Fact or a Belief?

The word Reincarnation was introduced into the English language in the middle of the 19th century. It is composed of five latin elements: Re = again. in = Into. carn = flesh. ate = cause or become. ion = process. Reincarnation literally means, "The process of coming into flesh again." Implied is the fact that there is something to us that is separate from the flesh or body, that returns after death.

Many times we wonder - Is death the end of everything? Does life end with the end of the body? Is there life after death? What happens after death? Why do innocent children have to die? Is Re-incarnation a fact or a myth? The answers to these question depend on the fundamental question - who am I? and how I look at myself.

Who am I? Body:

If I look at myself only as a body then like the materialist or the agnostic I will deny the existence of a soul as an intelligent self-conscious entity. The body alone is real and the death of the body is the end of everything. This is the one-birth theory. This life is the only life. It came from nothing and goes nowhere. There is no purpose of life and its all an accident. Birth and death is nothing but a result of integration & disintegration of matter.

The result of belief in one-birth theory can lead to irresponsible actions, uncontrolled physical indulgence, immoral conduct, emotional violence, intellectually directionless pursuits and complete annihilation at the moment of death.

But we know that matter is inert and cannot produce intelligence and emotions that we experience. The brain never produced mind and its intelligence. The thinker is not merely a product of the brain-cells. There is a cause, an entity, which is different and subtler than the body which has to power to create and control this body. Then we want to know that cause.

Law of Cause & Effect

What is the cause of this body? The law of cause and effect says that the cause is the unmanifested state of the effect and the effect is the manifested state of the cause.

Seed(Cause) is the unmanifest state of the tree(effect) which is the manifested state of the seed(Cause). The cause is subtler than the effect. Where is the cause of the body and the variety of beings around us? Is it inside us or outside us? The cause of the tree is not outside the tree but is in the tree itself. Eg. The seed of the banyan tree contains all the peculiarities of the tree. Similarly what is the seed of this life?

Genes & Heredity

Some scientists argue that the seed of this life is – the genes. Genes no doubt are the material cause of the physical body and its characteristics and certain behaviour patterns. But why did the gene-mutation happen in a specific way for the child. Is it just random chance? Vedanta asks us to probe deeper.
Some argue – it is heredity. Can heredity explain the cases of prodigies and geniuses who are able to express astounding talents and perform amazing feats in childhood? The parents may not even have any inclination towards that field but the prodigy is a master in it. It proves that the genius must’ve acquired it by effort in the previous lives. This also proves that the soul ‘chooses’ its parents and parents don’t produce the soul. Hence Kahlil Gibran said – “Children are born through us, not to us.”

Who am I? Subtle Body:

Actually, the seed of this life is the subtle body – the mind & intellect which contains all the peculiar traits of the individual’s desires, emotions & actions. Thus the only explanation can be – “I am not merely a human body with a soul but the soul in a temporary human form” (soul in this context means the individuality consisting of the mind-intellect complex) As a soul I have existed before also. If I deny this then it means that something came out of nothing, which is absurd logically. Pre-existence of the soul is the continuity of life in the present and proves re-incarnation. This has also been proved today by the psychologists through ‘Regression Therapy.’ The fears, anxieties, depressions etc. are traced back to the past life and once the cause is known, the patient is able to accept it and let go of the repressed emotions. Past life memories recollected by children and others verified as facts, Xenoglossia - the phenomenon where a child speaks a language it has never been exposed to, Specially gifted/challenged children etc. all prove that the individual re-incarnates.

Hence if I consider myself as an individual entity in the continuum of life, then re-incarnation is a fact. The law of re-incarnation is a law of re-manifestation of the subtle, in a gross physical form.

This alone can explain the diverse variety that we see all around us in the world.

Kathopanishad says – “Some souls enter the womb to have a body and others become plants, according to their actions( yatha karma) and according to the knowledge(yatha shrutam)” Karma of the past determines my present birth and influences the karma of the present which shall determine the future birth. As long as the desires exist the phenomenon of birth and death (of the body) shall continue. Thus we must be careful to desire. The misconception in us is – “Man proposes & God disposes” but the fact is we are given the opportunities to fulfill all our desires at different times.
Mundakopanishad says – “Whoever longs for objects of desire, brooding over them, they are born in appropriate places(to fulfill their desires). But in the case of a Seer whose longings have found their final consummation in the Self and who has realized the Self, his desires vanish even here, in this life.”
Death is the transfer of VIM from one Bucket to another. Vasanas, Intellect & Mind transfer from one Body to another at the time of death.(Vasanas – Impressions of the past that give rise to desires). Modern example would be - Death is the transfer of SIM(Sense faculties, Intellect & Mind including vasanas) from one Phone instrument to the other.

