Reincarnation of the human soul: theories, evidence and facts

The whole world is one big interconnected spiral, where everything is correlated with each other and moves in turns. It is not surprising that many people in all eras have felt within themselves the memory of past lives. This manifests itself in streams of inexplicable emotions that seem to attract or repel from a person, place, or object. According to the theory of transmigration of souls, this relationship is explained by the nature of the information received from past experience. Transmitted through the time spiral, it affects the current incarnation and after the reincarnation of the soul. A bad place, where something terrible may have happened to a past incarnation, or a person towards whom one feels sympathy or antipathy; all this can be waves of memory that comes from a past life.

The question of whether the reincarnation of the soul exists has always worried our ancestors, and in many Eastern religions the topic of transmigration of souls occupies a very prominent place (for example, in Buddhism or Shintoism). Have you asked yourself questions about who you are, where you came from, and what is reincarnation? You are now in the right place.

Soul or spirit? What is meant by the concept of reincarnation

Before discussing the philosophy of immortality, it is necessary to understand the meaning of the basic terms adopted in parapsychology and theology.

The concept of reincarnation is the transmigration of an immaterial substance into another physical body. Christianity, like other Abrahamic cults (Judaism, Islam), denies this possibility.

Incarnation is the life of each individual immaterial shell, the current earthly incarnation.

Philosophy of immortality: the eternal cycle of lives

What lies behind the concepts of “spirit” and “soul” and can these words be considered synonyms?

A living creature has several ethereal copies. This is an energy and information cast of the current incarnation. An entity that, having separated after death, stays nearby for some time, but then rushes into the astral plane. Spirit is a synthesis of experience, knowledge, actions and deeds; allows you to remember forgotten things, is responsible for emotions, attitude towards God, sins and good actions.

Therefore, many esotericists say that the Spirit reincarnates, holding the key to knowledge about past journeys.

The soul is called the layer between the physical and spiritual planes. She is a linear direction. These are thoughts, feelings, desires. Spirituality is a vertical: it helps to understand purpose. Connects with God, is responsible for improvement, rejects dubious pleasures and vices.

This video presents a powerful mantra for spiritual growth:

The highest power that can change the world does not come to every body, theologians say. The higher the level of consciousness, the more likely the descent of Grace. Examples: Jesus Christ, Dalai Lama, Buddha.

Rejection of transmigration theory

Among the adherents of the great religions of the world, the majority of Christians, Jews, and Muslims reject the transmigration of souls. Oh, of course, there was a time when Christians also believed in transmigration. Origen and other Church Fathers accepted it until Justinian anathematized those who believed in reincarnation and the pre-existence of the soul. As for the Jews, it can be seen that in the Kabbalah the idea of transmigration plays the most important role. In fact, the Kabbalists created their own theory because they could not explain what was happening in the world through others.

Let us recall the main provisions of religions that do not accept transmigration, and therefore support the doctrine of the uniqueness of birth: God created the soul out of nothing at the moment of birth, which is the first and last for everyone, we did not exist before and were suddenly created by God, and after death each of we will continue to live in heaven or hell to enjoy or suffer there for eternity. Among modern spiritualists we also find supporters of the theory of single birth. But there are also millions and millions of people all over the world who believe in the transmigration of souls, and here they find solace, tranquility, reconciliation with their lives, answers to eternal questions about the meaning of existence.

The theory of reincarnation: principles of teaching

There is little knowledge about reincarnation. Humanity is trying to find answers to the question of how this happens. What is the basis for choosing a thin body for a baby? Why do we not remember past experiences?

Spiritual growth

In the 19th century, the theory was actively developed and supported by the esotericist and philosopher Helena Blavatsky. Her works are relevant to this day and cause a lot of controversy. Among the main versions there are 4:

The soul moves into the body of the opposite sex. According to parapsychologists, this is necessary so that we constantly receive a variety of knowledge about the world.
From the lowest to the highest. The physical body is formed in the womb. Born, grows, matures and ages. Everyone was once an animal or a plant. Not everyone agrees with the opinion. Some scientists believe that animals and people are reincarnated differently.
There is no turning back. We cannot go one step lower. This contradicts the laws of development.
The soul enters the body in the 4th month of pregnancy. Immediately after birth, she forgets about previous deeds.

The principle that denies regress correlates with the third law of dialectics. Hegel's example: a flower opens and rejects the bud. The fruit set on the flower denies it.

There is a version that actors live not only their own fate, but also those they play. The image of the hero inhabits the actor and controls him. Therefore, the acting or buffoonery craft was considered “demonic” for a long time and was not encouraged by the Orthodox Church.

Evil may be hiding under the mask

The resettlement theory tries to find answers to other questions:

For example, what will happen when Consciousness finally becomes stronger, learns the lessons necessary on the karmic path and achieves Enlightenment?
What happens to those who have fulfilled not only their earthly, but also their Higher destiny?

Adherents of the theory that the Earth is a planet for immature and young creatures believe that after the completion of the cycle we rush into other spheres. The doctrine is based on the belief in the existence of planets invisible to the eye, where those who have completed the task live.

This video talks about the Zef technique, which opens access to past lives:

Poets and writers tried to comprehend the mystery of existence and death. This is how A.S. saw the future. Pushkin:

No, all of me will not die - the soul is in the treasured lyre
My ashes will survive and decay will escape.

