Reincarnation
(This is an excerpt from a University Of Metaphysical Sciences course at www.umsonline.org,
please feel free to visit the school website)
Introduction
Review Of Literature
A Brief Explanation Of Reincarnation
The Concept Of Soul
The Overview Of Different Religions
Case Histories & Stories
Reincarnation Cases
Case 1
Case 2
Case 3
Xenoglossy
Past Life Regressions & Their Purported Help In Healing
Objections
Discussion
Conclusion
Written by Daniel Barnhart, MFA
Introduction
Reincarnation may be one of the oldest philosophical beliefs of mankind. Though Pythagoras is often erroneously credited with having "invented" the theory of reincarnation, it was already an old belief long before the Greeks. The ancient Egyptians believed in some form of bodily reincarnation, as well as a type of physical afterlife. Although it later became tied to a "religious" connotation, the doctrine of reincarnation itself is practiced across many faiths, and perhaps just as widely believed as Truth divorced from any particular faith. Indeed, one of the fundamental problems of any discussion on reincarnation is the separation of the essential philosophy from the various Buddhas, Lamas, sages, mediums and the like who claim knowledge and insight into the process of reincarnation, yet offer wildly different views of the process and the possibilities. "A human soul can only be reborn as a human soul." "The soul may regress under karmic law and be reborn as a beast or insect." "Skills and abilities may be passed on through the rebirth." "Skills and abilities are only characteristics of personality and not of the soul."
Like any thing that has no tangible proof, especially matters of religion, the spiritual or occult, the definitive authorities disagree on many things. Yet to the billions of devotees only the essential matters—the chance to live again. It has been said man's primal fear is of the unknown, and there is no greater unknown than death. Thus there is no greater fear. Science and medicine can go to great lengths to pacify our fears while the body is living, but when it ceases to exist then science and medicine inevitably give way to religion and philosophy to soothe the psyche as no medicine would. "Death and our attitudes toward it are man's number one preoccupation. It is time we face up to it realistically in our Western Culture." (Lewis Loeser)
The philosophy of rebirth is seen around us and so comes to mind naturally as a reassurance. It has a seeming "rightness" to it. We see the cycles of the seasons, spring returning, plants producing fruit; the sun disappears every night and reappears at dawn. So, we see hopes projected onto our visions of the old Gods; essentially physical beings, but immortal. To the mortal, then, is there chance for immortality?
Much misunderstanding has surrounded reincarnation, partly through the fear and dogma of the Christian Church, but also through popular texts and teachings that stem particularly from the widespread Southern Buddhism (which is found to be a corruption of the original teachings of Buddha known generically as Northern Buddhism.) Though Buddhism itself is not the earliest or necessarily most profound authority on the subject, it is nonetheless the most common source of contact in the Western world, owing probably to numbers of high-profile celebrities (like the Beatles) that first publicly explored its teachings.
When confronting a subject without empirical data to support one claim over another, and especially if that subject touches on the communal fears, faiths and curiosities surrounding every culture, as such questions of the meaning of life and the existence of an afterlife undoubtedly do, it is inevitable that at some moment the researcher must rely upon his or her own intuition to come to a judgment. For that reason, I deem it best to avoid making any claims or judgments, but merely to present the findings of others, albeit with an eye toward any inconsistencies or breakdown in argument. That is to say, that while one may see an apple tree, one cannot necessarily claim the presence of "fruit" in a rush to support one's desire to prove the existence of "fruit." Unfortunately, and most especially in cases of religion and thoughts about death and the afterlife, hope for a bright and comforting solution often leads to belief, and even faith, by making grand leaps of logic. Only afterward are the holes filled with the substance of storied solutions that utterly confound the thinking of those not holding the belief or faith necessary to overlook fantastic inconsistency. An even cursory review of the rituals, tenets and dogma of the many denominations and religions of the world will attest to this fact. For instance, as we have become more "civilized," the practice of gaining an enemy's strength by eating their heart (or various parts of the body), which has been a faith-based practice in any number of cultures, seems an incomprehensible barbarism to those not sharing the beliefs or doctrines of that particular faith.
Along with the healthy dose of skepticism one might also be encouraged to note the irrationality of many traditional faiths to explore ideas such as reincarnation in any thoughtful, logical way. As British physicist Raynor Johnson remarks in The Imprisoned Splendour; "...frequently, religious minded people feel antagonistic, as though some strange pagan faith were subtly menacing their cherished beliefs." And the Westerner who has not deeply explored or considered the matter often has, "...a reticence that does not match his knowledge." "The idea of reincarnation presents no logical difficulties, whatever be the emotional reaction to it [emphasis added]. What the soul has done once by the process of incarnation in a physical body, it can presumably do again."
This argument silences the rational basis upon which the physical or spiritual possibility of reincarnation can be disputed, although it does open the door for another argument, and that is the suppositional starting point of the reality of a material, three dimensional plane of existence in the first place. While the point will be taken up again later, suffice to say that all theories and beliefs based on reincarnation start from the standpoint that the material existence is both real and valid. Pure metaphysics would contend that the material existence is merely an illusory state which, though seeming "real" to our unenlightened consciousness, is no part of Reality and that our true existence is and ever was unfolding in a spiritual realm only.
In order to adequately discuss this topic, one has to go beyond the normal realms of pop literature. While present day culture insures that the bookstores are flooded with talks of past lives, astral projections, near death experiences and such, one should remain distinctly aware of the differences between a market-commodity account of one person's thoughts and experiences, and that of studied and informed literature and teaching. Aside from Shirley Maclaine's books, one of the most popular books ever read on the subject of after-life is a book titled Embraced By The Light (1992) by Betty Eadie. In this case, "popular" refers to "widely read in the United States." That is to say that this book was widely embraced by the public, including (for the most part) the Christian Churches. That may be in a large part due to the fact that Ms. Eadie describes her death, the tunnel of bright light, etc... (such things as are now considered common to the experience), however Ms. Eadie actually meets Jesus, dressed in a monk's robe.
Now while we do not dispute Ms. Eadie's experience or her conviction, it must be pointed out that, in the large body of work reviewed for this course, no one else relates meeting Jesus. This point is made only because while unquestionably Ms. Eadie had an experience, in whatever actually occurred she must have brought some of her own convictions into play. That is, either intentionally or unintentionally, her consciousness helped to shape the experience. This caveat is essential to keep in mind when reviewing all accounts and experiences.
So, the literature reviewed for this course is varied from the Bhagavad-Gita to the Bible, from the writings of Edgar Cayce to the scientific case studies of Dr. Ian Stevenson. Needless to say again, not all is in agreement, but all is thought provoking and necessary to any serious exploration. We attempt to present here as widely but clearly as possible the teachings of various thought on reincarnation. It is, in itself, a simply grasped concept, but its intricacies and belief in application are varied. Guiding and shaping it all is the desire to find an assurance of life eternal and the way thereof.
A final note as to the construction of this research: in some instances the research was too "dense" and demanding to compile it by subject, as in, for example, the section on Karma. In such cases, and especially where there are extremely distinguishing variations, you will find the material separated by author or religious philosophy, or, if there is a particular voice making a counter or contrary claim regarding the particular concept, that author or writing is separately distinguished. As an example here, the Tibetan Book of the Dead, which has been a base for many subsequent philosophies or interpretations, is presented in its own subsection dealing with several topics around reincarnation.
Review Of Literature
The review of literature included here is merely a selection of the popular literature and not comprehensive to all sources used in the preparation of this course. Also not included, but recommended for serious study are any of the numerous scholarly religious texts and commentaries found—not just in the popular or metaphysics sections but in the religious studies sections. These thinkers are not infallible by any means, but do provide a more thorough and serious examination of various religious texts (The Bible, Torah, Koran, etc...) with a greater degree of scholarship.
Reincarnation In World Thought (1967) edited by Jos. Head and S.L. Cranston. This is most likely the single most important book for undertaking a comparative analysis of reincarnation. Careful reading helps one to understand the role of culture and politics in world thought regarding reincarnation.
Reincarnation: A Critical Examination (1996) by Paul Edwards. This is an excellent cover to cover read that probably doesn't live up to its title; however, full of very useful information and perspectives, and is an attempt to be fair and balanced.
Reincarnation Explained (1983) by Jagad Guru, Chris Butler is a nicely structured and easily perused book written by a Westerner who has attained guru status. The book achieves a sense of comprehensiveness within its own scope.
Reincarnation: Claiming Your Past, Creating Your Future (1988) by Lynn Elwell Sparrow is based on Edgar Cayce's readings. Sparrow was a student of Cayce. This book was important in my research for the impact Cayce had and continues to have upon Western reincarnationist thought.
The World Within (1985) by Gina Cerminara is another perspective from a Cayce student.
Reincarnation In the Twentieth Century (1969) edited by Martin Ebon is a fine collection of personal essays by various people on the topic of reincarnation. Though entirely anecdotal and not scholarly, provides some interesting perspectives and thoughts.
Life Before Life: Origins Of the Soul...Knowing Where You Came From And Who You Really Are (2000) by Richard Eyre is an example of the "pop" literature out there. This book presents itself through an authoritative and definitive voice style, yet does not delve into much of the spiritual substance behind the reincarnationist beliefs.
The Seth Material (1970) by Jane Roberts is a companion book to "Seth Speaks." A wildly popular account of the Seth phenomenon, a supposedly Atlantean being channeled through Roberts offers insight and explanation of reincarnation and life questions. Important for its "authoritative" first-person accounting (from Seth) as well as the contradictory information gleaned from other teachers and masters.
Old Souls: The Scientific Evidence For Past Lives (1999) by Tom Shroder is a fascinating look at Dr. Ian Stevenson and his work. Stevenson's work itself merits attention, but as a journalist of standing, Shroder asks all the right questions of an outsider and skeptic as he accompanies Stevenson during some field work, before finally becoming convinced of the verity of the phenomena as he ponders the possibilities and meaning.
Reincarnation: A New Horizon In Science, Religion And Society (1984) by Sylvia Cranston and Carey Williams is another essential book for those interested in an easy to read overview of reincarnation. It is not particularly in-depth, and not very forthcoming on alternative explanations or varying beliefs, but still valuable nonetheless for its quick overview.
Zen Physics (1996) by David Darling is a relatively "laymen's language" book approaching and explaining certain phenomenon in physics from a spiritual, metaphysical perspective. It is worthwhile as a primer to reorient thinking of and about the physical world.
The Tibetan Book of The Dead (2000) compiled by W.Y. Evans-Wentz was first published in 1927. The most recent edition contains all the prefaces and interfaces of previous editions. It is still considered the quintessential document on reincarnation, but requires some skill and dedicated thought in reading, as it is a translation of teachings and writings that were meant to be studied and meditated on.
Death & Reincarnation: Eternity's Voyage (1996) by Sri Chinmoy is a little book is written in the form of questions and answers, easily structured and read in small doses, simply written and easily comprehended. It is a personal viewpoint and wisdom of sorts that is offered. Chinmoy's press calls him a "fully realized spiritual master," and a "true speaker and spiritual visionary.."
A Brief Explanation Of Reincarnation
As a general statement, reincarnation is the belief that the same soul can incarnate into different physical bodies to experience multiple lives on the physical plane over a course of time. The purpose of these lives is to learn the lessons enforced by one's actions through the law of "karma," until such time that the soul has reached a stage of "enlightenment" such that it has no karmic debts and is at peace and oneness in harmony with the universe. To put it another way (as the Encyclopedia Britannica does), "Reincarnation: the belief that the soul survives the death of the physical body and returns to life as a new body, again and again, for the purpose of its own development." This belief (reincarnation) has been associated widely and primarily with Eastern religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism, and its adherents make up roughly two-thirds of the world's population. Some western thinkers, such as Plato, Kant, Emerson and Wordsworth for example, have supported the idea; however, it has been largely rejected and/or ignored by the Judeo-Christian cultures.
The truth is that a surprising number of distinguished thinkers of every era have considered the problem of reincarnation. However, such testimony and "evidence" as exists hardly establishes reincarnation as a fact. Reincarnation is a belief, and often a religious belief, that is, not merely one of a philosophy of life and existence, but one that is tied to one's concept of the Creator and Creation. For that reason, one must look distinctly and as impartially as possible at the writings and logic supporting reincarnation, as well as to include the objections to the reincarnation theory by such thinkers as Aristotle, Freud, Julian Huxley and other well-known writers.
The word "reincarnation" comes from the word "carnal" which means flesh. The actual Latin word origin translates as "meat or flesh." So "incarnate" means literally "encased in flesh" or "encased in meat." Reincarnation means then, that a person's being, or soul, is encased in a new material body of flesh and blood after one's previous material body has died. Reincarnation is also called the transmigration of self from an old or useless body to a new body. As we shall see, transmigration may include the body of an animal or insect; however, in most cases the word "reincarnation" is used to refer only to human incarnations.
Though reincarnation is usually referred to as a philosophy, the belief in the law of karma is inevitably acknowledged as the force behind reincarnation. In order to free oneself from the karmic cycle, it is necessary to reach a state of purification from the baser, aggressive tendencies and achieve a love for all things. The path to doing this invariably involves a belief in a higher, supreme being, so in turn reincarnation is often tied very closely to religious beliefs. We will mention more about Karma and the Law of Karma further on, but here let us build the basic blocks for discussion of reincarnation.
Today, as the boundaries of East and West have and continue to blur, the idea of reincarnation has become more widely considered. Different studies cite anywhere between thirty to sixty percent of the population being at least open to considering the idea, and roughly twenty-five percent actively believing in it. That is just the United States. India would contain yet a higher number of active believers. There are multiple and complexly integrated reasons for this new open-mindedness. Though not all are listed here, and certainly not all are universal, it is nonetheless worth considering a few more general conditions in order to develop a healthy, interpretive approach to any unprovable, subjective matter of belief and faith.
First, as mentioned above, there is an increasing globalization of culture and thus a blurring of traditional lines that separate cultures and thus their belief systems. Just as matters of cuisine, fashion and the like become assimilated; it is natural that belief and value systems would achieve some degree of assimilation and absorption, if for no other reason than the ideas become less strange and foreign. Second, and as a part of this mixing of the cultures, is that the role of the Catholic Church has steadily diminished over the last thousand years. Whereas it was in the interest of the church to maintain a stranglehold of sorts on people's thinking, the idea of reincarnation was rejected. The important and controlling factor was that the Church's subjects had but one chance to tow the "party line" so to speak, in order to avoid eternal damnation. That official line involved a spiritual hierarchy that demanded absolute adherence to and dependence on the priests of the Church. Third, and partially owing to the second point, is that the scriptural texts of the New Testament, those documents upon which the Christian faiths base their meaning, mission and existence, focus centrally on the metaphors of re-birth and being " born again," in addition to the culminative and literal resurrection of Jesus Christ. As literature and ideas become more available to the masses, ideas and interpretations of such passages as "Ye must become as a little child...," or "You cannot pour old wine into new skins; rather pour new wine into new skins" allow alternate or even individual interpretation, rather than complete and unflinching reliance upon the authority of a church figure to determine and explain what the Bible passages mean.
