Souls are poured from one into another of different kinds of
bodies of the world.
Jesus Christ in Gnostic Gospels: Pistis Sophia
The idea of reincarnation has been around for a long time and one can find it in the Jewish Kabbalah and early Christianity where references to reincarnation in the New Testament were removed. In the Bible: “…the surprising thing is that there is actually a considerable amount of evidence for reincarnation in the Bible we are left with and generally speaking – people are unaware that there are definite references in the New Testament that unequivocally imply reincarnation.” When Emperor Constantine and the Roman Empire adopted Christianity as their official religion, reincarnation was not a part of the deal.
The 6th century found the Second Council of Constantinople formally declaring reincarnation as heresy:
“In the 6th century, in the year 553 A.D. the 2nd Council of Constantinople officially declared reincarnation a heresy and the doctrine of reincarnation was officially banished by the Christian Church…The decision was intended to enable the church to increase its power at that time, and to tighten its hold upon the human mind by telling people their salvation had to be accomplished in one incarnation and one lifetime, and if they didn’t make it, they would go to Hell.” Does this not appear quite motivated?
Dr. Gerard Encausse of the metaphysical Rosicrucian Order, says,
“Has reincarnation been a part of the Christian religion at some time? One can frankly respond in the affirmative to this. Significantly the gospels tell us in plain language that Saint John the Baptist was the reincarnated Elias. This was a mystery and Saint John the Baptist, when questioned, kept quiet but others knew the truth of it.”
Locating this felt pertinent:
“The concept of Reincarnation is quite ancient. It appears to have evolved out of that most ancient of beliefs, upon which all religions were established, the idea of the survival of the soul after death. It seems likely that reincarnation evolved from the idea that humans should have a second chance at rectifying sins committed during their time on Earth. With the original concept, of a single life and death, salvation was not possible. It was widely practiced in Greece amongst certain cults, especially the Brotherhood of Pythagoras, where it was known as Transmigration.”
There has been major interest and activity associated with reincarnation.
“Many cultures throughout the earth’s history have believed in reincarnation or rebirth in one form or another and have taken the subject very seriously, to the point, where to aid those who have been close to mortal demise, they have taken them to their societies birthing chambers, close to where women would be in childbirth. This was done so that the discarnate soul leaving the body would not have far to travel to reincarnate or have rebirth within a new life and this was thought greatly to help the transmigration into the new host and life, therefore allowing rebirth to take place shortly after mortal demise.’
I also found this:
“The classic form of the reincarnation doctrine was formulated in India, but certainly not earlier than the 9th century BC, when the Brahmana writings were composed. After the Upanishads clearly defined the concept between the 7th and the 5th century BC, it was adopted by the other important Eastern religions which originated in India, Buddhism and Jainism. Due to the spread of Buddhism in Asia, reincarnation was later adopted by Chinese Taoism, but not earlier than the 3rd century BC.”
Some prominent thinkers believed in reincarnation; “Among the ancient Greeks, Socrates, Pythagoras, and Plato may be numbered among those who made reincarnation an integral part of their teachings.” The theory of reincarnation is often attributed to Pythagoras, “since he spent some time in Egypt studying its philosophy.” Additionally, Blake, Boehme, Browning, Bruno, Emerson, Flaubert, Freud, Kant, Kipling, Gandhi, Goethe, Jung, Leibniz, Leonardo da Vinci, McTaggart, Origen, Philo Judaeus, Paracelsus, Schiller, Schopenhauer, Sibelius, Spinoza, St. Augustine, Thoreau, Tolstoy, Wagner, Whitman, and Yeats have been associated with the concept, just to name a few. “The concept of reincarnation – that our souls may experience many lifetimes over centuries, maybe even thousands of years – has been present in virtually every culture since ancient times. The Egyptians, Greeks, Romans and Aztecs all believed in the ‘transmigration of souls’ from one body to another after death.”
I found this and thought, wow.
