Logic of Reincarnation

Belief in reincarnation allows us to see ourselves as architects of our own future, writes Steven J RosenBelievers in reincarnation share a feeling of rightness, of justice and of logic about coming back. Without it, ours would seem a cruel, random, illogical universe in which one child is born wealthy and another poor, one healthy and another with a terminal disease. Whether or not one believes in God, reincarnation allows us to view the human condition from a broader perceptive.Reincarnation in its various historical traditions consistently suggests that this life is a single frame in a filmstrip of lifetimes, and that the body we have now is not the first but only the most current. Proponents of reincarnation say that the “type and make” of our bodily vehicle are the results of activities performed over the roadway of previous lives, and that the activities performed in this life contribute to the kind of vehicle we will inhabit in our next birth. Fruits Of ActionThis principle of current action influencing future lives is called karma in Sanskrit, and it is this principle that frames the logic of reincarnation: for every action, the law of karma says, there is a reaction, much like Newton’s Third Law of Motion. Reincarnation can be seen as the harvesting of fruits of action: act good, get a good body; act bad, get a bad body. Like buying a new car, acquiring a new “type and make” of body is based in large measure on purchasing ability. Material nature, responding to our desires and actions in this life, prepares our next body. If we have good credit, we can upgrade to a better model, with all the fancier features. Our bodily vehicle will reflect our karmic bank balance. The Biblical equivalent would be, “As ye sow, so shall ye reap.” In The Republic, Plato paraphrased the same principle: “God is blameless: man has chosen his own fate, and this by his actions.”On first appraisal, there seems something cold and mechanical about such logic. It seems too impersonal, too cut-and-dried to be a valid explanation of how things work. Could karma be a sort of mechanistic determinism foisted upon helpless human beings? Certainly not. “Karma does not constitute determinism,” The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion assures us. “The deeds do indeed determine the manner of rebirth, but not the actions of the re-born individual. Karma provides the situation, not the response to the situation.” So the living being still has free will. Reassuring VisionDeeper study of the world’s various religious traditions however reveals its beauty and symmetry. Given this context, reincarnation does not occur as an isolated event. It connects seamlessly with karma and other universal laws to form a reassuring vision of the universe as a universe of life that offers learning and eventual graduation — a far cry from the popular but depressing view of the universe as a chaotic wasteland. The latter vision leaves people powerless; the former empowers us as architects of our own future.Why is one soul trapped in the body of an animal while another enjoys the advantages of human life? The logic of reincarnation dictates that if we behave like animals in this life, we can have an animal body next time around. One may ask, “Who would want to be an animal?” But our activities belie our true desires, and certain activities — uncurbed appetites of various sorts — are better performed in the more robust animal species… Reincarnation suggests that we get what we truly want, what we show we want by our actions… God's CompassionWorld religions have historically embraced reincarnation, for it described that ethical, moral behaviour leads to rebirth… Moreover, reincarnation speaks directly to the logic of God’s compassion, as it provides repeated opportunity for conditioned embodied souls to correct themselves… God is seen as Facilitator, a benign and beneficent Supreme Being who sends helpful hints through saints and scriptures. With their guidance, the seeker of enlightenment can escape from the cycle of rebirth altogether. Exactly where the enlightened soul goes upon achieving freedom from rebirth is one of the greatest adventures ever imagined and merits a book in itself.Just what do we mean by reincarnation? The answer has two parts: first, a definition of terms, for, the words associated with reincarnation tell much about the phenomenon itself. The second part is more fundamental: what is it that reincarnates from one body to another? Is it the soul: The mind? The intellect? What part of us is the most essential, the part we continue being even after death?The word reincarnation was introduced into the English language in the middle of the nineteenth century. It is composed of five Latin elements: re- or again; in- or into; carn- or flesh; ate- or cause or become; and -ion or process. Reincarnation, then, literally means “the process of coming into flesh again.” Implied in the notion that there is something to us that is separate from the flesh, or body, that returns after death...Resurrection’s DifferentOne should not confuse reincarnation with resurrection, which is defined quite differently. While reincarnation refers to the life force (soul) passing out of the body, resurrection refers to the religious belief that we will one day be raised again, in the same body, with the same identity and familial connections that we had during our time on earth.Most western religions incorporate some notion of resurrection in their beliefs; “…in the end, we will live happily ever after, with the loved ones we knew in this life.” Reincarnation is also a part of most Western religious traditions, although relegated in large measures to the mystic or esoteric branches of these traditions. In the East, both mainstream and mystical sects espouse the doctrine of reincarnation, although few give credence to the notion of resurrection. The predominant Eastern view is that after death the material body decomposes, its elements again merging with the Earth. It is the non-material soul that continues.Gross And Subtle BodyMost people identify with their gross and subtle bodies -- the physical form and the mind or intellect that accompanies it. When asked who they are, most respond with a name, profession, description of their religion — that is, their acquired faith — or their political affiliations. Sometimes they identify with familial connections, heritage, or “roots.” Others have a more psychological perspective: “I am sensitive; I would never hurt anyone; I am rational and honest, and I have close ties with others who have similar qualities.”Most would be able to identify with personality traits suggested above or their variations to define ourselves by such words and concepts... But do we cease to exist if we change our name, lose our job, convert to another religion or if our sense of morals and ethics becomes compromised? If all the above traits disappear, do we become a non-entity? The question remains: Who are we beyond these changeable, material designations?Plato described existence in this world as... “an in-between state.” Living beings, to him, were combination of matter and spirit, a spark of the eternal caught in a web of temporarily, a quantum of knowledge drowning in an ocean of ignorance, a blissful entity captured in a world of pain and madness. Most forms of Eastern thought agree with this view.