Written and Compiled by Ruwan M Jayatunge M.D. PhD (in
progress)
Reincarnation is the belief that when a person dies, he is
reborn again. Reincarnation is regarded
as the mental continuum of an individual. Belief in reincarnation is an ancient
phenomenon and exists in many cultures.
The Egyptians believed in the soul's immortality. In India, the
concept of reincarnation is first recorded in the Upanishads. Hinduism
teaches that the soul goes on repeatedly being born and dying. The
Greek philosopher and the mathematician Pythagoras believed that the soul was
immortal and was reincarnated into another living being at death. The belief in
reincarnation is central to Plato's philosophy. Plato's concept of
metempsychosis edifies that the soul is immortal and passes through cycles of
incarnation in birth and release from the body at death.
The Christian concept of resurrection is
different from reincarnation; resurrection is the coming to life again of the
same being with a transformation of the body into an immortal form of being. The
early Christian theologians such as Valentinus and Basilides of Alexandria believed
in reincarnation. In 553 A.D. during the Second Council of Constantinople the
idea of reincarnation was rejected by the theologians.
The Italian philosopher, and cosmological theorist Giordano
Bruno believed in reincarnation,
and he was sentenced to be burned at the stake by the Inquisition. French
Writer Voltaire (1694-1778) espoused his belief in reincarnation. Benjamin
Franklin (1706-1790) believed that the human soul persisted and returned in a
new body after death. Charles Dickens (1812-1870) openly supported the concept
of reincarnation.
Reincarnation In the Buddhist Doctrine
Although the concept of Reincarnation is
refuted by monotheistic religions, reincarnation (which is an ongoing process)
is central to Buddhism. Johannes Bronkhorst who is a Dutch Orientalist and
Indologist, specializing in Buddhist studies and early Buddhism highlights that
the Buddha did believe in reincarnation. Professor K. N. Jayatilleke indicated
that the Buddha’s explanation on rebirth was based on empirical grounds.
According
to Buddhist teaching there is no eternal “soul,” “spirit” or “self”. Buddhist
doctrine rejects the premise of a permanent, unchanging soul. There is no soul
that bridges the gap between life and death. Buddhism denies the transmigration
of a soul. Buddhism regards the mind as a transient mental state. The Buddha
replaced the soul by the theory of mind-continuum.
In Buddhist
psychology there are eight levels of consciousness. Five of them are
sense consciousness like, Visual consciousness, Auditory consciousness,
olfactory consciousness, gustatory consciousness and tactile consciousness.
Sixth is mental consciousness, seventh is Manas consciousness and eighth
consciousness is store consciousness (equivalent to subconscious mind).
Store consciousness is both individual consciousness and collective
consciousness (Upadhyaya, 2021). The Buddha taught that consciousness is always
continuing, like a stream of water. Buddhist teachings indicate that
consciousness arises at the moment of conception with the forming of new life
in the mother’s womb.
Reincarnation is the mental continuum of
an individual. It’s a phenomenon of a constantly changing continuity of moments
of awareness. Buddhism teaches that stream of consciousness links with
life. The
stream of consciousness is not a single entity, but a process, and the process
continues. The
Buddha responded that only karma is passing from one life to another.
When a person dies there is a causal
continuum of consciousness. This consciousness is neither identical to nor
entirely different from that in the deceased. Relinking
consciousness is not transmigration from the previous existence.
It comes into existence by means of conditions included in the previous
existences. This process is regulated by the accumulated Karmas. Here the analogy is the
flame of a dying candle can serve to light the flame of another. A
flame is transferred from one candle to another. Hence consciousness is a
continuous birth and death of mind-states. It is linking an individual to past
and future existences. The person who dies here and is reborn elsewhere is
neither the same person, nor another.
This process is known as Puranbhava aka
Reincarnation or multiple
incarnations. It is the process of cyclic existence or Samsara. Being
born and dying continues unbroken but changes every moment. Therefore, the
practice of Buddhism aims at ending rebirth.
