Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the Philosophy or Religion concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new lifespan in a different physical form or physical body after biological death. In most beliefs involving reincarnation, the soul of a human being is immortality and does not disperse after the physical body has perished. Upon death, the soul merely transmigrates into a newborn baby or into an animal to continue its immortality. (The term "transmigration" means the passing of a soul from one body to another after death.)
Reincarnation ( punarjanman) is a central tenet of Indian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism.Gavin Flood (1996), An Introduction to Hinduism, Cambridge University Press In various forms, it occurs as an esoteric belief in many streams of Judaism, in certain Paganism (including Wicca), and in some beliefs of the Indigenous peoples of the AmericasGananath Obeyesekere, Imagining Karma: Ethical Transformation in Amerindian, Buddhist, and Greek Rebirth. University of California Press, 2002, p. 15. and of Aboriginal Australians (though most believe in an afterlife or spirit world).Crawley Some ancient Greek historical figures, such as Pythagoras, Socrates, and Plato, expressed belief in the soul's rebirth or migration ( metempsychosis).see Charles Taliaferro, Paul Draper, Philip L. Quinn, A Companion to Philosophy of Religion. John Wiley and Sons, 2010, p. 640, Google Books
Although the majority of denominations within the Abrahamic religions do not believe that individuals reincarnate, particular groups within these religions do refer to reincarnation; these groups include mainstream historical and contemporary followers of Catharism, Alawites, Hasidic Judaism, the Druze,Hitti, Philip K (2007) 1924. Origins of the Druze People and Religion, with Extracts from their Sacred Writings (New Edition). Columbia University Oriental Studies. 28. London: Saqi. pp. 13–14. Kabbalah, Rastafarians, and the Rosicrucians.Max Heindel (1985) 1939, The Rosicrucian Christianity Lectures (Collected Works): The Riddle of Life and Death . Oceanside, California. 4th edition. Recent scholarly research has explored the historical relations between different sects and their beliefs about reincarnation. This research includes the views of Neoplatonism, Orphism, Hermeticism, Manichaeism, and the Gnosticism of the Roman era, as well as those in Indian religions.For discussion of the mutual influence of ancient Greek and Indian philosophy regarding these matters, see The Shape of Ancient Thought by Thomas McEvilley: In recent decades, many Europeans and North Americans have developed an interest in reincarnation, and contemporary works sometimes mention the topic. Chart of some recorded occurrences of terminology in English
An alternative term is transmigration, implying migration from one life (body) to another. The term has been used by modern philosophers such as Kurt Gödel and has entered the English language.
The Greek equivalent to reincarnation, metempsychosis (), derives from meta ('change') and ('to put a soul into'), metempsychosis , Etymology Dictionary, Douglas Harper (2015) a term attributed to Pythagoras.Carl A. Huffman (2014), Pythagoras, 4.1 The Fate of the Soul–Metempsychosis Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University Another Greek term sometimes used synonymously is palingenesis, 'being born again'.
Rebirth is a key concept found in major Indian religions, and discussed using various terms. Punarjanman (, 'rebirth, transmigration'),
Gilgul, Gilgul neshamot, or Gilgulei Ha Neshamot () is the concept of reincarnation in Kabbalah Judaism, found in much Yiddish literature among Ashkenazi Jews. Gilgul means 'cycle' and neshamot is 'souls'. Kabbalistic reincarnation says that humans reincarnate only to humans unless YHWH/Ein Sof/God chooses.
The idea of reincarnation, saṁsāra, did exist in the early Vedic religions.A.M. Boyer: "Etude sur l'origine de la doctrine du samsara." Journal Asiatique, (1901), Volume 9, Issue 18, S. 451–453, 459–468 The early Vedas mention the doctrine of karma and rebirth. It is in the early Upanishads, which are pre-Buddha and pre-Mahavira, where these ideas are developed and described in a general way.A.M. Boyer (1901), "Etude sur l'origine de la doctrine du samsara", Journal Asiatique, Volume 9, Issue 18, pp. 451–453, 459–468 The earliest layers of Vedic text incorporate the concept of life, followed by an afterlife in heaven and hell based on cumulative virtues (merit) or vices (demerit). However, the ancient Vedic challenged this idea of afterlife as simplistic, because people do not live equally moral or immoral lives. Between generally virtuous lives, some are more virtuous; while evil too has degrees, and the texts assert that it would be unfair for people, with varying degrees of virtue or vices, to end up in heaven or hell, in "either or" and disproportionate manner irrespective of how virtuous or vicious their lives were. They introduced the idea of an afterlife in heaven or hell in proportion to one's merit.
Detailed descriptions first appear around the mid-1st millennium BCE in diverse traditions, including Buddhism, Jainism and various schools of Hindu philosophy, each of which gave unique expression to the general principle.
The Purananuru, part of Sangam literature(ancient Tamil literature) contains several mentions of rebirth and moksha. The text explains Hindu rituals surrounding death such as making riceballs called pinda and cremation. The text states that good souls get a place in Svarga where Indra welcomes them.
The texts of ancient Jainism that have survived into the modern era are post-Mahavira, likely from the last centuries of the first millennium BCE, and extensively discuss the doctrines of rebirth and karma. Jaina philosophy assumes that the soul ( jiva in Jainism; atman in Hinduism) exists and is eternal, passing through cycles of transmigration and rebirth. After death, reincarnation into a new body is asserted to be instantaneous in early Jaina texts. Depending upon the accumulated karma, rebirth occurs into a higher or lower bodily form, either in heaven or hell or earthly realm. No bodily form is permanent: everyone dies and reincarnates further. Liberation ( kevalya) from reincarnation is possible, however, through removing and ending karmic accumulations to one's soul. From the early stages of Jainism on, a human being was considered the highest mortal being, with the potential to achieve liberation, particularly through asceticism.