There is also another point to be made, and that is that the globalization of cultures and economies has destroyed many of the traditions upon which our own (Western Judeo-Christian) culture is based. The style of elitist individual and corporate collusion with government, and the subsequent creation of a type of " serf" or "servant" class who is not in control or their own destiny, nor has a cultural or economic commons (in the form of a community) to fall back on, is almost precisely the type of society that gave rise to the religions that first promoted the idea of reincarnation. The idea of multiple chances at having a good life is a natural hope that springs from the economic, cultural and spiritual barrenness that modern society now faces. Also, there is, with the widening and sharing of knowledge bases, more phenomenons that are widely known and can be used as substantiation for the possibility of reincarnation.
The Concept Of Soul
The concept of soul is essential to understanding reincarnation. Though most people have at least a vague idea of the concept, it seems that even those who label themselves as "religious" have an unclear understanding about the soul itself. This is most likely a holdover from the medieval Church that severely, and sometimes punitively, discouraged such contemplation. However, " Is it not conceivable that our entire civilization is built upon a misinterpretation of man? Or that the tragedy of man is due to the fact that he is a being who has forgotten the question: Who is Man? The failure to identify himself, to know what is authentic human existence, leads him to assume a false identity, to pretend to be what he is unable to be or to not accept what is at the very root of his being. Ignorance about man is not lack of knowledge, but false knowledge. " (Abraham Heschel Who is Man? 1965). In order for there to be a belief in reincarnation, one must also have a belief in soul, for it is the soul that incarnates. If man is a soul, it is not unreasonable to suppose that he survives death. Is this not the basis for every religious belief in the afterlife? Even the most hardened of cynics and atheists must struggle with the thought that our consciousness screams that it cannot possibly be a mere chemical reaction of blood and matter. Wherefore explain thoughts, hopes or desires? ... imaginations or intellect, if that be the case?
There are two ways to prove a thing. One is to show how it follows logically from other things that are true. The other is just to simply produce the thing for examination, so that all may point and say, "there it is." Either is almost impossible in the question of soul. The belief in soul is essential to a belief in afterlife and thus in reincarnation. We must begin by assuming that we are "soul" and that soul exists. We point to the argument in the paragraph above as our means of explanation. Now, we must attempt to define that "soul," in order to have some agreement upon the nature of its existence.
If we assume that thoughts, emotions, ideas, imaginations and such have some origin outside the physical sphere, and we must for the sake of argument, else all thought, idea, imagination and existence would terminate when the electro-chemical processes of the brain cease. We move to the analogy of what the soul is, in relation to the body. It cannot be body, or it would cease when the body ceases. J. Paul Williams, in The Yale Review, developed the analogy of the candle: that is, snuff the candle, and the light goes out. However, a candle reflected in a mirror... move the mirror and the light appears to be gone, yet the candle continues to burn. So if we believe that the soul is reflected by the body, but not in the body, then it is rational to believe that soul can exist apart from the body.
Williams also advances that our arguments for experiential-based proofs fall short when considered in light of how limited our experience actually is, in regards to such readily accepted phenomena in science. For instance, who has actually experienced the atomic or sub-atomic reality? While we look at a rock, and accept that it must be composed of these tiny solar systems of particles, because we are told so and because that explanation is consistent with the workings of the universe that we can experience, we actually only experience the rock in a way that is limited by 1) our expectations of the experience, and 2) our conscious and/or unconscious acceptance of the limitations of physical senses. We might, in fact, if we were able to accept enlightenment and an expanded sense of things, experience that rock in an entirely different way.
So..."What is it that incarnates?" "What is the soul?" These questions are really nothing less than trying to the nature of all Being, of who and what we are, and what is the meaning and purpose and nature of Life. Since so much of our identity rests in our notion of the material body, and is continually reinforced through the material experience, the notion of ″a soul" can seem abstract at best, and in our most challenging moments it can seem almost pointless.
Edgar Cayce
For a moment, let us focus on a singular source; Edgar Cayce. Cayce has exerted much influence in the opening of Western, English speaking (particularly American) thoughts and ideas, and is often suggested as the primary catalyst behind the modern acceptance of reincarnation within Western culture today.
Cayce himself was, according to accounts, a nominally educated man from a farming family of strict, Protestant faith. Cayce himself was, according to accounts, a nominally educated man from a farming family of strict, Protestant faith. At an early age, Cayce felt he had a psychic ability. Later, as a young man, he experimented with hypnosis to treat a recurring throat problem. A vision of a woman telling him he would have unusual power to help people led him to diagnose and treat illnesses for people through his hypnotic meditations. By all accounts, he was remarkably successful. In 1910, the New York Times ran a story describing his psychic ability as described by a young physician to a clinical research facilityCayce supposedly remained a very religious man, teaching Sunday School in his church. According to his grandson, Cayce "always tried to attune himself to God's will by studying the Scriptures and maintaining a rich prayer life, as well as trying to be of service to those who came seeking help." He worked to reconcile his experiences and abilities, as well as convictions that immortal souls journeyed through more than one life on earth, with his Biblical understanding.
Edgar Cayce (and others) speaks of the soul as "bonding" with the body, or "becoming one" with the body for the duration of its life. This seems, though, to be an accommodation to physical-based sense; less than metaphysical and more of a limitation of three-dimensional thinking. Most teachings and sources do not deal with soul in this way, insisting rather that the soul is always separate and rather "looking out" through or from the body; that is, inhabiting rather than infusing.
"What is life? IT is a manifestation of a soul. Remember that the soul is made up of body, mind, and soul." Cayce reading 4047-2. [Cayce's readings are identified with two numbers. The first is an anonymous number given to the person for whom the reading was given. The second is the number of the reading. In other words, Person number 4047, the 2nd reading.]
Cayce surprised himself and everyone around him, when at a reading of an individual in 1923, he closed the session with the words, ″He was once a monk." Though Casey had been successfully treating and diagnosing physical ailments under hypnosis for years, accurately and specifically detailing care and cause for which he had no education or waking knowledge, Cayce had never considered the possibility of reincarnation, nor had he studied other religions. He was, after all, a strict Protestant. He had already struggled mightily with his peculiar ″psychic" ability in regards to his religion; yet he was convinced of its goodness and its help for people even if it didn't have a place in the strict orthodoxy of Christian Protestantism. This new reference, then, demanded an explanation and exploration that he would not shy from.
Building and structuring questions designed to clarify and illumine the initial readings, Cayce pursued a course of readings for information that could be verified, and for which he had no knowledge, and which would indicate knowledge of past lives. Looking for first Biblical substantiation, he then turned to philosophers of the ages, and after some years came to the personal conclusion that reincarnation was a valid philosophy. Upon his conclusion, he began an entirely new type of reading for people, and these specifically centered on reincarnation and past lives. Over the next 21 years he gave a total of 2,500 readings for approximately 1,500 people.
These readings offered discourses, comprehensive portraits of personality traits and mental, emotional and physical patterns that arose from past lives. The readings wove a tapestry of connectedness among people who ″...returned to earth again and again in an ever-changing configuration of relationships with one another." At the very least, Cayce's readings provide one of the largest collections of written material in support of the theory of reincarnation. Cayce's intent (as well as that of the Association For Research And Enlightenment, an institute based on his work) was that the readings and the promotion of the idea of reincarnation help people lead healthier, happier and more constructive lives by illustration of the laws of karma and ″understand and to claim a spiritual heritage far richer than most of us would dared to have imagined for ourselves."
Cayce's readings would indicate that we are connected to the God who has made us...that our essential selves are not alone and have not to do with us alone. At the essence of each individual is ″spirit," which is that part made in the image and likeness of God.
The second major premise is that we are individuals—not only part of the larger reality from which we derive our being, but also with an individuality of consciousness. With this consciousness we have the capacity to shape and pattern our spiritual essence into unique expression, through the use of mind. That is, with mind we literally create our reality. The third aspect of our nature is that we are endowed with free will, that we choose which of the mind's creations we will activate at every moment of experience. (Note that the questions put forth are never really concretely answered).
Throughout Cayce's readings, the predominant concept iterated again and again, is that "thoughts are things" and that "mind is the builder." Another huge point in Cayce's understanding, is that the soul bonds to the material/physical body. That is, becoming incarnate means temporarily being one with the physical form; and as long as we are one with the physical form and the subsequent material existence, then the only direct knowledge we have of ourselves comes through our consciousness while we are in our body. So, then, can the soul really be harmed by physical damage? For those not conscious (or "aware") of their soul and true self, the temptation is to know themselves only through the physical existence, that is, position with a company or corporation, status within a community, name, and etc. These physical/material labels, for such they are, are not our true selves. Only through conscious awareness of our true selves can we shed the limitations of experience that we are creating around us. This idea of "submerging spiritual identity in matter" rather conflicts with most traditional reincarnation doctrines that are more along the lines of "infusing materiality with spiritual identity."
According to Cayce, we incarnate to become companions and co-creators with God, and God wants peers who have chosen him freely just as he has chosen them. Reincarnation provides the opportunity for us to become such companions and co-creators. God creates us in ″immature form" so that we may ″grow up" spiritually into unique, adult companions to Him. All of our experiences, life after life, are an opportunity to grow into our fullness as spiritual beings. ″When we remember that it is God whom we are growing up to join, can we wonder that it takes more than the span of one life?" Lynn Sparrow, a student of Cayce's work and an author of several books based upon his readings, writes in Reincarnation: Claiming Your Past, Creating Your Future (1988) that the soul should be thought of in a child/parent analogy, where the child inevitably takes a detour into rebellion. This rebellion is [in essence] the physical lives that we live before yielding and rejoining the Creator.
Some other Cayce particular points are as follows: ″The arena of choices." This experience put into the analogy of a practicum, where we have the chance to practice skills learned in spirit mode, within a ″real-life setting." We learn through experience that the constructive act is that of love and harmony; "The Guidance system of Love." Karma is not "bad karma" or "good karma," rather it is neutral. We don't say that the Law of Gravity is punishing us when we fall. However, the law of cause and effect is the natural expression of the ultimate goodness and harmony of this universe. Our destructive choices run natural to the harmonious flow and thus are discordant and bring discord into our lives. Because we are ignorant of our spiritual selves and our past lives while in the body, we cannot see always the immediate effect on our actions. For example, helping out a neighbor with your last ten dollars doesn't insure that next week you'll win the lottery. The two points essential to understanding karma is that 1.) we have chosen all that happens to us, and 2.) we can grow through every experience that life brings our way; "The Destiny of Soul" To be "spiritual companions of God" is the ultimate goal. There is no annihilation of self, but rather that we come to know ourselves as our true selves, devoid of the material and physical limitations, we know ourselves as God knows us, losing the false selves of ego and personality, and become spiritual beings who share the love, creativity, peace and joy with God.
"In the beginning all souls were as a unity to the God-Force. ...There is no law causing man to separate himself from his Maker. There is no cause except man's own indulgence or neglect." Cayce 3660-1. "In the beginning..." Sparrow and the A.R.E. (the Association for Research and Enlightenment) encourage us to read the following as either a myth of great proportions or as the literal truth. Either way, she claims, the message and values communicated are the same.
We were created as souls before the physical universe came into being. We were given formative power over ourselves "...in order that we might be fully realized." We were free to create, play and explore the universe, endowed with the creative capacity of mind and the choosing freedom of the will. We could literally create with our minds. As we moved through God's creation we came into contact with the physical world that was coming into form. "Throughout the planes of reality were four, five, six and untold others of dimensional universes." "Coming into the earth..." But we were fascinated with the earth. "Perhaps it was the thrill of seeing the creations of our minds take three dimensional form." Interjection: why would spiritual beings that existed beyond our known limits of time and space become fascinated with the smallest, most limiting situation. "The allure was irresistible to our souls." Our desire to participate in materiality became an obsession, and we lost our awareness of ourselves as souls. "Adam..." God "adapted" a pre-human physical form to be the perfect vehicle for souls entering material existence. Thus, Adam and Eve became the first two souls to inhabit human bodies.
"What is truth today may be tomorrow only partially so to a developing soul." Cayce 1297-1. The soul may return as many times and as often as it chooses. The presence of other souls with whom an experience began may be a kind of condition for choosing. Cultural and political climates also have to do with the lesson at hand.
Cayce insists that our experience in reincarnation is limited to the human form. The number of souls...conditions on Earth suggest that this experiential plane is providing the best arena for working out current problems, but there are other planes.
Sparrow wrote in Reincarnation: Claiming Your Past, Creating Your Future (1988), a section entitled, "The Human Body: Key and Clue to the Human Soul." It begins with idea that a club foot, blindness or some other physical deformity "...naturally gives rise to the inference, in the thinking of a reincarnationist, at least, that there was some past-life cause, probably cruelty, that gave rise to it." It goes on to say that it also might, "....be indicative of some correspondingly disproportionate or proportionate use of it in the past, and hence some disproportionate or proportionate attitude deep in the psyche." This runs counter to what we know of Cayce's religious convictions, as well as to most reincarnationist doctrine, as well as the teaching of Christ, particularly in his healing of the maimed and crippled. For example, in healing the "man who was blind from birth," Jesus says, "neither this man hath sinned, nor his parents, but that the glory of God might be made manifest." This sentiment is more along the lines of most spiritual teachers holding reincarnationist beliefs. While the Law of Karma might often bestow an ailment or physical disability with karmic retribution, they would not be speaking in terms of "attitude of the psyche" or necessarily draw a direct correlation of a club foot with someone who "kicked people around" in a previous life.
The Concept Of Karma
The word and the concept seem to arise from the Eastern Indian Hindus, who hold that "Karma is the idea of a completely moral universe in action and practice." The present condition of each individual's life is the exact product of what he has wanted and got in the past; and equally, his present thoughts and actions determine his future states.
The Cayce readings (or at least his students' and followers' authorized interpretations of his readings) present a list of "propositions that can be regarded as fundamental to the understanding of human destiny and to a system of reincarnationist psychology:
- Karma must not be regarded as purely negative. It has two aspects: continuative and retributive.
- According to the continuative aspect, any action that does not go counter to cosmic economy or cosmic law tends to continue in its effect. Effort is never wasted.
- Thus: Talents and abilities, cultivated in one life, tend to persist in succeeding lives. Sometimes their expression may be inhibited, however, by other karmic life circumstances.
- Also: Traits of character, interests and attitudes toward religion, race, politics, sex, animals, etc. tend to persist in succeeding lives. Introversion and extroversion tend to persist also, unless karma steps in or unless efforts are made for ambiversion.
- According to the retributive aspect of karma, any action that is "evil," or harmful to the well-being of any other unit of life, is exactly "punished" in a manner proportionate to and appropriate to the original harm done.
- Three kinds of retributive karma could be distinguished in the Cayce readings: Boomerang a man who blinded others in the past finds himself blind in the present; Organismic, a man who eats to excess in one lifetime can suffer from digestive weakness in the next; Symboloic, a person who "turned deaf ears to cries for help in a past life is literally deaf in the present."
