Previous lives, Reincarnation, and transmigration

Do we have more than one life? Are we all destined to be born, die, and be reborn? Where do the beliefs in previous lives come from?

In our eyes, there is something monstrous about a body without a soul. Death, and particularly its material and spiritual representation, frighten us. Only two prospects reassure us, comfort us, and make us dream: the survival of our soul after our time on Earth and the idea of reincarnation as we think we understand it. Indeed these two hypotheses lead us to hope and envisage that our soul reincarnates into this world at different times, and that, therefore, it has already incarnated several times in the body of a man or a woman, and will again be born into another body after the too brief experience of our present life. However strongly held these beliefs there is no evidence to support them.

Reincarnation and transmigration

Admittedly, beliefs in the transmigration of the soul and in the existence of the soul and its survival out of the body, have existed since ancient times, and are found in various cultures and civilizations which, in some cases, have never had any link or connection with each other. For Ancient man (the Sumerians, Egyptians, Hebrews, Greeks) and the followers of the reincarnation doctrine (Buddhists, Tibetans, Hindus) it is an accepted fact that the soul is only passing through this life, that it originates from somewhere else, and that it will transit in the hereafter and come back again. This cycle of successive lives is not seen as a benefit, it is more a trial, a curse, a manipulation orchestrated by perverse gods, fallen angels, or godlike figures who gained possession of a power that did not belong to them in the first place.

Karma

Hindus and Buddhists consider that what we are, our present life, the cultural, social, and geographical background of our birth, our qualities, our weakness, our gifts, our handicaps, our part in destiny, and that of free will, are all inscribed within us long before our birth, and are the result of our past actions during previous lives. Similarly, our present thoughts and actions are all counted and written inside us and will condition our future life of lives, our next incarnation, or incarnations.

According to this theory, it is therefore clear that this is not our first time on Earth, but also that there is some kind of inherent justice that weighs the good and the evil that we do during each one of our incarnations, and then, depending on the case, rewards us or punishes us. What’s more, let’s point out that the Christians’ concept of ‘measure for measure’ and their belief in the resurrection is very close to the doctrines of reincarnation, as set out by Hinduism.

Thus, in the Gospel according to Thomas – and today we know that he was the original Gospel from which the four Evangelists inspired themselves – it tells us what ‘whoever has in his hand, to him shall be given, and whoever does not have, from his shall be taken even the little which he has.’

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What can we do about our previous lives?

Should we speculate about our previous or future lives? Let us remember Lot’s wife, who lived with her family in Sodom, in the valley of the river Jordan. When fleeing the town, she defied her husband’s advice (although it had been given by Yahweh’s angel) and turned round to watch Sodom in flames. She was changed into a statue of salt. From this biblical legend, we can draw the conclusion that it is never a good thing for a man or a woman to dwell in the past. According to the notion of karma, all that we were in the past is part of what we are now.

What is karma?

One of the central concepts of the Hindu religion is that the result of one’s actions in life leads to reincarnation at a higher or lower level in the next life. Karma is the word used to describe the sum of all these actions. In the principle of karma, any action has one or more causes and results in one or more effects. The concept of karma can also be related to the notion of sin, favored by the Judaeo-Christian culture – originating, as we know today, from some mythological tales from Mesopotamia – and to the principle of genetic and psychological heredity. In both these beliefs, you can find the recurring theme of acquired capital or potential.

In the same way, for the astrologer, the karma or destiny of a person is inscribed in his or her birth chart. However, if we believe that it is part of that person’s destiny from birth, it must originate from somewhere. For the Hindus, all this is clear: ‘According to the law of karma, all that affects us today, in good or bad, is the result of a chain of causes for which we are more or less responsible, a chain which usually started before our birth into this present life. And similarly, all that we do today will bear consequences for us, either in this life or in one or more of our future.’ (Jean Herbert, Living Hinduism, Dervy-Livres, 1983).