Reincarnation and the Circle of Birth and Death
To the Western ear—conditioned from one side by the dogmatic biodeterminism enshrined in our modern culture and from the other by deeply engrained Christian notions of life and death—there is little in yogic philosophy more straining to credulity than reincarnation.
For some people starting yoga and meditation, the idea can cause a lot of resistance. They may connect with the practices, but the concept of reincarnation, central to the Hindu and Buddhist metaphysics those practices derive from, is unacceptable. Widespread misconceptions further obscure the picture, causing many Westerners to view it as naïve superstition.
I hope to shed some light on this fundamental teaching, which flows naturally from the yogic worldview.
Do You Need to Believe In Reincarnation?
For any skeptics out there, the good news is that it is not necessary to believe in reincarnation in order to practice yoga.
Yoga is a spiritual science, and like any material science, it is primarily empirical. Progress is made as you accumulate your own direct experience, while yogic philosophy helps to interpret that experience, move you forward in the right direction, and expand the mind out of materialistic beliefs that hold you within cycles of suffering.
Strictly speaking, you do not need to believe in anything to practice yoga. As you proceed, yoga will take you far beyond the domain of belief or disbelief.
Looking at spiritual systems from around the world, you will find many that include some form of reincarnation—not only Hinduism and Buddhism but Jainism, Sikhism, Taoism, and the shamanic traditions of the Americas and Australia.
Jewish mysticism contains teachings of reincarnation, albeit a slightly different understanding than that found in the East, as did some early forms of Christianity. Only at the First Council of Nicaea (AD 325) was it excised from official doctrine, not by Christian sages but by politicians concerned to maximize the Church’s worldly power.
Orthodox Islam interprets the Quran as rejecting reincarnation outright. However, some Sufi lineages speak of the soul being reborn in different forms.
So one way or the other, we have a large body of wisdom teachings that espouse reincarnation and a large body of teachings that do not. And still, beings have come to Self-realization through all these paths.
The mystical attainment of Rumi or St. Teresa of Àvila is no lesser than that of any Hindu yogi (indeed, St. Teresa’s description of stages in contemplative prayer and her own states of absorption correspond remarkably well to classical yogic literature), despite this seemingly core difference in belief.
This should only underline that Reality transcends all concepts and contains all contradictions.
Birth, Death, and the Soul
That said, for a significant number of spiritual aspirants and masters, reincarnation has been a central feature in the metaphysical landscape.
It is worth examining—as did brilliant thinkers involved in those rigorous traditions of Indian philosophy, which are based not on superstition but logic and debate—rather than dismissing out of hand based on inherited paradigms (or blindly embracing without understanding its implications).
To give a very general picture, in dharmic religions, reincarnation is a process of evolution through which the individual soul becomes increasingly self-aware until it is capable of recognizing its divine nature.
The jiva (soul) is essentially divine Consciousness misperceiving itself as a separate entity due to the veil of maya (illusion) and false identification with the ego. (The precise dynamics of this process are described differently across India’s diverse spectrum of spiritual expression.)
As long as this false identification and ignorance of Self persist, the soul transmigrates from body to body, or rather, repeatedly manifests different bodies based on its karma, subtle imprints left by past actions in the deepest layer of the mind.
The soul is transcendent. It is not by nature male or female, Black, white, brown, or even human.
In its journey through material existence, it takes birth in every possible permutation, including in the bodies of animals, entities existing on subtle planes, and according to some traditions, even as plants, rocks, planets, demi-gods, or anything else within the manifested universe.
At the time of death, the “subtle body” (sensory and conceptual mind) detaches from the “gross body” (physical body and energy) and enters into a dreamlike space of unmanifested karmic potentialities. (The Tibetan text Bardo Thodol describes this process in detail.) Along the way, the subtle body also dissolves, leaving only its innermost element, the foundational layer of the mind, which contains karma.
Based on that karma and the soul’s reaction to appearances within the bardo, the soul is drawn towards a new birth and takes form accordingly.
The Hard Question of Consciousness and the Body
Western science generally assumes that consciousness is a product of the brain.
This premise leads unavoidably to the conclusion that the mind is contained within the brain and, by extension, comes into existence when the brain forms and ceases to exist with the death of the body.
Although almost universally used as an axiom, this assumption remains only an assumption, unproved and likely unprovable by the classical scientific approach, based as it is on externally verifiable data and a sharp division between subject and observer. (Hence the designation as the “hard question” of consciousness.)
Scientists have made incredible discoveries about the brain and mental processes, but no research has conclusively proven or disproven that physical matter generates the mind.
There is no consensus as to what constitutes subjective experience. Once considered a unique attribute of human beings, recent Western science has conceded it to an increasingly wide range of animal life and even opened the question to plants and fungi, which also demonstrate certain forms of reactivity and information transfer associated with the presence of a mind.
Some researchers in neuroscience and biology have conducted fascinating research on the complex relationship between mind and body, and I do not wish to diminish the value of these insights. But whether exploring consciousness from the outside or the inside, a sincere investigator must acknowledge what axiom they are starting with.
Your experience in meditation might suggest something different from the belief that consciousness is dependent on the body.
You may discover that the body, initially appearing so solid, is nothing more than a constant fluctuation of perceptions, arising and dissolving within an open space of awareness.
You might start to explore dream states or astral experiences, manifestations of the senses without any physical basis.
You may notice how all sensations and perceptions, all thoughts, and all emotions relate back to a singular thought of “I am,” which arises spontaneously out of vast, luminous, and utterly mysterious nothingness.