Undoubtedly, Pushkin, like his contemporaries, is a Christian and believes in immortality. But here's what the genius says next:

And I will be glorious as long as I am in the sublunary world
At least one piit will be alive.

In these words one can see a direct indication of the likelihood of reincarnation. The author says that thoughts and feelings will be conveyed to the reader not by followers, but by him in the guise of another poet.

What are the origins of this doctrine?

Obviously, the origin of this reincarnation hypothesis is the fear of death. The Holy Fathers teach that many of the pagan “gods” of antiquity were people famous in their time, they were kings or rulers. Therefore, subsequent generations of people, not understanding the difference between the veneration of ancient great figures and the essence of divinity, instead of worldly, earthly veneration, deified these great ones.

The idea of reincarnation probably arose in the same way. It can be assumed that some ancient famous sage or king, or perhaps two in one - a wise king, wanting to calm his own fear of death, came up with this story about the transmigration of souls. Well, then, his subjects, revering the king and his wisdom, accepted this teaching as a religious doctrine or the ultimate truth.

Here, of course, we are talking about Hinduism, i.e. a conglomerate of Indian pagan religions, united by certain common principles, in particular, this very doctrine of reincarnation. By the way, such an opinion about the ancient origin of this teaching can be quite well illustrated or even justified historically.

As the history of religions teaches, Hindus, after all, were very, very concerned with questions about death; about what it is; and is there any life after it. Probably this increased interest is some kind of spiritual and national trait.

And in this regard, we can point to two famous historical figures: Prince (royal son) Siddhartha Gautama, better known as Buddha, and also the Venerable Prince Joasaph (November 19/December 2). Both lived in India, and both were concerned to the very depths of their being by the existence of evil on earth in its various manifestations, as well as death.

True, everyone went their own way. Buddha created his own religious system, which we will return to when criticizing the reincarnation hypothesis. And Prince Joasaph accepted Christianity, finding in it a complete answer to all the questions that worried him, in particular, about death and life after it. Which will also be discussed below.

Based on all this, it can be assumed that long before them, in one of the principalities of India there was a certain famous and wise king, who, for his own peace of mind, came up with this theory of the transmigration of souls, then sharing these speculations with his subjects.

Perhaps he himself did not attach much importance to this opinion, considering it only one of the options for the doctrine of death. But already his followers-adepts made of this a full-fledged religious system, which spread throughout India and constitutes one of the main tenets of Hinduism.

As for the philosophical idea of reincarnation, here it is possible to indicate its followers much more accurately. These are the ancient Greek thinkers Pythagoras, Empedocles, Plato and, possibly, although it is doubtful, Socrates. And also later philosophers: Plotinus; Plutarch; Neoplatonists and Neo-Pythagoreans. The latter returned to this idea under the influence of Christianity and, one must think, in opposition to it.

Let's start with Empedocles, who said about Pythagoras that he foresaw many phenomena of the world (several dozen), meaning the constant rebirth of people. This philosopher himself said about himself that he was once not only a boy, but also a girl, a bird, a dumb fish, and even a bush and a tree.

Reincarnation is described in much more detail in Plato’s dialogues “Phaedo”, “Phaedrus” and “Republic”. True, the quotation attributed to Socrates in the first of them (“Phaedo”): “If the immortal is indestructible, the soul cannot perish when death approaches it: after all, from all that has been said it follows that it will not accept death and will not be dead!” it only says that Socrates believed and taught about the immortality of the soul, but not about its transmigration into another body.

This is also confirmed by his “Apology”, i.e. his dying defensive speech after he was inexplicably sentenced by the Athenian authorities to drink hemlock with deadly poison. And here, on the threshold of death, this great philosopher and simply courageous man, defending his spiritual and intellectual truth, really expresses hope for immortality. But not in the form of reincarnation, about which he did not say a single word in his “Apology”!

Therefore, I consider it doubtful and unfounded to attribute the doctrine of reincarnation to this great philosopher and sage. Most likely, I repeat, he really believed and taught about the immortality of the soul, but he did not at all believe that it was achieved by an endless series of migrations from body to body. In any case, we have no evidence that he held this erroneous opinion.

But let's return to Plato. In the above-mentioned dialogues he has a whole developed doctrine about such relocations. Moreover, probably under the influence of Hinduism, he believed that the soul, burdened with low carnal desires, descends from heaven into the human body. But then, if she remains in the body of, for example, a thinker or philosopher, then, after the death of a person, she can again rise to the heavenly heights and live there.

But if a person leads an intemperate lifestyle, then after death his soul can move into the body of even some animal. For example, if he was a glutton during life, then after death he can become a pig. If he was an offender and a fighter, then after death he can become a tiger or a hawk. If he were excessively lustful, then his soul could inhabit some particularly lustful animal, for example, a March cat, etc.

All this, I repeat, copies one to one the basic ideas of Hinduism about reincarnation. Moreover, the law according to which the soul of this or that person moves into this or that body is called the law of karma. True, this law determines the cause-and-effect relationship between a person’s good and evil deeds and the reward for them already during his lifetime. But in Hinduism it extends further - into the imaginary future lives of a person.