- Retributive karma operates at both the physical and the psychological level.
- Mockery and criticism of others can invoke psychologocia and physical retribution; one suffers the same thing that one has mocked or criticized in others.
- Infidelity to a mate in the past can result in one's experiencing infidelity from one's mate in the present.
- Great loneliness or isolation can result from suicide in the past.
- Karma is sometimes "in suspension," so to speak, for several lifetimes. Cruelty committed in Atlantis, for example, may remain unpaid in five or six intervening lives, and may finally be met in the present life.
- The suspension of karma seems to be necessary for three basic reasons: 1) the cultural epoch must be appropriate to the payment of the debt. 2) The entity needs to develop sufficient inner resources and strengths to handle the karma. 3) The entity may be able to pay the debt only in association with other entities and therefore must wait until such time as they are incarnated also.
- Mental abnormalities can be traced in some cases to past-life experiences. Thus phobias of animals, closed places, water, and so on, are sometimes due to terrifying experiences or even death associated with those phobia objects. Mental disease is sometimes due to possession or obsession by discarnate entities (entities, that is, who are not currently in earth incarnations).
- Every soul has freedom of will. Freedom of will is interfered with by the karmic laws of life only when the will has been misused, selfishly or in excessive sensuality.
- A soul is magnetically drawn, so to speak, to parents who can give it the bodily heredity and the environment it needs for the fulfillment of its new life task. Physical heredity exists, but it is subservient to psychic heredity.
- The unconscious includes the record or the buried memory of every experience the entity has ever been through, in all of its many existences.
"It is important to note that all these generalizations or laws are seen by Cayce in a cosmic frame of reference, one which acknowledges that God exists and that every soul is a part of God; that human life is purposeful and continuous and that it operates under law; that love fulfills the law; that the will of man creates his destiny; that his mind has formative power; and that the answer to all his problems is deep within himself."
Lopez, in his forward to Wentz's translation of the Tibetan Book Of The Dead, points out that the Buddhist doctrine holds that every intentional act, whether it be physical, verbal or mental, leaves a residue in its agent. That residue will eventually produce an effect at some point in the future, an effect in the form of pleasure or pain for the person who performed the act. Thus, Buddhists conceive of a moral universe in which virtuous deeds create experiences of pleasure and non-virtuous deeds create experiences of pain. These deeds not only determine the quality of a given life but also determine the place of rebirth after death. Depending on the gravity of a negative deed (killing being more consequential than criticism, for example, and the killing of a human more consequential than killing an insect) one may be reborn as an animal, a ghost, or in one of the hot or cold hells, where the life span is particularly lengthy. Rebirth as a god is the result of a virtuous deed, and is considered very rare; the vast majority of beings in the universe are said to inhabit the three unfortunate realms of animals, ghosts, and the hells. Rare still is rebirth as a human who has access to the teachings of the Buddha.
In The Secret Doctrine, Madame Blavatsky put forward a different theory of reincarnation, said to be based upon the ancient Book Of Dzyan, written in the secret language of Senzar. Here, she describes a system of seven rounds. The earth has passed through three rounds during which it has evolved from a spiritual form to its current material form. The earth is currently in the fourth round. Over the final three rounds it will slowly return to its spiritual form.
The universe according to this doctrine, is peopled by souls (or monads), themselves individual and ultimately identical with the universal oversoul. These monads are reincarnated according to the law of karma. During the present fourth round, these monads inhabit the earth in the form of seven races. Rather than the races as we learn them in sociology and biology classes, Blavatsky asserts that the first of these "root-races" was of spiritual essences; the "Self-born," who had no physical form and inhabited the Imperishable Sacred Land until it sank into the ocean. (Though why a race of spiritual essence without physical form would be bothered by this is unexplained.) A second race, also without physical form, inhabited the North Pole. The third root race [Lemurians] were the first humans, but lacked the sense of taste or smell, and were destroyed when their entire continent was destroyed by fire. The fourth race was the Atlanteans, whose civilization ended in a great flood. The last sub-race of Atlanteans was absorbed into the fifth race, the Aryans, whose early sub-races included the Greeks, Egyptians and Phoenicians. These Aryans supposedly defeated the other remnants of the Atlantean race (the "yellow, and red, and brown and black") and drove them into Africa and Asia.
Since the Atlanteans, Blavatsky contends that a finite number of souls or monads, has reincarnated again and again, and will continue to do so throughout the entire cycle of evolution. Only rebirth as a human is possible, in this doctrine; however, animals may reincarnate as a higher species, never vice versa.
Sri Chinmoy, in his book, Death & Reincarnation. Eternity's Voyage (1996) writes of karma thusly: "In one lifetime on earth we cannot do everything. As long as we remain based in the world of desire, we will continue to be reborn into it. It is only the achieving of selflessness and contentment of our at-one-ment with God that frees us from the cycles of rebirth and death in the physical world. Suffering in this life may not necessarily be from bad karma, or some past wrong. Perhaps our soul wants to experience suffering, or enter the depth of pain just to know what pain is." He continues by saying, however, "The law of Karma is, ‘as you sow, so you shall reap.'" It seems like a contradiction in terms, but karma may not be as cut and dry as "an eye for an eye" thinking. Karma, since truly it is just an educational structure, can provide for "experiential" lifetimes just so that something can be experienced just for the sake of the experience itself. A science student is often taught how to do something wrong in an experiment, in a safe and controlled way, so that he or she knows what happens when he or she may be experimenting with more dangerous chemicals later.
If we do something wrong, either today or tomorrow, in the physical world or the inner world, we will get the result. The law of karma is inevitable and binding. However, there is divine Grace. To have done something in ignorance, and to become aware and through genuine repentance and cries for forgiveness, karma can be nullified. Grace is actually the only way out of karma. Otherwise it will keep going around and around in a circle. Karma cannot actually be fully "paid." Only by realizing that one is on a wheel of rebirth and death, going around in circles of learning, can one be freed from karma. At that point, there is no more necessity for karma, for in the end the purpose of karma was to "wake up" and realize oneself as eternal consciousness, independent of form and a physical body. Once this is realized, karma is a moot point.
Chinmoy presents the following illustration of a man who wants to become a millionaire. He becomes a millionaire, but has no peace of mind because his sense of self and security are based in having that million dollars. What if something happens to it? What if I lose my money? Therefore his sense of security is no security at all. It is based in the transient nature of physical desire. Only when we subjugate ourselves to become one with the Divine Purpose do we achieve the enlightenment that frees us of the cycle of reincarnation.
The Tibetan Book Of The Dead
The Western world knows of this ancient book from a translation by W.Y. Evans-Wentz (Oxford University Press, 1960, 2000). First transcribed in 1927, it is less a scholarly work, per ser, than a book of cultural wisdom and religious teaching. The English speaking world found the book both astounding and earth-shattering when these teachings appeared in print. Despite its flaws (in the translation, and in Evans-Wentz personal biases of theosophy which somewhat taint the original text) it remains the main, purest source of the reincarnationist teachings. The text comes from a group called the Mahatmas, a secret order of enlightened masters also referred to as the Great White Brotherhood. The brotherhood was a group that had once lived throughout the world, but had congregated in Tibet to escape the onslaught of civilization.
The Mahatmas instructed Madame Blavatsky (a turn of the century theosophist) in the practice of "Esoteric Buddhism," of which the Buddhism being practiced in Asia, including Tibet, was a corruption. Blavatsky attempted to found a scientific religion, one that (progressively for the time) attempted to accept the new discoveries in science, geology and archaeology while at the same time proclaiming the ancient and esoteric system of spiritual evolution more sophisticated than Darwin's scientific theory. This Theosophical Society enjoyed great popularity in America, Europe and India in the late 1800's and early 1900's.
The text describes the process of death and rebirth in terms of three intermediate states of "bardos." (Life Between Life) The first, and briefest is the bardo of the moment of death when, at the end of a process of sensory dissolution that presaged physical death, a profound state of consciousness, called the clear light, dawns. If one is able to recognize the clear light as reality, one immediately achieves liberation from the cycle of rebirth. If the clear light is not recognized at that time, the consciousness of the deceased person moves into the second bardo (which appears to be a completely Tibetan invention) called the bardo of reality. The disintegration of the personality brought on by death again reveals reality, but in this case not as the clear light, but in the multicolored forms of a mandala of forty-two peaceful deities and a mandala of fifty-eight wrathful deities. These deities appear in sequence to the consciousness of the deceased in the days immediately following death. If reality is not recognized in this second bardo, the third bardo, the bardo of mundane existence dawns, during which one must again take rebirth in one of the six realms of gods, demigods, humans, animals, hungry ghosts, or in hell: consciousness is blown to the appropriate place of rebirth by the winds of past karma.
One of the purposes of the Tibetan Book Of The Dead, is, as the title suggests, a meditation to be read to the dead or dying so that he or she would hear how to find liberation in the intermediate state, or, if that did not occur, to find a favorable place of rebirth, ideally in a pure land. The book also is the foundation for a series of meditational and ritual practices based on one of the central premises of the text: that death is not something to fear, but instead provides a rare opportunity in which the reality that is one's true nature (often obscured by the mental and physical processes of incarnation) becomes manifest upon the dissolution of these mental and physical processes at death. Liberation is achieved by recognizing that reality.
The Tibetan Book Of The Dead points out that, "so long as the mind is human, so long as it is individualized, so long as it regards itself as separate and apart from all other minds, it is but the plaything of Maya, of Ignorance, which causes it to look upon the hallucinatory panorama of existences within the [physical world] as real, and thence leads it to lose itself..."
In his preface to the second edition, Evans-Wentz points out that the various churches of Christendom, Greek, Roman, Assyrian, Anglican, and more, all fall into the camp of the reincarnationists rather than the scientists when it comes to the problems of confronting death and dying. While science is limited in its abilities, and in fact can offer no suggestion, comfort or resolution beyond the death of the physical body, every religion suggests the comfort of re-birth and the afterlife, albeit not necessarily through reincarnation.
The eminent psychologist Carl Jung wrote a preface to one of the printings of the Tibetan Book Of The Dead, and actually suggests in some of his other writings, that his famous archetypes may have their roots in the level of pre-incarnate awareness, that is, the archetypes are essential qualities that are devoid of personality. In other words, Jung envisioned his famous archetypes as fitting more within the framework of the soul state, that of essential being without human personality, than within human psyche and psychology.
The Overview Of Different Religions
This following information can be somewhat misleading as it is general in scope and taken from references, rather than any deep study of the religious beliefs themselves. It is hoped, however, that it will present enough of an accurate overview with regard to the general beliefs as well as to any peculiarities relevant to the doctrine of reincarnation. Also, only those religions likely to be predominantly familiar in Western thinking, or essential to the development of reincarnationist doctrine are included.
Hinduism: Rather than the Buddha, Hindu's follow the teachings of Krishna in the Bhagavad-Gita. In the teachings of Krishna found here, the sum of life is of compassion and love, rooted not just in sentiment and emotion, but in spiritual knowledge. Such knowledge demonstrates the fundamental Oneness and eternality of all beings in their progression toward a higher life.
The Hindu view holds that spirit no more depends on the body it inhabits than body depends on the clothes it wears or the house it lives in. When we outgrow a suit or find our house too cramped we exchange these for ones that offer our bodies freer play. Hinduism rejects Western thinking (which finds its way even into Western views on reincarnation) that projects its problems and concerns to some source "out there"—even past lives. Hindus hold that our current state of being is ours and nothing more nor less than what we have chosen for our current state of growth. The cards we have been dealt are the ones that we have chosen, but we have freedom to play the hand any way we see fit.
A 1971 survey by India's Illustrated Weekly magazine entitled, "Will Hinduism Survive?" offered a probing study at the prevailing trends of this religion. Insightful for our purposes is that, regarding the religion itself, it was found that much of the meaning in ritual had been lost and there was an overall antipathy to the sacred writings. It found, however, that Karma and reincarnation are more than mere dogma to them, but a living way of being "like the air they breathe."
Sikhism: Beings are caught in the whirling wheel of samsara, involuntary births and deaths, because of self-identification with the body and its environment. "The aim of liberation is not to escape from the world of space and time but to be enlightened, wherever we may be. It is to live in this world knowing that it is divinely informed. For those who are no longer bound to the wheel of samsara, life on earth is centered in the bliss of eternity."
Jainism: The Jains are a large religious body in India, and their teachings closely resemble Buddhism, but the religion predates it by many centuries. The Jainist's claim that Gautama (the "Buddha" from whose teachings "Buddhism" derives) was actually a student disciple of one of their Mahatmas.
The Jainists believe that present life is nothing more than a link of the great chain of transmigratory circuit, and that the doctrine of karma is meaningless in the absence of a fully developed doctrine of transmigration. The soul is the entity to whom a collection of habits and shapes belong, but the soul is not to be understood through these habits and shapes (personality characteristic traits). In psychological parlay, personal immortality is impossible but individual immortality is one of the deepest truths of life.
Buddhism: Here it is important to point out several things: first, that Buddhism is not the following of the teachings of one particular individual, for Buddha, in Sanskrit, means only "one who is fully enlightened." According to Buddhism, numerous Buddhas have appeared at suitable intervals, to teach students and to essentially reinvigorate and purify the teachings. Second, as with "Christianity," not all Buddhist teaching is of the same accord. Just as one might find differences between Christian denominations, so with Buddhist teachings, albeit to a far lesser extent. The most major differences are between what is referred to as "Northern" and "Southern" Buddhism, owing its name to the geography of origin and practice.
Southern Buddhism: is also referred to as the "Doctrine of the Elders," and this is what might also be referred to as "popular" Buddhism. This form of Buddhism is often read to imply that there is no passage of soul in any sense from one life to another. The Southern version, briefly, is that at death a man's tendencies and traits of character are, by a chain reaction of cause and effect, reborn in some other person or individual, but without any connecting link of continuing ego.
Northern Buddhism: Northern Buddhism is said to have preserved the teaching given by Buddha to his initiated disciples. Within this teaching is the unmistakable teaching of the doctrine of permanent identity which unites all the incarnations of a single individual. Most adherents of this teaching propose that the doctrine of karma is rendered almost senseless if divorced from the idea of a reincarnating ego.
Another key distinction involves a reading of portion of text of the Buddha's teaching, which reads, "death, utter death." While the Southern Buddhists take this to mean that the chain of Karma was severed at the death of Buddha, and that Nirvana is an oblivion, the Northern Buddhists hold that this is a complete misreading of the text. To the Northern Buddhist, Karma endlessly continues, and the text in question involves Buddha entering Nirvana, eternal bliss of true Selfhood, and free from the cycle of reincarnation.