Death is merely dropping of the body which is no more appropriate for the soul to experience their desires. Hence we find even innocent children dying at a very young age. The soul seeks new environments to exhaust its own karma. Thus the soul will keep taking birth & death as long as there are vasanas and desires. These desires are due to ignorance of our Immortal Nature and misconception that I am finite. Thus ignorance is the root cause of transmigration. Spirituality consists of the techniques to purify, reduce and rise above the vasanas & desires so that we can enquire into – Who am I? and get rid of the ignorance of our true nature which causes transmigration.

Who am I? Self:

With such a pure mind when I enquire: Am I merely an assemblage of inert matter – the body-mind-intellect? Then, Self Knowledge arises and I come to realize that I exist even when these equipments are unmanifest in the deepsleep. I am unaffected by whatever happens to them. I am the Pure Consciousness enlivening these equipments. Essentially I am the Self or Pure Consciousness which is Birthless, Changeless & Deathless. There is no incarnation or re-incarnation for the Self. Swami Chinmayanandaji said – “EveryBODY dies. No ONE dies.”

Through Scriptural statements(Shruti) quoted above, logic(Yukti) – Cause & effect and daily experiences(anubhuti) – Diversity, Geniuses etc. we can understand that re-incarnation is a fact of life.

But the experiential validity of re-incarnation lies in my view of myself. By Sadhana when we are able to lift ourselves from the body to the soul we will know the fact of re-incarnation. From there when we rise to the level of the Self we shall realize our Immortal Nature beyond re-incarnation.

Re-incarnation is like Sunset. When sun has set(death) in one part of the world, it rises(re-birth) in another part. But truly speaking, is there any sunrise or sunset? No. Re-incarnation exists for the soul(individuality), not for the Self(Truth).

Influence of Belief in Re-Incarnation

Belief / Non-belief in re-incarnation affects our view of life and how we face it. Those who do not believe in it may become indulgent, irresponsible and directionless. On the other hand what is the impact of re-incarnation on the individuals and on the society as a whole is briefly mentioned below:

Personal Level

I am no longer afraid of death since I know that I have lived before and will continue to life later
I will lose nothing because according to the law of karma I will be given whatever I have acquired through my effort and whatever I deserve. Eg. Children born in rich families, child prodigies etc.
When a near and dear one has died I do feel sad but the sadness is much reduced and I can cope with it better when I know that ‘good-byes forever don’t exist.’ We will meet again in another form to ‘settle the accounts’.
It increases my tolerance and empathy towards other people’s way of living because I may have been similar in the past/ past lives.
Morality, ethics & values have a meaning only in a larger context.
Life is not meant to acquire, amass and aggrandize wealth, power, position etc. Its meant to learn the lessons of Selfless service, unconditional love & clarity in thinking. The focus shifts towards inner evolution more than outer achievements.
I will never discriminate against other people or look down upon them, no matter who they may be because the person has chosen precisely the circumstances, looks and particular disposition to learn from it.
If I have a child I will give him the chance to develop his talents and freedom to live his life.
I will be responsible in my present and will not blame the situations, parents, schooling, environment because I have chosen them through my past actions. The question – “Why Me?” is irrelevant. I am the architect of my future
Everything in life has a purpose and its not senseless.

Influence on the Society:

We develop a sense of belonging together and competitiveness will reduce. There will be more harmony & understanding
There will be equal rights and discrimination will be a thing of past
We help each other willingly. If particular nations ignore the needs of the others this will again create karma for them in return.
Regression therapy will have a major and important role to play in psychology. Various phobias, addictions etc. can be overcome by probing their causes in the past-lives
Keeping the planet clean and healthy will become obvious because we have to return back.
Spirituality, Psychology & Science will come together to give us a comprehensive understanding of life and after-life.
Medical profession will have to do a lot of thinking since birth-deformities are not just related to genetics or virus or pre-natal care.
Reincarnation will also play a large part in surgery. In many cases before conducting an operation the doctor can refer the patient to a regression therapist to know if the operation is necessary or it’s a psychological reason from the past that is causing the pain.
Art gains tremendous momentum since a new creative theme is opened up.
Reincarnation will contribute immensely towards making this world more beautiful and loving and one in which it is a blessing to be allowed to live, love and learn.