I will not dwell on the doctrine of reincarnation among the Neoplatonists, which was a clear attempt, on the one hand, to refute, and on the other hand, to provide a satisfactory alternative to the Christian doctrine of the immortality of the soul and its corresponding posthumous reward in heaven or hell.

Let us also note that this same doctrine of the transmigration of souls appears from time to time in heretical, sectarian branches of both Christianity (for example, in some Gnostic sects), Judaism and Islam. The same phenomenon can be traced in current artificially created religions and religious movements: transcendentalism; Theosophy; anthroposophy; New Age movements.

They all have one thing in common: a satanic “candy” in the form of reincarnation, which should replace the Orthodox teaching about the immortality of the soul and its afterlife fate. But in reality, this devilish “candy,” as we will see below, turns out to be made of the highest grade crap, only wrapped in a beautiful package, supposedly “immortality.” This issue should be considered in more detail in the appropriately titled chapter:

Reincarnation and atheism

As you know, the latter teaches that the soul is mortal, and there is no afterlife. If a person dies, it means everything in him has died: both the body, which is natural, and the soul, which is already unnatural. After all, the products of the body, all these material or, more precisely, material objects are not eternal. Sooner or later they are destroyed over time. It follows from this that the body that created them is also mortal, which we observe experimentally every time we bury the dead in a grave.

But with the soul, this analogy creates a problem. After all, we say that, for example, Ludwig Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” is immortal; and indeed, it will not die as long as humanity and its civilization (culture) exist. But if some derivative, a product of the soul, is immortal, then why is the soul itself “mortal”?!

And many more such problems can be found regarding the teaching of atheism about the mortality of the soul. And the most important of them is that the atheist has no evidence of this false hypothesis of his. And indeed, there is a great deal of evidence that the soul is immortal and after the death of a person remains in one or another afterlife.

This is the widespread belief in her immortality in all peoples of the world before the advent of atheism; These are numerous appearances to those living on earth of their relatives or close relatives of the dead, their appearances from the other world, of which there is a great abundance of evidence.

But atheism has no evidence of the mortality of the soul, because its main argument: “Science has proven it,” here misfires completely and is absolutely invalid. After all, science studies only material objects, and the soul and its afterlife are clearly something immaterial. Therefore, science can neither prove nor disprove the afterlife of the soul.

Therefore, the atheist, deprived of any arguments and evidence here, is left with only a dull, cruel and terrible belief that this is exactly so: they say, “the human soul is mortal; therefore you will die, and you will never exist again!

All this indicates that this teaching is unnatural; it is contrary to all the aspirations and fibers of the soul. And indeed, it is a terrible nightmare and a nightmarish horror to ever understand (and this always happens to all children raised by atheists, at one age or another) that the time will definitely, inevitably and steadily come when you will never, will never! Everything will be: peace, sun, green grass, other people - but you will be gone forever!!!

And so, against the backdrop of this atheistic super nightmare, Satan comes and offers his shitty “candy” in the form of reincarnation, which supposedly also offers a person immortality. Of course, against the background of the monstrous teaching of atheism about the mortality of the soul, this looks like an alternative and even a panacea.

Here is the same primitive logic as in not very smart detective films about two Gestapo men: one is terribly evil and scary, threatens torture, stamps his feet, demanding that the prisoner tell the secret. But the other is intelligent, gentle, kind, so the unfortunate prisoner of the atheistic “Gestapo”, having experienced the torture of the first, reveals his spiritual secret to the second, supposedly kind, and... accepts the doctrine of reincarnation.

This is the secret of its current spread. As the saying goes: “For lack of fish, there’s fish for cancer”! It, i.e. This spread of the doctrine of the transmigration of souls from one body to another occurs against the background of a general retreat from Christianity and the development of atheism. The very doctrine of reincarnation turns out to be half-hearted here: it also rejects Christianity (which will be discussed in more detail below); and the atheistic doctrine of the mortality of the soul, which is extremely contrary to itself (i.e., the soul), is also not accepted.

But let’s look in more detail at what the main crapness of this satanic “candy” is. Moreover, to begin with, let us turn to nothing other than the development of Hinduism - Buddhism.

Reincarnation and Buddhism

It is believed that the doctrine of reincarnation is also contained in Buddhism. This is true, because Buddha began as a Hindu ascetic, believing in this teaching. However, as he became enlightened (and the word “Buddha” means “enlightened”), he began to understand its shortcomings and mistakes, eventually creating his own teaching, which, in his opinion, allows him to avoid not only these shortcomings and mistakes, but also the reincarnation.

Therefore, it is worthy of all research: why did the wise enough Buddha decide to get rid of this devilish “candy” called reincarnation?! After all, it seems to give “immortality”?

But the fact is that a very cruel ethical experiment was carried out on him, as well as on Prince Joasaph, in infancy, childhood and youth. Prisoners in a special palace, according to the plan of their fathers, the kings, they should not have known that there was evil in the world, but should have seen only the good and the good.

When it turned out that such confinement in the palace was in itself painful and extremely unpleasant for the young princes, their fathers released them. Where they saw the sick (one of the types of earthly evil), the elderly (another type of the same evil) and, finally, learned about the existence of death. So, as we see, death here is only one of the earthly evils.