The early Buddhist texts discuss rebirth as part of the doctrine of saṃsāra. This asserts that the nature of existence is a "suffering-laden cycle of life, death, and rebirth, without beginning or end".; Quote: "Buddhist doctrine holds that until they realize nirvana, beings are bound to undergo rebirth and redeath due to their having acted out of ignorance and desire, thereby producing the seeds of karma". Also referred to as the wheel of existence ( Bhavacakra), it is often mentioned in Buddhist texts with the term punarbhava (rebirth, re-becoming). Liberation from this cycle of existence, Nirvana, is the foundation and the most important purpose of Buddhism. Buddhist texts also assert that an enlightened person knows his previous births, a knowledge achieved through high levels of samadhi.Paul Williams, Anthony Tribe, Buddhist thought: a complete introduction to the Indian tradition. Routledge, 2000, p. 84. Tibetan Buddhism discusses death, bardo (an intermediate state), and rebirth in texts such as the Bardo Thodol. While Nirvana is taught as the ultimate goal in the Theravadin Buddhism, and is essential to Mahayana Buddhism, the vast majority of contemporary lay Buddhists focus on accumulating good karma and acquiring merit to achieve a better reincarnation in the next life.
In early Buddhist traditions, saṃsāra cosmology consisted of five realms through which the wheel of existence cycled. This included hells ( niraya), hungry ghosts ( pretas), animals ( Tiryakas realm), humans ( manushya), and gods ( devas, heavenly). In latter Buddhist traditions, this list grew to a list of six realms of rebirth, adding demigods ( asuras).
Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism disagree in their assumptions and theories about rebirth. Hinduism relies on its foundational belief that the 'soul, Self exists' ( atman or attā), while Buddhism aserts that there is 'no soul, no Self' ( anatta or anatman). Anatta , Encyclopedia Britannica (2013), Quote: "Anatta in Buddhism, the doctrine that there is in humans no permanent, underlying soul. The concept of anatta, or anatman, is a departure from the Hindu belief in atman ("the self").";Steven Collins (1994), Religion and Practical Reason (Editors: Frank Reynolds, David Tracy), State Univ of New York Press, , p. 64; "Central to Buddhist soteriology is the doctrine of not-self (Pali: anattā, Sanskrit: anātman, the opposed doctrine of ātman is central to Brahmanical thought). Put very briefly, this is the Buddhist doctrine that human beings have no soul, no self, no unchanging essence."Edward Roer (Translator), to Brihad Aranyaka Upanishad, pp. 2–4;Katie Javanaud (2013), Is The Buddhist 'No-Self' Doctrine Compatible With Pursuing Nirvana? , Philosophy Now;KN Jayatilleke (2010), Early Buddhist Theory of Knowledge, , pp. 246–249, from note 385 onwards;John C. Plott et al (2000), Global History of Philosophy: The Axial Age, Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, , p. 63, Quote: "The Buddhist schools reject any Ātman concept. As we have already observed, this is the basic and ineradicable distinction between Hinduism and Buddhism". Hindu traditions consider soul to be the unchanging eternal essence of a living being, which journeys through reincarnations until it attains self-knowledge. Buddhism, in contrast, asserts a rebirth theory without a Self, and considers realization of non-Self or Emptiness as Nirvana ( nibbana).
The reincarnation doctrine in Jainism differs from those in Buddhism, even though both are non-theistic Sramana traditions. Jainism, in contrast to Buddhism, accepts the foundational assumption that soul ( Jiva) exists and asserts that this soul is involved in the rebirth mechanism. Furthermore, Jainism considers asceticism as an important means to spiritual liberation that ends the cycle of reincarnation, while Buddhism does not.;
Plato (428/427–348/347 BCE) presented accounts of reincarnation in his works, particularly the Myth of Er, where Plato makes Socrates tell how Er, the son of Arminius, miraculously returned to life on the twelfth day after death and recounted the secrets of the other world. There are myths and theories to the same effect in other dialogues, in the Chariot allegory of the Phaedrus, The Dialogues of Plato (Benjamin Jowett trans., 1875 ed), vol. 2, p. 125 in the Meno, The Dialogues of Plato (Benjamin Jowett trans., 1875 ed), vol. 1, p. 282 Timaeus and Laws. The soul, once separated from the body, spends an indeterminate amount of time in the intelligible realm (see the Allegory of the Cave in The Republic) and then assumes another body. In the Timaeus, Plato believes that the soul moves from body to body without any distinct reward-or-punishment phase between lives, because the reincarnation is itself a punishment or reward for how a person has lived.See Kamtekar 2016 for a discussion of how Plato's view of reincarnation changes across texts, especially concerning the existence of a distinct reward-or-punishment phase between lives. Rachana Kamtekar. 2016. "The Soul’s (After-) Life," Ancient Philosophy 36 (1):115–132.
In Phaedo, Plato has his teacher Socrates, prior to his death, state: "I am confident that there truly is such a thing as living again, and that the living spring from the dead." However, Xenophon does not mention Socrates as believing in reincarnation, and Plato may have systematized Socrates' thought with concepts he took directly from Pythagoreanism or Orphism. Recent scholars have come to see that Plato has multiple reasons for the belief in reincarnation.See Campbell 2022 for more on why Plato believes in reincarnation. Douglas R. Campbell. 2022. "Plato's Theory of Reincarnation: Eschatology and Natural Philosophy," Review of Metaphysics 75 (4): 643–665. See also the discussion in Chad Jorgensen. 2018. The Embodied Soul in Plato's Later Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. One argument concerns the theory of reincarnation's usefulness for explaining why non-human animals exist: they are former humans, being punished for their vices; Plato gives this argument at the end of the Timaeus.See Timaeus 90–92.
An association between Pythagoreanism and reincarnation was routinely accepted throughout antiquity, as Pythagoras also taught about reincarnation. However, unlike the Orphics, who considered metempsychosis a cycle of grief that could be escaped by attaining liberation from it, Pythagoras seems to postulate an eternal, neutral reincarnation where subsequent lives would not be conditioned by any action done in the previous.
