grossg@patriot.rtp.dg.com (Gene Gross) (07/01/91)
This will be another of my multi-part postings. I would ask that you
allow me to complete posting everything, which might take a while,
before you start the discussion. Otherwise, I might miss a comment or
two. Also, if you can't wait, email me a note or two.
How often have you heard the old bromide: If at first you don't
succeed, try, try again! Actually this is not bad advice to any of
us facing the challenges of life today. However, it seems that some
would apply this to the afterlife as well. These people, many very
honest and earnest individuals holding to a belief that they accept as
being truthful, believe that once is not enough in terms of lifetimes.
We need more lifetimes to work out our own salvation. So we keep
coming back and trying. We try, try again until we get it right.
This doctrine, albeit in a very simplified form, is called
reincarnation.
A 1982 Gallup poll showed that 23 percent (or almost one in 4
Americans) believe in some form of reincarnation. Among college age
people (18-24) the number increases to 30 percent. What is
interesting, and scary depending upon your point of view in this
matter, is that nine out of ten Americans claim Christianity. In
fact, for professing Christians the numbers don't change much: 21
percent of the Protestants and 25 percent of the Catholics in this
country go right along with reincarnation. Reincarnation is the "In"
thing.
Today, reincarnation in not only the "In" thing; it is also big
business. There are literally thousands of books, articles, lectures,
and movies dealing with the topic. It seems that the flood gates
really opened up when Shirley MacLaine published her book,
_Out_on_a_Limb_. It was the first book in a trilogy, which MacLaine
described as a "quest for self." The self that she is questing for is
the one who has survived so many reincarnations. "I know that I must
have been many different people in many different times ... a former
prostitute, my own daughter's daughter, and a male court jester who
was beheaded by Louis XV of France" -- all past incarnations that she
believes that she has rediscovered with the aid of mediums and
meditation. But she is not alone among the celebrity lights.
Joining MacLaine are some quite famous, though less vocal,
illuminaries like Glenn Ford, Anne Francis, Sylvester Stallone, Audry
Landers, Paddy Chayevsky, General George S. Patton, Hanry Ford,
Salvador Dali, Mark Twain, George Harrison, Ravi Shankar, Mahavishnu
John McLaughlin, and John Denver. And this is by no means an
exhaustive list. Each in his or her own way has dedicated themselves
to spreading their message of reincarnation. But to add a touch of
the bizarre, there are even comic books getting into the act now:
'Camelot 3000,' 'Ronin,' and 'Dr. Strange' to name three.
Original Source of the Doctrine of Reincarnation
The original source for this doctrine is found in India in the ancient
Hindu Vedas. The Buddhist, Jainist, and Sikhist forms of
reincarnation, as well as the teachings of TM and the Hare Krishnas,
seem to have been derived in large measure from this source also.
In the West, some forms of this doctrine may well have arisen without
knowledge of the Hindu teaching, such as Plato's. Psychic Edgar Cayce
and founder of Theosophy Helena Blavatsky also taught multiple lives.
Several Christian theologians have attempted to harmonize
reincarnation with Christianity. Among these are Geddes MacGregor and
John Hick.
How Reincarnation Works
There are a number of forms that the doctrine takes. Reincarnation,
philosophically, is wrapped up in Eastern religions, i.e., Hinduism,
Buddhism, and Taoism (not Islam; they believe in one God who judges).
However, as I said previously, reincarnation is not confined to the
East. Some of the early Western philosophers also believed that the
human soul lives on in different forms. Among these philosophers are
Pythagoras, Plato, and Plotinus. They all believed that the spirit,
or soul, was eternal and could not be destroyed.
In his work, _Republic_, Plato speaks of two doors in heaven, the
ideal realm, one for the souls entering and the other for those
leaving. Plato taught very clearly that the immortal soul takes on a
body *only* as punishment for some sin. For this sin, the soul will
suffer tenfold. Hence, the soul is forced to leave the heaven and
enter into the material world. In answer to the obvious question of
why we don't remember our former lives, Plato says that each soul must
pass over the River of Forgetfulness. Then, Plato says, "The soul, then,
as being immortal, and having been born again many times, and having
seen all things that exist, whether in this world or in the world
below, has knowledge of them all...for all enquiry and learning is but
recollection." Plato also believed and taught that men might return
as animals.
Actually, there are striking similarities between Plato's model of the
doctrine and the Hindu model. Rather than take the time to write at
great length about the Hindu model, let me present an illustration
that covers the essential major elements of the doctrine. I will then
add some brief verbal description to flesh out the details.
HINDU REINCARNATION MODEL
+--------->EXISTENCE as ---Human, Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral
| |
| |
| "DEATH"
| |
| |
| SOUL LEAVES
| "BODY"
| |
| +----+--------------+
| | |
| KARMIC NO KARMIC
| DEBT DEBT
| | |
| | |
+-- REINCARNATION |
+---------+-------------+
| |
ABSORPTION INTO COMMUNION WITH
GOD GOD
(IMPERSONAL) (PERSONAL)
This then is the Hindu model in visual form.
The similarities between Plato's view and the view of Ramanuja's
"personal" system are quite striking. Ramanuja's school developed
from the earlier "impersonal" view, but the key elements are the same
for both. The soul survives death as a "mental entity" called a
"subtle body." It is this entity which enters an embryo and brings
with it the karma of all its past lives. Karma is both the deeds done
and the unalterable consequences attached to them. The cycle of
death and rebirth is often pictured as a great wheel. And the goal of
life is to get off that wheel.
In Hinduism, this escape is known as "moksha," and it is at this point
that the two schools differ. The impersonal view says that once all
karmic debt has been paid, thus eliminating it, the soul loses all
identity and is simply absorbed into the One to become one with it.
In the personal school, after the karmic debt has been eliminated, the
soul is believed to be liberated to be itself, fully devoted to
Bhagwan (the personal God).
Other versions of this doctrine differ on what happens at the point of
death and the nature of the ultimate state of moksha, but the general
pattern is retained. For example, the Buddhist say that the
unconscious soul continues, but the self (its intellect, emotions,
consciousness, etc.) is obliterated at death. And there are four
interpretations of the final state in Buddhism. Jainism and Sikhism
follow the same patterns as personal and impersonal Hinduism.
The "Christian" forms also retain certain basics among themselves.
However, other factors enter into the situation. Most important
during the time of human existence, a decision is made about whether
to accept or reject Christ. The simplest model has those who accept
Christ going to be with God. Those who reject Christ are reincarnated
until they do recognize and accept Christ. This way all will be
saved. Only two examples of "Christian" reincarnation theories
(MacGregor and de Arteaga) that provide ultimate punishment for those
who are lost causes can be found [if you know of another, please let
me know--Gene]. In MacGregor's theory, the ultimate punishment is
annihilation.
This ends part one. In the next part, I will examine some of the
reasons why people believe in reincarnation.
En Agape tou Iesou,
Gene