Both Buddha and Prince Joasaph wanted to get rid of all types of this evil, and not just one of them - death. Therefore, the latter came to Christianity, becoming himself a Christian and a Christian ascetic, for he, together with his teacher Varlaam, were glorified among the saints.

St. Joseph the Indian

Buddha, who lived long before the coming of Christ and, naturally, was not familiar with Christianity, reasoned differently. But he understood quite correctly that the birth of a person into the world is suffering; his entire earthly life is a constant chain of suffering; finally, death itself is, all the more, suffering.

Therefore, Buddha refused the “candy” that demons offer to those who fear death, i.e. reincarnation, realizing that it only leads to an endless chain of suffering. No, in the spirit of Hinduism, he believed that reincarnation exists. But in his religious system he was looking for a way to get rid of it, stopping it once and for all, interrupting this endless chain of births, suffering and deaths.

Another thing is that in reality everything was different, and reincarnation does not exist in reality. But the Buddha’s reasoning about it in itself exposes this devilish “candy”, removes the tinsel of its beautiful wrapper, and in fact it turns out to be complete and, moreover, infinite evil. Which is sold to a person under the guise of some kind of alternative to the Christian teaching about the immortality of the soul and its posthumous bliss in paradise and the Kingdom of Heaven.

Karmic tasks and spiritual experiences of past lives

Mistakes, sins, unfinished business and unworthy behavior - these factors aggravate karma with each birth. Bad deeds committed earlier have to be corrected in their current form. And, conversely, the worse the behavior today, the more painful it will be tomorrow.

Fulfilling a karmic task means making the next life easier

An example is domestic violence: a woman marries a tyrant and constantly suffers beatings and humiliation. Proponents of reincarnation see this as a direct connection with the past. Most likely, she was a cruel and uncompromising man, accustomed to solving problems from a position of strength.

You can determine your karmic task online by following the link.

Everyone has karmic tasks and debts. The Spirit takes them upon themselves, accepting obedience. This is a repetition of unlearned material. Only at a different level of consciousness and experience.

Buddha warned: if you want to know what you did in a past life, look at how you live now. If you want to know how you will live your next incarnation, look at what you are doing today.

People say:

It is a sin to laugh at the poor and sick.

The original Russian proverb conceals the sacred meaning of the doctrine of karma. She paraphrases the words of the Enlightened One in her own way and instructs that one should not offend the defenseless. Next time you will switch places.

Several documented cases

Experiments aimed at establishing the facts of reincarnation were carried out long before various equipment and scientific laboratories appeared. Thus, in eastern countries there were unique burial traditions. A puncture was made to a deceased person in a certain part of the body, and when a newborn was born, they looked for a mole on it in a similar place. Have you ever wondered what your birthmarks are? Perhaps their appearance is not accidental.

Many years later, researcher Jim Tucker became interested in this custom and documented the most interesting cases of reincarnation. Thus, one of his texts says that a year after the death of his grandfather, a baby was born. There was a strange mole on his arm, exactly in the place where a mark had been left before the funeral of the deceased.

But the weirdness didn't end there. A few years later, when the boy began to talk, he suddenly addressed his grandmother in a diminutive form, just as his grandfather liked to do. After the death of her husband, no one called the elderly widow that. Everyone was in deep shock, and the boy’s mother admitted that she saw her father in a dream, who did not want to part with his family and was looking for a way to return home.

Historical facts about reincarnation

In the theological reasonings of St. Augustine there are reflections on this topic. Emperor Justinian completely excluded the possibility of mentioning rebirth. The laws of the Middle Ages were so harsh that it was easy to be branded a heretic and end up at the stake for seditious thoughts. The gloomy Middle Ages, known for the persecution of dissidents, purposefully destroyed the idea. Not only witches who fell under the hot hand of the Inquisition deserved the fire, but also anyone who dared to express an opinion that differed from the generally accepted one.

Grand Inquisitor Torquemada

It became possible to freely express thoughts during the Renaissance; philosophers received the right to study the phenomenon without fear of being classified as a clan of witches and sorcerers.

Voltaire, Diderot and other brilliant minds expressed judgments about the posthumous journey. The theory of rebirth formed the basis of Carl Jung's writings on the Collective Unconscious.

The Eastern direction of religion has always adhered to this concept of existence. It is still one of the components of the global culture of the peoples of the region.

Fatal wound

Modern scientists also had to deal with the example of reincarnation. A boy was born in a Turkish town. Over time, he began to claim that he remembered numerous fragments from a past life in which he was a soldier. The boy said that when he was a soldier, he was shot with a large-caliber gun. The wound turned out to be fatal. He first began talking about his memories at a very young age, having absolutely no idea what reincarnation was. Later it became known that a file with a medical history of a soldier who was admitted for treatment with a wound to the right area of his face was found in the archives of a local clinic. A week later he died. Is it worth saying that the boy was born with multiple congenital defects on the right side of his face?

Reincarnation exists: real facts and evidence

To believe or not to believe in this or that concept of the universe is everyone’s business. It's natural to question rumors. But there are facts in history that defy traditional explanation.

Under the influence of circumstances or deep hypnosis, people remembered previous incarnations. In their stories, they gave details that a priori could not have known due to age, place of residence and everyday experience.