Virgil works the idea into his account of the Underworld in the sixth book of the Aeneid.Virgil, The Aeneid, vv. 724 et seq. It persists down to the late classic thinkers, Plotinus and the other . In the Hermetica, a Graeco-Egyptian series of writings on cosmology and spirituality attributed to Hermes Trismegistus/Thoth, the doctrine of reincarnation is central.
Julius Caesar recorded that the druids of Gaul, Britain and Ireland had metempsychosis as one of their core doctrines:Julius Caesar, "De Bello Gallico", VI
Diodorus also recorded the Gaul belief that human souls were immortal, and that after a prescribed number of years they would commence upon a new life in another body. He added that Gauls had the custom of casting letters to their deceased upon the funeral pyres, through which the dead would be able to read them. Valerius Maximus also recounted they had the custom of lending sums of money to each other which would be repayable in the next world. This was mentioned by Pomponius Mela, who also recorded Gauls buried or burnt with them things they would need in a next life, to the point some would jump into the funeral piles of their relatives in order to cohabit in the new life with them.
Hippolytus of Rome believed the Gauls had been taught the doctrine of reincarnation by a slave of Pythagoras named Zalmoxis. Conversely, Clement of Alexandria believed Pythagoras himself had learned it from the Celts and not the opposite, claiming he had been taught by Galatian Gauls, Hinduism priests and Zoroastrians. However, author T. D. Kendrick rejected a real connection between Pythagoras and the Celtic idea reincarnation, noting their beliefs to have substantial differences, and any contact to be historically unlikely. Nonetheless, he proposed the possibility of an ancient common source, also related to the Orphic religion and Thracian systems of belief.
The practice of conversion to Judaism is sometimes understood within Orthodox Judaism in terms of reincarnation. According to this school of thought in Judaism, when non-Jews are drawn to Judaism, it is because they had been Jews in a former life. Such souls may "wander among nations" through multiple lives, until they find their way back to Judaism, including through finding themselves born in a gentile family with a "lost" Jewish ancestor. Jewish Tales of Reincarnation, By Yonasson Gershom, Yonasson Gershom, Jason Aronson, Incorporated, 31 January 2000
There is an extensive literature of Jewish folk and traditional stories that refer to reincarnation.Yonasson Gershom (1999), Jewish Tales of Reincarnation. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson.
The Catholic Church does not believe in reincarnation, which it regards as incompatible with death. Nonetheless, the leaders of certain sects in the church have taught that there are reincarnations of Mary – for example, Marie-Paule Giguère of the Army of Mary and Maria Franciszka of the former Mariavite Church. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith excommunicated the Army of Mary for teaching heresy, including reincarnationism.
In the third Christian century Manichaeism spread both east and west from Babylonia, then within the Sassanid Empire, where its founder Mani lived about 216–276. Manichaean monasteries existed in Rome in 312 AD. Noting Mani's early travels to the Kushan Empire and other Buddhist influences in Manichaeism, Richard FoltzRichard Foltz, Religions of the Silk Road, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010 attributes Mani's teaching of reincarnation to Buddhist influence. However the inter-relation of Manicheanism, Orphism, Gnosticism and neo-Platonism is far from clear.
Christian sects such as the Bogomils and the Cathars, who professed reincarnation and other gnostic beliefs, were referred to as "Manichaean", and are today sometimes described by scholars as "Neo-Manichaean".For example Dondaine, Antoine. O.P. Un traite neo-manicheen du XIIIe siecle: Le Liber de duobus principiis, suivi d'un fragment de rituel Cathare (Rome: Institutum Historicum Fratrum Praedicatorum, 1939) As there is no known Manichaean mythology or terminology in the writings of these groups there has been some dispute among historians as to whether these groups truly were descendants of Manichaeism.
By the early 20th century, interest in reincarnation had been introduced into the nascent discipline of psychology, largely due to the influence of William James, who raised aspects of the philosophy of mind, comparative religion, the psychology of religious experience and the nature of empiricism.David Hammerman, Lisa Lenard, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Reincarnation, Penguin, p. 34. For relevant works by James, see; William James, Human Immortality: Two Supposed Objections to the Doctrine (the Ingersoll Lecture, 1897), The Will to Believe, Human Immortality (1956) Dover Publications, , The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature (1902), , Essays in Radical Empiricism (1912) Dover Publications 2003, James was influential in the founding of the American Society for Psychical Research (ASPR) in New York City in 1885, three years after the British Society for Psychical Research (SPR) was inaugurated in London, leading to systematic, critical investigation of paranormal phenomena. Famous World War II American General George Patton was a strong believer in reincarnation, believing, among other things, he was a reincarnation of the Carthaginian General Hannibal.
At this time popular awareness of the idea of reincarnation was boosted by the Theosophical Society's dissemination of systematised and universalised Indian concepts and also by the influence of magical societies like The Golden Dawn. Notable personalities like Annie Besant, W. B. Yeats and Dion Fortune made the subject almost as familiar an element of the popular culture of the west as of the east. By 1924 the subject could be satirised in popular children's books.Richmal Crompton, More William, George Newnes, London, 1924, XIII. William and the Ancient Souls ; "The memory usually came in a flash. For instance, you might remember in a flash when you were looking at a box of matches that you had been Guy Fawkes." Humorist Don Marquis created a fictional cat named Mehitabel who claimed to be a reincarnation of Queen Cleopatra.Marquis, "Archy and Mehitabel" (1927)
Théodore Flournoy was among the first to study a claim of past-life recall in the course of his investigation of the medium Hélène Smith, published in 1900, in which he defined the possibility of cryptomnesia in such accounts.Théodore Flournoy, Des Indes à la planète Mars , Étude sur un cas de somnambulisme avec glossolalie, Éditions Alcan et Eggimann, Paris et Genève, 1900
Carl Gustav Jung, like Flournoy based in Switzerland, also emulated him in his thesis based on a study of cryptomnesia in psychism. Later Jung would emphasise the importance of the persistence of memory and ego in psychological study of reincarnation: "This concept of rebirth necessarily implies the continuity of personality... (that) one is able, at least potentially, to remember that one has lived through previous existences, and that these existences were one's own...." Hypnosis, used in psychoanalysis for retrieving forgotten memories, was eventually tried as a means of studying the phenomenon of past life recall.
