“I am certain that I have been here as I am now a thousand times before, and I hope to return a thousand times.” - Thomas Huxley [1]
Perhaps to my mental detriment, I think about dying frequently and often try to make meaning of my mortality; I fear death. In the past, if someone mentioned the notion of reincarnation to me, I would have dismissed it out of hand. I imagine many people share the visceral skepticism of the unquantifiable possibility of reincarnation. Likewise, I’m positive many are weary of reincarnation’s authentic theological roots. Yet, I also wonder if, perhaps, we can temporarily suspend any disbelief and explore the idea together in search of a theology that can improve us; even this thought experiment promotes certain moral virtues.
Reincarnation occurs when the human soul returns to earth in a new body after death. Many cultures have their own opinions on how this mechanism occurs. Take for example the Jewish medieval theologians, who took various approaches in arguing for the existence of gilgulim (reincarnation). For these learned scholars, reincarnation could be viewed as response to the problems of theodicy (reconciling evil in a just world) or as an opportunity for spiritual and intellectual actualization. For our purposes, I believe that reincarnation should be seen as a progressive theology that allows us to combat racism, sexism, speciesism, and, indeed, many of society’s ills. If I were a different race, gender, or species in a past life, or if I inevitably will be in a future life, then I must acknowledge that my existence is bound up with those radically different from myself in manifold ways.
While a theology promoting “heaven” seems to offer an escape from the iniquities of this world, reincarnation theology delves into the goodness of life. Here, our striving continues and we live as though we are eternally earthly creatures, where our soul is not complete until we reach a level of worldly achievement. We are constantly engaged in a process of being made anew. The soul is not complete for heaven; rather it needs a new body and a new venue in which to continue striving before it can achieve a final state of completion. How do we reconcile this with the concept of Olam HaBa (the Jewish concept of The World to Come, i.e. the afterlife) and the importance we place on reaching it?
A theology of the interconnectedness of all souls offers great potential for our moral lives suggesting a spiritual paradigm for universal love and solidarity. To be sure, when we encounter another, we see how our existence is intertwined. One cultivates greater empathy for another of a different body type, gender, race, or age through the realization that we may have experienced everything in a past life or are yet to in a future life.
Whether or not we are convinced that reincarnation adequately addresses certain issues of theodicy or earthly justice, we can acknowledge how these new possibilities raise new and exciting theological possibilities. Acquiring this belief offers the potential to enhance the cultivation of a certain moral consciousness. Perhaps we return to be better parents, more ethical consumers, more spiritually minded in our endeavors, or more philanthropic in our nature?
The moral enterprise of universalistic reincarnations is concerned with our taking responsibility for the cultivation of our past, present, and future, as well as the full transcendental ontological experience, our core being, and the deeper self. What seems compelling about a theology of afterlife qua reincarnation is not an avoidance of living in this world like some models of heaven may be. Rather, this belief is concerned with taking ownership of our complete existence. It is taking ownership for eternity and responsibility for all of creation. Climate change is not just problem that my grandchildren will reconcile with; drone strikes and nuclear weapons are not a problem merely for generations to come; lingering bigotry against vulnerable populations is not just a burden for the others. We live in the future and indeed we are the other who seems so foreign to us in this life. We are one bound together by the One. The spatial and temporal realms begin to dissipate as we enter the eternal perspective.
The return to this world is perhaps not a punishment, but a vote of confidence that we all can ultimately succeed in the schemes of life. Of course, while there are no solid proofs for what happens for us after this world, our guiding theology should make us better people. If we love life, we must seek and crave its eternal perpetuation. For me, embracing a theology of reincarnation, albeit with some skepticism, offers that possibility. This is perhaps the highest moral and spiritual challenge: we are asked to take responsibility of our full existence, even the existence that we cannot touch or see. We are spiritually connected not just in the here and now but in the ongoing ways of perpetuity as well.
Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz is the President & Dean of the Valley Beit Midrash, the Founder & President of Uri L’Tzedek, the Founder and CEO of The Shamayim V’Aretz Institute and the author of ten books on Jewish ethics. Newsweek named Rav Shmuly one of the top 50 rabbis in America and the Forward named him one of the 50 most influential Jews.
[1] The Big Book of Reincarnation: Examining the Evidence that We Have All Lived Before, p. 122 (Ed. Roy Stemman)
