Arguments for Reincarnation ![]() Principle of Evolution There is a parallel between the physical and spiritual planes of human development. The principle of evolution on the physical plane points to an analogy of evolution on the spiritual plane. With this analogy, it becomes more reasonable to believe that the present life of the soul is but one link in a great chain of existences, which stretches far back into the past and forward into the future. Every form of earthly life that we know of has arisen from lower forms, which in turn arose from still lower forms. Following the same analogy, the human soul has arisen from lower to higher forms and will continue to mount on to still higher forms and planes. Principle of Conservation of Energy
The concept of reincarnation fits well with the known scientific principle of conservation of energy. No energy is ever created or lost, and all energy is a universal form of energy which flows on from manifestation to manifestation and yet appearing in myriad forms. It is never born, never dying and always moving on to new manifestations. Therefore, it is reasonable to suppose that the soul follows the same law of re-embodiment, rising higher and higher, throughout time, until finally it returns to the Universal Spirit from which it emerged and in which it will continue to exist. It is argued that reincarnation brings life within the Law of Cause and Effect, just as everything else in the Universe. In accordance with the causative factors generated during past lives, the Law of Rebirth would bring the existence of the soul within and in harmony with natural laws, instead of without and contrary to them. Principle of Growth and Maturation
A perfected man must have experienced every type of earthly relationship and duty; every phase of desire, affection and passion; every form of temptation and every variety of conflict. The soul would fail in one life to acquire such a varied experience to form a well-rounded mentality of understanding and to acquire the knowledge which would be necessary for a developed and advanced soul. No single life can possibly furnish adequate material for more than a minute section of the required experience. The soul must experience pain and happiness, love, pity, success and failure. It must know the discipline of sympathy, toleration, patience, fortitude, foresight, gratitude, pity, benevolence and love in all its phases. The learning is only possible through repeated incarnations, as the span of one lifetime is too short and too narrow. Principle of Discovery Learning
By repeated incarnations the soul is able to realize the futility of the search for happiness and satisfaction in material things. While dissatisfied and disappointed at his own condition, one is apt to imagine that in some other earthly condition he would find satisfaction and happiness now denied him. Dying would carry with him the subconscious desire to enjoy those conditions. This desire would attract him back to earth-life in search of those conditions. But after repeated incarnations, the soul learns its lesson that only in itself may be found happiness, and that happiness occurs only when it learns its real nature, source and destiny. Then it passes onto higher planes. Living-Out and Out-Living
Few people in earth-life have realized the existence of a higher part of their being. Were they to pass on to a final state of being after death, they would carry with them all of their lower propensities and attributes and be incapable of manifesting the spiritual part of their nature. Therefore the soul needs repeated lives in order to evolve from the lower conditions and to unfold the higher. Desire for other forms of earthly experience can only be extinguished by undergoing them. If any one of us, if now translated to the unseen world, he would feel regret that he had not tasted existence in some other situation or surroundings. He would wish to have known what it was to possess wealth and rank, or beauty, or to live in a different race or under a different climate or to see more of the world and society. No spiritual ascent can progress while earthly longings are dragging back the soul. Until an individual has learned one lesson fully he is never ready for a new one. Summary Nature does not do anything by leaps and bounds. It does not introduce spiritual life into a being whose knowledge and experience has been limited to just matter and material life. The pursuit of learning in any situation must involve preliminary acquaintance with the nature of the learning, its aims and mental requirements. Reincarnations are the law for man because they provide the conditions for his learning and of his continual progress. Rebirth and re-life must go on until Man’s purpose is fulfilled and accomplished. Further Reading
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