More recently, many people in the West have developed an interest in and acceptance of reincarnation. Many new religious movements include reincarnation among their beliefs, e.g. modern Neopaganism, Spiritism, Astara, Dianetics, and Scientology. Many esoteric philosophies also include reincarnation, e.g. Theosophy, Anthroposophy, Kabbalah, and Gnostic and Esoteric Christianity such as the works of Martinus Thomsen.
Demographic survey data from 1999 to 2002 shows a significant minority of people from Europe (22%) and America (20%) believe in the existence of life before birth and after death, leading to a physical rebirth.David W. Moore, Three in Four Americans Believe in Paranormal The belief in reincarnation is particularly high in the Baltic countries, with Lithuania having the highest figure for the whole of Europe, 44%, while the lowest figure is in East Germany, 12%. A quarter of U.S. Christians, including 10% of all born again Christians, embrace the idea. Buddhism China
Academic psychiatrist Ian Stevenson reported that belief in reincarnation is held (with variations in details) by adherents of almost all major religions except Christianity and Islam. In addition, between 20 and 30 percent of persons in western countries who may be nominal Christians also believe in reincarnation.Jane Henry (2005). Parapsychology: research on exceptional experiences Routledge, p. 224. One 1999 study by Walter and Waterhouse reviewed the previous data on the level of reincarnation belief and performed a set of thirty in-depth interviews in Britain among people who did not belong to a religion advocating reincarnation. The authors reported that surveys have found about one fifth to one quarter of Europeans have some level of belief in reincarnation, with similar results found in the USA. In the interviewed group, the belief in the existence of this phenomenon appeared independent of their age, or the type of religion that these people belonged to, with most being Christians. The beliefs of this group also did not appear to contain any more than usual of "new age" ideas (broadly defined) and the authors interpreted their ideas on reincarnation as "one way of tackling issues of suffering", but noted that this seemed to have little effect on their private lives.
Waterhouse also published a detailed discussion of beliefs expressed in the interviews. She noted that although most people "hold their belief in reincarnation quite lightly" and were unclear on the details of their ideas, personal experiences such as past-life memories and near-death experiences had influenced most believers, although only a few had direct experience of these phenomena. Waterhouse analyzed the influences of second-hand accounts of reincarnation, writing that most of the people in the survey had heard other people's accounts of past-lives from regression hypnosis and dreams and found these fascinating, feeling that there "must be something in it" if other people were having such experiences.
Other influential contemporary figures that have written on reincarnation include Alice Ann Bailey, one of the first writers to use the terms New Age and age of Aquarius, Torkom Saraydarian, an Armenian-American musician and religious author, Dolores Cannon, Atul Gawande, Michael Newton, Bruce Greyson, Raymond Moody and Unity Church founder Charles Fillmore. Neale Donald Walsch, an American author of the series Conversations with God claims that he has reincarnated more than 600 times. The Indian spiritual teacher Meher Baba who had significant following in the West taught that reincarnation followed from human desire and ceased once a person was freed from desire.Meher Baba (1967), Discourses , Volume III, Sufism Reoriented, 1967, , p. 96.
The Buddha also asserted that karma influences rebirth, and that the cycles of repeated births and deaths are endless.
The Buddha introduced the concept of anattā, which asserts that there is no permanent self (soul). Major contemporary Buddhist traditions such as Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions accept the teachings of Buddha. These teachings assert there is rebirth, there is no permanent self and no irreducible ātman (soul) moving from life to another and tying these lives together, there is anicca, that all compounded things such as living beings are Skandha dissolve at death, but every being reincarnates.;
Different traditions within Buddhism have offered different theories on what reincarnates and how reincarnation happens. One theory suggests that it occurs through consciousness (Sanskrit: vijñāna; Pali: samvattanika-viññana)(Majjhima Nikaya.1.256) "Post-Classical Developments in the Concepts of Karma and Rebirth in Theravada Buddhism." by Bruce Matthews. in Karma and Rebirth: Post-Classical Developments State Univ of New York Press: 1986 p. 125Collins, Steven. Selfless persons: imagery and thought in Theravāda Buddhism Cambridge University Press, 1990. p. 215, Google Books or stream of consciousness (Sanskrit: citta-santāna, vijñāna-srotām, or vijñāna-santāna; Pali: viññana-sotam)(Digha Nikaya.3.105) "Post-Classical Developments in the Concepts of Karma and Rebirth in Theravada Buddhism. by Bruce Matthews. in Karma and Rebirth: Post-Classical Developments State Univ of New York Press: 1986 p. 125 upon death, which reincarnates into a new aggregation. This process, states this theory, is similar to the flame of a dying candle lighting up another.
Buddhist traditions also vary in their mechanistic details on rebirth. Most Theravada Buddhists assert that rebirth is immediate while the Tibetan Buddhism and most Chinese and Japanese schools hold to the notion of a bardo (intermediate state) that can last up to 49 days.
Within Japanese Zen, reincarnation is accepted by some, but rejected by others. A distinction can be drawn between 'folk Zen', as in the Zen practiced by devotional lay people, and 'philosophical Zen'. Folk Zen generally accepts the various supernatural elements of Buddhism such as rebirth. Philosophical Zen, however, places more emphasis on the present moment.
