes to an end, and that person is said to have attained liberation (Moksha).
Jainism
Jainism is a nontheistic religion founded in India in the 6th century BC, that teaches that perfection is gained through multiple incarnations, and that progress is based on one’s actions in each life.
Karma forms a fundamental part of the Jain faith, and the path to becoming a supreme soul is to practise non-violence and truthfulness.
Our actions in life have consequences. Some of these consequences are experienced in this life, while others are delayed to future incarnations. So whatever suffering or pleasure is experienced in this life is the result of choices made in the past. The Jain texts describe four states of existence. They are:
- Deva – this is the state where the heavens are located.
- Manussya – this is the state occupied by human beings.
- Tiryanca – this is the state occupied by animals, plants and micro-organisms.
- Naraki – hellish beings occupy the lower-levels, where the seven hells are situated.
Depending on its Karma, the soul incarnates according to its level of progress within these four states of existence.
In Jainism, God does not play a role in an individual’s destiny. One’s personal destiny is not seen as a consequence of any system of reward or punishment, but rather as a result of its own personal Karma.
Violent deeds, killing of creatures having five sense organs, eating fish and so on, lead to a rebirth in Hell. Deception, fraud and falsehood leads to rebirth in the animal and vegetable world.
Kindness, compassion, and humble character result in a human birth, while austerities and the making and keeping of vows lead to a rebirth in heaven. Each soul is thus responsible for its own predicament, as well as its own salvation.
Buddhism
Although the Buddha attained enlightenment in the town of Bodh Gaya in the Indian state of Bihar, his teachings on the nature and meaning of life differ from those of the Hindu Sages.
For example, the Buddhist concept of reincarnation differs from Hinduism in that there is no individual soul which the Hindus refer to as Jiva. Instead, there is only a “stream of consciousness” that links life with life.
The actual process of change from one life to the next is called Punarbhava (Sanskrit) or Punabbhava (Pali), which means “becoming again, or more briefly bhava “becoming”.
Although early Buddhist texts discussed techniques for recalling previous births by means of intense meditation, the Buddha himself cautioned against such practices.
He taught a distinct concept of rebirth in which there is no primal Atman or universal self. There is thus no basic principle from which the individual soul is derived and which links these lives together.
In contrast to the three Indian religions summarised above, the three major Middle Eastern religions below are all monotheistic religions, based on the belief that we all have single, finite lifetimes, after which we are all judged and rewarded accordingly.
Islam
The word “Islam” means “submission to the will of God”. Followers of Islam are called Muslims, and they worship one all-knowing God, who in Arabic is known as Allah.
The concept of reincarnation is rejected by all the monotheistic religions of the world because they conflict with their teachings that we all have single, finite lifetimes, after which we are all judged and rewarded accordingly.
They base this on the argument that if we all have multiple lifetimes, then which of these will form the basis on which we are judged – the first, the last, or other lifetimes in between.
Although the Quran preaches the existence of the soul, it rejects the concept of reincarnation. The principal belief in Islam is that we only have one birth on this earth. After death, each on of us will be judged, following which we will either be united with God or consigned to Hell.
However, the idea of reincarnation is still accepted by a few Muslim sects, particularly those who belong to the Shia sects who live mostly in Iran and Iraq, as well as some members of the Sufi (Mystical) tradition of Islam.
Judaism
Although reincarnation remains an esoteric belief that is still held by some Jews, it is not part of the traditional teaching of Judaism. It is not mentioned in classical sources such as the Hebrew Bible, or in Rabbinical works like the Mishnah and Talmud.
However, there is a concept called Gilgul described in great detail in the Kabbalah, a mystical interpretation of the Bible that is a central feature of Hasidism, a spiritual revivalist movement that emerged in Eastern Europe in the 18th century.
Similar to the Sanskrit concept of Samsara, the Hindu cycle of life and death, the word Gilgul comes from the Hebrew root meaning “to spin”. In the Kabbalistic view, the soul spins through multiple bodies as it strives for perfection.
Christianity
Like the other two monotheistic religions, Judaism and Islam, modern Christianity rejects the idea of reincarnation. Instead, they believe that souls are only born on earth once, and that following death they will be judged according to their deeds.
Those who are found worthy will ascend into heaven to be with Jesus for eternity, while those who are unworthy will be condemned to hell.
However, it was not always that way. The early Christian church accepted and taught the doctrine of reincarnation, which was expounded by Plato, the Gnostics, and by numerous other church fathers.
These included such luminaries as St. Jerome who lived in the 4th century AD, who was best known for his translation of the Bible into Latin, as well as Origen and Clement of Alexandria, who were among the most influential of the early Christian theologians.
It was only some five hundred years after the death of Christ that the doctrine of reincarnation was declared a heresy, by the Second Council of Constantinople presided over by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian.
The reason this was done was because the idea that we live multiple lives afforded human beings too much time to seek salvation, so they replaced it with the idea that we only live one life, and are judged at the end of it.
Yet despite the teachings of the major monotheistic religions, evidence continues to mount showing that individual souls are indeed born again, and that they often return with vivid memories of past lives, as will be shown in the following instalment.