Continuity of Consciousness
If consciousness is not fundamentally dependent on the body—if it causally precedes the body—there is no reason to believe it would not persist after death.
From a consciousness-first perspective, reincarnation is a natural deduction.
Already the body constantly changes and “dies” throughout life—the body you are sitting in right now is quite different from the one you were born with—but consciousness persists. Even as your mind and body change radically, you can trace a continuous sense of “I” throughout it all. You have always been you.
Anecdotal evidence also supports the theory of reincarnation. Countless stories abound of seers who can perceive past lives, their own or others, and of children born with inexplicable memories of other existences.
In Tibet, it was common practice for highly advanced lamas to tell their disciples where they would be born next. Some years later, the disciples would seek out a child based on the master’s instructions and conduct tests to confirm their identity, such as asking them to choose items that belonged to them in their previous life.
Such children, known as tulkus, generally exhibited unusual clarity and aptitude for spiritual teachings from an early age.
The Interconnection of All Forms of Life
The idea of reincarnation brings a valuable paradigm shift, the recognition that the body arises from consciousness and not the other way around.
It starts to free us from the degrading reduction of humanity into physicality, revealing the eternality of the soul and the freedom of Spirit.
It can also bring an openness to the vast scope of life and its purpose, its inexorable movement from ignorance to Truth, and the interconnection of all living beings.
There is no concrete barrier between you and a snail, a cow, or any other form of life on this planet or another. You have already inhabited so many of these types of bodies before arriving in human form, and possibly you will again. Those other beings will also pass through the human experience if they haven’t already.
All sentient beings are of a kind, a single family with only external differences. Some may appear more or less elevated, but this is only a value judgment based on limited vision. They are simply at different points in an evolutionary process and one which does not take the same course for any two individuals.
Each unique being represents the Divine Consciousness’ exploration of infinite possibilities for manifestation.
Avoiding Common Pitfalls
A deep understanding of reincarnation expands the mind and points toward deeper truths.
A superficial understanding can lead to intellectual shortcuts and views that are not supportive of your spiritual progress.
An easy misstep, more common in societies where reincarnation is already a part of the culture, would be to think, “I don’t need to worry about my spiritual practice; I can do it in the next lifetime.”
How much do you remember from your last life?
The person you were is dead. All their cares and concerns, and all their achievements, are gone with the wind. They relate to you only in the most abstract way, the way a river’s course relates to last year’s rainfall.
It will be the same for your next lifetime. Reincarnation isn’t an escape clause from the inevitability of individual death. Who you think you are will die, one hundred percent. (Fortunately, who you think you are is not your true identity!)
Awareness of mortality is our greatest gift. In the shortness of our lives, the abyss waiting at all sides, we are driven to search for meaning beyond what the external world can provide.
Mystics in many traditions affirm that a human rebirth is a rare and precious opportunity. In human form, we have the best chance to step outside the circle of birth and death. We have the intellect and a capacity for self-reflection, which animals do not have.
We are prone to just the right blend of pleasure and suffering, enough pleasure that we are not entirely lost in misery (as it is for beings in the lower realms) but enough suffering that we are not content to let our lives pass unexamined (as is the case for being in higher realms).
Getting a human life is a rare gift, especially to have a human life where you are interested in spirituality and have the chance to pursue that interest. Just think about how many ants and beetles are on this planet compared to humans!
As an illustration, imagine a sea turtle living on a planet completely covered by the ocean. The turtle comes up to breathe only once every hundred years.
Now imagine a small wooden hoop floating on the ocean. At any given moment, what are the odds that this turtle will rise to the surface and stick its head through the hoop?
According to the Tibetan tradition, it is the same odds that you will be born as a human with an attraction to the dharma.
Take every advantage of this life because you don’t know when you’ll get another chance like this.
Investigating Past Lives Is a Dead End
Excessive interest in past lives is another dead end.
When asked about past and future lives, Ramana Maharshi replied:
“You do not know what you were before birth, yet you want to know what you will be after death. Do you know what you are now?
“Birth and rebirth pertain to the body. You are identifying the Self with the body. It is a wrong identification. You believe that the body has been born and will die, and confound the phenomena relating to the body with the Self. Know your real being and these questions will not arise.
“Birth and rebirth are mentioned only to make you investigate the question and find out that there are neither births nor rebirths. They relate to the body and not to the Self. Know the Self and don’t be perturbed by doubts.”
Investigation into past lives is largely based on imagination and is rarely fruitful. It will not bring you peace nor fulfill your soul’s desire for self-knowledge.
Past lives belong to the past. Like studying your grandparents’ biographies, information about a past life bring you some insight into particular patterns or circumstances in your life, but this is knowledge of yourself as a limited personality, not of your true Self. Only the latter brings freedom and true happiness.
In Conclusion
Reincarnation is not a simple topic. As you may observe, even a basic overview touches on a multitude of other concepts that might call for their own exploration.
Whenever you have doubts about a spiritual teaching, I would recommend neither rejecting it entirely nor forcing yourself to embrace it without verification. Let it stew for a while. Keep moving forward and revisit it as your perspective changes.
And if a concept immediately appeals to you, consider doing the same! Allow yourself to ripen in relationship to the teachings and to investigate beyond the surface, beyond easy answers, through the transformative act of questioning.
Naveen is a Hridaya teacher and a frequent contributor to our blog. You can read all of her posts here.
