The concept of reincarnation and the religions that have it as one of their core beliefs is shrouded in such great mystery. Interestingly, no holy books, testaments, and strong primary sources provide any answers regarding its origination. We do know that reincarnation originated with the Hindus and has been a central tenet of the Hindu religion as well as other religions formed later in history such as Jainism, Sikhism, Druidism, and Spiritism. The Buddhist religion also adopted this view of the afterlife even though they do not refer to it as reincarnation but instead “rebirth” because of their belief in the non-existence of the soul. The ancient traditions of these religions have taught its followers conceive of us earthly inhabitants as undergoing the “wheel of life” (samsara) or a interminable cycle of life, death, and rebirth. After our flesh experiences death, the immortalized and immaterialized force or energy that once occupied our flesh transmigrates to a different body, being, or thing. What that next body, being, or thing that our energy will then occupy is contingent upon our qualitative moral and immoral volitional acts in which determine the level of or mixture of good and bad karma that we reap upon ourselves during our lives. The fortune and misfortune that we experience in our present life as well as our next life will be consequentially proportional to the good and bad choices we make.
This issue, when it comes to religion and the afterlife, is trying to decipher which is wrong and right, believable or unbelievable, rational or irrational, foundational or unfoundational. Seemingly, no matter how much scientific research is conducted to prove, disprove, or at least explain religion, in the end, we find ourselves coming back to the same familiar place, in that, it is all based on the matter of faith and what is most cogent and emotionally fulfilling for the individual who believes in it. Though nevertheless, scientific insight assists us to reach for the clearest and most satisfactory personal conclusion possible regardless of the impossibility in attaining full disproof or proof of any particular theory, hypothesis, or claim.
The only empirical evidence that has been provided to us in support of reincarnation being an actual part of reality is by asking those who have underwent hypnosis and allegedly saw into their past lives. Conversely, the latest parapsychological research in this regard shows the probability of inaccurately accessing a real memory is far too great. Researchers have conducted experiments with many people who have undergone the hypnotic process to access the memories of their past lives. These believers of reincarnation were asked to read out loud a list of non-famous names, and then afterwards were made to wait for two hours before reading the same non-famous names they saw before in addition to a number of famous names and a number of non-famous names not seen prior. The task for them was to correctly identify which names were famous. It was found that the believers of reincarnation in comparison to the non-believers of reincarnation were nearly twice as likely to wrongly identify the names. They tended to misidentify the non-famous names they had seen in the prior first task as being famous names. This is a sure indicator of what is called a source-monitoring error in which means that those with susceptibility to such an error will have difficulty recognizing where a certain memory might come from.
When it comes to trying to accurately access such memories by means of hypnosis, it is very likely that whatever thoughts the person experiences, they are mistaking those thoughts to be memories of past lives because of the long and drawn out instructions engaging them in “potential” ideas. Through the suggestive influence of the instructor the hypnotized individual gains familiarity with his thoughts and ideas of such “past events” in which transition him/her into a mental state which may be likely misconceived as a vision. The euphoria of crossing over such an unthinkable mind and body interface to conjure up such vivid visualizations creates an illusory effect. The deep mind-penetration enhances the illusive spiritualizing effect of the current mental state further convincing the individual that they are actually coming into contact with memories of their past lives. They are unable to distinguish between a real memory and a thought that has been suggested to them. Parapsychological studies show that those who are prone to make source-monitoring errors also have very vivid imaginations and have strong creative minds more so than the average individual.
Many people seek reincarnation therapy because they have the belief that their current depression, severe distress, anxiety, sleeplessness, or psychological problems can be dealt with if they gain clarification of who they were in past lives. All of these problems can also contribute to source-monitoring errors while in the process of hypnosis and trying to access memories. In this case people may be too highly misdirected in their motivation to explain and diagnose their issue.
A certain distinct approach to all of this involving estimation and mathematics is significant in querying the concept of reincarnation. As of July 1, 2011 the world population has been estimated to be 6.97 million. There is a major difference in world population today compared to what it was in the year 1350 when it was around 300 million. Many things have taken place since then. Though the world population has been slowed by such cataclysmic events: the Bubonic Plague, the Great Famine, the Hundred Years War, World War 1 and 2; it has still grown incrementally thus indicating a very necessary query. If there were 300 million people living on earth in 1350 where did the new 5.7 billion new souls come from? If reincarnation does not involve new energies and souls being created then how can populations grow through time if no new energies and souls are created? Did each person from generations and centuries ago contain six souls to emanate and now constitute the current number of earthly inhabitants?
If people’s memories of past lives are so accurate then why do we have so many people claiming to have been Jesus Christ, Alexander the Great, Caesar Augustus, Galileo, etc. ? Can we say the reason why so many people claim to have been these famous historical figures is because people centuries and generations ago did possess more than one energy force or soul? If so, then is that still happening today?
Perhaps a more significant query about reincarnation concerns not necessarily its level of plausibility but rather to what level is it legitimately meritorious. Is this system of morality actually facilitating the preservation and protection of life instead of facilitating its destruction? Reincarnation is a system of morality that has had such profound effects on many societies so much that it causes them to starve to death. In India, the people will refuse to kill livestock or any living thing suitable for eating because of their adherence to Ahimsa which is the traditional belief of the unconditional love, kindness and non-violence that is essential to be shown to all living things by all other living things. In India no one should bring any harm to any living thing because everyone and everything is connected through reincarnation. Animals are considered to be pitiful since they do not have the acute cognizance in being able to change their personal circumstances, to effectively avoid suffering, and to alter what they may reap from karma.
Some may argue in defense of the sacredness of the cow saying they are the only means for plowing fields since tractors cannot be warranted because of insufficient amount of land per Indian civilian. Even if the land mass were able to be increased the annual monsoon season would render the tractor useless through the extreme softening of the soil which would not allow the tractor to till. They argue that India’s paramount causes of death are urban overcrowding, inadequate sanitation, and a lack of medical facilities instead of it being a lack of meat being acquired by means of cow slaughtering. According to the defenders of India's religious traditions, India is doing itself great justice in following this superstition. On the contrary, a surplus of cattle cannot possibly be non-detrimental to the environment, civilians, and even the cattle themselves. Regional lack of fodder and water along with overstocking and overgrazing, cattle are becoming ineffectual due to such unbridled chronic malnutrition, parasitic infestations, and immunodeficiencies in the livestock. India in all of its regions and agricultural areas largely populated with poorly nourished cattle are also fiscally stretching themselves far too thin because of the awful expenses in vaccinations, which too often become vitiated due to the lack of proper refrigeration.
So in conclusion, what should one personally say about reincarnation? No matter what scientific basis or substantial proof may be provided either in favor or disfavor of such a thing, there will always be a number of people to believe in it and disbelieve in it. In the end, it all boils down to a matter of faith and personal satisfaction for the believer and non-believer.
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