Some schools conclude that karma continues to exist and adhere to the person until it works out its consequences. For the Sautrantika school, each act "perfumes" the individual or "plants a seed" that later germinates. Tibetan Buddhism stresses the state of mind at the time of death. To die with a peaceful mind will stimulate a virtuous seed and a fortunate rebirth; a disturbed mind will stimulate a non-virtuous seed and an unfortunate rebirth. Transform Your Life: A Blissful Journey, p. 52), Tharpa Publications (2001, US ed. 2007)
Some Christian theologians interpret certain Biblical passages as referring to reincarnation. These passages include the questioning of Jesus as to whether he is Elijah, John the Baptist, Jeremiah, or another prophet (Matthew 16:13–15 and John 1:21–22) and, less clearly (while Elijah was said not to have died, but to have been taken up to heaven), John the Baptist being asked if he is not Elijah (John 1:25).Rudolf Frieling, Christianity and Reincarnation, Floris Books 2015Mark Albrecht, Reincarnation, a Christian Appraisal, InterVarsity Press, 1982Lynn A. De Silva, Reincarnation in Buddhist and Christian Thought, Christian Literature Society of Ceylon, 1968 Geddes MacGregor (1909-1998), who became an Episcopalian priest and a professor of philosophy, has made a case for the compatibility of Christian doctrine and reincarnation. The Catholic Church and theologians such as Norman Geisler (1932-2019) argue that reincarnation is unorthodox and reject the reincarnationist interpretation of texts about John the Baptist and biblical texts used to defend this belief.
N. T. Wright (1948- ) emphasises resurrection of the body over reincarnation of the soul.
Under the impression that Origen was a heretic like Arius, St. Jerome criticizes ideas described in On the First Principles. Further in "To Avitus" (Letter 124), St. Jerome writes about "convincing proof" that Origen teaches reincarnation in the original version of the book:
The original text of On First Principles has been almost completely lost. It remains extant as De Principiis in fragments faithfully translated into Latin by St. Jerome and in "the not very reliable Latin translation of Rufinus".
However, Origen's supposed belief in reincarnation is controversial. Christian scholar Dan Schlesinger has written an extensive monograph in which he argues that Origen never taught reincarnation.
Reincarnation was taught by several Gnostics such as Marcion of Sinope ( – ). Belief in reincarnation was rejected by several Church Fathers, including Augustine of Hippo in The City of God.
Same thing is expressed about Christ in : "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,..."
The few Druzes who claim to remember their past are called Nateq. Typically souls who have died violent deaths in their previous incarnation will be able to recall memories. Since death is seen as a quick transient state, mourning is discouraged. Unlike other Abrahamic faiths, heaven and hell are spiritual. Heaven is the ultimate happiness received when soul escapes the cycle of rebirths and reunites with the Creator, while hell is conceptualized as the bitterness of being unable to reunite with the Creator and escape from the cycle of rebirth.
There is no permanent heaven or hell in most Hinduism-sects. In the afterlife, based on one's karma, the soul is reborn as another being in heaven, hell, or a living being on earth (human, animal). Gods, too, die once their past karmic merit runs out, as do those in hell, and they return getting another chance on earth. Reincarnation continues, endlessly in cycles, until one embarks on a spiritual pursuit, realizes self-knowledge, and thereby gains Moksha, the final release out of the reincarnation cycles. This release is believed to be a state of utter bliss, which Hindu traditions believe is either related or identical to Brahman, the unchanging reality that existed before the creation of universe, continues to exist, and shall exist after the universe ends (in simpler terms, the Hindu concept of an all-powerful God).
The Upanishads, part of the scriptures of the Hindu traditions, primarily focus on the liberation from reincarnation.
The Bhagavad Gita states:
There are internal differences within Hindu traditions on reincarnation and the state of moksha. For example, the dualistic devotional traditions such as Madhvacharya's Dvaita Vedanta tradition of Hinduism champion a theistic premise, assert that human soul and Brahman are different, loving devotion to Brahman (god Vishnu in Madhvacharya's theology) is the means to release from Samsara, it is the grace of God which leads to moksha, and spiritual liberation is achievable only in after-life ( videhamukti). The non-dualistic traditions such as Adi Shankara's Advaita Vedanta tradition of Hinduism champion a monistic premise, asserting that the individual human soul and Brahman are identical, only ignorance, impulsiveness and inertia leads to suffering through Saṃsāra, in reality there are no dualities, meditation and self-knowledge is the path to liberation, the realization that one's soul is identical to Brahman is moksha, and spiritual liberation is achievable in this life ( Jivanmukta).
Twentieth-century Indian philosopher Sri Aurobindo said that rebirth was the mechanism of evolution – plants are reborn as animals, which are reborn as humans, gaining intelligence each time. He said that this progression was irreversible, and that a human cannot be reborn as an animal.
Karma forms a central and fundamental part of Jain faith, being intricately connected to other of its philosophical concepts like transmigration, reincarnation, liberation, non-violence ( ahiṃsā) and non-attachment, among others. Actions are seen to have consequences: some immediate, some delayed, even into future incarnations. So the doctrine of karma is not considered simply in relation to one life-time, but also in relation to both future incarnations and past lives.Kuhn, Hermann (2001) pp. 226–230 Uttarādhyayana Sūtra 3.3–4 states: "The jīva or the soul is sometimes born in devaloka, sometimes in hell. Sometimes it acquires the body of a asura; all this happens on account of its karma. This jīva sometimes takes birth as a worm, as an insect or as an ant."Krishan, Yuvraj (1997): p. 43. The text further states (32.7): "Karma is the root of birth and death. The souls bound by karma go round and round in the cycle of existence."
Actions and emotions in the current lifetime affect future incarnations depending on the nature of the particular karma. For example, a good and virtuous life indicates a latent desire to experience good and virtuous themes of life. Therefore, such a person attracts karma that ensures that their future births will allow them to experience and manifest their virtues and good feelings unhindered.Kuhn, Hermann (2001) pp. 70–71 In this case, they may take birth in heaven or in a prosperous and virtuous human family. On the other hand, a person who has indulged in immoral deeds, or with a cruel disposition, indicates a latent desire to experience cruel themes of life.Kuhn, Hermann (2001) pp. 64–66 As a natural consequence, they will attract karma which will ensure that they are reincarnated in hell, or in lower life forms, to enable their soul to experience the cruel themes of life.