Tibetan Buddhism: This belief system is distinctive for its belief in the successive rebirths of the highest Lamas: the Dalai, the Panchen and some others. The most well known continuation of a soul through various incarnations is the idea that the Dalai Lama is the same soul, reborn over and over as the Dalai Lama, never any other role. This soul returns each lifetime with particular traits, like a particular cowlick in the hair, certain markings and remembrances of certain items that were possessed before in the previous life, and so on. After a Dalai Lama dies, an all out search ensues within a few years, scouring the country for the next incarnation of the Dalai Lama, the same soul. A little boy is always the subject of interest, but some have wondered if it is possible that the Dalai Lama might reincarnate as a female, and that perhaps the lineage has been broken. This has been a point of contention, and it is also wondered if the "real" Dalai Lama is really found each time around. There are often disagreements about who to pick, as there are usually several candidates. In the end, one little boy is selected to be the next Dalai Lama based on various tests. None the less, any little boy raised the way that a Dalai Lama would be raised is going to become a wise and kind being. Who knows if it is really the same soul reincarnating over and over again. The upbringing is the same, and the respect with which the little boy is treated creates a benevolent and wise man who helps his fellow humans. The modern day Dalai Lama, who lives outside of Tibet in order to avoid execution by the Chinese who have waged a war against Tibetan traditions, writes wonderful books and gives many talks and lectures that all portray the benevolent spirit of the Dalai Lama.
Personally, I would think a soul would be bored with reincarnating in the role in every lifetime, but perhaps this is not the case for the Dalai Lama. After all, it is a rather elevated role, and it isn't as bad as some roles could be. For instance, no one would want to repeat the life of a poverty stricken peasant over and over again! The Dalai Lama role would be preferable.
Perhaps owing to the ongoing presence of a Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhism may be the most "cultivated" form of Buddhism, in that the living presence of a revered teacher leads to a persistent presence in the minds of the public, as well as new writings and explanations on the subject. For instance, this, from the 14th Dalai Lama: "...the human body can be perceived—it has form and color—and therefore, its immediate source or cause must also have these qualities. But mind is formless, and hence its immediate source or cause must also be formless...Both mind and body being in this life as soon as conception occurs. The immediate source of a body is that of its parents. But physical matter cannot produce mind, nor mind matter. The immediate source of a mind must, therefore be a mind which existed before the conception took place; the mind must have a continuity from a previous mind." Obviously, Tibetan Buddhism agrees with Northern Buddhism on the doctrine of one ego perpetually reincarnating. A distinct point, though, is that the Dalai Lama is here indicating the soul's presence from the point of conception, whereas others (both within Buddhism and reincarnationists in general) have different and varying timetables at which they commit the soul to the fetus.
Freud & Psychology: Of note here regarding Buddhism is the following comments of Sigmund Freud, the "father of Psychoanalysis," and certainly the keystone in the development of modern psychology. A personal student of Sigmund Freud's reported that Freud allegedly called Buddha, "the greatest psychologist of all time." The following excerpt is from what is considered to be the most widely influential of the canonical writings, the Dhammapada, in which the Buddha is speaking. In his personal writings, Freud excerpted this passage:
"All that we are is the result of what we have thought: all that we are is founded on our thoughts and formed of our thoughts... Knowing that this body is like froth, knowing that its nature is that of a mirage...the disciple is untouched by death. The craving of the thoughtless man is like the creeper that eats up the tree on which it fastens. From life to life he is like a monkey seeking fruits in a forest..."
These thoughts are indicative of the teachings of Buddhism; that self-will, lusts, desires, etc... are the things that keep man returning in the cycle of rebirths until such time as he has left such desires behind and becomes one with the Lord. If one studies the works of Freud in this context, it becomes apparent that a whole new tone emerges. Though often contemporarily criticized for outdated morals and values that skewed his perceptions of the psyche, one begins to see that with the Law of Karmic evolution, Freud was actually much closer to the truth than ever before realized. For instance, his interpretation (snidely called his "fixation") with sexuality and symbolism is probably very accurate. Given the Victorian mores of his era, it would seem conclusive that those with a high karmic debt regarding sexual proclivities or excesses would incarnate at a time of severe repression.
Another point to consider, is that in the original interpretation of Freud's work into English, and in every subsequent translation to this date, his use of the word "soul" when talking about the dream state, was intentionally translated into the word "psyche." Now, more than ever, to re-read and study his work in light of his Buddhist leanings, his belief in reincarnation, and his use of the word "soul" when discussing the dream state, one begins to see how the arena of human psychology might be profoundly influenced and changed.
Taoism: Taoism evolves from the teachings of philosopher Lao Tzu, through the writings of his student Chuang Tzu. The belief in reincarnation is not nearly so tied to "karma" per ser, nor specifically to transmigration and incarnation in a series of "lives" as it is a belief in an endless cycle of life. From the writings of Chuang Tzu: "Birth is not a beginning; death is not an end. There is existence without limitation; there is continuity without a starting-point... There is birth, there is death, there is issuing forth, there is entering in. To have attained to the human form must be always a source of joy. And then, to undergo countless transitions, with only the infinite to look forward to—what incomparable bliss is that!"
Interestingly, and somewhat problematically in a discussion of reincarnation, Taoism is perhaps less fixed in ritual or dogma than most of the other belief systems. In fact, much of Taoism involves open-ended speculation for the contemplation of being. For instance (again from the writings of Chuang Tzu): "There is something...which existed before Heaven and Earth. Oh how still it is, and formless, standing along without changing, reaching everywhere without suffering harm. It must be regarded as the Mother of the Universe. It appears to be everlasting. Its name I know not. To designate it, I call it Tao."
This brief statement is deliciously honest while tantalizingly vague for the seeker who expects certainty from teachers and wishes to have a fixed path outlined for his or her advancement.
Confucianism: Confucianism does not preach any doctrine of immortality or reincarnation, yet it does not deny them. Confucius himself avoided all discussion on these subjects. In the his writings Analects, he says, "I only hand on; I cannot create new things; I believe in the ancients, and therefore I love them." But Confucianism is more a teaching of morals and manners, a code of ethics and behavior as it were. Though students and followers have at various times been antagonistic toward each other, Confucius himself had nothing but the highest respect for Lao Tzu (Taoism). As pointed out elsewhere, one may be simultaneously a Confucian, a Taoist and a Buddhist. Thus, through Taoism or Buddhism, a Confucian may be an embracer of reincarnation.
The Egyptian Mysteries: Though much of Egypt is now Muslim, the ancient religion practiced, and still practiced in some small part, is the way of Mysteries. Like the Tibetans, the Egyptians also had a Book of the Dead, containing rituals and prayers that functioned more like spells. These spells would be recited in order to incarnate in various forms. Though there has been some controversy over whether or not the ancient Egyptians were actually reincarnationists, Herodotus is very definite on the subject, and it seems borne out by certain evidence. For instance, Amonemhat I's name was "He who repeats births," and Senusert I's name was "He whose births live." In the 19th dynasty, the ka-name of Setekhy I was "Repeater of births." By the 18th dynasty, the theory of reincarnation was already so far advanced as to include not just the Pharoahs or royal families, but the common folk as well.
As perhaps the first civilization to widely practice and document its beliefs in reincarnation, some inevitable claim can be made that these beliefs may have provided the foundation, the starting point or at least greatly influenced thinking on the subject. With that in mind, consider the teachings of the Mysteries: All Souls are derived from the one Soul of the Universe. Souls are all equal in nature, neither male nor female; this distinction exists only between bodies and not incorporeal beings. Upon death, souls are dispatched into, "...the condition which belongs to it." That is, the soul goes through a period of analyzing, exploring and understanding its life and choices intelligently, before returning to a new body that is fashioned and constructed according to "the law of equity." The law of equity here seems to be a precursor of the law of karma.
Shintoism: In Shintoism, there was no doctrine of reincarnation. According to the ancient Japanese thinking, the spirits of the dead continued to exist in the world, freely wandering and mixing with the forces of the world, and acting through them. Those who had been wicked in life remained wicked after death, and those who had been good in life became good (benevolent) gods.
Buddhism became quickly absorbed in Japan, probably due to the full and simple explanations it offered, which Shintoism had left unanswered. The doctrine of reincarnation was soothing to the people who were largely discomfited by the explanations of death and the afterlife according to Shintoism. What emerged was a peculiar blend of beliefs, with most Japanese homes having both a Shinto "god-shelf" and a Buddhist shrine.Judaism: Reincarnation is plainly set forth in the Kabala, which is (according to the Kabalists) an esoteric interpretation of the Old Testament. While there is little in the Old Testament that can be pointed to as speaking of re-birth, many questions by Jesus' disciples in the New Testament are considered indicative of Judaism's widespread belief in reincarnation. What little there is in the Old Testament is found in such verses as, "The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be...and there is no new thing under the sun." Ecclesiastes, 1:9. Also, "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee..." Jeremiah, 4. Also, the Book of Proverbs (specifically 8:22-31) is considered to be that of Solomon reflecting upon his past lives.
It is very important to point out that the more predominant readings of these verses, by both Jews and Christians, is in that of a spiritual nature and in no way interpreted as having to do with physical re-birth. The reincarnationists merely point to these verses in support of their views.Among ancient Judaism there were three principal schools of thought; the Essenes, the Pharisees and the Sadducees. According to Josephus (in the Dead Sea Scrolls), the Pharisees "believe that souls have an immortal vigor in them [and that the virtuous] shall have power to revive and live again (on earth); on account of which doctrines they are able greatly to persuade the body of the people." Interesting here how Josephus accounts for the Pharisees popularity among the people to be, at least in part, by their doctrine of reincarnation. The fears of the unknown death and the comfort of a doctrine assuring "life as we know it" to begin again is a great attraction to many people. The Essenes believed that the bodies are corruptible, and that matter is not permanent. Only the soul is permanent. The body is a prison of sorts, to which the soul is drawn by a certain natural enticement but which subjects one to the long, painful bondage of the flesh. There is an account (again, Josephus in the Dead Sea Scrolls) which speaks of the Essenes conduct during the war with the Romans. "They smiled in their pains and laughed to scorn those who inflicted torments upon them, and resigned up their souls with great alacrity, as expecting to receive them again."
Kabalah: In A Talmudic Miscellany by Paul Isaac Hershon, we find the following selections from the Kabala: "Most souls being at present in a state of transmigrations, God requites a man now for what his soul merited in a by past time in another body, by having broken some of the 613 precepts...Thus we have the rule: no one is perfect unless he has thoroughly observed all the 613 precepts...He who neglects to observe any of the 613 precepts, such as were possible for him to observe, is doomed to undergo transmigration (once or more than once) till he has actually observed all he had neglected to do in a former state of being." So rather than a cosmic, spiritual law of balance in place (Karma), the Kabalists have a fixed and regimented formula for moving beyond incarnating in the physical plane. It must be noted that the same text mentions that, "even the lord of our prophets, Moses our Rabbi—peace be on him!—had not observed them all..."
Elsewhere we find that the Kabalists remark that "Adam, contains the initial letters of Adam, David, and Messiah; for after Adam sinned his soul passed into David, and the latter having also sinned, it passed into the Messiah." (Though how the names assigned to these individuals by English transcribers can produce such insights, one cannot fathom.) There is, however, another point. Which is the inference of not just of transmigration, but of soul, or spirit, inhabiting other individualities. This point is furthered in the following text: "Know thou that Cain's essential soul passed into Jethro, but his spirit into Korah, and his animal soul into the Egyptian. This is what Scripture saith. ‘Cain...shall be avenged sevenfold.' " (Gen. 4:24)...i.e. the initial letters of the Hebrew word rendered "shall be avenged," form the initials of Jethro, Korah and Egyptian..." Thus we have not only reincarnation, but a doctrine of transmutation and the splintering of soul into components.
There are also some writings of Rabbis and Jewish philosophers of the Hasidic movement that assert a belief in reincarnation. For example, "The belief or the doctrine of the transmigration of souls is a firm and infallible dogma accepted by the whole assemblage of our which with one accord, so that there is none to be found who would dare deny it... Indeed, there are a great number of sages in Israel who hold firm to this doctrine to that they made it a dogma, a fundamental point of our religion...as the truth of it has been incontestably demonstrated by...all the books of the Kabalists." Rabbi Manasseh Ben Israel (1604-1657), Theologian and Statesman.
Christianity: As noted in the section on Judaism, the ancient Jews believed in the periodic reincarnation of the great prophets. In their opinion, Moses was the return of Abel, the son of Adam, and the Messiah was the reincarnation of Adam himself, who had already appeared a second time as David. According to the Samaritans, the line of reincarnation went like this; Adam, Seth, Noah, Abraham, Moses. Even the closing book of the Old Testament (Malachi 4:5) offers this: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord." Elijah had already lived among the Jews, so, if this is to be taken literally, it would seem that God is promising his return.
While Elijah and Elias are distinctly different characters in the Old Testament, Elias is also the Greek version of the name Elijah. Therefore, the following citations offer the possibility of a meaning indicating reincarnation. From Matthew, centering on the introduction of Jesus' public ministry and works we find these distinct references: "...he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist,; some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets." (16:13-14) While this would certainly indicate a prevailing belief in, if not reincarnation, then at least a resurrection in physical form, it is interesting to note the follow up question asked by Jesus, which is, "But who say ye that I am?" To which he receives the reply, "Thou art the Christ. The Son of the living God." That this was an acceptable answer to Jesus leaves one to wonder his own view on the matter of being a reincarnate soul of one of the great prophets.
Elsewhere in Matthew (17:9-13) we read, "Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead. And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist [who had already been beheaded by Herod]."
This citation offers a number of questions for reflection. First is the statement, "Until the Son of man be risen again from the dead." While the centerpiece of Jesus' mission was his resurrection [not reincarnation], the use of the word "again" leads to speculation as to whether he meant that he had also previously risen. Although, it must be pointed out that several of the exhaustive Bible commentaries regard this as an issue of translation and grammar arising out of the original text, and might be more accurately rendered as "live again, haven risen from the dead." The second point is Jesus' seeming inference that Elias has already come again in the form of John the Baptist. The point should be taken, but again, the interpretation might be handled to imply that John the Baptist had the same "spirit," that is characteristics and purpose that Elias had fulfilled at an earlier time, which was to arouse and awaken a people whose faith had dulled during the long wait for God's messenger.
The other statement from Matthew is from chapter 11, verses 11 and 14: "Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist...And if ye will receive it, this is Elias which was for to come." Again, a reincarnationist reading of the verse would seem to imply that John the Baptist was Elias reincarnated.
All along the New Testament, from the advent of Jesus' public ministry, which briefly coincided with John the Baptist's until his beheading by Herod, there is a persistent question; Who art thou? It is asked of both Jesus and John the Baptist. In John 1: 19, we see John the Baptist directly asked by the priests and others, "Art thou Elias?" John answered that he was not. They ask again, "Art thou that Prophet?" and he again denies it. No matter what either Jesus or John meant or believed, it seems fairly certain that the Jews of the time were familiar with the doctrine of reincarnation, and expected either a reincarnation or a reappearing of the prophets of old. Tertullian, a Latin father of the Church writing around the year 207 B.C., disputes the reincarnationist interpretation of the above scriptures on the premise that Elias never died, but was translated, that is, removed from this plane without physically dying. His reappearance was not to be through a restoration of the soul to a body, but in the way of resuming a life which he had laid aside in order to fulfill prophecy. Despite the seeming of arbitrary tender in the reincarnation argument, it is important to note that the very idea of translation is not only common to some doctrines of reincarnation (as when the Self has purified within this plane and does not need death to pass into its immortal Soul self), but is also a foundational argument of Christianity. To "walk with the Lord" is to have transcended the material existence through self-knowledge and self-immolation.
