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Philosophical Discussion

Reincarnation as a Concept Michael O'Dell

Abstract: Even though the concept of reincarnation has been a part of many of the Eastern cultures for millennia, what is meant by this term can and does vary among philosophies and religions. This makes it difficult for those in the "West" who may not be raised in such a belief system to develop a definitive understanding of the concept, and to determine how it might relate to them and to their spiritual path.

Many people who may not have considered reincarnation in the past have begun to consider it now as a result of reports of psychics such as Edgar Cayce, or past life regressions conducted by hypno- therapists, or the inroads of eastern thought into western philosophies, etc. There are also reports of children who "recall" a previous Ufe and are able to identify people, places and events from that lifetime even though they are from a place to which that child has never traveled. Many of these past life recalls have been documented in scientific studies conducted by Dr. Ian Stevenson and others.

This paper presents a brief overview of how the concept can vary between cultures, and then seeks to present an approach to enable each individual who might be interested to enlist the aid of their sub- conscious and/or superconscious mind to identify how the concept of reincarnation might prove beneficial to their understanding and spiritual unfoldment.

We frequently encounter the concept of reincarnation as we pur- sue studies as to our spiritual nature, or try to understand where we come from or the inequalities we see between various individuals. The unfortunate thing is that there are many different concepts as to what reincarnation is and how it works, and. there is no agreed upon common terminology with which to discuss it. We therefore find that people are sometimes saying the same thing in different words, and arguing that fhe other person is wrong due to the misunderstand- ing. The best that we can hope to do is to grasp the concept which is being presented without becoming too involved in the words by which it is being conveyed; we may not agree with the words being used, but we may be able to see how it could be rephrased so as to be acceptable in our own frame of reference.

As noted, reincarnation as a concept differs greatly from person

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to person and philosophical system to philosophical system. For example, ask a Hindu and one is likely to be given a description of what some would call transmigration rather tnan reincarnation. A common Hindu belief is that the soul which has manifested as you has previously incarnated as an animal and may well do so again in the future. This is one of the reasons why devout Hindus strive not to harm any bug or animal, since that creature may be a reincarnation of a deceased relative or friend. This has led some to make a distinc- tion in terminology between transmigration (rebirth as an animal) and reincarnation (rebirth as a human).

An even more abstract aspect is that associated with Buddhism. The Buddha taught that there is no such thing as permanence, and what we would call self at this moment is not the same as what we would call se//at the next moment since it has been changed by the thoughts, feelings and experiences of the moment. There is likewise no soul since there can be no continuity from one moment to the next, much less one life to the next. So what does the Buddhist "Wheel of Life" imply concerning rebirth? Though the se//does not exist as a distingijishable entity which can be traced from one instant to the next, the concept of me is the illusion that we identify with which keeps us chained to the concept of the cycle of rebirtri. It is this il- lusion that results in all of the pain which we encounter in our life, and when we fully recognize that it is illusion, we are freed from the cycle of rebirth and are free to exist in the state of Buddhahood and nirvana wherein we recognize that all manifestation is but illusion. The Truth underlying this is outside the scope of human experience and can therefore not be understood or conveyed using human language, since language is an encapsulation of human experience, whether experience in the external world or within the mind of the individual. One might be tempted to relate this to "conservation of energy," since it could be said that the energy continues even though the self does not, but this could lead to relating the "energy" with God, and Buddha said that there is no God since our concept of God would again imply "permanence" which does not exist. One might therefore think that the me is really in a state of constant re-creation rather than a state of continuation, but this would again imply that the me is real, and we know that it is not real within the philosophy of Buddhism.

Let us set aside the concepts of transmigration and illusion or impermanence as discussed above, and consider what reincarnation might mean within many of the western traditions. Some questions when discussing reincarnation might be (1) "What reincarnates?" Is it a soul, and if so, what is a soul? (2) Is there reincarnation of a personality? (3) What carries over from one lifetime to the next, and by what mechanism(s) does the carryover occur? Volumes have been written on these concepts, and many others, and they often present

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disparate views which cannot be readily reconciled. Even those who claim to remember past lives do not provide unanimity of perspecfive or mechanism, and most would address only what they believe they experienced without trying to explain the mechanisms associated therewith. I assert that whatever discussions or representafions might be made concerning the concept of reincarnation are limited by the restricfions of human language, and the fact that different interpreta- fions can result from even the most carefully crafted verbiage. The following is therefore presented not as Truth, with a capital T, but rather as concepts which may provide starting points for any who decide to think about them and consider them as stepping stones for further insights which they might perceive.