There is no retribution, judgment or reward involved but a natural consequences of the choices in life made either knowingly or unknowingly. Hence, whatever suffering or pleasure that a soul may be experiencing in its present life is on account of choices that it has made in the past.Kuhn, Hermann (2001) p. 15 As a result of this doctrine, Jainism attributes supreme importance to pure thinking and moral behavior.Rankin, Aidan (2006) p. 67
The Jain texts postulate four gatis, that is states-of-existence or birth-categories, within which the soul transmigrates. The four gatis are: deva (demigods), Manusya-gati (humans), nāraki (hell beings), and tiryañca (animals, plants, and microorganisms).Jaini, Padmanabh (1998) p. 108 The four gatis have four corresponding realms or habitation levels in the vertically tiered Jain universe: deva occupy the higher levels where the heavens are situated; manuṣya and tiryañca occupy the middle levels; and nāraki occupy the lower levels where seven hells are situated.
Single-sensed souls, however, called nigoda,The Jain hierarchy of life classifies living beings on the basis of the senses: five-sensed beings like humans and animals are at the top, and single sensed beings like microbes and plants are at the bottom. and element-bodied souls pervade all tiers of this universe. Nigodas are souls at the bottom end of the existential hierarchy. They are so tiny and undifferentiated, that they lack even individual bodies, living in colonies. According to Jain texts, this infinity of nigodas can also be found in plant tissues, root vegetables and animal bodies.Jaini, Padmanabh (1998) pp. 108–109 Depending on its karma, a soul transmigrates and reincarnates within the scope of this cosmology of destinies. The four main destinies are further divided into sub-categories and still smaller sub-sub-categories. In all, Jain texts speak of a cycle of 8.4 million birth destinies in which souls find themselves again and again as they cycle within samsara.Jaini, Padmanabh (2000) p. 130
In Jainism, God has no role to play in an individual's destiny; one's personal destiny is not seen as a consequence of any system of reward or punishment, but rather as a result of its own personal karma. A text from a volume of the ancient Jain canon, Vyakhyaprajnapti 8.9.9, links specific states of existence to specific karmas. Violent deeds, killing of creatures having five sense organs, eating fish, and so on, lead to rebirth in hell. Deception, fraud and falsehood lead to rebirth in the animal and vegetable world. Kindness, compassion and humble character result in human birth; while austerities and the making and keeping of vows lead to rebirth in heaven.Krishan, Yuvraj (1997) p. 44
Each soul is thus responsible for its own predicament, as well as its own salvation. Accumulated karma represent a sum total of all unfulfilled desires, attachments and aspirations of a soul.Kuhn, Hermann (2001) p. 28Kuhn, Hermann (2001) p. 69 It enables the soul to experience the various themes of the lives that it desires to experience. Hence a soul may transmigrate from one life form to another for countless of years, taking with it the karma that it has earned, until it finds conditions that bring about the required fruits. In certain philosophies, heavens and hells are often viewed as places for eternal salvation or eternal damnation for good and bad deeds. But according to Jainism, such places, including the earth are simply the places which allow the soul to experience its unfulfilled karma.Kuhn, Hermann (2001) pp. 65–66, 70–71
Despite not being widely accepted in Orthodox Judaism, the doctrine of reincarnation attracted some modern Jews involved in mysticism. Hasidic Judaism and followers of Kabbalah remained firm in their belief in the transmigration of souls. Other branches of Judaism, such as Reform Judaism and Conservative, do not teach it.
The 16th century mystical renaissance in communal Safed marked an important development in Kabbalistic thought, with a significant impact on mystical circles and Jewish spirituality. It was also the time when Kabbalah was most widely disseminated. References to gilgul in former Kabbalah became systematized as part of the metaphysical purpose of creation. Isaac Luria (the Ari) brought the issue to the centre of his new mystical articulation, for the first time, and advocated identification of the reincarnations of historic Jewish figures that were compiled by Haim Vital in his Shaar HaGilgulim. Sha'ar Ha'Gilgulim, The Gate of Reincarnations, Chaim Vital Gilgul is contrasted with the other processes in Kabbalah of Ibbur ('pregnancy'), the attachment of a second soul to an individual for (or by) good means, and Dybuk ('possession'), the attachment of a spirit, demon, etc. to an individual for (or by) "bad" means.
In Lurianic Kabbalah, reincarnation is not retributive or fatalistic, but an expression of Divine compassion, the microcosm of the doctrine of cosmic rectification of creation. Gilgul is a heavenly agreement with the individual soul, conditional upon circumstances. Luria's radical system focused on rectification of the Divine soul, played out through Creation. The true essence of anything is the divine spark within that gives it existence. Even a stone or leaf possesses such a soul that "came into this world to receive a rectification". A human soul may occasionally be exiled into lower inanimate, vegetative or animal creations. The most basic component of the soul, the nefesh, must leave at the cessation of blood production. There are four other soul components and different nations of the world possess different forms of souls with different purposes. Each Jewish soul is reincarnated in order to fulfill each of the 613 Mosaic commandments that elevate a particular spark of holiness associated with each commandment. Once all the Sparks are redeemed to their spiritual source, the Mashiach begins. Non-Jewish observance of the 7 Laws of Noah assists the Jewish people, though Biblical adversaries of Israel reincarnate to oppose.
Among the many rabbis who accepted reincarnation are Kabbalists like Nahmanides (the Ramban) and Rabbenu Bahya ben Asher, Levi ibn Habib (the Ralbah), Shelomoh Alkabez, Moses Cordovero, Moses Chaim Luzzatto; early Hasidic masters such as the Baal Shem Tov, Schneur Zalman of Liadi and Nachman of Breslov, as well as virtually all later Hasidic masters; contemporary Hasidic teachers such as DovBer Pinson, Moshe Weinberger and Joel Landau; and key Mitnagdic leaders, such as the Vilna Gaon and Chaim Volozhin and their school, as well as Rabbi Shalom Sharabi (known at the RaShaSH), the Ben Ish Chai of Baghdad, and the Baba Sali. Rabbis who have rejected the idea include Saadia Gaon, David Kimhi, Hasdai Crescas, Joseph Albo, Abraham ibn Daud, Leon de Modena, Solomon ben Aderet, Maimonides and Asher ben Jehiel. Among the Geonim, Hai Gaon argued in favour of gilgulim.
