FREE ESSAY ON REINCARNATION

REINCARNATION

Do human beings live only once, or are we granted the opportunity to return after death
and experience many different lives? Reincarnation is an anglicized word of Latin
derivation, meaning reinfleshment, the coming again into a human body of an excarnate
soul . Today approximately 30 million Americans, one in four, believe in reincarnation.
The process of reincarnation is the continual rebirths in human bodies, which allegedly
continues until the soul has reached a state of perfection and merges back with its
source either God or the universal Soul. The question of reincarnation has been examined
for thousands of years and has been embraced in various degrees by numerous religions.
The belief is thought to have been a necessity among primitive peoples. Scientists
speculate that even the people who lived during the New Stone Age, the time period of
10,000B.C.E to 5,000B.C.E. believed that once a person died, their journey had not yet
concluded (DeArteaga 62). It is known that the Egyptians believed in reincarnation or the
transmigration of the soul. They thought the soul transmigrated from body to body and
this was a reason why they embalmed the body in order to preserve it so that it could
journey along with ka, an animating force that was believed to be counterpart of the
body, which would accompany it in the next world or life. The ka might be considered
equivalent to the term of soul. The Egyptian Book of the Dead mentions the travel of the
soul into a next world without coming back to earth. As it is well known, the ancient
Egyptians embalmed the dead in order that the body might be preserved and accompany the
soul into that world. Gradually the concept of a soul developed with a further
realization that the soul departed the body at death and entered the body at birth. Soon
it was thought the soul leaving a dead body would seek another body to enter, or enter an
animal of a lower life form. It was also thought the soul left the body during sleep.
This soul was pictured as vapors that entered and left through the nostrils and mouth.
Because ideas about a society that lived so long ago are frequently not concrete and can
be difficult for present day culture to grasp, many scholars point towards Hinduism as
being one of the earliest religions to offer explanations of reincarnation. Hinduism,
originating sometime during the fourth millennium BCE is the most ancient of the
surviving great religions (G. de Purucker 12). The adoption of the belief of rebirth can
be found in Hindu scriptures dating around 600 BCE. A Hinduism belief is the
transmigration of souls, or reincarnation. Associated with this belief is the conviction
that all living things are part of the same essence. Individuals pass through cycles of
birth and death. This means that an individual soul may return many times in human,
animal, or even vegetable form. What a person does in the present life will affect the
next life. This is the doctrine of karma, the law of cause and effect. The goal of the
individual is to escape this cycle, or wheel of birth and rebirth, so that the individual
soul, Atman, may eventually become part of the absolute soul, or Brahman. The caste
system of India is another historic characteristic of Hinduism. In its most ancient
period Indian society was divided into four classes: priests (or Brahmins), warriors,
merchants, and servants. These classes, or castes, have since been subdivided into
thousands of subcastes, ranging from the Brahmins at the top to the Untouchables at the
bottom. These groups have traditionally been hereditary and have married only among. The
characteristics of an Indian caste include rigid, hereditary membership in the caste into
which one is born; the practice of marrying only members of the same caste; restrictions
on the choice of occupation and on personal contact with members of other castes; and the
acceptance by each individual of a fixed place in society. The caste system has been
perpetuated by the Hindu ideas of samsara, which means, reincarnation, and karma, which
means the quality of action. According to these religious beliefs, all people are
reincarnated on earth, at which time they have a chance to be born into another, higher
caste, but only if they have been obedient to the rules of their caste in their previous
life on earth. In this way karma has discouraged people from attempting to rise to a
higher caste or to cross caste lines for social relations of any kind . As time
progressed, suggestions of reincarnation began to be found in Buddhism, Taoism and
Christianity. The great Indian Guru Padmasambhava or Guru Rinpoche introduced the Tantric
system of Buddhism, also known as the Vajrayana, in Tibet. While King Trisong Deutsen
(740 AD-786 AD) was building the Samye Monastery he was beset with difficulties caused by
demons and evil spirits that continuously destroyed whatever was built. Finally, at the
advice of the great Indian Buddhist Pundit, Shantirak*censored*a, the king requested the
help of Guru Padmasambhava. It is said that, after subduing the obstructive spirits, Guru
Rinpoche stayed in Tibet for about 50 years teaching the Vajrayana. In the holy Kanjur
text it is written that prior to the Maha Parinirvana of the Buddha his disciples asked
him why he had not given teachings on the Tantra. The Buddha's answer was that since he
was born of human womb he was unfit to give this profound teaching. At the time of his
passing away, he told his disciples that he would be born as Padmasambhava. Eight years
after the Maha Parinirvana of the Buddha, Guru Padmasambhava was born on the tenth day of
the fifth month from a lotus at Dhyanakosha Lake, in what is now called Rewalsar (Tib.