1. "What reincarnates?"^ Is it a soul, and if so, what is a soul? One must first define what is meant by "soul" before addressing this question. Merriam-Webster defines soul as 1: the immaterial essence, animating principle, or actuating cause of an individual life, 2: the spiritual principle embodied in human be- ings, all rational and spiritual beings, or the universe, along with otrier similar definitions. We find this concept of soul in many ancient religions as well as propounded in Greek and Roman philosophies and on through modern philosophers and reli- gions. This provides a convenient way to link an inner being, or multiple lifetimes or personalities to each other so as to be considered a single entity. One aspect of this approach is to enable multiple lifetimes or personalities to be considered as subsequent events in the life of a soul, just as a single earthly lifetime can be seen as a series of successive days, or months, or years. Thus, the soul could consider each personality in the chain of reincarnations as a day would be considered in the life of a personality. In this sense, the soul would reincarnate as a personality just as a personality awakens to a new day during its lifetime. The soul is therefore developing as it goes through subsequent reincarnations as separate personalities, but it keeps its identity as an evolving entity just as we keep our identity as a personality as we awaken to and participate in each day of our life.

2. Is there reincarnation of a personality? Reincarnation of a personality would seem to imply that there is continuation of some aspects of the personality with each reincamafion, rather than each personality being a separate manifestation of an overarching entity such as a soul. This might be a model for those who believe that they bring forth memories of prior lives as they embark upon their current lifetime. This is not uncom- mon among young children, but most of those in the western

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hemisphere are told that they are just imaging things, so they leam to block those memories in the future. It is not unheard of for children in the eastern hemisphere to remember past lives and to be able to relate memories about, and identify pictures of actual people, places or things from their "past life." This is because reincarnation is broadly accepted in many places in the eastern hemisphere, so they are encouraged to pursue these memories.

If you accept reincarnation of a personality, then past life memories provide a mechanism for the current manifestation to recall past qualities and capabilities, and the lessons to be learned therefrom, as well as past associations and interacfions with others with whom it interacts during the present incarna- tion. In this model, however, there might be an urge to act on "grudges" for past life injustices, and this would explain why there would be only limited recall of past lives unfil the person- ality is strong enough to deal with the perceived injusfices in a positive and constructive marmer and not in a reactive violent manner. An aspect often associated with reincarnation is that of drinking a cup ot forgetfulness before returning to the earth plane, which both explains why people rarely remember past lives, and prevents those who incarnate from bringing forth hatreds and vindictive thought patterns as they enter their next incarnation. (Note: This consideration could lead to a lengthy discussion of karma and dharma, which are far beyond what we can address in a short discussion such as this.)

3. What carries over from one lifetime to the next, and by what mechanism(s) does the carryover occur? If there is re- incarnation, then what is the essence which is the underlying element held in common between incarnations? If one accepts that the personality is reincarnated, then one would expect that the emotional and intellectual development of one incarnation would provide the basis for those same expressions in the next incarnation, and so on. The drink oí forgetfulness which we dis- cussed above would enable us to use the improved capabilities developed during each lifetime during subsequent lifetimes without being sabotaged by previous negative experiences. In this model, the personality is itself the mechanism for the carryover of growth from one lifetime to the next, aided by forgetfulness so as not to be derailed by events of a previous lifetime. It might be more accurate to consider that it is an individuality that is the common factor, however, since the personality could be significanfly different based on gender, social class, culture, introversion or extroversion, etc. This is a case where someone may say the personality has reincarnated,

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whereas it might be more precise to make a distinction between the personality and the individuality.