Thunder Cloud's account of his two reincarnations:
Sikhism teaches that the soul passes from one body to another in endless cycles of Saṃsāra, until liberation from the death and rebirth cycle. Each birth begins with karma ( karam), and these actions leave a karmic signature ( karni) on one's soul which influences future rebirths, but it is God whose grace that liberates from the death and rebirth cycle. The way out of the reincarnation cycle, asserts Sikhism, is to live an ethical life, devote oneself to God and constantly remember God's name. The precepts of Sikhism encourage the bhakti of One Lord for Moksha (liberation from the death and rebirth cycle).
Atunwaye (also called atunwa) is the Yoruba term for reincarnation. Predestination is a foundational component of atunwaye. Just prior to incarnation, a person first chooses their Ayanmo (destiny) before also choosing their Akunyelan (lot) in the presence of Olodumare and Orunmila with Olodumare's approval. By atunwaye, a person may incarnate only in a human being and may choose to reincarnate in either sex, regardless of choice in the prior incarnation.
Ipadaway
The most common, widespread Yoruba reincarnation belief is ipadawaye, meaning "the ancestor's rebirth". According to this belief, the reincarnating person will reincarnate along their familial lineage. When a person dies, they go to orun (heaven) and will live with the ancestors in either orunrere (good heaven) or orunapaadi (bad heaven). Reincarnation is believed to be a gift bestowed on ancestors who lived well and experienced a "good" death. Only ancestors living in orunrere may return as grandchildren, reincarnating out of their love for the family or the world. Children may be given names to indicate which ancestor is believed to have returned, such as Babatide ("father has come"), Babatunde ("father has come again"), and Yetunde ("mother has come again").
A "bad" death (which includes deaths of children, cruel, or childless people and deaths by punishments from the gods, accidents, suicides, and gruesome murders) is generally believed to prevent the deceased from joining the ancestors and reincarnating again,
Abiku
Another Yoruba reincarnation belief is abiku, meaning "born to die"
According to Yoruba custom, an abiku is a reincarnating child who repeatedly experiences death and rebirth with the same mother in a vicious cycle. Because childlessness is considered a curse in Yoruba culture, parents with an abiku child will always attempt to help the abiku child by preventing their death. However, abiku are believed to possess a power to ensure their eventual death, so rendering assistance is often a frustrating endeavor causing significant pain to the parents. This pain is believed to bring happiness to the abiku.
Abiku are believed to be a "species of spirit" thought to live apart from people in, for example, secluded parts of villages, jungles, and footpaths. Modern belief in abiku has significantly waned among urban populations, with the decline attributed to improved hygiene and medical care reducing infant mortality rates.
Akudaaya
Akudaaya, meaning "born to die and reappear" (also called akuda), is a Yoruba reincarnation belief of "a person that is dead but has not gone to heaven". Akudaaya is based on the belief that, if a recently deceased person's destiny in that life remained unfulfilled, the deceased cannot join the ancestors and therefore must roam the world. Following death, an akudaaya returns to their previous existence by reappearing in the same physical form. However, the new existence will be lived in a different physical location from the first, and the akudaaya will not be recognized by a still-living relative, should they happen to meet. The akudaaya lives their new existence working to fulfill their destiny from the previous life.
The concept of akudaaya is the subject of Akudaaya (The Wraith), a 2023 Nigerian drama film in the Yoruba language. The film is said to center on a deceased son who "has begun living life as a spirit in another state and has fallen in love".
According to the Spiritist doctrine, an "intelligent principle", also called the "spiritual principle", evolves from simpler organisms such as bacteria, plants, then into non-human animals, then into humans, and then into further stages, including the angelical one of higher wisdom and morality. The period in between physical lives is called erraticity, in which a spirit may wander on Earth or in (either good or bad) spiritual realms. According to this doctrine, free will and cause and effect are the corollaries of reincarnation, and reincarnation provides a mechanism for a person's spiritual evolution in successive lives. The introduction of reincarnation into Spiritist doctrines was mediated by a series of mediums and "magnetizers", such as M. Roustan, a practitioner of animal magnetism, also known as mesmerism, who believed in reincarnation. Roustan played an important role in the development of the mediumistic abilities of Celina Japhet, a medium who assisted Allan Kardec in the codification of his doctrine.
These ideas were consolidated in France. Their spread was facilitated by a movement to reinterpret spiritualism, strongly influenced by mystical, Hindu, Buddhist and socialist tendencies. One of the first groups in France to embrace reincarnation was the Saint-Simonian movement in the 1820s, a group of progressive and utopian thinkers, including Jean Reynaud and Pierre Leroux, who sought to reform society and integrate socialist ideals with a new spiritual vision. These thinkers, influenced by Eastern philosophies "newly discovered" in the West, such as those of Hindu and Buddhist thinkers, adopted the belief that the soul evolved over multiple lives. Reynaud and Leroux, in particular, popularized the idea of reincarnation, arguing that it was a more rational and progressive explanation for the fate of the soul. They drew on the Catholic thinker Pierre-Simon Ballanche. This belief was also promoted by other socialist and mystical thinkers, such as Henri de St. Simon, Barthélemy-Prosper Enfantin and Charles Fourier, who, in addition to discussing the evolution of the soul, saw reincarnation as a key to understanding human progress, both from a spiritual and social point of view. In an attempt to make the theory more "French", Reynaud stated that the ancient Druids, representatives of the Celtic culture of France, also believed in reincarnation, which gave the doctrine a legitimate ancestral origin and connection with national identity. This belief in reincarnation was appropriated by groups of liberal Protestants, Freethought and mesmerists, reaching Kardec through the latter.
The doctrine of reincarnation was criticized by spiritualists outside of France. In the United States, Andrew Jackson Davis considered it a "magnificent mansion built on sand", although he believed in the pre-existence of souls. In England, William Howitt was one of the main critics, describing the doctrine as pitiful and repulsive, arguing that, if it were true, many spirits would have searched in vain for their loved ones in the afterlife.
