Reincarnation

Reincarnation is the theory that postulates that, after the death of the body, the consciousness that was animating a person returns to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, also in the form of an animal or plant. This doctrine is a central tenet within the majority of Indian religions such as Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and Buddhism (although the latter prefer to use the word re-birth).

In the West, the idea was also fundamental to some Greek philosophers as well as other religions, such as Druidism and in some schools of Judaism and early Christianity.

H. P. Blavatsky defined it as follows:

Reincarnation, or Re-birth; the once universal doctrine, which taught that the Ego is born on this earth an innumerable number of times. Now-a-days it is denied by Christians, who seem to misunderstand the teachings of their own gospels. Nevertheless, the putting on of flesh periodically and throughout long cycles by the higher human Soul (Buddhi-Manas) or Ego is taught in the Bible as it is in all other ancient scriptures, and "resurrection" means only the rebirth of the Ego in another form.

General description

The entity that reincarnates is the higher ego, and not the personalities:

It is the personal Ego—wrongly believed by the Spiritists to be reincarnated with its personal consciousness a number of times—that appears upon this earth but once, while the Individual Spiritual monad which—like an actor who, although appearing in, and personating every night a new character, is ever the same man—is that which appears on earth throughout the cycle in various personalities.

People may reincarnate in very different social and financial conditions from one life to the next according to the Karma generated:

The Law of Affinity acts through the inherent Karmic impulse of the Ego, and govern its future existence. Comprehending Darwin's Law of Heredity for the body, it is not difficult to perceive how the birth-seeking Ego may be attracted at the time of rebirth to a body born in a family which has the same propensities as those of the reincarnating Entity.

The social status of a being is, of course, a result of Karma; the law being that "like attracts like". The renascent being is drawn into the gestative current with which the preponderating attractions coming over from the last birth make him assimilate. Thus one who died a ryot [peasant] may be reborn a king, and the dead sovereign may next see the light in a coolie's tent.

Although in general terms there is a certain learning from one incarnation to the next, simply going through incarnations does not imply a growth of the Soul. In fact, the more consciousness is attached to physical life, the faster it will reincarnate:

What has the number of incarnations to do with the shrewdness, cleverness, or the stupidity of an individual? A strong craving for physical life may lead an entity through a number of incarnations and yet these may not develop its higher capacities.

Time between reincarnations

Mme. Blavatsky wrote:

Reincarnations in general take place after rather long periods passed in the intermediate and invisible spheres. So that if a Spiritist-Theosophist tells an Occultist-Theosophist that he is a reincarnation of Louis XV, or that Mrs. X is a reincarnation of Joan of Arc, the Occultist would answer that according to his doctrine it is impossible. It is quite possible that he might be a reincarnation of Sesostris or of Semiramis, but the time period that has passed since the death of Louis XV and even of Joan of Arc is too short according to our calculations, which are mathematically correct.

Roughly calculating the number of reincarnations of a person on a planet, the Master K.H. makes the following statement:

One life in each of the seven root-races; seven lives in each of the 49 sub-races — or 7 x 7 x 7 = 343 and add 7 more. And then a series of lives in offshoot and branchlet races; making the total incarnations of man in each station or planet 777. . . . Let us take but one million of years — suspected and now accepted by your science — to represent man’s entire term upon our earth in this Round; and allowing an average of a century for each life, we find that whereas he [a given person] has passed in all his lives upon our planet (in this round) but 77,700 years he has been in the subjective spheres 922,300 years. Not much encouragement for the extreme modern re-incarnationists who remember their several previous existences!

Do we choose where to reincarnate?

The reincarnating ego has in a sense very little choice in the matter, if by this we mean a deliberate selecting of one’s future family. Such a choice as we understand it is almost non-existent, because the reincarnating ego has but just left the devachan and is sunken into the relative unconsciousness of the gestation period preceding rebirth, and thus is in no condition to choose with self-conscious intent. It is karma, which throughout controls these things; and karma in the abstract is infallible in its action.

Looking back at past lives

In one of his letters, Mr. A. P. Sinnett asked Master K.H.: "Have you the power of looking back to the former lives of persons now living, and identifying them?" To this, the Master answered: "Unfortunately, some of us have. I, for one do not like to exercise it". When Mr. Sinnett asked if he would tell him something about his past lives, the Master said that he may talk about it in the future, but asked:

Would it not be still more proper to study our own present personality before attempting to learn anything of its creator, — predecessor, and fashioner, — the man that was?

Online resources

Articles

• Reincarnation at Theosopedia
• Reincarnation's White Crow: Ian Stevenson and Evidence of Past Lives by John Algeo
• Reincarnation: the Evidence by John Algeo
• The Idea of Re-birth by Francesca Arundale and an essay by Karl Heckel
• Memories of Past Lives by Annie Besant
• The Necessity for Reincarnation by Annie Besant
• Reincarnation by Annie Besant
• Isis Unveiled and The Theosophist on Reincarnation by H. P. Blavatsky
• Reincarnation and Karma by H. P. Blavatsky
• Theories about Reincarnation and Spirits by H. P. Blavatsky
• Why do we not remember Our Past Lives? by H. P. Blavatsky
• Reincarnation in Animals by W. Q. Judge
• Reincarnation in Judaism and the Bible by W. Q. Judge
• Respecting Reincarnation by W. Q. Judge
• Transmigration of Souls by W. Q. Judge
• Reincarnation by Theosophical Society in America

Audio

• How the Human Soul Descends to Birth by Geoffrey Hodson
• Reincarnation for Everyone by James Perkins
• Through Death to Rebirth by James Perkins

Video

• Reincarnation: The Untrue Fact by John Algeo
• Has Man Lived on Earth Before? by Geoffrey Hodson
• Through Death to Rebirth by James Perkins
• Reincarnation for Everyone by James Perkins

Additional resources

• Bibliography on Karma and Reincarnation from the Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library.