Tso Pema) in Himachal Pradesh. Thus Tibetan Buddhists believe Padmasambhava to be the
reincarnation of Lord Buddha. It is not only believed that the Guru lived for over a
thousand years, but that he is still alive and teaching being in other realms. The
tradition of reincarnation is a peculiar feature of Vajrayana. It is connected with the
concept of bardo, the intermediate period between birth and rebirths. Death is only a
pause in the continuity of birth and rebirths. While an ignorant being lives a confused
life, dies a confused death, goes through a confused bardo and is born again a confused
being, a Bodhisattva lives and dies and is reborn solely with the intent to liberate
beings from ignorance and confusion. To him, all past and all future is m manifest in the
present, therefore he surpasses the time/space continuum. Lama Anagarika Govinda says,
The torn and tortured being of our time, who knows neither his infinite past, nor the
infinity of his future, because he has lost connection with his timeless being, is like a
man suffering from incurable amnesia, a mental disease which deprives him of his
consciousness and therefore of the capacity to act consistently and in accordance with
his true nature. A Bodhisattva, on the other hand, does not lose connection with his
timeless being, and is able to channel his consciousness into taking a rebirth that will
give the best possible way to help all beings, and since he is the master of the three
times, therefore it is possible for him to indicate and direct the conditions of his
rebirth or reincarnation. After Guru Padmasambhava, Buddhism flourished in Tibet. There
were practitioners, thousands of them, living in caves, hermitages and monasteries who
were dedicated to the vows of liberating all sentient beings from the maras of ignorance.
Due to the clarity of their visions and the power of their motivation, there have been
countless reincarnations of those Bodhisattvas. In our own modern times we have the
enlightened reincarnate masters like His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, His Holiness
Dudjom Rinpoche, His Holiness the Karmapa, His Holiness Sakya Trinzin Rinpoche, His
Holiness the Mingling Trichen Rinpoche, His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Kalu
Rinpoche and many others, shining like suns in the darkness of samsara. As each one
passes away, reincarnations are born, identified, enthroned, instructed, and empowered
until they in their turn become masters liberating innumerable beings (Sudip 42). Taoism
upholds the belief in the survival of the spirit after death. To have attained 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 comparable bliss is that! Therefore it is that the
truly wise rejoice in, that which can never be lost, but endures always (Sudip 42).
Taoists believe birth is not a beginning and death is not an end. There is an existence
without limit. There is continuity without a starting point. Applying reincarnation
theory to Taoism is the belief that the soul never dies; a person's soul is eternal. You
see death in contrast to life; and both are unreal both are a changing and seeming. Your
soul does not glide out of a familiar sea into an unfamiliar ocean. That which is real in
you, your soul, can never pass away, and this fear is no part of her (Head 3). While this
is certainly not a complete list, or a statement that each of these religions embraces
and in turn teaches the theory of rebirth, it does shed light to the fact that among very
diverse beliefs and lifestyles there is a great desire to know what happens after death.
In addition to the search about what transpires posthumously, many people see
reincarnation as an explanation for many of the great questions about life. Such as, why
is there suffering in the world? Is there a meaning to life? How can child prodigies be
explained? And are memories about past lives valid? Religion in the Western region of the
world is predominately Christian. Among the people practicing Christianity, the idea that
God is omnipotent is very prevalent. However, the idea of the all-powerful God brings up
and interesting dilemma. If God is responsible for all that happens in the universe, why
is there widespread suffering? Is this God an unsympathetic God and does he feel the need
to punish some people? Many people cannot accept the idea that the center of their
worship would have cruel tendencies. Therefore, many are of the belief that God is a
loving and kind God. But if God controls the universe with a loving hand, why have there
been floods, deadly famines, children born into poverty or deformed, and why do some
people seem to live such difficult lives? There are no clear answers to any of these
questions. However, reincarnation suggests the idea that there is in fact justice in the
world. Ancient wisdom teaches that divine justice does rule the world and that there is a
meaning and purpose behind human life. Despite the appearance of injustice, perfect
justice is in fact insured to every human being by the operation of a compensatory law,
the law of cause and effect known in the East as Karma" (Head 4). The Law of Karma is the
law of causality extended in the world of human action. This law says that if bad things
happen in one's life, this is an outworking of bad karma. If good things happen in one's
life, this is an outworking of good karma. Karma refers to the debt a soul accumulates
because of good or bad actions committed during one's life or past lives. If one
accumulates good karma by performing good actions, he or she will be reincarnated in a
desirable state. If one accumulates bad karma, he or she will be reincarnated in a less
desirable state. More simply stated, every human action, mental, emotional or physical,
produces and exactly appropriate reaction. However, the reaction may not be received in
during the current life (Walter 74). Therefore, suffering is an expression of past deeds
and a entrance to pending life experiences and is not a result of God's hatred or
indifference, but rather a definite universal law. Reincarnation offers the hope for a
better future because it suggests that with each "life" we gain more knowledge and are
more prepared for the next life. If suffering is an unavoidable part of life, many people
can't help but ask is life worth living? Is there a purpose to human existence if it can
be extremely painful or just end suddenly? In broad terms, it can be said that the