According to the Buddhist doctrine -
Chuthi Patisandhi- a thought moment occurs when a person dies. It is the mind
set during death in the current existence and then grasping the next life. A
dying person has a Cuti
Citta which is known as exit consciousness. This consciousness is a form of
transitory energy. The being to be reborn is known as Gandhabba – which is a
non-biological life form or life-stream and inter
being. Gandhabba
is a form of consciousness. Cuti Citta or exit consciousness transforms into
Gandhabba conscious form. Between Cuti Citta and Gandhabba form is called
Antarābhava (Inter-becoming) or intermediate existence. These are three different
stages. (some
Buddhist schools believe that there is no interval -antarābhava or intermediate
existence). A Gandhabba has a Manomaya kaya – nonphysical mental body. The
Gandhabba can enter another womb when a matching one becomes available. Hence
rebirth occurs. Three
conditions are essential for conception: “the union of mother and father, the
mother in season, and the presence of Gandhabba. It’s important to know that the
Gandhabba concept is different from the idea of a “soul. Gandhabba is
present at the point of conception as a form of consciousness. These processes
are governed by the Karmic force or karmic retribution.
Freudian
and Jungian Perspectives
on Reincarnation
Freud thought that the
belief in reincarnation relates to the denial of death. For Freud rebirth fantasy seems
to be a universal fantasy in the human mind, connected with the experience of
both destruction and creation. According to the psychoanalytic notion the
belief relates to initial hopes for a better life and the fantasy of life after
death is universal. Following the death
drive man has a desire to return to inanimate matter in a form of rebirth. For
Freud the concept of rebirth is an attempt to
deal with the fear of death and the unknown. Freud saw belief in reincarnation
is a way for individuals to come to terms with their own mortality. Human has a
compulsion to repeat his life over and over
again and this unconscious wish is expressed as a belief in life after death.
Carl Jung
believed in reincarnation and collective
unconscious. For Jung “Collective Unconscious,” is supposedly the universal
consciousness of mankind that lies at a subconscious level. It apparently
consists of inherited memories shared by all human beings that go back
countless generations into prehistory. (In Mahayana Buddhism the store-house
consciousness is known as ālāyavijñāna) Some psychologists openly argue that
past life memories are merely a result of collective unconscious. Jung saw
psychoanalysis as a path of redemption, of revitalization, of rebirth.
Does
Consciousness Continue after Death?
For William
James consciousness was our own personal experience of perceiving, thinking,
emoting, and acting. He used the phrase “stream of consciousness”-
consciousness flows linearly with time. Consciousness is directed toward an
object, and it has intentionality and transience. Neuroscientists believe that the brain creates
consciousness. Neural information
becomes conscious when it gains access to Global neuronal workspace. Consciousness does not disappear during general anesthesia. Consciousness requires a functioning brain. Neural activity
translating into conscious experiences and after biological death this
neural activity cease to exist.
Consciousness
after death is not universally agreed upon. However, some
experts say that we cannot find the actual conscious experience while measuring
brain activity because we’re measuring from the wrong cognitive frame of
reference. Moreover, they tend to say that the brain doesn’t create our
conscious experience and consciousness is a fundamental property of all
physical systems (panpsychism).
Disruptions of human
consciousness occur due to pharmacological, neuropathological, or psychiatric
causes. The
brain is structurally, and functionally connected and neurochemical processes produce subjective experiences. Is
NDE (Near-death Experiences) a conscious experience after death? Near-death
experiences (NDEs) are caused by reduced blood flow, coupled with abnormal
electrical behavior inside the brain. Prof Carlo Fonseka - A Sri
Lankan academic elucidated that there is no consciousness after biological
death (Personal Communication, 2009). With biological death essential neural activity disappears.
Is
Ian Stevenson's Work Suitable Evidence for Reincarnation?
Psychiatrist Ian Stevenson, from the University of Virginia tried to offer some evidence to support the reincarnation hypothesis. His 1966 book, “Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation” emphasizes spontaneous recall of information about previous lives by young children. Some investigators have tried to debunk the work of Ian Stevenson by questioning his methodology. They point out methodological flaws in Stevenson’s research methods. They state that he was confirmation biased in these studies. Moreover, his hypotheses were not falsifiable, and his data was not definitive to suggest reincarnation. When investigating reincarnation cases in other counties Stevenson had no cultural competence and sometimes his translators consciously and instinctively offered data confirming reincarnation. Stevenson disregarded the role of cultural conditioning. Most of his cases were based on anecdotal evidence.