This idea is echoed in their highest fraternal religious order, Sea Org, whose motto is " Revenimus" ('We Come Back'), and whose members sign a "billion-year contract" as a sign of commitment to that ideal. L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, does not use the word "reincarnation" to describe its beliefs, noting that: "The common definition of reincarnation has been altered from its original meaning. The word has come to mean 'to be born again in different life forms' whereas its actual definition is 'to be born again into the flesh of another body.' Scientology ascribes to this latter, original definition of reincarnation."
The first writings in Scientology regarding past lives date from around 1951 and slightly earlier. In 1960, Hubbard published a book on past lives entitled Have You Lived Before This Life. In 1968 he wrote Mission Into Time, a report on a five-week sailing expedition to Sardinia, Sicily and Carthage to see if specific evidence could be found to substantiate L. Ron Hubbard's recall of incidents in his own past, centuries ago.
Stevenson's work in this regard was impressive enough to Carl Sagan that he referred to what were apparently Stevenson's investigations in his book The Demon-Haunted World as an example of carefully collected empirical data, and though he rejected reincarnation as a parsimonious explanation for the stories, he wrote that the phenomenon of alleged past-life memories should be further researched.
Stevenson's claims have been subject to criticism and debunking, for example by the philosopher Paul Edwards, who contended that Ian Stevenson's accounts of reincarnation were purely anecdotal and Cherry picking.Rockley, Richard. (2002). "Book Review: Children who Remember Previous Lives". SkepticReport. Retrieved 11 October 2014. Edwards attributed the stories to selective thinking, suggestion, and false memories that result from the family's or researcher's belief systems and thus did not rise to the standard of fairly sampled empirical evidence.Edwards, Paul. (1996, reprinted in 2001). Reincarnation: A Critical Examination. Prometheus Books. The philosopher Keith Augustine wrote in critique that the fact that "the vast majority of Stevenson's cases come from countries where a religious belief in reincarnation is strong, and rarely elsewhere, seems to indicate that cultural conditioning (rather than reincarnation) generates claims of spontaneous past-life memories." Edwards also objected that reincarnation invokes assumptions that are inconsistent with modern science.Cogan, Robert. (1998). Critical Thinking: Step by Step. University Press of America. pp. 202–203. "Edwards catalogs common sense objections which have been made against reincarnation. 1) How does a soul exist between bodies? 2) Tertullian's objection: If there is reincarnation, why are not babies born with the mental abilities of adults? 3) Reincarnation claims an infinite series of prior incarnations. Evolution teaches that there was a time when humans did not yet exist. So reincarnation is inconsistent with modern science. 4) If there is reincarnation, then what is happening when the population increases? 5) If there is reincarnation, then why do so few, if any people, remember past lives?... To answer these objections believers in reincarnation must accept additional assumptions... Acceptance of these silly assumptions, Edwards says, amounts to a crucifixion of one's intellect." As the vast majority of people do not remember previous lives and there is no empirically documented mechanism known that allows personality to survive death and travel to another body, positing the existence of reincarnation is subject to the principle that "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence". Further, Ian Wilson wrote that a large number of Stevenson's cases consisted of poor children remembering wealthy lives or belonging to a higher caste. In these societies, claims of reincarnation have been used as schemes to obtain money from the richer families of alleged former incarnations.Wilson, Ian. (1981). Mind Out of Time: Reincarnation Investigated. Gollancz.
Stevenson also claimed there were a handful of cases that suggested evidence of xenoglossy, including two where a subject under hypnosis allegedly conversed with people speaking the foreign language, instead of merely being able to recite foreign words. Sarah Thomason, a linguist (and skeptical researcher) at the University of Michigan, reanalyzed these cases, concluding that "the linguistic evidence is too weak to provide support for the claims of xenoglossy".Sarah Thomason "Xenoglossy" . In Gordon Stein. (1996). The Encyclopedia of the Paranormal. Prometheus Books.
Other academic researchers who have undertaken similar pursuits include Jim B. Tucker, Antonia Mills, Satwant Pasricha, Godwin Samararatne, and Erlendur Haraldsson, but Stevenson's publications remain the most well known.
Past-life regression has been critiqued for being unethical on the grounds that it lacks any evidence to support its claims and that it increases one's susceptibility to false memories. Luis Cordón states that this can be problematic as it creates under the guise of therapy. The memories are experienced as being as vivid as those based on events experienced in one's life and impossible to differentiate from true memories of actual events, and accordingly any damage can be difficult to undo.
APA accredited organizations have challenged the use of past-life regressions as a therapeutic method, calling it unethical. Additionally, the hypnotic methodology that underpins past-life regression has been criticized as placing the participant in a vulnerable position, susceptible to implantation of false memories. Because the implantation of false memories may be harmful, Gabriel Andrade argues that past-life regression violates the principle of first, do no harm (non-maleficence), part of the Hippocratic Oath.
Comparison
Classical Greek Philosophy
Mystery cults
Later authors
Celtic paganism
Germanic paganism
Judaism
Christianity
Gnosticism
Taoism
European Middle Ages
Renaissance and Early Modern period
19th to 20th centuries
Religions and philosophies
Buddhism
The rebirth cycles continue endlessly, states Buddhism, and it is a source of duhkha (suffering, pain), but this reincarnation and duhkha cycle can be stopped through nirvana. The anattā doctrine of Buddhism is a contrast to Hinduism, the latter asserting that "soul exists, it is involved in rebirth, and it is through this soul that everything is connected".
Christianity
Early
Roman Catholic Church
Druze
Hinduism
Islam
Ghulat sects
Jainism
Judaism
Inuit
Ho-Chunk
Sikhism
Traditional African religions
Yoruba
Serer religion
New religious and spiritual movements
Spiritism
Theosophy
Anthroposophy
Modern astrology
Scientology
Wicca
Reincarnation and science
Claims of memories of past lives
Past life regression
See also
Sources
External links
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