Theos-Talk Archives (June 1995 Message tl00050)

In message <01HRXVXW4HKO8Y582Q@CCIT.ARIZONA.EDU> theos-l@vnet.net
writes:

> I thank Dr.  Bain for commenting on my posting concerning
> Reincarnation.  I would personally like to see Dr.  Bain give us
> his detailed reasons for disbelieving in reincarnation (i.e.  as
> a general process in Nature in which all humans are involved).
> Too many Theosophists accept the concept of REincarnation without
> really looking at the subject and asking hard questions.
>
> Daniel H. Caldwell

Reason One: If the reincarnation process has been going on since
(say) Lemurian times or even earlier _and_ new souls are coming
up from the animal kingdom all the time _and_ it takes many many
lives to achieve perfection/nirvana or whatever name is current,
then by now there should be no room to move on planet earth.

Reason Two: If reincarnation is part of "God Plan, which is
Evolution" [Jinarajadasa - First Principles of Theosophy, Adyar]
and leads to a general improvement in the human race, where is
the supporting evidence? The human race is just as busy now at
devising ways of its members being horrible to each other as it
ever was, and improves the means of torture, death and
destruction of its members on a daily basis.

Reason Three: If Karma is tied to reincarnation as an integral
part of the plan, what kind of "justice" is it which gives us
punishments ("karmic consequences") in this life while denying us
the recollection of what we did wrong to deserve them?

Reason Four: Who in their right mind would want to come back to
the vale of tears, murder, rape, torture, hunger, disease, etc.,
etc.? The incentives to get perfect damn quick are all around us
....

If I kill and get life in jail, then I know what I am doing time
for.  If I reincarnate and "do time," why am I not told why?

It may be that we _do_ reincarnate if we choose to, and that we
do not if we choose to move on elsewhere.  It is asking a bit
much to believe that the spiritual essences we are alleged to be
are to be tied for interminable periods to a small speck of dust
in a remote corner of of a remote and insignificant galaxy (the
"Milky Way") and incredible distance from the central sun.  My
guess (just a guess) is that there's a lot of room out there for
our spiritual essences to play in, and that we may well do just
that, given half a chance - after all, that's how we behave down
here!