Does
deja vú Explain Reincarnation?
Deja vu is
the phenomenon of feeling as though one has lived through the present situation
before. Deja vu is a psychological experience. Those who support the concept of
reincarnation explain that déjà vu experiences are memories of past lives.
However, the researchers point out that déjà vu experiences do not confirm the
reincarnation hypothesis. déjà vu experiences can occur as a result of certain
brain dysfunction, assimilation of information by brain’s hemispheres in two
different times or in cryptomnesia. Furthermore, Déjà vu is associated with
temporal lobe epilepsy.
Is
Xenoglossy Evidence for Reincarnation?
Xenoglossy
is a phenomenon in which a person is allegedly able to speak, write or
understand a foreign language that they could not have acquired by natural
means. Those who believe in reincarnation state that cases of xenoglossy
provide evidence for reincarnation. Some researchers think that xenoglossy is
not definitive evidence for reincarnation. They
claim that xenoglossy is likely
to occur when the ability to properly monitor sources is impaired. They suggest
fraud, fantasy, and knowledge acquired through normal means. The
critics of reincarnation suggest
that xenoglossy is merely an expression of subconscious language learning.
Those who are naturally gifted in learning new languages may pick up on words
and phrases without noticing. According to the researchers, foreign language syndrome and foreign
accent syndrome are signs of disruption in brain function especially from small focal lesions resulting from left
hemisphere strokes and tumors, traumatic brain injury (TBI), migraine, multiple
sclerosis, primary progressive aphasia.
Selective
Thinking and False Memory Syndrome
Some
disbelievers of reincarnation explain that claims of evidence for reincarnation
originate from selective thinking – a process that one focuses on favorable
evidence to justify a belief, ignoring unfavorable evidence and sometimes
following the psychological phenomena of false memories. In false memory
syndrome, a person’s identity and relationships are affected by memories, which
are factually incorrect but are strongly believed. False memory syndrome may
account for the memory construction process, which leads people to remember
living a past life.
Are child Prodigies an
Example of Reincarnation?
Those who support the concept of
reincarnation point out the phenomenon of child prodigies who exhibit
intelligence or talents that could not be explained by either heredity or
environment. The skeptics attribute these skills to high functional autism, abnormal
brain mapping due to genetic predisposition and hyper brain with enhanced brain
plasticity. They point out that some children who were subject to maladaptive
alterations by purely deleterious mutations, maladapted genotypes end up with
high intelligence and extraordinary skills. Several researchers have indicated
specific genes that contribute to high ability. Twin studies have shown that
both musical ability and mathematical achievement have a substantial genetic
component.
False
Memory Syndrome and Confabulation
Some
disbelievers of reincarnation explain that claims of evidence for reincarnation
originate from selective thinking – a process that one focuses on favorable
evidence in order to justify a belief, ignoring unfavorable evidence and
sometimes following the psychological phenomena of false memories. In false
memory syndrome, a person's identity and relationships are affected by
memories, which are factually incorrect but are strongly believed. False memory
syndrome may account for the memory construction process, which leads people to
remember living a past life.
Belief in
reincarnation could be linked to an error in processing of memories or due to
confabulation. Confabulation is defined
as the spontaneous production of false memories: either memories of events
which never occurred, or memories of actual events that are displaced in space
or time. These memories may be elaborate and detailed. Confabulation is a form
of memory disorder that may occur in patients who have sustained damage to both
the basal forebrain and the frontal lobes, as after an aneurysm of the anterior
communicating artery.
Another
possible explanation is cryptomnesia, where a person may have experienced
something similar in their current life and mistakenly attribute it to a past
life. Children suffering from
dissociative disorders (hysteria) sometimes give vivid descriptions under
hypnotic trances and these expressions are misinterpreted as the evidence of
past lives by inexperienced hypnotherapists who have no clinical background.
Paramnesia: Memory Distortions
People with medial temporal or prefrontal lesions
are more prone to Paramnesias, or misidentifications syndrome. In reduplicate
paramnesia, a patient is convinced that a person, a place, or an
object exists in duplicate. A disturbed sense of familiarity may produce
this phenomenon. In the reduplication of time, a patient
believes that he or she exists in two different, parallel time points.
Can
Edgar Cayce's Readings Prove Reincarnation?
