remaining dormant for a long period in our normal condition, they may,
in certain abnormal states--such as madness, delirium, catalepsy,
hypnotic sleep and so forth-flash out into luminous consciousness and
throw into absolute oblivion the powers that are manifesting in the
normal state. Talents for eloquence, music, painting, and uncommon
ingenuity in several mechanical arts, traces of which were never found
in the ordinary normal condition, are often evolved in the state of
madness. Somnambulists in deep sleep have solved most difficult
mathematical problems and performed various acts with results which
have surprised them in their normal waking states. Thus we can
understand that each individual mind is the storehouse of many powers,
various impressions and ideas, some of which manifest in our normal
state, while others remain latent. Our present condition of mind and
body is nothing but the manifested form of certain dormant powers that
exist in ourselves. If new powers are roused up and begin to manifest
the whole nature will be changed into a new form. The manifestation of
latent powers is at the bottom of the evolution of one species into
another. This idea has been expressed in a few words by Patanjali, the
great Hindu evolutionist who lived long before the Christian
era. [Footnote: The reader ought to know that the doctrine of
Evolution was known in India long before the Christian era. About the
seventh century, B. C., Kapila, the father of Hindu Evolutionists,
explained this theory for the first time through logic and
science. Sir Monier Monier Williams says: "Indeed if I may be allowed
the anachronism, the Hindus were Spinozites more than 2,000 years
before the existence of Spinoza; and Darwinians many centuries before
Darwin; and Evolutionists many centuries before the doctrine of
Evolution had been accepted by the scientists of our time and before
any word like Evolution existed in any language of the world." (P. 12,
"Hinduism and Brahminism.") Prof. Huxley says: "To say nothing of
Indian Sages to whom Evolution was a familiar notion ages before Paul
of Tarsus was born." (P. 150, "Science and Hebrew Tradition.")] In the
second aphorism of the fourth chapter (see "Raja Yoga," by Swami
Vivekananda, p. 210) it is said, "The Evolution into another species
is caused by the in-filling of nature." The nature is filled not from
without but from within. Nothing is superadded to the individual soul
from outside. The germs are already there, but their development
depends upon their coming in contact with the necessary conditions
requisite for proper manifestation. We sometimes see a wicked man
suddenly become saintlike. There are instances of murderers and
robbers becoming saints. A religionist will explain the cause of their
sudden change, by saying that the grace of the Almighty has fallen
upon them and transformed their whole nature. But Vedanta says that
the moral and spiritual powers that remained latent in them have been
roused up, and the result is the sudden transformation. None can tell
when or how the slumbering powers will wake up and begin to
manifest. The germ of life, or the individual soul as it is ordinarily
called, possesses infinite possibilities. Each germ of life is
studying, as it were, the book of its own nature by unfolding one page
after another. When it has gone through all the pages, or, in other
words, all the stages of evolution, perfect knowledge is acquired, and
its course is finished. We have read our lower nature by turning each
page, or, in other words, by passing through each stage of animal life
from the minutest bioplasm up to the present stage of existence. Now
we are studying the pages which deal with moral and spiritual laws. If
any one wants to read any page over again he will do it. Just as in
reading a book, if anybody feels particularly interested in any page
or chapter he will read it over and over again and will not open a new
page or a new chapter until he is perfectly satisfied with
it. Similarly, in reading the book of life, if the individual soul
likes any particular stage, he will stay there until he is perfectly
satisfied with it; after that he will go forward and study other
pages. One may read very slowly, and another very fast; but whether we
read slowly or rapidly each one of us is bound to read the whole book
of nature and attain to perfection sooner or later.