Christian Gnosticism: The Gnostics (meaning "knowledge") were all reincarnationists. While there is no exact proof as to their origin or even their place in the early Church, the Gnostics have resurged in Christian interest in the last several years with the translation and printing of both portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls and The Gnostic Gospels. Though followers of Gnosticism, especially Christian reincarnationists, subscribe to a conspiracy of sorts by the Church (especially the Roman Catholic Church) to suppress the translation and printing of these documents, there need be no discussion here other than to point out the fact and to agree that it was almost certainly (if not conspiracy) censorship and repression of knowledge. Indeed the Gnostic Gospels and the Dead Sea Scrolls offer troubling puzzles, if not for the other texts included in the Bible, then for the Church dogma itself.
A growing number of scholars believe that the Gnostics may have been the descendants of the original Christians and not just an aesthetic off-shoot. As indication that the Gnostics were the inheritors of the esoteric teachings of Christ, the argument is founded on several statements, including the following: [Jesus said to his disciples] Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the Kingdom of God; but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables. (Mark 4:11). Both St. Clement and Origen (early fathers of the Church) testified to "an esoteric lining" to Christianity, and St. Paul writes in I Corinthians 3:1-2; "And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat; for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able."
Various Gnostic schools were grouped in Alexandria around A.D. 125, a time when the teacher Basilides, who had the doctrines of the Apostles Mark and Peter, through Peter's disciple Glaucus, wrote twenty-four volumes of interpretations of the Gospels which were later burned by the Church. These writings would have most certainly been the most contemporary and the least adulterated of accounts from Christ's own teachings, and were written long before the so-called canonical Bible first evolved from the Council of Nicea in 325.A.D.
Gnosticism revolved around the central tenet of cyclic law for both the universal and the individual soul. Thus the Gnostics preached not only the doctrine of pre-existence, but also of reincarnation of human souls. They held rigidly to the infallible working out of the great law of cause and effect (karma). Though all outward semblance of Gnosticism was suppressed by both Emperors and Popes, the penalty often being death, these movements maintained a secretive and reclusive existence while maintaining hidden relationships with other groups scattered throughout the lands.
The Gnostic scriptures, and again, one must remember that these texts date contemporarily to other books found in the Old Testament as we know it today, offer very clear accounts of "the Saviour" (i.e. Jesus Christ) discussing reincarnation. "This is the chastisement of the curser...Yaluham...bringeth a cup filled with the water of forgetfulness and handeth it to the soul, and it drinketh it and forgetteth...all the regions to which it hath gone. And they cast it down into a body which will spend its time continually troubled in its heart..." "This is the chastisement of the arrogant and overweening man...it drinketh and forgetteth all things and all the regions to which it hath gone. And they cast it up into a lame and deformed body, so that all despise it persistently." "Thereafter there cometh a receiver of the little Sbaoth, the Good, him of the Midst. He himself bringeth a cup filled with thoughts and wisdom, and soberness is in it; he handeth it to the soul. And they cast it into a body which can neither sleep nor forget because of the cup of soberness which hat been handed unto it; but it will whip its heart persistently to question about the mysteries of the Light until it finds them..."
These three passages would refer to the reincarnation of an unrighteous man, a sinning soul (the first two) and a righteous man (the latter). In both cases "the cup of forgetfulness" is drunk, assuming the reason for the absence of knowledge of past lives or reincarnation. In the first two cases, however, the life is filled with distraught and despair, seemingly a Karmic punishment for "cursing" and "arrogance and pride." Here, "cursing" can be assumed to be some sort of turning away from God, or the Light, or the Way, a refusing to learn Karmic lessons of sorts, because the punishment is a continually troubled heart (conscience).
Aside from the references both Mark and Paul make (above) indicating a dual set of teachings, we also find indications with the Book of Acts and in the Epistles of a constant struggle within the early Church against a return to "other ways." A close reading of the New Testament with several scholarly Bible commentaries, as well as references within the Gnostic Gospels and the Dead Sea Scrolls indicate that a portion of this struggle was not just against paganism or dereliction of duty (backsliding into sinning) but rather against a fractious infighting against alternate beliefs concerning the problem of salvation. To put it summarily, it seems as though the Jews had for the most part always accepted transmigration (reincarnation) in some form; however, Jesus ministry and the resurrection of the same incarnate body left some dispute over the message the teaching was to take. Just as early Christians expected Jesus' "second coming" to occur in their lifetime, so too did much of his teaching become confused in its reception by the masses. Paul in particular, who was probably most responsible for the early expansion and continuation of the Church after the deaths of the apostles, was hard-pressed to keep the faith and understanding alive and immediate. Despite his efforts, we see in his constant writings to the Churches, a struggle to keep the teachings pure and to avoid a descent into mere dogma and bureaucracy.
The Christian Question: As the predominant religion in the colonizing world, it was inevitable that Christianity be exported to other countries. The ascendance of the Dark Ages forced a collusion between governments and the powers of the Church, and so the nature of that Christian faith needed to be unified and advantageous to powers both temporal and spiritual. In the viewpoint of Papists and Monarchists, reincarnation held a very dangerous place, for it—by default—placed an equality on all men. While there was an acknowledged place for "teachers," the idea of Karmic debt and salvation nullified some of the fear and control to be gained from despotic control over the masses. Also, from a purely political point of view, several ambitious peoples worked to carve out great empires (Caesar, Constantine, etc...). Apart from such questions as the equality of souls and karma challenging any sense of absolute and ultimate authority, the fragility of such empires could brook no inner dissensions within the Church, where ambitious factions worked to carve their own precarious balances of power. While the power struggles within the Church raged, there was constant interference from strong political leaders making demands of their own. In other words, in order to survive, personal and political expediency often prevailed in establishing much of what the Christian Church now accepts as an uninterrupted flow of teaching from the time of Jesus Christ until now.
Though the argument against considering such things is that both the Will and the Word of God prevails through mortal circumstances, and that the temporal occurrences, however they appear within the human picture, work for the preservation of this Word, it is interesting to note several historic incidents that have been documented thoroughly. From the indications of these incidents, one can probably imagine a host of incidents both large and small that were not preserved.
Item: Pope Vigilius was the prisoner of the Emperor Constantine starting in November of 545. During Vigilius imprisonment, the Emperor instigated a local synod and later an unofficial session of Ecumenical Council which ratified his anathemas cursing the doctrines of pre-existence. Justinian effectively assumed control of the Church and his Imperial edicts defined and dictated theological doctrine. In 529 A.D. such an edict was enacted that barred "the teaching of the ancient philosophy." By refusing the idea of pre-existence, Justinian effectively eliminated by implication, reincarnation.
The eventual outcome of this event is that the Church eventually adopted the idea of a pre-existence of an immortal soul, but which was confined to one earthly visit and thereafter to an eternal stay in either Heaven or Hell.
Islam And The Koran: As a boy, Mohammed (A.D. 570-632) came into contact with a Nestorian monastery in Busra, and grew deeply interest in the religious and philosophical views of the monks, who generally believed that the idea of souls passing from body to body was a truth of being. There are some who say that upon reaching manhood, Mohammed became more and more influenced by the Nestorian teachings. In the Koran (the Muslim Holy Book) we find a number of sayings that, as with the Christian Bible, can be inferred to promote a belief in reincarnation.
"As the rains turn the dry earth into green thereby yielding fruits, similarly God brings the dead into life so that thou mayest learn." (Chapter 8, Sura Ira, Meccan Verses 6-6-13). "And He sent down rains from above in proper quantity and He brings back to life the dead earth, similarly ye shall be reborn." (Chapter 25, Sura Zakhraf, Meccan Verses 5-10-6). "[Those who doubt immortality] are dead and they do not know when they will be born again. Your God is peerless and those who have no faith in the ultimate have perverse hearts and they want to pose as great men." (Chapter 14, Sura Nahel, Verses 2-12-8).
Imam Jafer, a well-known authority in the Islamic world, said that "rebirths must be undergone before entering the Heaven world," referring to the text, "Surely they will be reborn and this law is perfect but people who do not possess wisdom do not comprehend it." (Cahpter 14, Sura Hahel Verses 4-0-10).
The Sufis: The Sufis claim to possess the esoteric philosophy of Islam, and to have preceded Mohammed by several thousand years. It was among the Sufis that the teaching of reincarnation was more especially preserved. In The Dabistan, the Sufis teach, "When the souls not yet come forth from the pit of the natural darkness of bodily matter, are nevertheless in a state of increasing improvement, then, in an ascending way, they migrate climbing up to the steps of the wished-for perfection of mankind...after which, purified of the defilement of the body, they join the world of sanctity..." The Sufi religious master said Muhammed Nurbakhsh, in Religion Of The Sufis, is shown distinguishing between tanasukh, or ordinary reincarnation, and buruz, the reincarnation of a perfect soul "for the sake of perfecting mankind."
The Druses are sometimes referred to as "The Sufis of Syria," and they are mentioned here because they figured strongly in Dr. Ian Stevenson's work (see Scientific Findings). Many theories of their origins are suggested, and their religion is described as a blending of Mohammedanism, Judaism, Tibetan Lamaism, and Christianity (strongly tinged with Gnosticism). Some of their order trace their order back to Hemsa, the uncle of Mohammed who in 625 went to Tibet in search of secret wisdom. Reincarnation is one of the fundamental teachings of the Druses.
Masonry Or Freemasonry: Particularly, the Scottish Order of Freemasonry which has some derivative influence from the Celts and Druids who believed strongly in reincarnation, and held ancestral knowledge and stories of Atlantis, from whom some believed the lands of Scotland and Ireland were populated after the great flood.
Masonry is included here only because of its prevalence among the "founding fathers" of the United States. Often shrouded in secrecy, often clouded with suspicion because of this secrecy, Freemasonry played an important function in the founding of the United States. George Washington, an active Mason, bore the title "Grand Master of America," and the Great Seal of the United States (which figures prominently on the dollar bill) is largely Masonic in character. In the 1927 book The Masonic Initiation by William Wilmshurst, Past Master, Past Provincial Grand Registrar, we find the following explanation of a formula used at Lodge-closing ceremony: "The observant Masonic student is made aware...that by some great Warden of life and death each soul is called into this objective world to labor upon itself, and is in due course summoned from it to rest from its labors and enter into subjective celestial refreshment, until once again it is recalled to labor." "...the soul in the course of its career weaves and wears out many bodies, and is continually migrating between objective and subjective conditions, passing from labor to refreshment and back again many times in its great task of self-fulfillment...until such time as its work is complete and it is ‘made a pillar in the House of God and no more goes out' as a journey-man builder into this sublunary workshop."
Case Histories & Stories
Dr. Ian Stevenson, the Carlson Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Virginia Medical School, has investigated reports of past-life memories. Not from hypnosis, but from spontaneous, waking memories experienced by very small children. These accounts often did include verifiable information, and the child's knowledge, or "memories," could be corroborated and verified by surviving family members and checked against reality, so to speak. The Journal Of The American Medical Association (1975) states that Stevenson "had collected cases in which the evidence is difficult to explain on any other grounds [besides reincarnation]."
Stevenson has done what others (previously) in the field failed to do. While it is almost impossible to use the word "science" in regard to proof of reincarnation, Dr. Stevenson has nevertheless endeavored to employ as much scientific method as possible in his investigations. He reports that he uses the methods of the historian, the lawyer and the psychiatrist, gathering testimony from as many witnesses as possible. It is not uncommon for Stevenson to interview up to twenty-five people regarding a case. He also checks such things as diaries, letters, certificates of birth and death, autopsy and hospital records and any such documents he can locate through investigation.
Stevenson is often contacted by or on behalf of puzzled parents whose children insist on having lived before and of having memories of such lives. Stevenson focuses on children as young as possible because when they begin speaking (between the ages of two and four) they are limited in the amount of peripheral information they may have picked up that would influence them or create "false memories." He looks for such cases that are "rich in obscure detail," that is, full of seemingly insignificant information that although it can be verified, it is likely to be unknown to persons other than the subject themselves. Such things as where a missing piece of jewelry or weaponry was hidden, the color of paint under the existing color and so on. These would not be the workings of a childish imagination, but rather significant facts that must be known and proved true.
Stevenson has in the neighborhood of 2000 cases on file which are deemed to be "reliable" in that there has been no evidence of tampering or fraud and that roughly ninety percent of the information remembered by the child has been verified.
Some of the objections that might be put forth as alternative theories disputing Stevenson's "evidence" of reincarnation follow. It should be pointed out, however, that Stevenson began his career as a psychologist and psychiatrist and began the investigations with the intent of discovering what lay behind these memories and not with any belief in or disposition toward "proving" reincarnation. Even as of his last work he was reluctant to state his outright belief in reincarnation or to indicate that his work proved such a belief. Rather, he invited guests to read the studies themselves without predisposition. He himself would make no stronger statement than that he felt that the studies would seem to indicate reincarnation in absence of other explanation.
Alternative theories to explain the case studies include: fraud, conscious or unconscious; fantasy and personation; cryptomnesia; paramnesia; inherited memory and/or the collective unconscious; clairvoyance and telepathy; and, mediumistic possession. To each of these possibilities follows a brief statement about Stevenson's evaluation of their potential as an alternative explanation to reincarnation.
Fraud, Conscious Or Otherwise: Stevenson says, "Small children are not easy to coach for the assumption of roles that do not seem natural to them." Moreover, there is no "benefit" to any of the case study participants; no money or publicity is given. As to any unconscious deceit, Stevenson, as an expert specializing in the testimony of patients, is well equipped to detect psychological and other influences that could impeach a witness' integrity.
Fantasizing And Personation: Daydreaming and fantasizing may be natural aspects of childhood, but the main problem with this argument is that such "fantasies" are woven around a nucleus of facts that can be verified independently. Stevenson points out that such "psychoses of any kind are extremely rare in children; delusional false identification with another person is even rarer." In his correspondence with psychologists specializing in treatment of children and especially in delusional illnesses such as schizophrenia, none of the professionals had ever encountered a case of a child of these ages claiming to be someone else.
Cryptomnesia, Or An Illusion Of Memories: "A person afflicted with cryptomnesia thinks that what he is saying or writing is original with him. He has, however learned normally the content of his communication earlier, either from a person or [other] source." The main argument against cryptomnesia is again the young age at which most of the subjects being to talk about the previous lives they claim to remember. Some subjects refer to their memories when less than two years old—hardly an age where such details can be unconsciously absorbed.
Paramnesia: This refers to incidents where the two families in question have met (one family belonging to the child having memories, and the other the family of the past life). In such a case, adults may attribute more to the child than the child actually recounted, or may have added information unwittingly. Either scenario fails to take into account the actual nature of such meetings, which are usually highly uncomfortable for both parties and not a "happy exchange of memories between old friends and family." Also, there are many instances where the families have not met in advance, nor had knowledge of each other.