Edgar Cayce
-self-proclaimed faith healer did over 16,000 readings during his lifetime. The
exceptional book Many Mansions written by Gina Cerminara disclosed the patients
who were treated by Edgar Cayce and their past lives. Based on modern
investigations of Edgar Cayce’s readings, medical experts say that Cayce
frequently connected illness to the mental and emotional states of the patients
and he disregarded the etiology of certain illnesses. His clients predominantly
had cancer, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, arthritis, gallstones, kidney stones,
hay fever, mental and psychological problems, digestive problems, epilepsy,
hemorrhoids, ulcers, psoriasis etc. and according to Cayce karmic repercussions
had do with the symptoms. Cayce had stated that people suffer from epilepsy as
a result of adultery that they had committed in their past lives. But modern
neurophysiology explains the genesis of epilepsy that has organic courses in
the brain.
Some of his
readings were inaccurate and he mostly gave folk remedies. His case studies were not based on empirical evidence, and it cannot be independently evaluated. Moreover, Cayce
was never subjected to proper testing. The experts often question the validity
of his abilities.
Can
Past Life Regressions Provide Evidence of Reincarnation?
Past life
regressions or past life therapy is based on the argument that some people
carry in their subconscious mind memories of unpleasant events of their past
lives and these subconscious memories adversely affect them in their present
lives. By hypnosis they can be regressed beyond their birth to their previous
lives. However, medical experts indicate that past life regressions increase one's susceptibility to false memories. Also, there is a risk of implanting false memories in
patients. Some hold the belief that hypnotic regression
is not proof for reincarnation. Those who oppose hypnotic regression declare
that in a hypnotic regression, repressed childhood memories come into action if
wrongly interpreted as evidence of past life.
The Theories Opposed to
Reincarnation.
The English Philosopher Antony Flew
highlights that reincarnation
is a non-repeatable counter instance that is not amenable to scientifically
controlled conditions. As claims of reincarnation cannot be validated via a
laboratory experiment, the best we could do is to jettison reincarnation as
untenable.
He further argues that the basic problem
associated with reincarnation as a theory of mind is not that it lacks evidence
in support of its claims, but that even in the face of its claims, it runs
short of a well-developed and systematic theory.
Steven D. Hales Professor of Philosophy
at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania argues that the basic problem associated
with reincarnation as a theory of mind is not that it lacks evidence in support
of its claims, but that even in the face of its claims, it runs short of a
well-developed and systematic theory. For Hales, there would have been not much
difficulty in accepting the reincarnation hypothesis if it is empirically
testable, falsifiable and subject to confirming evidence.
Concluding Thoughts
Reincarnation is a highly contradictory
and controversial philosophical-religious and cultural concept. Belief in
reincarnation has some epistemological implications. It is a belief in the
absence of valid empirical data. There is no scientific evidence to prove
reincarnation. The suggestive cases of reincarnation (past-lives” testimonies)
cannot be independently verified, and there are psychological and cultural
factors that can influence such claims. These testimonies are the products of
social conditioning rather than actual memories of past lives. From a
scientific and empirical standpoint, the concept of reincarnation remains
unproven and subject to skepticism.
Biologically, reincarnation is explained
in terms of the expression of dominant genes that come from the
ancestors. People acquire the genetic information of their past
relatives. Those who oppose
the concept argue that reincarnation originates from selective thinking
and from false memories. Reincarnation is a hypothesis and up to date it’s not
an evidence-based reality. There is no definitive data supporting the
reincarnation hypothesis. So far no one has done controlled experiments in
reincarnation.
Can we prove that reincarnation is a
fact? Ian Stevenson used to say the word proof should only be used in
mathematics. In science it’s all about evidence, not proof. Science can only lay
hands-on things in the physical universe. Although the existence of
reincarnation is not yet a scientific truth, scientifically we
don’t have the instruments to measure the process of rebirth directly.
Maybe reincarnation can’t be proven
within the scope of generally acceptable scientific thinking. Reincarnation is
basically just an untestable claim. Some argue that reincarnation is a
paranormal phenomenon transcending the boundaries of time, space and force. Reincarnation
may be outside the scope of our measurements and can't be falsified. Reincarnation may be
the “Great Beyond” and further research is essential to come to a valid
conclusion.