According to Vedanta, the end and aim of Evolution is the attainment
of perfection. Physical evolution of animal life reached its
perfection in human form. There cannot be any other form higher than
human on this earth under present conditions. It is the perfection of
animal form. From this we can infer that the tendency of the law of
Evolution is to reach perfection. When it is attained to, the whole
purpose is served. Do we see in nature any other higher form evolved
out of the human body? No. Shall we not be justified if we say that
the end of physical evolution is the attainment of the perfection of
animal form? Again as the purpose and method of natural laws are
uniform throughout the universe, the end of intellectual, moral and
spiritual evolution will be attained when intellectual, moral and
spiritual perfection are acquired. Intellectual perfection means
perfection of intellect; and intellect is perfect when we understand
the true nature of things and never mistake the unreal for the real,
matter for spirit, non-eternal for eternal, or _vice versa_. Moral
perfection consists in the destruction of selfishness; and spiritual
perfection is the manifestation of the true nature of spirit which is
immortal, free, divine and one with the Universal Spirit or
God. Evolution attains to the highest fulfilment of its purpose when
the spirit manifests perfectly. The tendency of nature is to have
perfect manifestation of all her powers. When certain powers
predominate they manifest first while the others remain dormant. As we
find in the process of evolution, when animal nature manifests
perfectly the moral and spiritual nature remain latent. Again when
moral and spiritual nature manifest fully, the animal is in
abeyance. It is for this reason we do not find expressions of moral
and spiritual nature in lower animals or in those human beings who
live like them. Man is the only animal in whom such perfect
expressions of moral and spiritual nature are possible. When the
individual soul begins to study its spiritual nature, its lower or
animal nature is gradually eclipsed. As the higher nature becomes
powerful the lower nature dwindles into insignificance; its energy is
transformed into that of the higher nature, and ultimately it
disappears altogether and rises no more. Then the soul becomes free
from the lower or animal nature. There are many stages in the higher
nature, as well as in the lower. Each of these stages binds the
individual soul so long as it stays there. As it rises on a higher
plane the lower stages disappear and cease to bind. But the moment
that any individual, after passing through all the stages of the
spiritual nature, reaches the ultimate point of perfection, he
realizes his true nature which is immortal and divine. Then his true
individuality manifests. For lack of true knowledge, he identified
himself with each stage successively and thought that his
individuality was one with the powers which were manifested in each
stage. Consequently he thought by mistake that he was affected by the
changes of each stage. But now he realizes that his real individuality
always remained unaffected. He sees that his true individuality
shines always in the same manner, although the limiting adjuncts may
vary. As the light of a lamp appears of different colors, if it passes
through glasses of different colors, so the light of the true
individual appears as animal or human when it passes through the
animal or human nature of the subtle body. The subtle body of an
individual changes from animal nature through moral and spiritual into
divine. As this gradual growth cannot be expected in one life we shall
have to admit the truth of Reincarnation, which teaches gradual
evolution of the germ of life or the individual soul through many
lives and various forms. Otherwise the theory of Evolution will remain
imperfect, incomplete and purposeless. The doctrine of Reincarnation
differs from the accepted theory of Evolution in admitting a gradual
but continuous evolution of the subtle body through many gross
forms. The gross body may appear or disappear, but the subtle body
continues to exist even after the dissolution of the gross body and
re-manifests itself in some other form.
The theory of Reincarnation when properly understood will appear as a
supplement to the theory of Evolution. Without this most important
supplement the Evolution theory will never be complete and
perfect. Evolution explains the process of life, while Reincarnation
explains the purpose of life. Therefore, both must go hand in hand to
make the explanation satisfactory in every respect.
James Freeman Clarke says: "That man has come up to his present state
of development by passing through lower forms, is the popular doctrine
of science to-day. What is called Evolution teaches that we have
reached our present state by a very long and gradual ascent from the
lowest animal organizations. It is true that the Darwinian theory
takes no notice of the evolution of the soul, but only of the
body. But it appears to me that a combination of the two views would
remove many difficulties which still attach to the theory of natural
selection and the survival of the fittest. If we are to believe in
Evolution let us have the assistance of the soul itself in this
development of new species. Thus science and philosophy will
co-operate, nor will poetry hesitate to lend her aid." (P. 190, "Ten
Great Religions," II.) Evolution of the body depends upon the
evolution of the germ of life or the individual soul. When these two
are combined the explanation becomes perfect.
The theory of Reincarnation is a logical necessity for the completion
of the theory of Evolution. If we admit a continuous evolution of a
unit of the germ of life through many gross manifestations then we
unconsciously accept the teachings of the doctrine of Reincarnation.
In passing through different forms and manifestations the unit of life
does not lose its identity or individuality. As an atom does not lose
its identity or individuality (if you allow me to suppose an atom has
a kind of individuality) although it passes from the mineral, through
the vegetable, into the animal, so the germ of life always preserves
its identity or individuality although it passes through the different
stages of evolution.