Inherited Memory And/Or The Collective Unconscious: Stevenson pays particular note to this argument in volume three of his case studies because of its frequent use in discussing his cases. While he particularly argues the case against "inherited memory," that is some transmission of memories through families, he does not touch on the idea of "collective unconscious," grouping it rather, with inherited memory. Inherited memory is disputed on the basis of its own paradox, that is that almost all of the reincarnations take place outside of any lineal descendancy.
Mediumistic Possession: In this case it refers to the mind of an individual being "taken over" by a deceased person, whose memories then become those of the living person. Observational evidence recounts that the children in no time exhibit any signs of mediumship or possession (which is extremely rare in children of this age), and that aside from occasionally and sporadically talking about the past life memories they are otherwise "normal" children. Sometimes an event or phrase or object will remind them of some previous life event which will stimulate a brief flow of talk that is otherwise normal except for the subject matter.
Some frequently recurring characteristics of the "reincarnation" type cases are as follows.
Age When Memories Appear: The typical case starts when the child is between two and four, but occasionally older. Often it becomes apparent as the child begins to speak and feels a need to communicate the memories. In such cases, the first words of the child are often names or places the child knew previously.
Age When Memories Fade: Universally, an almost invariable tendency is for the memories to disappear between the ages of five and eight, at the time when the child begins to venture out of his home circle and experience a wider participation elsewhere. Stevenson suggests that this is logical as the new experiences and memories begin to overlay the other memories until they gradually become inaccessible.
Characteristics Of Behavior: Unusual behavior usually coincides with the expression of memories of a past life. Not only might mannerisms or speech patterns uncharacteristic of the child and the child's family emerge, but also an attitude of gravity, from the conviction on the part of the subject that he is still an adult, not a child.
Strangeness Of The Body: Subjects frequently "have commented on the strangeness of the physical bodies in which they find themselves...the small bodies in which they feel confined."
The Most Vivid Events Remembered: Invariably the most vivid remembrances are connected with the physical death of the previous personality.
Incidence Of Violent Deaths: In a large percentage of cases, the children exhibiting such memories claim to have died a violent death. The incidence of violent death in these cases far exceeds the normal ratios of the general population. It may suggest that when the shock of death is so severe and intense that the memories more easily penetrate into the new personality.
Phobia For Objects Or Circumstances Causing Death: Another common feature in the cases of violent death is a strong phobia for events or objects related to the death. For instance, one girl moved from a bridge to avoid a bus and fell into the water and drowned. As a child, she was intensely afraid of water, bridges and buses. It took four people to hold her in order to administer a bath.
Changes In People And Surroundings Detected By Children: In meeting people or arriving at certain locations from the former life, the child frequently makes comments in the changes.
Announcing Dreams: An occasional phenomenon is that of one or two members of the family experiencing dreams toward the very end of pregnancy, in which is some foretelling of an individual who lived before returning to incarnate.
Abnormal Appetites During Pregnancy: This is a usual occurrence in many pregnancies; however, when the child exhibits past life memories, the food cravings or aversions are invariably found to be associated with the personality of the past life.
Possessing A Skill Not Taught Or Learned: children often show skills in early childhood that they could not have learned through instruction or imitation. In each case, the skill in question was one which the previous personality was known to have had.
Birthmarks And Deformities: Stevenson notes that in cases of violent death in the past life, such as accidents, gunshots or knife wounds and such, the child many times exhibits a birth mark or deformity corresponding to the wounds sustained during the previous personality's death. One dramatic case involved a young boy who remembered having been a bandit in his previous life. Rather than be captured by police, he had committed suicide by wedging his rifle under his chin and firing. The boy had been born with an open gash under his chin. Upon hearing the boy's story, Stevenson discovered a small birthmark on top of the head. Using photos and x-rays, Stevenson determined the trajectory of the bullet to exactly match the corresponding marks on the child.
Reincarnation Cases
The following "scientific proof" (as it is labeled among reincarnationists) is exclusively from Dr. Ian Stevenson's case studies. Though others also attempt the undertaking, they all imitate Stevenson's methods for making contact, verifying information and safeguarding the integrity of the source as much as possible. In most cases, such field operatives have worked closely with Dr. Stevenson and in most cases they have apprenticed and trained under him. Though the singularity of approach from all field operatives offers a certain taint to the research as it remains biased toward the methods of one particular individual, it nevertheless remains that Stevenson's work is as definitive as one can get at this point, and his objectivity of approach is unrivaled in this field. For that reason, as he is the originator of the method and no others have contributed a better or rival approach, it seems best to use his own material as example.
While a certain abbreviated cross section is included here for reference, the studies offered are by no means complete in themselves, nor do they offer the whole scope of Stevenson's research. Much varied and additional material is to be found in Stevenson's own volumes of case study history. Though mentioned elsewhere, it is prudent to remind the reader again of a certain logistic truism of philosophy and science. "When searching for the white blackbird, one needs only find one to prove the truth of its existence." In the contemporary words of Jeffrey Iverson, author of More Lives Than One? 1992; "It needs only one case to be ‘real' for many accepted ideas about life to be turned upside down (or right side up!)." It is that search that moves all research into reincarnation.
Case 1
This incident occurred in the southernmost state of Brazil. A young girl named Maria, but whom everyone called Sinha (or even more affectionately, Sinhazinha), grew up on her father's beautiful, but isolated farm. Requiring company, she often visited a village twelve miles away to visit a friend named Ida. Maria (or Sinha) fell in love twice, but her father violently rejected both suitors. One despondent suitor committed suicide. Maria fell into depression and her worried father arranged a trip to the seaside. Maria purposely neglected herself by inviting exposure to the cold, damp weather and performing exhausting activities. Shortly she was ill, and a throat infection set in, spreading to the lungs and contracting tuberculosis.
Before she died Sinha confessed to her friend Ida that her illness and imminent death were intentional. Sinha/Maria then predicted that she would be reborn as Ida's daughter (Ida was then pregnant), and that when she reached an age where she could speak she would, "in the body of the little girl who will be your daughter, relate many things of my present life and thus you will recognize the truth." Both Ida and her husband decided to remain quiet about Maria's prediction, saying nothing to any others.
Some months after Sinha died, Ida gave birth to a daughter they named Marta. Save for character similarities, the first inclination that the girl may have been Sinha reborn is an incident around one year of age when several friends visited to meet her. Ignoring the others who paid close attention to her, the one year old Marta went to the forbidding, unwelcome father of Sinha, stroked his beard and said, "Hello, papa." Sinha's father ignored the comment, supposing it to be mere baby's talk.
However, one day, when Marta was two and one half years old, she was walking with her sister, Lola, and asked to be carried on Lola's back. Lola refused, stating the little girl could walk well enough on her own. To this Marta replied, "When I was big and you were small, I used to carry you often." Lola laughingly remarked, "When you were big?" Then the little girl answered that at the time, she had not lived there [with Lola or in this place]. "I lived far from here where there are many cows, oxen and oranges where also there were animals like goats, but they were not goats." She thus described the farm of dead Sinha's parents, along with the many sheep, which Marta had never yet seen.
When related to her parents, they questioned Marta about her strange ideas, and insisted they had never lived anywhere else. To which Marta replied that at the time to which she was referring, she had had other parents, and another name; Sinharinza. Marta's mother, Ida, inquired, "In what manner did you, as Sinha, greet me when I used to visit you on your father's ranch?" Marta correctly replied that she would prepare coffee and wait outside for her arrival, playing a phonograph while she sat on a stone. Ida also inquired how Sinha had spoken to her the last visit before she died. Marta whispered in her mother's ear and pointed to her throat, saying that her voice was gone. This fact was known only to Ida.
Stevenson was present at the cross examination of the child, and much of the material emerged at that time, the parents having had no real inclination or serious consideration of the reincarnation possibility, and thus had never probed or pursued a line of questioning. Stevenson also went on note that Marta, for the remainder of her life, remained susceptible to colds and bronchial troubles, an apparent karmic repercussion of her suicide through self-neglect. Stevenson further reports that no others in the family had this trouble, and he considered it a kind of "internal birthmark."
Case 2
An especially important case for Dr. Stevenson arose in Lebanon in 1964. He had been informed of a number of cases, and one in particular involved a five year old boy who had been, "incessantly talking about his past life since the age of one." Stevenson was startled to find the natives so accepting of the fact, and discovered that they were all Druse (see under Sikh religion in previous section) and the incidence of reincarnation is among the highest in the world. The only thing unusual about this particular boy is the veracity with which he spoke.
Stevenson was able to drop in unexpectedly on the family so there was no opportunity for anticipating his arrival. Also, the two families involved (the present family of the boy and the "past life" family) as yet had no knowledge of each other's existence. Consequently, before bringing the two families together for verification and contact, Stevenson was able to record over fifty items the boy said regarding his previous life.
The boy, Imad, began to speak at about age one, and his first words were the names Jamileh and Mahmoud (not family names). As he gained fluency he spoke of people he knew, property he owned and some events of his previous life. He recalled being a member of a family from a village approximately 25 miles away via a windy mountain road. Among his present family, only his father had ever visited the village, and that was but once, for a funeral.
Imad would talk to himself about the people whose names he had mentioned and wonder how they were getting along. He also spoke of things in his sleep. He cited the names of over fourteen people, but his biggest preoccupation was with Jamileh. He raved about her beauty and spoke of the red clothes he had bought for her and the fact that she wore high heels. Imad's mother said her son's longing for Jamileh reached its height one day when lying on a bed with her, and he suddenly asked her to behave as Jamileh would under such circumstances.
Among his other memories were a fondness for hunting, and a troubling incident where he remembered beating a dog. The thing that most bothered him was a serious accident in which he was run over by a truck and both legs were crushed. Imad's mother and grandmother both noted that when Imad began to walk as a young child, he constantly exclaimed, "how wonderful it was to be able to walk again." Imad's father considered the boy a liar, and for a time he did not talk of things except to his mother and grandmother. However everyone took notice when the two year old suddenly stopped in the street one day in front of a complete stranger and asked, "Do you know me?" The startled man looked for a moment and then exclaimed, "Yes. You were my neighbor." The stranger turned out to be a native of the village Imad remembered.
The parents of the boy pieced together many incorrect conclusions: that the boy was Mahmoud and Jemileh was his wife; and that Mahmoud had been killed being run over by a truck. Stevenson took the boy and his father to the village where they met a member of the family whose name Imad remembered, but the house did not match Imad's description, nor did the rest of the facts fit. There was a Mahmoud in the family, but he was still alive, and his wife's name was not Jemileh.
Stevenson returned the next day on his own to do some further investigating. He located a man in the family whose father had been run over by a truck and had both legs crushed, dying from the incident. However, the rest of the facts did not fit...until the man suddenly remembered that his father had had a cousin who was deeply attached to him and had been devastated by the accident and death of his good friend. This cousin had been nephew to a man named Mahmoud, who had a mistress named Jemileh who scandalized the town with her modern dress and behavior. This Mahmoud had contracted tuberculosis and been bedridden for a year before his death, which explained Imad's exclamation upon being able to walk again.
To Stevenson, the family's misconceptions about the identity and circumstances only vouched for the evidence of their honesty, for if they had been trying to prove a point, they would have provided an accurately researched story. Stevenson now took Imad to the house he had once lived in and he correctly identified his sister by name, revealed the hidden closet where his gun was kept (it was illegal to own firearms at the time) and in all made fifty one direct and verifiable claims that were proved correct, much of the information unknown to anyone outside the family.
Case 3
This case was first documented in 1944 in Sri Lanka, then more or less a province of India. Due to the long occupation by the British as a colonial state, the Anglo's were hated by many. A boy named Ranjith was born into the de Silva family, and the father, though a gentle and devout Buddhist, hated the English fervently. Thus he became greatly distressed when Ranjith began exhibiting Anglo Saxon characteristics. A "certain attitude underlay [his behaviors] which made him an outsider to the family." The boy had a certain aloofness; also he disliked much of the native foods, including rice, and disdaining the chili's and spices common to many of their dishes. He skillfully manipulated knife and fork in the British way, while even the older children struggled over their mastery.
At the age of four, Ranjith announced to his parents: "You are not my mother, brothers and sisters. My mother, father and others are in England." The parents said nothing, but as the boy continued his aloofness, began to question him. Ranjith could not recall his own or his parents' name, but was quite clear about having two brothers, Tom and Jim, and a sister Margaret. He said they lived on a hill, apart from other houses, and that in the mornings it was often so cold that ice formed outside and they would sit close to a fireplace. Wagons pulled by horses would come to remove ice from the roads. (As it is easy to forget, I remind you here that this is a four year old boy from Sri Lanka who had never seen such things as ice or horse wagons, nor even heard about them.) He also said that they were very rich, that he was a Christian and not a Buddhist, and that he remembered taking his siblings to church on the back of his motorcycle.
On Ranjith's fourth birthday, his father arranged for the local British station to announce his birthday on the air. His sisters, to please him, told him his "mother" would speak to him from England. Ranjith sat next to the radio and waited as an English accented voice announced his birthday. Ranjith spoke to the radio, "Mother, I am staying in a Sinhalese family's house. Take me there [meaning England]." A British version of "Happy Birthday" was sung, which includes the word "darling." Ranjith announced, "It is my mother. She calls me "darling" and sometimes she calls me "sweetheart." When asked how he recognized his mother's voice, he said, "My mother speaks softly like that." Stevenson reports that this usage of the word "softly" was incongruent to the boy's and the family's language. The de Silvas had not known of its particular usage until they learned it from Ranjith.
Rather than joy, Ranjith became depressed after the Birthday message. Through the years he felt discomfited and out of place, eventually dropping out of school and going to work at a garage where he showed great aptitude and rapidity in learning to drive and repair autos and motorcycles. His state was such that when Ranjith turned 18, his father suggested he might try going to England for a while. Without consulting anyone, Ranjith booked passage the very next day and spent two years in England, where he instantly fell into the rhythm and culture. It was Ranjith's belief that he would remember more of his life if he lived in Europe, and possibly find his old home and family. However, this never happened. Stevenson remarks on such international cases of reincarnation that a generalization exists in which "the greater cultural distance between the subject and the life he seems to remember, the less likely he is to recall specific, verifiable details." Especially in Ranjith's case, there appears to be an even greater pulling or longing to return to the other life, perhaps as a result of feeling "out of culture" and uncomfortable.
Stevenson did a follow up interview with Ramjith many years later, when he had returned to Sri Lanka to care for his aging parents. The man still yearned to live in England, but the family situation prevented it. At that time, Ranjith remarked to Stevenson that he believed he had been a British air pilot during World War II who had crashed near Ceylon. In his present life he had a deep yearning to fly, but could not afford it.
While the case does not provide such specific statements and incidents verifiable that offer evidence toward reincarnation, Stevenson imparts its importance because of the excellent quality of a type of case that presents itself more often than do the others. That is, strong feelings and desires that transcend or even defy normal cultural influences.