The James Leininger Story

It flew around the world and made scientists who study the processes occurring in the brain and responsible for memory think.

The boy James Leininger became a sensation. He described in detail the events of the Second World War. The child described in detail what the plane he flew on looked like and even said his name. At first, parents and doctors did not believe James, considering his stories a figment of childhood fantasy and an excessive passion for airplanes. But after working with a psychologist, we managed to find out that all the details were valid. The list of pilots who died off the coast of Japan included the name of James Houston, which the child called.

American psychotherapist Carol Bowman said that James' memories are nothing more than post-mortem experiences. Real proof of relocation. Painful experiences were recorded on the matrix as a result of the tragic death of the pilot. Therefore, in the subsequent incarnation it was possible to remember the past.

The Graham Huxtable Story

Memory manifests itself in strange and unusual abilities that come out of nowhere. This could be skills or knowledge of ancient languages. There are cases where, under the influence of deep hypnosis, subjects spoke in a foreign dialect, and when they woke up, they did not remember this.

This is what happened to Graham Huxtable.

During a hypnosis session, he “turned” into a commoner sailor who lived many centuries ago. In a state of trance, Graham used unknown nautical terms and spoke with an accent. The hypnotic sleep lasted an hour and was recorded on audio tape. At the end of the session, the volunteer did not even remember what happened, and when he listened to the recording, he was surprised. The author of the experiment, Eimall Bloxham, believes that the visions experienced by the test subject are memories of lives.

The video talks about regression research conducted at the Moscow Institute of Hypnosis:

Plato on transmigration

Using mythological language, Plato described in the Phaedrus the reasons for the birth of souls on one plane or another, human or animal. Plato says: “Ten thousand years must pass before the soul can return to its place of origin, since it cannot grow its wings in a shorter period of time”; “At the end of the first millennium, the souls of good and evil gather together to draw lots and choose their bodies according to the inclinations of their characters. They can take what they like." That is, instead of receiving life, which is a natural consequence of accomplished feats or atrocities, they are allowed to choose their lot in accordance with their experience and inclinations. “Those who are disgusted by humanity prefer to be born as animals, such as a lion or an eagle. Others are happy to try their luck in human form."

But, it must be said, the theory of transmigration described by Plato has some differences from a similar theory that existed in India of his time. In Plato's idea, as we have already noted, souls are allowed to choose their lot, according to experience and taste, but without taking into account the accomplished feats or atrocities. Plato is silent about the law to which souls are subject. But the thinkers and philosophers of ancient India believed that each individual soul is guided by an immutable law, receiving a body in accordance with what it has done, and does not at all have a free choice of the future life. They discovered the universal law of cause and effect, action and reaction, called in Sanskrit by the term KARMA, from which we know: behind every cause there is a consequence of a similar nature, and every action gives rise to a similar reaction, and vice versa, every reaction is the result of an action or cause of a similar nature . And balance is always maintained, harmony between cause and effect, action and reaction. This law of Karma is now accepted as the fundamental truth of modern science, called by various names: the law of causation, the law of compensation, the law of retribution, the law of action and reaction, but they all relate to the same idea: every cause must produce a result similar to itself, and every action is a reaction similar to itself.

How burdened karma affects subsequent incarnations of a person

The more often the immaterial shell returns to Earth, the more experience it has, but not always positive. When there is a lot of debt, Heaven makes you go through painful and unpleasant situations again and again.

Karma is the totality of bad and good deeds

Burdened karma is not a punishment, but a path to correction. But ordinary people are accustomed to turning a blind eye to obvious facts, not wanting to learn. How do you understand what the lesson is?

Repetitive situations. Fate persistently offers the same conflict patterns for a reason. They don't need to be avoided. Unsolved problems accumulate like a snowball.
A certain type: bad boss, envious colleagues, naughty children. These are not collective images, but Teachers.
Dreams and obsessive thoughts indicate a previously unfulfilled karmic destiny.

It is impossible to ignore messages from Above, just like living one day at a time. There is no such thing in the Universe. She thinks in global categories. And we are part of the Cosmos.

Christian attitude towards reincarnation

a) Christian teaching about the connection of earthly pleasures with suffering and eternal bliss in the Kingdom of Heaven in relation to reincarnation

Both Buddha and later Prince Joasaph were not mistaken. There is indeed a universal ethical law on earth, according to which every pleasure or pleasure is necessarily associated with a corresponding pain. For example, in order to experience pleasure even from tasty and nutritious food, you first need to be very hungry. But if the pleasure of eating this food is pleasure, then, obviously, hunger is suffering.

Likewise, the pleasure of drinking even the best drinks can only be achieved when you are thirsty. But if satisfying thirst is pleasure or enjoyment, then obviously. thirst is suffering.

And even in sex, so beloved by all sensualists, it is impossible to get pleasure without first experiencing sexual hunger. Without it, at least for men, it will be according to the proverb: “It’s either not worth it, or it’s not worth it.” And again, if pleasure from sex is pleasure, then sexual hunger, what is it? Absolutely right - suffering!