Therefore it is said in the "Bhagavad Gîtâ," as in our ordinary life
the individual soul passes from a baby body to a young one and from a
young to an old, and carries with it all the impressions, ideas and
experience that it has gathered in its former stage of existence and
reproduces them in proper time, so when a man dies the individual soul
passes from an old body into a new one, and takes with it the subtle
body wherein are stored up all that it experienced and gathered during
its past incarnations. Knowing this, wise men are never afraid of
death. They know that death is nothing but a mere change from one body
into another. Therefore, if any one does not succeed in conquering the
lower nature by the higher, he will try again in his next incarnation,
after starting from the point which he reached in his past life. He
will not begin again from the very beginning, but from the last stage
at which he arrived. Thus we see that Reincarnation is the logical
sequence of evolution. It completes and makes perfect that theory and
explains the cause of the moral and spiritual nature of man.
IV. WHICH IS SCIENTIFIC--RESURRECTION OR REINCARNATION?
The students of history are interested to know where the idea of
resurrection first arose and how it was adopted by other nations. If
we read carefully the writings ascribed to Moses and other writers of
the Old Testament we find that the ancient Israelites did not believe
in the Christian heaven or hell, nor in reward or punishment after
death. It is doubtful whether they had any clear conception of the
existence of soul after the dissolution of the human body. They had no
definite idea of the hereafter. They did not believe in the
resurrection either of the soul or body. Job longed for death thinking
that it would end his mental agony. In Psalms we read, "Wilt Thou shew
wonders to the dead? Shall the dead arise and praise Thee?"
(Ps. lxxxviii, 10.) "In death there is no remembrance of Thee; in the
grave who shall give Thee thanks?" (Ps. vi, 5.) Again (Ps. cxlvi, 4)
it is said about princes and the son of man,--"His breath goeth forth,
he returneth to his earth, in that very day his thoughts perish." "The
dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence."
(Ps. cxv, 17.) Solomon speaks boldly: "All things come alike to all;
there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked, to the good and
to the clean and to the unclean... as is the good, so is the sinner."
(Eccl. ix, 2.) "Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine
with a merry heart.... Live joyfully with thy wife... for there is no
work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave, whither thou
goest." (Eccl. ix, 7, 9, 10.) Again in verse 5 it is said: "The dead
know not anything, neither have they anymore a reward, for the memory
of them is forgotten." Solomon says: "For that which befalleth the
sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them; as the
one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath, so that
a man hath no pre-eminence above a beast." "All go into one place; all
are of the dust and all turn to dust again." "Who knoweth the spirit
of man that goeth upward and the spirit of the beast that goeth
downward to the earth?" (Eccl. iii, 19-21.) There are many such
passages which show clearly that before the Babylonian captivity the
Israelites had no belief in reward or punishment, neither in heaven
nor hell nor in the resurrection of the soul. Some say that they had a
belief in a sheol or pit where departed souls remained after death,
but were never resurrected. But when the ancient Jews were conquered
by the Persians, 536 B.C., they came in contact with a nation which
had developed a belief in one God, in a heaven and a hell, in the
resurrection of the dead, in reward and punishment after death, and in
the last day of judgment. Under the dominion of Persia, whose rule
began with the capture of Babylon and lasted from 536-333 B.C., the
Jews were greatly influenced by the Persian religion. They gave up
their idolatry, gradually developed social organization and had
considerable liberty. About that time the Jews were divided into two
classes, the Pharisees and Sadducees. Those who adopted the religious
ideas of the Parsees were called Pharisees (according to some
authorities the word Pharisee was the Hebrew form of Parsee), and
those who followed strictly the Jewish ideas, ceremonies, rituals and
beliefs were called Sadducees. The former were sharply opposed to the
latter in their doctrinal beliefs. They believed in angels and
spirits, they expected the resurrection of the dead and believed in
future reward and punishment and also in Divine pre-ordination. The
Sadducees did not step beyond the bounds of ancient Judaism. They
were Orthodox and very conservative in their views. They denied the
existence of angels and spirits, the resurrection of the dead, and
reward and punishment after death. In Matt, xxii, 23, we read, "The
same day came to him the Sadducees which say that there is no
resurrection." The Sadducees were fewer in number than the
Pharisees. Gradually the latter grew very powerful and after the death
of Jesus their doctrines of the resurrection of the dead, and of
reward and punishment after death, and the belief in angels and
spirits, became the cardinal principles of the new Christian sect.
Thus we see that the idea of resurrection first arose in Persia and
afterwards took a prominent place in the writings of the New
Testament, and since then it has been largely accepted by the
Christians of the Western countries. The Zoroastrians believed that
the soul of the dead hovers about the body for three nights and does
not depart for the other world until the dawn after the third night.