Xenoglossy
Another aspect of reincarnation investigation, albeit one very rare, is the incidence of xenoglossy, or the ability to speak in a foreign tongue not consciously learned in this life. Xenoglossy in either adults or children is very rare, even amongst reincarnation cases. Stevenson has devoted two volumes to accounts of such behavior, and indeed, it is almost more compelling than the usual cases simply for the very "foreignness" of it.
The two types of xenoglossy are recitative and responsive. In the recitative version, the subject speaks words or phrases in a foreign tongue without necessarily understanding. Usually this is done from rote memory and is considered to derive from subconscious stirrings and exposure to language in this present life which are triggered by some associative event, or perhaps during hypnotic regression.
Such an incident is described in Stevenson's work, where a young man while hypnotized began to talk in a strange language and wrote out what he was saying. It proved to be a curse in an Italian dialect of third century B.C. Further investigation revealed that sometime before the subject had daydreamed while in a library, his eyes falling on an open book of Oscan (the dialect) grammar which lay on a table. Quite unconsciously he had absorbed the phrases, which surfaced when the conscious mind was relinquished under hypnosis.
Though this is a dramatic account, it is thought that we all have a "photographic" memory of sorts, but lack the ability to consciously recall such things. The absorption of material in this way usually occurs when the subject is consciously distracted or "open to suggestion" such as when tired or, as in the case above, daydreaming. This occurs quite frequently in those minutes before sleep and often accounts for strange dreams which one remembers, but cannot remember having "heard" or learned the significant events metaphorized in the dream (unconscious/subconscious) state. As a point, it is the very state that hypnosis induces in a kind of "stasis," that very twilight where the subconscious/unconscious can reveal itself.
The second type of xenoglossy is responsive in that the subject is able to converse in the foreign language. Thus, if it develops that the subject neither learned nor was exposed to such a language in this life, it seems obvious that some paranormal explanation is in order.
The earliest known case of responsive xenoglossy being reported is in 1862, when a Prince Galitzen was conducting a hypnotic experiment upon a poor and uneducated German peasant woman. To his and his guests' amazement, the woman began speaking in cultured French while relating a prior life in the 18th century when she claimed to have lived in Brittany. There, as a woman of high position, she took a lover and pushed her husband off a cliff. She claimed that her present life of impoverishment and ignorance was a direct result of this murder. Not only is this case unusual in its content, but also in the fact the Galitzen traveled to Brittany and verified her story. He also investigated the woman and found that she had never traveled out of the local village and spoke only the poor German dialect she grew up with.
Another account, and this one occurring in the modern era and recounted by Stevenson as well, concerns a Jewish-American woman who was hypnotized by her husband, who was a medical doctor. During regression she spoke the Swedish language of 200 years ago, a fact demonstrated again and confirmed by Swedish experts who gave written attestations to the fact.
Xenoglossy In Children
Stevenson's work, as mentioned, deals primarily if not exclusively with young children for the very reason that their skills and intellect levels make it very difficult to consciously or unconsciously influence them regarding the types of details one looks for in investigating reincarnation. This is especially true with xenoglossy.
The first instance is that of a couple from Evanston, Illinois, who were awakened one night by strange sounds from their daughter's room. When they investigated, she was sleeping quietly, but as they started to leave, she began to talk in her sleep. She spoke French very rapidly in an unfamiliar voice. The parents recognized the language as French from the sound, and the fact that the mother had once had an elementary course in the language. However she had never used it since years before in the classroom. Moreover, the little girl had never traveled outside the country or been exposed to the French language.
This continued for several nights in a row, with the parents unable to make out more than a word or two, when the husband finally used a portable tape recorder to record the incident. They took the tape to a French teacher at the local school who listened to it and said that the little girl on the tape was looking for her mother, whom she had been separated from when her village was attacked by Germans. The teacher said that the girl appeared to be lost and distressed.
Another Stevenson case involving xenoglossy is that of a Sinhalese boy living in a small village in Sri Lanka. All of the inhabitants were Buddhists, however, when he was four years old, the boy began to speak of a previous life where his family ate meat and of conditions that were very different. Their house had electricity, water came from a pipe and not a well or stream, and the streets were paved with asphalt. All of these conditions were beyond the primitive village they lived in currently. Also, he said his previous family worshiped in a place that had no idols nor any statues as found in Buddha temples. Indeed, many of this child's eating habits and choices of dress were characteristic of Muslims, not Buddhists.
The most remarkable aspect of the case is that about a year before he began speaking of this, he would repeatedly rouse at night and sit cross legged on the bed while speaking words of a strange language. Then he would return to sleep. He continued to do this until at least eleven years old. When Dr. Stevenson saw him, he was able to obtain a tape recording and present it to a Muslim scholar for study. The scholar identified Tamil words used by Muslims, words not pronounced even in the usual way of the language. The scholar was particularly impressed by the boy's pronunciation and said only a true Muslim could have spoken them so well. The words appeared to be a prayer from the child calling to God and to the boy's former parents.
Dr. Stevenson's work certainly makes a case at least for consistency both in method and in the substantial and ongoing number of incidences where this phenomena occur. Again, one is to bear in mind that the cases of Dr. Stevenson are rarely "sensational," which, as we look for proof or disproof of reincarnation, seems to be what we crave. What Stevenson offers us instead is the "sensationalism" of thousands of well-documented cases where such phenomena has occurred and been verified. Perhaps simply because it is so voluminous, so methodical and, at times, so dry, does it seem to bear more the burden of scrutiny.
Past Life Regressions & Their Purported Help In Healing
The earliest documented evidence of a past life regression coincides, not coincidentally, with the advent of hypnotism (or mesmerism, as it was originally called). The incident in question occurred when a German prince hypnotized a peasant woman from the village of Hesse in front of a number of guests. The Prince, and everyone's amazement, the woman began to speak in very cultured French, and recounted the tale of her life being one of privilege and society. She took a lover and proceeded to push her husband off a cliff to eliminate him from the complication (as previously mentioned). The woman suggested that her current life and poverty were a direct result of those actions of selfishness and lust. (Here is indication of karmic law in action, although at the time, there was no common knowledge of such a thing.)
The case is even more remarkable, not just in that it was witnessed, but the fact that it was recorded and subsequently verified. The Prince took careful notes and subsequently made the trip to France and verified the woman's story. Further, he determined from various interviews that the peasant woman had never been outside of her village, was uneducated, and spoke only the local German dialect.
The use of hypnotism seems essential to remembering past lives, at least in adults who have previously had no memory of past life experiences such as the children in Dr. Stevenson's cases. Why this is so is not specifically known, however it is theorized that the subconscious mind has more access to the soul memories than the conscious mind. Just as we are more easily influenced when we are at that moment of complete relaxation prior to sleep but still conscious, so are we more accessible to a broader range of ability that is normally filtered by the conscious mind. (See the incident on xenoglossy above). The ability which allowed the young man total recall of an ancient manuscript he casually glanced at would be indicative of a rather broad spectrum of ability by our consciousness, yet it remains, for the most part, outside of conscious ability.
An interesting point brought up by Chinmoy (1998) and rather unique to him, is that he says that the soul can easily remember its past incarnations, but does not want to. Most contend that the soul cannot remember the past lives except for perhaps brief, relevant karmic moments. Chinmoy argues, however: "If you were previously in poverty in Puerto Rico, and now live in a nice house in Connecticut, why should you want to go back?"
Chinmoy also argues that we should avoid the past, to stay in the present and become conscious of the qualities that God wants you to manifest right now. That you have to do everything, and can and must do everything, in the here and now.
Others contend that we do not remember past lives, at least not in significant doses and only for significant life-lesson memories. Unless it is through a conscious attempt, we remember only an incident or two, or perhaps a fleeting snippet that we write off to imagination. The reason we do not remember much about past lives is this: we could not possibly function with all that memory! Professor Geddes MacGregor, in his book Reincarnation In Christianity puts it this way: "If I were to remember hundreds of incarnations back to my life as a farmer in Babylonia, a court jester for Philip the Fair, a tragic life as a Russian princess...you could hardly expect me to bear the burden of it all and still profit from yet another life on earth."
It seems that forgetfulness gives us a fresh start every time. Forgetfulness helps guard us against complacency. Forgetfulness allows us to face our growth at a pace we can handle. Most reincarnation doctrines teach a period of "rest" or contemplative, objective learning away from the physical plane before reincarnating into another body. Many of the doctrines indicate that this is our true growing time and that we incarnate when the time and conditions are right to pay off our karmic debt in the form of life lessons.
Cayce identified the world in three dimensions: time, space and patience. His readings explain that wholesale memory of our past lives would not be beneficial to us. We might be overwhelmed by a sense of horror or guilt, or we might lose sight of certain principles if overwhelmed with past life information. Cayce's readings further insist that regarding past lives, 1) You will never have "proof" of accuracy. There is no absolute proof. It is sabotage to consider whether something is true and verifiable or to look for scientific evidence rather than trusting your own feelings and instinct, and 2) A good, tentative past-life theory is one that makes sense to you. Does it feel right? Does it make sense? Is it beneficial? And finally, 3) The objective truth of a past-life theory can only be tested over time.
Tom Shroder, a Washington Post correspondent and investigative journalist, who wrote extensively on Dr. Stevenson (1999), undergoes his own regression and found the experience not much different than the kind of relaxed, meditative, vivid daydreaming that he undergoes when he is working at creating fiction. He visits a seer, a psychic recommended by Dr. Weiss, and the psychic speaks, "...in a charming delirium" as she looks at astrological charts and says, "I'm warming up my right brain." After this, she spouts out past lives by the handful, insisting the subject (Shroder) had been and alcoholic in the pre Civil War South, an aging Japanese sage with arthritic hands, a black Jamaican sorceress, an Australian rancher, and a German physician. One of his interviewees provided what he takes to be an ulterior motive for believing in her past-life memories. "It never made sense to me," she said, "that we could be here for such a short time, and then...nothing."
Shroder also cites several undisclosed doctors and psychologists who reveal that they, too, have had patients regress into vivid, emotionally laden experiences from "the past" that have had a profound effect on "the present." One, who is a "widely recognized expert in hypnotherapy and multiple-personality disorders" says that it is possible that such incidents are fantasy material similar to screen memory, an indirect way for the subconscious to deal with present problems. Nevertheless, he accounts that there is a purposefulness to them, and to the unconscious. Rather than being a sham, it could be that the fantasy is a way of bringing events to the surface in a safe way.
This expert also described the incident of a patient who woke at two in the morning and felt "famished"...which was an unusual word to her, not part of her normal vocabulary. Under hypnosis, the woman was asked to return to the cause of the upset and she said, "Of course. I was there!" She was referring to Kristallnacht—the beginning of the Holocaust in Germany. Though the woman was suddenly and happily free of her emotional trouble, the fact is that there had been a lot of news coverage the preceding week on the fiftieth anniversary of the Nazi's night of terror against Jewish homes and businesses. The word fa-misht is a Yiddish word that surfaced, which means "all mixed-up, bewildered" and describes the chaos of that night. So possibly, rather than a "past life regression," the woman found herself under hypnosis and able to freely associate any sense of fear and anxiety she might have felt from "re-living" the Kristellnacht through the news coverage. Fa-mischt, became famished, in a classic Freudian symbolism such as he recounts in his The Interpretation Of Dreams.
Dr. Brian Weiss himself, upon being interviewed many years after he wrote the groundbreaking book, Many Lives, Many Masters (1996), probably the book that first widely introduced the notion of hypnotic past life regression, distanced himself from the idea of regressions providing proof of reincarnation. What he cares about is that whatever these regressions tap into, even if only the patient's subconscious or fantasy memory, they have been helpful in therapy. He claims that he's seen problems that have resisted any other kind of treatment clear up almost instantly after a "successful" regression. Still, though, there have been no clinical studies to verify his impression in this regard.
It is important to recognize that the practice of regression as a therapeutic, psychological treatment has been almost universally abandoned and discounted by orthodox psychiatry. It has been found to produce false memories, especially in the case of sexual abuse and misconduct. Noteworthy is the recent case in Detroit, where a woman successfully sued three different psychiatrists for carelessly and ignorantly instilling false memories of sexual abuse as a young child, memories that led to breakdowns, family dysfunction and over fifteen years of treatment.
It is also important to note, however, that regressions are still used by those exploring reincarnation and past life experiences. The distinction here is important. Even with the caveat mentioned in regard to Dr. Weiss (that there are no clinical studies proving the effectiveness of past life regression in psychological healing) it remains anecdotally accepted that there have been healings of neurosis, phobias and the like in certain experiences where the patient uncovers a root of trauma in a past life. Once exposed, and given a cause and perspective, the patient is often no more subject to the traumatic effects. Whether it is actually a past life experience or a mere fantastical memory that allows the subject to indirectly confront the problem, the effect is generally positive.
Given that many seekers are at the point in which they are ending their reincarnational cycle in this particular lifetime, and that some very tough Earth Lessons take several lifetimes to complete, it makes sense that the causes of trauma could lie in a past life and that this lifetime is where resolution and peace are finally achieved.
Objections
Objections to the idea of reincarnation are numerous. Most serious students of either science or religion are usually willing to at least examine the belief with a somewhat open mind, as any honest seeker of truth and knowledge would. Those who seek truth know that there is nothing to fear from non-truth. If anything, it should help one to examine one's own beliefs and either deepen or change them.
Following are a small representation of the general types or argument against reincarnationism. Certainly there are others, and certainly the entire form of argument is not given proper due here. Rather, what is presented is merely to familiarize the reader with the generalization. More specific information can be obtained through a thorough reading of reference material.
C.J. Ducasse, former Chairman of the Department of Philosophy at Brown University, and past President of the American Philosophical Association, wrote the book Nature, Mind And Death (1951). Ducasse attacks the argument that the hypothesis of karmic dependence is logically distinct from and additional to any dependence upon a rebirth into a physical body, but that the associative connection is virtually always conjoined. This illustrates, to him, not just a flawed premise and association, but a distinctly limited sense of the soul and spirit and a patently flawed understanding of Karmic Law itself.
What is really operating here, he claims, is the sense of survival in disguise. He disregards any anecdotal "evidence" of past lives, and instead promotes the idea that we are shaped by our physical and emotional environment, and that the whole sum of conscious and unconscious decisions and choices can be explained in this lifetime without having to resort to other, past lives for some sort of epiphany into behavior. Rather, if "Tom" is an impatient sort, he will inevitably keep encountering situations calling for a greater degree of patience as a natural consequence of his vice of impatience.
Ducasse wrote, "Their minds are so identified with their body in its relations and surroundings that they are unable to dissociate themselves from it. That the Self is changeless may seem difficult for the Western mind to grasp, thinking that without change there is no progress; but it may be perceived by the fact of our identity remaining ever the same in a child's body and through all the changes of body that have occurred since childhood."