Therefore, the earth is the vale of primarily these latter. Moreover, this universal ethical law is universal because, in particular, it affects all people without exception: both the rich and the poor; on noble and simple; on kings and beggars. And it is no coincidence that, as we see from the above, it was the princes who were concerned about the existence of this law: the future Buddha and Joasaph.

When and where does this law cease to apply? Only in the Kingdom of Heaven, as the Holy Scriptures say about it:

“Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them; they will be His people, and God Himself with them will be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death; There will be no more mourning, nor crying, nor pain, for the former things have passed away ” (Rev. 21:3-4).

As we see, earthly evil ceases its action only in the Kingdom of Heaven, and in reincarnation, even if it really existed, it resumes again and again, plunging a person, as the Buddha quite correctly reasoned, into an endless chain of suffering.

Therefore, it is absolutely obvious that reincarnation, this devilish “candy,” although it can somewhat sweeten the monstrous bitterness of atheism, cannot be compared with and cannot in any way compete with the Christian teaching about the eternal bliss of the righteous in the Kingdom of Heaven!

And our witness here will not even be one of the retinues, who are clearly not held in high esteem by lovers of Eastern religions and other similar husks, but the Buddha, so revered and loved by the overwhelming majority of them. Enlightened, at least, about worldly evil and not only the uselessness, but also the harmfulness of reincarnation, which plunges a person into an endless chain of this evil and suffering.

In this regard, I myself have a question that worries me to a certain extent. As you know, the Lord, after His death on the Cross, descended with His soul into hell and there preached to the souls of all the people who had lived and died before. Obviously, the soul of Buddha was also there.

Those of the people who accepted the Savior’s preaching and believed in Him were taken by Him from hell to heaven at His Resurrection. Some Christian teachers believe that the souls of the great philosophers were exterminated then: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and others. But here’s the question: did Buddha accept the preaching of Christ, and was He delivered from hell?!

Considering the above that he understood the vanity and deceitfulness of the world, which instead of pleasures offers endless suffering, we can assume that, like Prince Joasaph, he accepted Christianity.

But, on the other hand, Buddha is the creator of the false Buddhist religion, whose followers are many millions of people. Consequently, he, as a false teacher who has seduced many, bears the burden of sins that follow and haunt a person after death. So here a dilemma arises: saved or not, which is very difficult to resolve without God’s help.

However, the possibility that Buddha became a Christian exists and is even quite high. After all, he was still a wise man, as is especially clear from what has already been said about him. So, in his wisdom, he could have accepted Christianity. And if this is so, then how ridiculous will his followers and adepts turn out to be, especially in their polemics with Christians?!

b) The groundlessness of attempts by supporters of the reincarnation hypothesis to prove that there are traces of it in Christianity

As mentioned above, the reincarnation hypothesis has been floated from time to time in some Christian sects, especially of the Gnostic persuasion. Gnosticism in general was a super syncretic, a kind of synthetic religion that absorbed something from Christianity, a lot from Judaism, something from Eastern religions, as well as a bunch of different philosophical ideas and simply prejudices. One of them was the doctrine of reincarnation.

However, it did not play a special role in Gnosticism and was found only in some Gnostic sects. However, later, up to our time, some figures of the already mentioned theosophy, anthroposophy and New Age are trying to prove that there are traces of the doctrine of the transmigration of souls in Christianity.

Usually one of the main arguments of supporters of this opinion is associated with attempts to assert that Saint John the Baptist is supposedly the “reincarnation” of the prophet Elijah. In this case, they refer to the words of the Lord about the Baptist:

“And if you want to accept, he is Elijah, who must come” (Matthew 11: 14).

But here, firstly, the Lord only says that, as stated elsewhere in Holy Scripture, St. John the Baptist “will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah” (Luke 1: 17) - i.e. We are talking about the spirit of this great prophet, the spirit of zeal for God and love for Him, which the holy Forerunner fully possessed!

Secondly, even if it were really Elijah, then there would be no reincarnation. For it is the transmigration of the soul after death from one body to another, and the prophet of God Elijah, as is known from the Holy Scriptures (2 Kings 2:11), did not die, but was taken alive into heaven. Therefore, in principle, there could be no transmigration of his soul from body to body. For he did not die, and his soul, without leaving anywhere, remained in his own body.

Thirdly, Elijah, after the death of St. John the Baptist, together with Moses, appeared to the Lord on Mount Tabor (Matthew 17: 3). Consequently, he did not reincarnate as the Baptist, but remained the same prophet Elijah.

Well, in general, it should be noted that the attempt to impose the doctrine of reincarnation on Christians is a purely sectarian approach. Here they do what all sectarians do: find some obscure, or even better, mysterious place in the Holy Scriptures, and interpret it in their favor. At the same time, ignoring all the rest of the Holy Scripture, and along with it the Holy Tradition.

Meanwhile, the first says quite clearly that: “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Heb. 9:27). And this same truth is repeated many times in the Holy Tradition. Where there is no teaching about multiple deaths and births, but it is quite clearly and without any equivocation that a person dies once, and then his soul goes to the private judgment of God. Where, depending on his faith and deeds (good and evil), he receives either eternal bliss in paradise and the Kingdom of Heaven, or eternal suffering in hell and fiery gehenna.