Then the righteous go to heaven and the wicked to hell. There the
wicked remain until the time of renovation of the universe, that is,
the judgment day. After the renovation, when Ahriman or Satan is
killed, the souls of the wicked will be purified and have everlasting
progress. [Footnote: "Sacred Books of the East," Vol. xvii, pp. 27,
34, 46.] The question was asked, "How shall they produce
resurrection?" Ahura Mazda says: "The reply is this, that the
preparation and production of the resurrection are an achievement
connected with miracle, a sublimity, and afterwards also a wondrous
appearance unto the creatures uninformed. The secrets and affairs of
the persistent Creator are like every mystery and secret." [Footnote:
_Ibid_., p. 80.]
The Zoroastrians believed in the resurrection, not of the physical
body, but of the soul, and that it was an act of miracle. Similarly
miraculous was the resurrection of Jesus. Although Jesus Himself never
mentioned what kind of resurrection, whether of body or of soul that
He meant and believed in, the interpretation of the writers of the
Gospels shows that His disciples understood Him to mean bodily
resurrection and the re-appearance of His physical form. The three
days remained, just as the Zoroastrians believed. The miraculous and
wondrous appearance of Jesus before His disciples was preached most
vigorously by Paul. In his Epistle to the Corinthians, Paul declares
emphatically that the whole of the Christian religion depends upon the
miraculous resurrection and re-appearance of Jesus. Although Paul
said the spiritual body of the risen dead is not the same as flesh and
blood body (I Cor., XV), still that important point is generally
overlooked, and the result is the belief which we find amongst some of
the Christian sects; that at the call of the angels, the body will
rise from the grave and the mouldering dust of bones and flesh will be
put together by the miraculous power of the Almighty God. Paul says:
"But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of
them that slept" (I Cor., XV, 20). He preached that Christ was the
first born from the dead, that those who believe in Christ would rise
as He did and that those who would not believe in Him or in His
resurrection should not rise.
We have already noticed that the Parsees believed in a miraculous
resurrection; that the same miracle became more definite in the case
of Jesus; and that the Christian faith was afterwards founded upon
that miraculous event. Both the Parsees and the followers of Christ
did not mean by resurrection any universal law, but a miracle done by
certain supernatural powers. They did not give any scientific reasons
for such a miracle.
But modern science denies miracles. It teaches that this universe is
guided, not by miracles as the old thinkers used to believe, but by
definite laws which are always consistent and universal. There cannot
be any exception to those laws which are uniform throughout. If
resurrection be one of those laws, then it must have existed before
the birth of Jesus; as such, how could He be the first born from the
dead, as described by Paul. Conversely, if Jesus was the first who
rose from the dead, then resurrection cannot be a universal
law. Scientists would not believe in anything which is not based upon
universal laws. Some of the agnostics and materialists have gone so
far as to say that Jesus did not die on the cross, but his animation
was suspended when his body was taken down from the cross by Joseph of
Arimathsea. When Joseph went to Pilate and craved the body of Jesus,
Pilate marvelled if He were dead (Mark XV, 44), because it was only
six hours after the crucifixion. Some of the modern physiologists are
of opinion that temperate and strong men might live for several days
on the cross. These heretical agnostics and skeptical scientists say
that the body of Jesus revived after a few hours in the cool, rock-cut
tomb, that he walked out of the tomb, went to Galilee and appeared
before his disciples. [Footnote: Vide "Science and Christian
Tradition," by Prof. Huxley, pp. 279-280.] Whatever the facts may be
(nobody can now tell exactly what actually happened), it is clear that
the scientists are not ready to take anything upon authority. They do
not care to believe in anything because it is written in this book or
that. They must have convincing proofs and a rational explanation of
every phenomenon of nature. They want to penetrate into miracles in
order to discover the universal laws that govern them. If they do not
find any such laws, they will surely reject every event that is
supposed to be caused by miraculous or supernatural powers.
The theory of a miraculous resurrection is attended with the belief
that the individual soul does not exist before birth. The supporters
of this theory hold that at the time of birth, the individual, being
created out of nothing, comes fresh into existence. But science tells
us that sudden creation out of nothing and a total destruction of
anything are both impossible. Matter and force are indestructible.
