Reincarnation

Thoughts on Reincarnation

Recently, in a discussion with a friend, the topic of reincarnation surfaced. I had never given serious thought to it before, other than for what I understood it to be. Since then, I have decided to pen my thoughts, however incoherent and however erroneous in an attempt to answer the question.

Reincarnation or Metempsychosis is the belief that the soul leaves the dead body and transmigrates to another. It is believed that the soul leaving the dead body, seeks another live body to enter, or enters that of an animal. According to Totemism, it may even transmigrate to a non-human body.

It is interesting to conceptualise or try to come to terms with the theory of the “soul”. Like Plato and Pythagoras, I do believe that the soul is immortal. It moves in stages from one level to another in a progression. The ultimate aim of this cyclic progression is the purification of the soul so that it may leave this cycle.

Unlike Pythagoras, I believe the soul does not always “progress”. Rather than follow the proverbial “clean and narrow path”, the human being is prone to straying and because of this, it becomes difficult to follow a “progression” to the state of Purity. I therefore have to agree with the Platonic viewpoint that the soul does indeed digress and become unclean when it errs.

The choices one makes, and the actions one performs will determine whether the soul progresses or regresses. The issue of Reincarnation therefore has an intricate link to Karma. According to an article in Wikipedia, individual souls or jiva-atmas pass from one plain of existence to another, carrying with them samskaras (impressions) from former states of being. These “karmic agglomerations” on the soul are then taken to the next life where it determines what happens to that soul. In Hinduism, liberation from the Samsara (cycle of death and rebirth) is the ultimate aim of our existence here. This theory of “Nirvana” belongs not only in Hinduism, but is also present in other religions. In the laws of karma, basically what happens is that every action has consequences and what we do now will be rewarded hereafter, and by extension, what we have done in the past, determines what happens to us now.


Yedayah Bedershi had posited the following three reasons why he is against the belief of Reincarnation:

1. There may be no reason to do good in this life if one fears one did wrong in the past life. After all, the end is already predetermined.

2. Some people may think they did not err in their past life and may pay no heed to doing good now.

3. At the end of the world, it is said in Judaic and Kabalistic thought that God will resurrect the soul and physical bodies of the dead. The argument at hand here is that if one had lived multiple lives, which life will be resurrected?

Some other skeptics of Karma and Reincarnation state that it is nonsensical that we should keep returning in another form. They claim that we should just be allowed to live for as long as it takes to do what is necessary. This falls within the realm of those who argue that we are still here for a purpose and we are given time to fulfill that purpose.

I have to confess that “karma” only makes sense to me in the present… the here and now. If I have no conscious knowledge of what I did wrong in the past life, what is the sense of retroactive punishment? What is there to be gained from it? It just appears to be a case of “Justice by all means”, and what we do now will therefore count for nothing… until we reach the next life where we have no recollection of this one. Shouldn’t what happens in Life be judged on what happens NOW and shouldn’t the punishment and/or rewards be handed out NOW?

With respect to reincarnation however, there has to be a deeper meaning behind “déjà vu”. Isn’t there more to it when we meet somebody for the first time, and think we have known them forever? Or when we go to a place we have never been to and everything is extremely familiar? There has to be something recorded in our subconscious that allows us to remember these places and people. In this respect, I am more inclined to accept the Eastern schools of thought which posit that man may return as a lower life form. In the Western teachings, it is held that man never returns as a lower life form, and if he does not attain a higher spiritual status, he has to repeat that particular level until he can progress to the next stage.

It is my own personal belief that upon death, only our strongest characteristics (positive or negative) and beliefs are held intact although our personality dies. I also believe that together with our strongest beliefs, we are given more traits. This would explain the mixture of positive and negative energy in us. It is then left up to us to determine which course we should take, and whether we want to progress or regress. If we can progress with each rebirth, then the road to Nirvana will be that much closer, and finally our cyclic journey will end, and we will once more return to that Realm where we will be in our pure state as souls.

~ Radica