And in general, the whole point of Christian eschatology is that one day all people will be resurrected precisely in those bodies in which they only once lived on earth. And not at all in the form of some imaginary monstrously ugly, multiple bodies, among which, according to supporters of reincarnation, there may be animals and even plants. And after this general resurrection, the earthly history of mankind will end: what does this have to do with the imaginary “transmigration of souls”; and why does Christianity need it at all?

Therefore, people who are trying to impose this stupid and senseless opinion on us, Orthodox Christians, are similar to those who are trying to attach a “fifth wheel” to the “dog” (i.e., their erroneous ideas about Christianity), i.e. your crazy and immoral ideas about the transmigration of souls!

c) Arguments against the doctrine of transmigration of souls

The main argument against this is precisely the question of what, in fact, moves from body to body? It has already been said above that according to some opinions of supporters of reincarnation, this is the soul; according to others - spirit; still others believe that this is some kind of “true Self” or the most essential particle of this “I”.

But it is quite obvious that the human soul cannot transmigrate. After all, she has three main powers: will, mind and feelings. If this were the transmigration of souls, then all babies would have to be born with the appropriate powers.

This means that from the moment of birth they should have had a more or less strong will; fairly high mental abilities, sometimes even genius, if, say, the soul of a great scientist or thinker moved into some newborn. Finally, they should also have the ability to love in the widest spectrum and sense of this word.

Which, of course, no one has ever observed in infants. Consequently, the soul cannot move from body to body. There is a special question about a person’s memory, because he largely identifies himself with what he remembers about himself and the rest. As is known, infants also do not possess this memory; for them it is something like a blank slate.

True, supporters of reincarnation may argue that, supposedly, there are people who remember their past lives. But, firstly, according to scientists, in particular psychologists, such supposedly “memories of a past life” can be explained by ordinary mental affects and deviations that have nothing to do with reincarnation.

But the point is also that if the latter existed and souls with the corresponding memory, which is also an essential part of the soul, would move en masse into babies, then all of them (and not just some individual adult individuals) from the very beginning from the moment of birth they should have a memory of their past lives. Which is actually not even close!

So the soul, as such, cannot move from body to body in any way - this absolutely does not correspond to reality. What then can migrate? Proponents of the doctrine of reincarnation say - spirit.

But the spirit, as such, is only the highest part of the soul, which is most often understood as the mind. As for the impossibility of moving the mind from body to body, it has already been said above. And the above shows that any part of the soul cannot move, otherwise babies will have abilities that in reality cannot be detected in them even with the help of the most complete microscope!

Finally, let's consider their opinion that, supposedly, “a certain true “I” or at least a particle of this “I” moves from body to body. In fact, each person feels his “I” as a combination of certain volitional, mental and cardiac capabilities with his memory and certain individual bodily sensations.

Those. Mostly, this truest “I” is 90 percent the soul of the person himself, the impossibility of transmigration of which has already been said above. Because the actual birth and development of all children is absolutely contrary to this false teaching!

Therefore, supporters of the reincarnation hypothesis are left with no arguments about what, in their opinion, moves from body to body?! It turns out that nothing like that exists in human nature and cannot exist.

Another extremely controversial point of their hypothesis is the law of karma. As already mentioned, it is predominantly characteristic of Hindu religions, but it was also shown above that such a serious philosopher as Plato did not shy away from it.

According to this law, in its subsequent, new life, the soul inhabits such a body and leads such a life as it deserved in its past life. This means that those who previously lived righteously and piously will receive a better body and a better life, and sinners will be punished with a worse body (perhaps even an animal), receiving punishment in it for their past life and dragging out the most miserable existence in it.

But morally, punishment makes sense only when a person knows and understands why he is being punished. This is the meaning of the word “punishment” itself, i.e. to say something moral, to give some kind of moral instruction to a person. For example, this: do good and you will receive benefits, but for evil you will suffer wounds and illnesses.

But this, I repeat, is only possible when a person knows why and for what he is being punished. When he doesn’t know this, then the punishment ceases to be a punishment, but turns into stupid, senseless and inhuman cruelty! This is what this, at first glance, moral law of karma is.

And indeed, let us imagine the effect of this law in practice. Here is someone trying to live piously, to be kind, responsive to people, doing many good deeds, but his life is extremely difficult and disastrous. And why? It turns out because “in a past life he was a terrible scoundrel and even a robber.”

True, he himself does not know or remember any of this, but he receives evil for this unknown and not remembered until the first day! “Very fair” isn’t it?! And in any case, the soul of such a person will not receive any benefit from this punishment, since he, not remembering or knowing anything, does not consider himself guilty.

Animal Reincarnation

Some supporters of the theory argue that only we have the opportunity to return. Others say that they were all cats, dogs and mice, but gained Consciousness.

Animals, like people, rotate in the Wheel of Samsara

Our smaller brothers have a thin shell, as well as a mind. They dream, which means they travel to distant worlds. It’s just that the fantasies of a cat or a dog are not so imaginative. If there is a soul, the possibility of incarnation is not excluded.

This video provides tips on how to cope with the loss of a pet:

“All Dogs Go to Heaven” is a touching fairy tale that has become an animation classic that helps people cope with the heavy burden of losing a pet.

