Reincarnation: Blast from the Past

When Arnold remarked, “I will be back” in the movie “The Terminator”, it wouldn’t have been a huge surprise when the cyborg did actually reappear in the sequel even after getting annihilated. But think about the character being a human and coming back to life. The thought is a little hard to digest, isn’t it? Well not so if you really believe in the concept of Reincarnation or in case you are a big Bollywood fan because after all the Shahrukh-Salman duo did take a rebirth or punar janam in the famous movie ‘Karan Arjun’ to avenge their deaths in their previous lives :)

Literally speaking, Reincarnation is believed to occur when the soul or spirit, after death of the physical body, comes back to Earth in a newborn body. This phenomenon is also known as “transmigration of the soul”. The term derives from Latin literally meaning “Entering the flesh again”. It is a core belief in many religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism etc and dates back to thousands of years.

According to Hindu belief, only the soul is immortal and new body is donned by the dweller just like new garments in every life. This never-ending cycle of rebirth goes on until the soul attains Moksha or self-realization and is at peace with itself devoid of any carnal desires. However, until this stage is attained the soul is burdened with an accumulation of impressions that were part of the karma (work) from previous lives. As conveyed by Lord Krishna (a reincarnation of Lord Vishnu) in the Bhagavad Gita:

                   “Karmanyevadhikaraste Maphaleshu Kadhachana
                   Ma Karma Phalahe turbhuh Matesangatsvali Karmani"
which instructs us to do our karma and not have high expectations of the fruits. This gives us a good reason to perform our duties and take on all the hardships because ultimately in one life or the next your karmas will be awarded. Pretty long wait..huh?

On the other hand, if you really want to know the reason for all your hardships then ‘Past-Life-Regression’ is the solution in psychotherapy. It is a technique that uses hypnosis to recover what practitioners believe is memories of past lives. There has been an enormous amount of research done during recent times in the field of Past-Life-Regression notably by Dr. Brian Weiss and Dr. Ian Stevenson. Surprisingly past life regression is also mentioned in the Upanishads of ancient India. Writing during the second century BCE, the Hindu scholar Patanjali called the process of past life regression as prati-prasav (literally "reverse birthing") which is still used today as a practice in some types of yoga. However, scientific consensus is that such memories are the result of cryptomnesia, narratives created by the subconscious mind using imagination, forgotten information and suggestions from the therapist. This can be validated by apparent flaws in the narration itself. Most of us who have seen the patients cook up dramatic stories in the reality show ‘Raaz pichhle janam ka’ would certainly agree with this.

It is however interesting to note there are innumerable case studies from around the world where people have a natural recollection of events from their past lives and not using some pschotherapy. Majority of these cases are those of children aged between three and seven years, who seem to remember events in a life that had ended, often in a violent way. The best evidence for reincarnation was the existence of birth marks and congenital deformities on these children which corresponded to fatal wounds of the deceased. There have been many pseudoscientific interpretations of such occurrences and delusions. Many of them deal with the subconscious mind while some talk about the previous life really being a life on a parallel universe. But let’s take a scientific approach which seems most likely plausible.

The idea revolves around the DNA acting as a secondary area of memory storage besides the brain. The idea that our memories are stored in our genes is a very recent and controversial one. It has been accepted since the experiments of Wilder Penfield back in the fifties, that hidden away in each of us is a permanent record of our past. It has been popularized keeping in mind the concept of inherited instincts which is apparent in an individual just like his or her ancestors. Since the brain of an unborn baby is not developed from the beginning just like its other body organs, the nature’s blueprint is the only possible way for passing on information.

Given that approximately only 3% of the DNA of the human genome codes for amino acids, the other 97%, called ‘introns’, has no obvious function and hence carry plenty of room for storing behavior instructions. Could this be the possible way how not just behavioral but also ancestral information is passed on from generation to generation? When clients regress to memories from a previous life, is it actually them accessing something present in their genome blueprint, an ancestral experience? If we try to focus on certain case studies where a past life memory of some individual has actually been traced back to certain true accounts despite minor flaws, then it seems very logical to argue that these may actually have been the memories or real life incidents of their ancestors. Perhaps the unconscious has access to reference experiences stretching back generations.

A lot of research is being carried out in areas like above to find possible answers for reincarnation by experts. It might be possible one day to unlock this great secret nature has kept hidden from us. Till then be righteous in your deeds because you might be rewarded in your next life if not now!!