Ducasse is making a philosophical point of argument here based on a very strict form of reasoning. However, it bears consideration for the questions it raises. If, as most theories hold, we are entirely "Self" conscious when between incarnations, then we are not truly changing at all during these re-births. We are merely becoming more conscious of our Self during this physical existence. If we are unchanging Self, then wherein the need for these reincarnations? The theory of reincarnation, he argues, is based upon the "self" struggle to survive, creating a belief that allows its own limited sense to feel secure in an ongoing existence, and denying the logic of the unchanging Self's eternal existence.
Dr. Martin Orne, a professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, and a senior attending psychiatrist at the hospital there, as well as editor of The Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis was considered the "Experts' expert" on hypnotic past-life regression. He said: "I always felt like I'm the Grinch who says there is no Christmas, no Santa Claus. The people who promote these things want very badly to believe. People think that if something comes out under hypnosis it is more likely to be true, when in fact the opposite is the case. Hypnosis can create pseudomemories. Reincarnation memories are no different than the cases of people who under hypnosis relate being captured by UFO space aliens and examined aboard the mother ship. These are what I call ‘honest liars.' Therapists ask their patient to go back to the cause of a problem. This is something many people find very difficult, and if they can't find a good cause in this lifetime, they'll go back to a previous one—fantasy, of course."
Tom Shroder likens the "proof" of reincarnation as similar to those who find "proof" of other life on other planets through such things as the face on Mars. Early photographs of Mars betrayed shadows that created a striking resemblance to the physiology of a human face. Convinced that this was some huge artifact or message from an intelligent life force, the believers clamored for more information and accused the government of a cover up. NASA's claims that they interpreted the rather grainy pictures as evidence of only some geological formation prompted further cries of cover up, conspiracy and "thickheadedly-biased" against anything that upset the status quo concepts of the universe.
Of course, later high definition photographs, as well as the Mars mission itself, proved that there was no "face" on Mars, no structure, only a natural geologic formation. To the avid believers, however, this was only further proof of high-level government conspiracy and an indication of the lengths to which government goes to deny what the believers "know" to be true.
Dr. Brian Weiss, chief of psychiatry for Mount Sinai Hospital in Miami Beach, wrote a book called Many Lives, Many Masters (1996), about a young woman who regressed under hypnosis to reveal a barrage of former lives and experiences. Over many months, Catherine, the subject, revealed a slew of previous lives that ranged the centuries: Johan of the Netherlands who had his throat slit in 1473; Abby, a nineteenth century servant in Virginia; Christian, a Welsh sailor; Eric a German aviator; a boy in the Ukraine of 1758 and others. In between lives she claimed to become a host for disembodied spirits who revealed the mysteries of eternity.
During all this, claimed Weiss, the young woman became "well," that is, free of many of the phobias and fears that she was being treated for. While many of the lives and deaths remembered were specifically attributable to events paralleling the traumas and disturbances Catherine was experiencing, they also contained no more information than a fan of historical fiction could conjure. She did not speak in an archaic or even foreign language; she did not write Sanskrit or hieroglyphs. What little information that might have been corroborated was not followed up on.
Catherine's accounts, when looked at carefully, raise some startling questions. For instance, when remembering the life of an Egyptian, she said the date was "1863 B.C"—before Christ. This is both a term that no Egyptian would know ("before Christ") and a dating system that came into being thousands of years after her supposed life. In another "lifetime" experienced under retrogression, Catherine could not give a date because she "couldn't see a newspaper." And in another point, she recounted a life as a Ukranian boy during the same period she claimed to be a Spanish prostitute.
The "Flake" Factor: Any movement or belief systems suffer from the disproportionate attention placed upon those who claim knowledge of or participation in a certain discipline. A quick perusal of the internet through an Internet Search Engine, for "reincarnation and reincarnation research" or some such phrasings can yield some outrageous stuff. Like the "Fountain of Youth Reincarnation Systems" mentioned by Tom Shroder in his book Scientific Evidence (1999). The Fountain of Youth Reincarnation Systems sounds like something out of Douglas Adams novel, offering to sell a "kit" that will "guide your soul safely from the ‘other side' back to the world as we know it to exist. Without it, your soul might otherwise wander aimlessly, finally seeking refuge in heaven or hell." All this for only $399.00.
Obviously the goal here is for one party to make money off another's ignorance. The hokum mentioned above has no place in any legitimate reincarnationist doctrine. Unfortunately, such things as this can create or reinforce prejudices and displace legitimate and informed arguments in the public's mind.
The Fraud Factors: Similar to the Flake Factor, the Fraud Factor has as its motive in either intentional or unintentional deception. The fraud factor is more potent, however, because it has the effect of severely discrediting a public's sense of trust. While they may laugh off the "Flakes," embarrassment and outrage at being duped by a well thought out deception builds a much stronger wall against receptivity. The story of Bridey Murphy is a case in point. During the 1950's, a woman from Chicago named Virginia Tighe was regressed under hypnosis to recall the details of a life as an Irish peasant woman named Bridey Murphy. The book's publisher had avowed to publish the first part (the findings) and perform research verification to comprise the second part of the book. However, word leaked out and the sensational response resulted in almost two-hundred thousand pre-orders for the book. The publisher, of course, opted to rush to print despite their promise to the author. Though the book was a sensational best seller, the lack of evidence and verification left the matter open to attack and ridicule. One of the primary points of attack came from Tighe's own pastor, who—in an effort to discount the dangerous notion of reincarnation—was not above manufacturing a few "facts" of his own. The result was that the orthodox clergy and the psychologists of the world (for the most part) breathed a collective sigh of relief. They were glad that reincarnation ideas appeared ridiculous as presented in the book.
The case of Bridey Murphy comes to play again as a philosophy professor named Paul Edwards, of the New School for Social Research in New York wrote a book of objections to reincarnation, entitled Reincarnation: A Critical Examination (1996). Edwards notes that Tighe had expressed doubts later in life that her "memories" were authentic, which prompts him to write: "Virginia sounds like a basically sensible down-to-earth middle American, quite different from most of the insane or semi-insane persons who are attracted to the occult." Not without a few biases of his own. Edwards also dismisses the possibility of reincarnation on the grounds that it is "ridiculous." This kind of a priori reasoning is dangerously subversive to any real critical examination.
Edwards does note, however, that much of the "scientific" research being conducted through case studies were largely connected through the funding and training of Dr. Stevenson at the University of Virginia.
Discussion
As indicated at the outset of this paper, a proper examining of this or any other topic cannot be made in so brief a time. Especially true is the case with any issue of religion. When there is no definitive physical or scientific evidence to a thing, the burden lies in being able to sustain the logical structure of an argument. As when Einstein published his theory of relativity, the world was years away from being able to prove even a tiny part of his thesis. However, in his case the logical reasoning (the mathematics) was sound and so his theory remained "innocent until proven guilty" so to speak...that is, accepted until able to be either proven or disproven.
The problem with matters touching on religion, life, the creator, soul and such, are that most people are at some level emotionally attached to their beliefs. As found in other areas of life, emotion and logic rarely coincide. A true thinker must strive to be a pure thinker, and be relentless in the pursuit of truth and in the testing of one's own beliefs. The author of this course has had occasion to undergo a wide range of instruction in both the arts and sciences, including a broad study of many religions and training and study in metaphysics. Without prejudice or predisposition I am inclined to evaluate the authors and texts on the basis of their absolute truths. That is, if a thing is True, then it must always be true, else it is not True. To wit, 2 plus 2 must always equal 4, else mathematics is useless.
With that in mind, I query the reader to consider the following: From the Buddha to Seth, and all the Lamas, seers and enlightened masters in between, we have inconsistencies. This is certainly true in most religions, and before an emotional rush to rebuttal, I remind the reader that as a matter of logic, if all of these persons, beings and entities were entirely valid, then the information about reincarnation and the afterlife would be consistent. Unlike the teachings through parables or analogies, these masters and Meta-beings give specific and intrinsic details about karma and the nature of reincarnation that are distinctly different. For whatever reason, 2 plus 2 does not equal 4. One would assume that if Seth, the Buddha, Sri Chinmoy and others were all exactly what they believed themselves to be, and as enlightened as they believed themselves to be, then all would be in accord, but they are not. Therefore one must begin to look at their own very compelling reasoning and teachings to try to see if their arguments are consistent within themselves. Again, I look not to the spiritually interpretive lessons, but to the specific, fact oriented instructions and information. That is, where Jesus may have said, "The kingdom of God is within you," and scholars and thinkers may debate the meaning of this statement (which debate must remain consistent with the rest of the authority's stated beliefs) I refer here to such items as; skills are carried over from incarnation to incarnation, there is a period of rest between incarnations, one may incarnate as a lower form based on the law of Karma or one may only incarnate as a human being. Such items bear scrutiny and comparison not just with other teachers but within a teacher's own arguments.
The second, and larger point, is that reincarnation predicates itself on the basis of the human experience. That is, it pre-supposes the material existence to be real and defining, and then seeks to define itself and the concept of soul and being through a base of material existence. This is a form of a priori reasoning in itself. That is, if I were deluded to think myself a spy from the planet Neptune, I would subsequently base my explanations from that standpoint.
There are two flaws in this position regarding a serious study of metaphysics. First, pure metaphysics would hold that there is no matter or material existence and that all we see or know on this plane is a delusional dream of being. While a reincarnationist, from a purely metaphysical point of logic, would be regarded as one who tried to infuse the erroneous dream of existence into an explanation of his/her spiritual existence, a true metaphysician would perhaps say that what the reincarnationists regard the "soul" state between reincarnations as the True state of being. Those who cannot or are not ready to accept the truth or responsibility of such existence are tempted by the sensual physical realm to re-enter a dream. In short, what reincarnationists consider real and valid, is actually the unreal dream state in the logic of pure metaphysics.
Rather than believe that a soul has to forget and enter into a physical existence for some sort of learning that can have no possible validity or impact to the infinite soul self, which needs to learn nothing, isn't it more logical (both in reasoning and assumption) to assume that we are all souls existing in a realm of infinite possibilities and experience moments of temptation and lapse to consider ourselves as separate from the One? If such a soul were to consider itself separate from the One, what would the result be? Even in the theories of the reincarnationists who hold that in the soul state to think a thing is to make it real, the result would be to find oneself in an existence based on separation of self from soul. That is exactly what the physical, mortal existence appears to be: an imagining made "real."
Another theory which bears consideration is again suggested by the reincarnationists. In line with the previous arguments, the reincarnationist explanations report that there are 4, 5, 6, and more untold numbers of dimensions. We must then ask ourselves what a transdimensional object would look like when viewed in only three dimensions. In other words, how would a being of infinite dimension and consciousness appear in a mere three dimensional reality? Those beings that begin to have some consciousness of their identity as soul, rather than being merely human, would begin to manifest what appears to be rather peculiar and perhaps "miraculous" abilities within the three dimensions. If mind and consciousness have a tangible substance in infinity, that is if "thought takes shape" so to speak, and the reincarnationists admit this on some level, either through their explanations of karma or the "between incarnations plane," then the infinitude and oneness of mind would appear, in three dimensions, like esp, psychic ability, foretelling, levitation and such.
Yet another possibility well within the scope of "evidence," presented here but which is not considered by reincarnationists who are stuck in their preconception of material existence as the standpoint of explanation, is that of simultaneous existences. We can imagine that based on the glimpses of soul, and on the teachings of the masters, that time is not as we so often consistently and conclusively define it, a linear force. Time, within the infinite, would essentially cease to be. In such a scenario, we would simultaneously be experiencing prehistoric, medieval, turn of the century, futuristic, and modern experiences all at the same "time."
To be sure, a significant portion of the blame for confusion about the teachings of the masters comes from the failings of their disciples who, strive as they might, inevitably corrupt the message according to their own limitations in understanding. In most cases it would be unintentional. However, especially in the case of the Christian Church, the schemes were intentional and maliciously designed in their inceptions. Despite this, it must be noted that such sentiments as, "The Christian teaching on life, death, and the hereafter is strictly a one-throw game; our entire destiny in eternity is supposed to be determined by our behavior in this lifetime, no matter how short or how cruelly luckless it be." There is still fear of death, no matter what, and there is the incentive to live a good life since it is a "one chance" endeavor.
Make no mistake, the reincarnationist has essentially done nothing more than assuage the panicked fear of death. The reincarnationist merely gives a person more chances while suffering from the same delusions of physical based existence, pain and retribution as the Church. In fact, it is this egoistical and limited preoccupation with our current concept of being on the physical realm that limits all religions. The heart of the prejudice and misconception lies in this matter/physical based assumption which presupposes that life is only this plane. What about more lifetimes continued on alternately higher planes? Or successively less and less materiality until pure Oneness with Spirit is achieved? That we somehow can and must work from this limited dimensionality into some great leap into heaven or soul-state is a supposition that marks most of the writing and thinking on reincarnation, both within and without Christianity. How can one claim an enlightened view when that view remains irrevocably tied to a mortal, material existence, even if that existence is supposedly for ultimate spiritual growth? This is the same line of reasoning used by the early Catholic Church to force people to accept servitude and resign themselves to fate. Though reincarnationists have discounted a physical Hell, they have simply added more material lives to the equation without thought that we may progress out of materiality and into spirit by doing just that.
Here is that sense of fear of the unknown, a disturbing mental moment when we attempt to contemplate our place and purpose and to grasp the nature of ourselves in infinity and fall short. In bondage to the finite, material concepts, we leap over hurdles and challenges of logic and seek the comfort of that which we must overcome, all the while deluding ourselves that we have done more than we have. To become a metaphysician means to forsake physics as a pale imitation of the true metaphysics of being, to find and hold to the concept that 2 plus 2 equals 4 despite the seeming imbalance in the equation. To do else is to hold onto an inequality, an untruth, to assume the correct answer while still using an incorrect formula. The true determining factor in deciding whether or not reincarnation is real is asking yourself the question: "Does this ring true to me?" Your soul knows the answer without a doubt. Let your heart answer this question, and deep down you will most likely "know" that reincarnation is real.
Conclusion
Obviously there is no definitive conclusion to the question of reincarnation. As suggested at the outset, one cannot know fully or completely of the mysteries of life and the life beyond except by intuition. Certainly enough writings and phenomena have suggested themselves to make us sure that what we suspect is not all that there is to know. Just as everyone once "knew" and accepted that the earth was flat, so too are we in a state where our assumptions might be wrong, but they might be right.
From the verifiable accounts of Dr. Ian Stevenson, to the accumulation of anecdotal evidence, one can be assured that what is often considered "traditional" doctrine of the Western Christian Church is intentionally limited. As it was intentionally limited centuries ago, those doctrines and attitudes have been carried forward and permeate much of our thinking about reincarnation and life after death, the creator, and the soul. Even aside from strictly religious thinking, our society, based as it was and continues to be, on the foundations of the Western Christian Church, is permeated with a sort of built-in resistance to any deep or critical thinking about issues where "authority" has spoken and defined truth. We see this at play in the political arena, and we must be aware of its insidious nature within the personal and spiritual arena as well. Listen to your own inner wisdom and look to no other person for the answer to whether reincarnation is real or not. Let your heart speak and see what you find out in your meditations.