Proponents of the theory of transmigration

The theory of transmigration, or metempsychosis, as many philosophers call it, being original, teaches about the relocation of the soul from one body to another after death, or in other words, this means that the soul, after staying in one particular body for a certain time, leaves it by the time death in order to continue existing, receiving further life experiences, in another body - be it a person, an animal or an angel - which is ready to accept this soul.

Moreover, supporters of metempsychosis believe that it is quite possible, after being in an angelic form, to return to the human plane again and then be born in the form of an animal. In addition, the migrating substance, having well-defined qualitative and quantitative characteristics, chooses a form according to its tastes, desires and inclinations. A similar idea prevailed among the ancient Egyptians, who believed that the soul of the millennium, departed after death, travels from one body to another, trying to enrich itself with the experience of all beings at each stage of life.

And remembering the Greek philosophers, we will also find supporters of the theory of metempsychosis or transmigration of souls. These are Pythagoras, Plato and their followers. Pythagoras says: “After death the rational mind, freed from the bonds of the body, becomes ethereal and passes into a certain region where it remains until it is sent back to inhabit some other body of man or animal. Having undergone a series of purifications and becoming sufficiently perfect, he moves to the gods and returns to the eternal source from which he originated. Plato also supported metempsychosis. Of course, we cannot say exactly where such ideas came from to Pythagoras and Plato. Some believe that they studied Egyptian doctrines. Others think that they learned the theory of transmigration directly or indirectly from India.

Is reincarnation possible for suicides?

Conscious departure into oblivion in many religions is a grave sin for which the entire Family is paying. Until recently, in the Orthodox tradition, suicide victims were buried behind the fence of the cemetery. Until now, you cannot light candles for their souls in church, and you can pray for their repose only twice a year, and even then at home.

Suicide also causes damage to personal karma. Attempting to leave before the deadline is strictly punished in Heaven. Problems do not justify the unauthorized termination of life. The next one will bring great suffering and trouble.

Whether there is reincarnation or not, it is impossible to say one hundred percent, but if there is only one attempt, the chance must be used with dignity.

Tags: Astral, Reincarnation

About the author: Evgeniy Tukubaev

The right words and your faith are the key to success in the perfect ritual. I will provide you with information, but its implementation directly depends on you. But don’t worry, a little practice and you will succeed!

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What is the theory of transmigration of souls

Materialists in all centuries have refused to accept this theory, considering the soul and body to be a single whole. That is why they did not ask themselves whether the soul would continue to exist. Materialists are not at all a product of the twentieth century, but have lived for a long time in all countries. And in India and among other civilized nations of antiquity we can easily find thinkers who present arguments familiar to us from the statements of modern agnostics and scientists. But, in general, their arguments are one-sided and unconvincing. They try to present the soul or self-conscious entity as a combination of matter and material forces, but do not succeed in scientific proof.

In turn, none of our arguments in favor of the soul, its existence, can convince them, since they reject the existence of anything that cannot be confirmed by the senses. How can we transfer the soul to the sensory plane? After all, ethereal, it is incomparably subtler than anything that we can analyze with the help of our senses.

Those who try to explain the cause of our earthly life through the theory of heredity do not believe in the truth of transmigration. But if we compare the arguments of the agnostics and materialists who support the theory of heredity with the arguments given by the supporters of the transmigration theory, we will find that the latter provides much more rational and satisfying explanations.

Five subtle bodies of man

Now let's try to understand more clearly what we mean when we talk about the subtle body. This is a tiny nucleolus of living substance. It contains invisible particles of matter, which are united by vital force, and has intelligence or thinking power in a potential state, just as the seeds of a plant contain the power of life and the possibility of growth. According to Vedanta, this subtle body consists of ANTAHKARANAMA - an intelligent substance, which in each specific case has its own qualities, its level of mind, intellect, egoism, depth of memory, characteristics of the means of perception, capabilities of vision, hearing, taste, smell and touch. This substance has the means of interacting with the outside world for assimilation of food and liberation from the products of its processing, movement, communication and reproduction - that is, five PRANAS.

Types of prana in the human body

PRANA is a Sanskrit word meaning the vital energy or life-sustaining ability in each of us. Although, to be precise, PRANA is one, but is endowed with five different names according to its five functions. In other words, PRANA includes the five manifestations of life force.

The first is the opportunity for movement, breathing; it ensures that the body uses atmospheric air. This main component is also called PRANA.
The second is responsible for cleaning the system and removing waste substances from the body. This is APANA.
The third - SAMANA - promotes the digestion of food and the supply of nutrients to every part of the body.
Thanks to the fourth - UDANA - we can speak and food can move throughout the body.
Fifth - maintains body shape and makes you feel good.

These are the various manifestations of the life force PRANA. These subtle capabilities are combined with the etheric particles of subtle matter, as well as with the personal qualities that characterize the subtle body, such as inclinations, ideas and impressions accumulated throughout life. And the result of all the various actions of the mind and body that represent the life of the individual today is transformed into inclinations and desires for his future life. Nothing will be lost.

Every movement of the body or mind, every thought will be revealed and stored in the form of SAMSKARA or the Matrix of the mind. For some time this experience in imprinted form remains hidden, but at one point it manifests itself in the form of a mental wave and gives rise to new desires. These desires are called in Vedanta - VASANAS. Strong desires give birth to new bodies.