Science teaches evolution and not creation, and denies the
intervention of any supernatural being as the cause of phenomenal
changes. The theory of Resurrection ignores all these ultimate
conclusions of modern science. On the contrary, the doctrine of
Reincarnation, after accepting all the truths and laws of nature that
have been discovered by modern science, carries them to their proper
logical conclusions. Reincarnation is based upon evolution. It means
a continuous evolution of an individual germ of life, and a gradual
re-manifestation of all the powers and forces that exist in it
potentially. Moreover, the doctrine of Reincarnation is founded on the
law of cause and effect. It teaches that the cause is not outside of
the effect, but lies in the effect. The cause is the potential or
unmanifested state of the effect, and effect is the actual or
manifested cause. There is one current of infinite force or power
constantly flowing in the ocean of reality of the universe, and
appearing in the innumerable forms of waves. We call one set of waves
the cause of another set, but in fact that which is the cause is the
potentiality of the future effect and the actuality of a previous
potential cause. The underlying current is one and the same
throughout. Reincarnation denies the idea that the soul has come into
existence all of a sudden or has been created for the first time, but
it holds that it has been existing from the beginningless past, and
will exist all through eternity. The individual soul enjoys or
suffers according to the acts it performs. All enjoyment and suffering
are but the reactions of our actions. Actions are the causes and the
reactions are the results. Our present life is the result of our past
actions, and our future will be the result of the present. The actions
which we are now doing will not be lost. Do you think that the
thought-forces of one life-time will end suddenly after death?
No. They will be conserved and remain potentially in the center and
re-manifest under suitable conditions. Each human soul is nothing but
a center of thought-force. This center is called in Sanskrit
_Sûkshma Sarîra_ or the subtle body of an individual. The subtle
germ of life or, in other words, the invisible center of
thought-forces, will manufacture a physical vehicle for expressing the
latent powers that are ready for manifestation. This process will
continue until the germ can express most perfectly all the powers that
are coiled up in its invisible form. As the doctrine of Reincarnation
is in agreement with all the physical laws, so it is based upon
psychical, moral and ethical laws. As on the objective plane the law
of action and reaction governs the objective phenomena, so on the
subjective plane of consciousness, if the mental action or thought be
good, the reaction will be good, and the reaction will be evil if the
mental action be evil, because every action produces a similar
reaction, A good reaction is one which makes us happy and brings
pleasant sensations or peace of mind, while an evil reaction brings
suffering, unpleasant sensations, and makes one miserable. Thus
Reincarnation makes us free agents for action, as well as for reaping
the results or reactions of those actions. In fact, we mould our own
nature, according to our desires, tendencies and works.
The theory of Resurrection, as commonly understood, does not explain
why one man is born with a sinful nature and another with a virtuous
one. It contents itself with saying as Luther said: "Man is a beast of
burden who only moves as his rider orders; sometimes God rides him and
sometimes Satan." But why God should allow Satan to ride His own
creature nobody can tell. At any rate, man must suffer eternally for
the crimes which he is forced by Satan to commit. Moreover this theory
pre-supposes predestination and that the individual soul is
fore-doomed to go either to heaven or to hell. St. Augustine first
started this doctrine of Predestination and Grace to explain why one
is born sinful and another sinless. According to this theory, God, the
merciful, favors somebody with His grace at the time of his birth and
then he comes into this world ready to be saved, but the mass of
humanity is born sinful and destined for eternal damnation. Very few
indeed receive the gift of grace and are predestined to be
saved. Moreover, this doctrine tells us that God creates man out of
nothing, forbids him something, but at the same time He does not give
him the power to obey His commands. Ultimately God punishes him with
eternal torture on account of his weakness. The body and soul will not
be separated. He will not be set free from his body, because, if it
be so, there will be the end of his suffering, which God does not
like. All these sufferings and punishments are predestined before his
birth. Thus, St. Augustine's dogma of Predestination and Grace
instead of explaining the difficulty satisfactorily brings horror and
dread to human minds, while the doctrine of Reincarnation teaches
gradual progress from lower to higher, through ages until the
individual reaches perfection. It holds that each individual will
become perfect like Jesus or Buddha or like the Father in heaven and
manifest divinity either in this life or in some other. One span of
life is too short for developing one's powers to perfection. If you
should try to train an idiot to become a great artist or a
philosopher, would you ever succeed in your attempt to make him so
during his lifetime? No. And will you punish him because he cannot
become so? Can a man who possesses the slightest common sense be so
unreasonable? Similarly what would you think if God punishes a man
because he cannot become perfect within a lifetime? It is a poor
argument to say that God has given us free-will to choose between
right and wrong, and we are responsible for our choice; if we choose
wrongly we must be punished. The advocates of such an argument forget
that at the same time God has let loose His powerful Satan to corrupt
His creatures.