REINCARNATION - A PROVEN THEORY
Introduction |
Philosophic Argument |
Spirit Communications |
Scientific Investigation
Part 2 of 3: An Explanation for the Present Life
Assuming the existence of the soul, we then begin to ask about the inequalities among human beings, as previously mentioned. Allan Kardec, in Chapter IX of "The Spirits' Book", approaches this question, beginning with the argument for the belief in only one incarnation. He writes:
"Consider
that, if the law of reincarnation does not exist, we have only one incarnate
life. If our present material life is our only one, the soul of each
individual must have been created at the same time as his or her body. We
might, of course assume that the soul existed prior to the body. But in that
case we would have to ask what was the soul's condition beforehand. If it
did have a prior existence, what was it like? Was it aware of itself?
If not, its state must have been nearly equivalent to non-existence.
Finally, if the soul in this pre-incarnate state had anything like
individuality, that individuality must have been either progressive or
stationary. In any case, we must ask how evolved the soul was at the point
of its incarnation.
As we have said, it is possible to assume either that the soul comes into
existence at the same time as the body or that it exists prior to the body.
Both positions lead us to ask the following:
1. Why do souls reveal so many talents independent of education?
2. Why do some young children display extraordinary aptitudes for certain arts and sciences, while many of us display none either as children or adults?
3. How can we explain the appearance of innate ideas and skills in people, and especially prodigy children-- extraordinary faculties such as languages, intellectual capabilities, artistic talent, etc, without any foundation in previous study and that have no explanation in heredity?
4. How is it that some children are inclined to good or wrong-doing, to self-respect or selfishness, often despite the conditions into which they were born?
5. Why are some people, quite apart from their education, more advanced than others?
6. Why are some groups of people in the world more progressive in their attitude than others? If we took, say, a Hottentot* baby and brought her up in the most renowned schools, could we make her a Laplace or Newton?...." (*Translator's note: a people of southern Africa believed to be related to the Bantu and Bushmen)
If you admit the possibility that we have all lived numerous lives, all these questions are answered. According to this hypothesis, humans bring with them, at birth, intuitions of the knowledge they have previously acquired and will be more or less advanced in their earthly lives depending on the number of their prior lives and on how far along they have come on the road to perfection."
The questions Kardec mentioned
above address our inequalities in terms of differences, aptitudes, attitudes, and
inclinations. To those we add questions related to "external"
life circumstances, such as:
1. Why are some born into wealthy or at least financially stable families, whereas as others are born into absolute poverty?
2. Why are some of us born into countries of democracy, freedom, and opportunity, whereas others are born into lands of violence and oppression?
3. Why do some live to the age of 99 whereas as others die in infancy?
4. Why do some people who live respectful, honest lives and demonstrate charitable qualities towards others seem to encounter so much difficulty, "bad luck" and struggle, when some others, who only act out of selfishness and greed, seem to experience much less suffering?
5. Why do some feel like people of one gender "incarcerated" in the body of the other?
6. What is different about a soul who is born into a handicapped body, if it never lived before, and hence never had the opportunity to do anything wrong?
The above questions beg the same argument. If we live only one life, how do you explain these different situations? Where is the justice in "the divine plan"? On the other hand, if you consider the explanation offered by reincarnation, regarding the debts that we created in our past existences and the resulting need for experiences that help us learn lessons of natural law, love, fraternity, and the value of life, an explanation can be found for all these situations and more.