Reincarnation

[Guest guest]

The following questions and answers on reincarnation may be of interest to

others on the list. I am not an expert on this theory but have attempted to

put across some of the interesting ideas that come across through this

dialogue with Ron.

.....jay

 

 

Reincarnation:

 

>Message: 1

> Wed, 14 Jul 1999 01:09:58 -0400

> " Ron Hooft "

>Re: Some questions?

>

>I now have a question for you, Jay.

>

>The idea of reincarnation is a complex one and one that has raised a number

of questions for me. Questions that seem to suggest an unworkability for me.

>

>How does a soul enter a new body? When? Can a person be born without one?

>Would it be conscious?

 

The popular idea in reincarnation is that soul associates itself with the

conceived cell at the time of conception. Consciousness is the 'key' that is

associated with the idea of the 'soul' hence it can be said the cell on

conception becomes 'conscious'.

 

>These are genaric questions because thye apply to both christianity and

>Hinduism. (in fact, they apply to all religions that believe in a soul.)

>Are we drawn to them? Do we wait until a couple has sex and slip in when we

>know it has taken? Do we as souls fight over the new body? Is it like

>sperm, a competition to see who gets there first?

 

I do not think there is any fight regarding which soul is born. The idea

behind reincarnation is that the individual with all his/her inherent

qualities will 'feel at one' with the 'right' cell at conception and thus

begins rebirth.

 

 

>The logistics don't seem to make sense to me. A dead and lifeless body

>suddenly has life only when this soul enters it? Where does it enter? When,

>and how?

 

The logistics are all right if you accept the hierarchy associated with the

idea of body, mind and consciousness. The mind and soul (consciousness)

cannot be defined as being here or there in space or time and ideas of it

moving from here to there are meaningless. Ideas of here and there -

entering here - leaving there are concepts of the mind - hence to say the

mind/consciousness was here and then moved there in space/time is

meaningless. (Space/time are concepts of the mind so how can something which

is a by-product of the mind dictate these qualities to the mind and

consciousness?). The best words I can use are like 'spontaneously feel at

one with'

 

>Christians, of course, see god taking the time to put each little soul in a

>body. How does Hinduism see it?

 

Hinduism does not have God sitting and sorting out individual souls. They

say just as all physical objects move by law of cause and effect - in the

same manner the mind complex of the individual too moves along driven by the

law of cause and effect. Each mind complex will feel at one with another

cell at conception and continue its journey dictated by law of cause and

effect (sometimes referred to as law of karma).

 

>What I see is a constant imigration and emegration of atoms and particles

>through out our body at all times.

>This is a form of constant dying and rebirth. I can see it in the theory of

>the big bang, where the universe expands and then falls back in on itself

>only to expand again. Those are practical and logical forms of

reincarnation.

 

Ideas of cycles are interesting!! You can even say that a straight line is

really the circumference of a circle with an infinite radius!

 

>But a separate soul that has to jump in and out of envelopes? The logistics

>are just not there for me.

>Ron

 

Let me give you some interesting possibilities that reincarnation offers

that may get everyone thinking.

 

(1) Even if one case is found (we have to make sure there is no fraud) where

one individual is able to recount his/her past life in vivid detail

(including some information that absolutely no one would have known) -- then

Science has to take on the challenge and try and answer, " How did this

information travel? " There may be no genetic relationship between the two

personalities.

Earlier you had objected to this and suggested that some kind of 'atomic

blueprint' was somehow left behind by the first personality and then it got

transferred to the other personality through the food chain......

Well we then have to find an incident with two personalities where no food

chain link could be possible due to geographic/physical restraints. (I am

pretty sure you will find such incidents). Then what other physical

phenomenon would science use? Science has to tackle this question -- How did

the information travel???

 

(2) Ideas of why identical twins both brought up in the same environment

will exhibit different characters -- better explained.

 

(3) Child prodigies -- better explained.

 

(4) Phobias -- say fire, heights, water - may be better explained by saying

perhaps the person died through the above in the past life hence the severe

fear of heights, fire or water etc.

 

(5) Strong physical attraction towards person or people of the same

gender -- a better explanation may be that the individual(s) have switched

genders in the process of rebirth (this is accepted in the theory of

reincarnation) hence this physical attraction towards the same gender

remains as the mind carries the inherent characteristics while the body is

now of different gender.....interesting explanation!

 

I am sure list members can give lots of pros and cons on both sides of the

debate. Let us see what the other members make of reincarnation?

 

jay