If one chooses to accept that there is a soul, or some other "higher" entity which reincarnates as a series of personalities, then what is it that carries over? Could it be a level of experi- ence, a state of spiritual or soul growth, or possibly a level of physical, emotional and mental maturity achieved and mani- fested during the previous incarnation? Each of these could be considered as a mechanism of growth and development, but how might it be carried over? One could hypothesize that there are entities or beings of a higher order that support the building of the personality vehicle for the next incarnation, and these entities ensure that we come in w îth the appropriate vehicles for our state of growth. These entities might be guides, angels, archangels, God or gods, etc. Another possibility is that there is a mechanism inherent in our own being which carries over and attracts the appropriate material for our next incarnation. This could be a form of energy which acts in a manner analo- gous to atomic bonding where atoms are attracted to certain atoms but repelled by others; or atoms or materials which "vibrate" at a given frequency and attract like materials in the construction of the new body; or a "matrix" of etheric or other matter which forms a pattern for material to coalesce on and materialize into the desired form; etc. One could consider a single mechanism which supports the development of the whole "wholistic" personality, or a mechanism/mechanisms for each of the physical, emotional and mental aspects of the personality expression.

The above can be found expanded into volumes proposing what is the correct definition and delineation of the concept of reincarnation, but there are many schools of thought and they are often divergent in their beliefs. It is recommended that the reader pursue his/her own study of the literature and read it not as fact or fiction, but rather as interesting ideas which should be considered. By taking this ap- proach, the conscious mind and emotions will not reject concepts but will rather be amenable to insights which might be given by the subconscious or superconscious mind as the various ideas coalesce into a concept which feels resonant to the personality self and with which you can feel comfortable.

References Armstrong, K. A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christ-

tianity and Islam, Ballantine Books, 1994. Aurobindo, S. Problem of Rebirth, Sri Aurobindo Ashram Press, 1973.

The Oxford Dictionary of Classical Myth and Religion, Oxford Un- iversity Press, USA, 2003.

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Huxley, A. The Perennial Philosophy: An Interpretation of the Great My- stics, East and West, Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2009.

Myers, F. W. H. Human Personality and Its Survival of Bodily Death, FQ Pub Books, 2010.

Phukana, R. The theory of rebirth, being a treatise on Indian philosophy, Firma K. L. Mukhopadhyay, 1962.

Correspondence should be sent to Michael O'Dell at [email protected]

Terminology Related to Reincarnation Although many terminologies are used by various traditions or in- dividual authors when discussing reincarnation, most of the ideas seem consistent when they are mapped onto a common conceptual framework. The following chart provides a preliminary look at how some of the more common concepts might map onto a single, unified ontological model. Note that I have mapped onto the concept of ce- lestial reincarnation as defined by Shaw Desmond, and not terrestrial reincarnation. I believe that those who identify with terrestrial rein- carnation, with the facets of the diamond and̂ how they are related without seeing the entire diamond, are those who put trieir primary focus on the material and downplay, denigrate or deny the spiritual which is their true essence.

Source of Usage

Silver Birch (and

Johannes of

Clastonbury?)

F.W.H. Myers

Transcenden-

talists

Alice A. Bailey,

etc.

Incarnation-specific

manifestation

Personality

/ace/ of diamond

Human P< First Disguise

(physical)

¡r'Pianej

Human P

outer self

finite / material self

temporal self

personality

Incarnation-specific

refined body

r s o n a i i t y

Second Dispise

(diseamate)

[2"' & 3'' Planes]

r s o n a l i t y

Higher self

Non-incarnaling higher self

(manifests as multiple

incarnating "personalities")

Individtiality, group soul

diamond (or iceberg-moslly

hidden)

group-soul t'^-*""'"

Third Disguise

[4"* Plane=Eidos=idealized form]

Inner Self/Higher Mind

Infinite / spirituai / immortal Self

Higher Self

Greater Self

Oversoul

soul (we frequently say it

reincarnates, but it really manifests

sequentially as multiple

personalities and assimilates a

composite of the

growth/expenences they acquire)

Vitalizing ageney/activitj'

spirit = roots / bond /

branches of group soul

Absolute and Eternal

(perpetual and indestructible

principle of life)

spiritual monad

Monad = individualized

spark ofthe One Flame

Divine (Spirit / God)

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