“Tracing the idea of rebirth backwards into remote times, we find that it runs like a golden seam through the thought and teachings of some of these greatest minds and existed too in early cultures. That a belief in reincarnation forms a basic part of many eastern religions is well known. What may be surprising to some is its acceptance by peoples and cultures as diverse as some African tribes and the Eskimos; Australian and Finns, Lapps, Danes and Norse; Pacific Islanders and Celts of Gaul, Wales, England and Ireland. In other words, it is not difficult to make a case for reincarnation.”
Zalman M. Schachter says, “Death did not frighten the pious Jew of old. He had faith in the talmudic contention that death is simply a transition from one life into another, likened to the ease of taking a hair out of milk.”
Rebecca Weiner states:
“Reincarnation, gilgul in Hebrew, is not explicitly mentioned in the Torah, though some interpret traditional Jewish practices to refer to reincarnation. Maimonides has written about the allusion of biblical verses to its occurrence. For example, Daniel 12:13 states, 'now go your way to the end and rest, and you shall arise to your destiny at the end of days.'
A second example can be found in the concept of yibum, when a married man dies childless, tradition holds that his spouse should marry the man’s brother and their first-born should receive the dead father’s name.”
Like Christianity, Judaism has substantial roots in reincarnation. “Many Jews are surprised to learn, or may even wish to deny, that reincarnation...is an integral part of Jewish belief...” This Faith “believed” until the 1800s, when popular western thinking infiltrated Eastern European Jewish society. In many Chassidic and Orthodox Jewish communities, reincarnation continues to be an important foundation of one’s belief. “In Hebrew, it is called ‘gilgul ha’ne’shamot,’ literally the recycling or transmigration of souls.”
Kabbalah uses the Zohar texts: “It is important to understand that in Judaism reincarnation is in no way cruel or fatalistic, as may be found in other traditions. Judaism instructs us to always be concerned to change the reality of this world for the better. For a Jew, the world in which we live exists and has meaning and purpose.”
As long as a person is unsuccessful in his purpose in this world, the Holy One, blessed be He, uproots him and replants him over and over again. (Zohar I 186b)
All souls are subject to reincarnation…” (Zohar II 99b)
Dr. Jacob Neusner explains that the word ‘Midrash’ is based on a Hebrew word meaning ‘interpretation’ or ‘exegesis’. and says “every Jew to ever live, and who ever will live, stood at Mount Sinai when the Jews received the Covenant from God. Reincarnation may help explain how this midrash could be true.” Weiner says, “[t]he purpose of reincarnation is seen as a chance for a soul to achieve a goal not achieved in a previous life and as a chance to reward man for fulfilling the desires of his Creator. Reincarnation has also been viewed as punishment for a sinner’s previous deeds. For example, a rich man who abused his power may come back as poor.”
“Suppressed in Europe, the idea of reincarnation appears in Asia Minor, taught and protected by the Paulinian Gnostics. “The knowledge was deliberately spread to Thrace (modern Bulgaria) and thence throughout the Slavic world. Following the trade routes into central Europe, the doctrine of metempsychosis reappeared in Europe where it was taken up by groups and communities who became known as the Cathars and the Albigenses. Their beliefs became so popular and threatening to the established church that once again persecution broke out, this time in the form of the fanatical Inquisition. Those who escaped to England and their followers became known as the Lollards.
The Renaissance throughout Europe meant a revival of Platonism, interest in the Kabala and the ideas of Pythagoras. That a versatile genius like Leonardo Da Vinci was a reincarnationist comes as no surprise; in his notebooks there are several passages that show clearly that Leonardo accepted the pre-existence of the soul. At about the same time, Paracelsus wrote: “Some children are born from heaven and others are born from hell, because each human being has his inherent tendencies, and these tendencies belong to his spirit, and indicate the state in which he existed before he was born.