purpose of life is the evolution of the human soul (De Arteaga 45). The process of growth
through physical experience continues until death and is continuous throughout different
bodies. The Law of Cause and Effect govern the time and how the death occurs. The final
stage of the cycle occurs when the soul is free from desire and is perfectly happy with
life and everything that has been experienced. At the end of the journey, "the soul is
reabsorbed into the higher self from whence it came" (De Arteaga 47). This is often
referred to nirvana or enlightenment in Eastern religions. In Christianity this idea is
expressed by St. Paul in Ephesians 4.13, "Till we all come in of the faith, and of the
knowledge of the Son of God, into a perfect man, into the measure of the fullness of
Christ" (De Arteaga 48). This attainment is represented for every person in the Bible,
"Be ye therefore of perfect, even as your father which is in Heaven is perfect" Matthew
5.48 (Head 13). Christianity does not embrace reincarnation and teaches that once a
person dies, their soul can go to Heaven, Hell, or in some cases Purgatory. However, a
single life span, even when there are a variety or experiences of, the attainment of
physical, intellectual, and spiritual "perfection" would be impossible. A person would
need to experience both the life of an animal and a human as well as both sexes and
different races and lifestyles to be able to grasp the vast diversity of the universe
(Head 13). Therefore, the reaching the fullness of Christ would be impossible in a single
life. When a child is born, it is a time for family and friends to guess what is in store
for this new life and what kind of person the child will grow to be. But, does this child
begin with a blank slate or is it full of experiences of past lives. This question comes
into the foreground especially when dealing with the issue of child prodigies. How could
a child of 8 conduct an eighty-piece orchestra or a poor, uneducated boy of the age of 13
discuss complicated mathematical theorems with top mathematicians? Reincarnation offers
the idea that the inexplicable skills are the result of the incarnation of people who had
mastered the skills in a prior life and they are now being expressed at an early age in
the child (Tony 83). Among children without extraordinary talents, there are questions
about what accounts for the personality differences between children of the same parents,
living in the same household. Genetics and environment play a huge role in who we are,
but there is also the issue of what we have experienced in our past lives. Every decision
we make, even if considered instinct, is a result of prior knowledge stored in the
self-conscious (Tony 84). Another striking endorsement for reincarnation is the existence
of people who have memories of events completely unrelated to themselves which are
considered to be recollections of their past lives. Accurate memories of a past life are
due to transference of experiences from one body to the next. The validity of the
accounts is very controversial because it is often difficult for scientists to prove
whether or not a person is actually have a memory or are creating the memory. However
there have been hundreds of documented cases where the only explanation is reincarnation.
One such case is the widely publicized account of a Colorado housewife named Ruth
Simmons. Simmons began to have memories of her past live as a woman living in Ireland
named Bridey Murphy. Simmons was put into a trance known as hypnotic regression by
well-known hypnotist Morrey Bernstein and gave an account of her life. She named her
hometown of Cork, her husband's name and people she worked with. Because Bridey Murphy
was not a famous or well-known individual it was difficult to find corroborating
evidence, but enough was found to be accurate to deem her experience most to be most
likely a remembrance of a past live (Tony 88). There are many objections to
reincarnations in the Western world in addition to those, which have religious
connotations. People often say the statement, I don't want to come here again when the
idea of rebirth is spoken of. However, this statement is made without the consideration
that you do not return to the same life and are not even in the same body. The true self
cannot die, only the body. The body has a beginning and an end but the soul is eternal.
Sir Edwin Arnold expressed this idea in his translation of The Bhagavad Gita: Never the
spirit was born; The spirit shall cease to be never; Never was time it was not; End and
Beginning are Dreams; Birthless and deathless and changeless remained the spirit forever;
Death hath not touched it at all, dead though the house of it seems (online source).
While the memory of past lives can be used as evidence to support the idea of rebirth,
those that do not have the memories ask how can past lives exist if I cannot recall them?
To that question, one can answer that there are many things that have existed that we do
not remember. Memories of one's own birth, first steps, and learning to read and often
not present, but one cannot deny that those events occurred. If every mundane detail of
every day and life was recalled our brains would be so cluttered. The lack of memories
also allow for new experiences. Even though one may not remember their past life, the
experiences are forever ingrained in their soul. To reach this knowledge, one must be
able to separate from the physical self and attachments and when this separation occurs,
one can become aware of their past. "The fruits of the past lives are expressed however,
in each new personality as instinct and inherent "gifts" as sympathies and antipathies
and as the voice of conscience (online source)". According to Carl Jung, the fact that
people speak about reincarnation means that it exists. The question of rebirth will most
likely always remained unanswered but there is enough evidence to embrace it as a
possibility. Reincarnation is widely excepted as a fact in Eastern cultures and it will
be interesting to see if the Western biases can be eliminated. If Western culture accepts
the ideas of karma and rebirth the effects on society could be very drastic. People would
become aware that everything they do has an effect on their life, both current and
future. Hopefully, each member of society would appreciate how everything is
interconnected and strive to act in a just manner and gain valuable experiences as they
continue of the journey of lives.