Philosopher and dramatist, Giordano Bruno, born in 1548, was put to death in 1600 accused of heresy. Intellectually, he began within the Church but, dissatisfied, he later studied the teachings of earlier reincarnationists – Plato, Hermes, Raymond Lully, Nicolas de Cusa, and others. Threatened with arrest on a charge of heresy he travelled through Europe, lecturing at various universities. His theories were brilliantly developed, he was a true evolutionist and one of the first Europeans to introduce the term ‘Monad (Leibniz later took this up). A fascinating fact about Bruno is that by simply extending his views of the cosmic laws of rebirth (that all movement and manifestation is cyclic, and that the soul incarnates cyclically) to the workings of the physical body, he was the first Westerner to teach the idea of the circulation of the blood.”
In the case of ancient Egypt,
“[t]he Egyptian Book of the Dead describes the travel of the soul into the next world without making any allusions to its return to earth. As it is well known, the ancient Egyptians embalmed the dead in order that the body might be preserved and accompany the soul into that world. This suggests their belief in resurrection rather than in reincarnation. Likewise, in many cases of ancient tribal religions that are credited today with holding to reincarnation, they rather teach the pre-existence of the soul before birth or its independent survival after death. This has no connection with the classic idea of transmigration from one physical body to another according to the demands of an impersonal law such as karma.”
Lately there has been an increasing interest in reincarnation:
“In recent years, a number of influences have brought past lives into present consciousness. The widely read writings of Edgar Cayce, for one, have been surprisingly influential in America, lending credence to the idea that past lives can contribute to illness, emotional difficulties, relationship difficulties, and so on. (I say ‘surprisingly’ because Cayce channeled thousands of past-life readings while in a trance state, even though his Christian-fundamentalist conscious self didn’t initially believe in past lives!) Many people, thanks to Cayce, now understand the idea of karma as the spiritual fallout of good or bad behavior from the soul’s past. Still others have encountered Hindu teachings, in which the idea of reincarnation is central, by being exposed to yoga or reading the popular works of authors such as Caroline Myss and Barbara Brennan on the chakras, the subtle bodies, and energy medicine. The famous Bhagavad-Gita is for sale today in nearly every bookstore.
And who would have expected to see the Dalai Lama vying with the Pope in the bestseller lists? The high-profile presence of Tibetan Buddhist lamas throughout America and the world has profoundly altered the spiritual landscape of Western society. The making of a film like Little Buddha, with its story of a Tibetan lama reborn in the body of a young American boy, would have been unthinkable in Hollywood a generation ago, but now it receives huge acclaim. Nor does an actor like Richard Gere hesitate to profess his Buddhist affiliations publicly. Many people, myself included, have turned to meditation and radically changed our lifestyles after exposure to these powerful emissaries of ancient wisdom.”
Reincarnation as an idea, can tell us a lot about history. When analyzing various sects, religions, peoples, etc., we can study our nature. At times we are eclectic, varied, homogeneous and harmonious. Different ways of being or manifesting speak to our range.
It would be easy to dismiss reincarnation and place it in the realm of fancy but history speaks an alternate story. If we validate certain aspects of history, then why not this aspect? Most approaches to the concept appear to exhibit a certain bias. Additionally, the way each person is going to come to the History I present here, is different. It would be important to note that what I chose to include is suspect. It was arbitrary – what I found on the Internet – and specifically, what fits into my belief-structure.
I do think history is interpretive. Yes, certain events have occurred on specific dates but we give meaning and/or significance to events. In You Never Know, I use the change of the planet Pluto’s status (from being considered a planet) as an example of how we change interpretation over time. History is interesting. We often learn more about what was significant to an era than anything else. Studying History can be very valuable if we stay away from it as fact. I am very willing to explore the history of reincarnation, but I am under no curtain of certitude. It is validating to recognize certain cultures’ beliefs, but these often change. I do not think a culture that is loyal to a belief-system, is outside the realm of change. Members of a culture might have believed something at a given time or still do, but that may alter. Shifts in paradigms or models and instability reign in life, you know. History, like most things, is not stable or secure. We may desire a linear narrative – a story that has a beginning, middle and end – but we will not get one. Our view of History is usually motivated.
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