It is widely recognized that Abraham was the progenitor of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. What is less known is that the Torah also suggests that he sowed the seeds of what would eventually become the eastern religions as well. Late in his life (and after his wife Sara's death) he married another woman named Keturah and had several children with her as is outlined in Genesis 25. In that chapter there are some interesting nominal correspondences between the children's names and deities of the Hindu pantheon. For instance, one child is named Yokshan which shares the same roots (KSHN) as Krishna and a grandchild is called Shiva. Beyond that, Abraham's name itself shares roots (BRM) with the name Brahma, the Hindu god of creation and the "great grandsire of all human beings." Abraham's wife was Sara and Brahma's is called Sarasvati. While this is obviously not conclusive, it is intriguing grist for the mill.
The text in 25:5 tells us that "Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac. But to the concubine-children who were Abraham's, Abraham gave gifts; then he sent them away from Isaac his son, while he was still alive, eastward to the land of the east." The classical commentators wonder at this; if he had already given "all that he had" to Isaac, what were these gifts that he gave the (soon to be) eastbound children? The indispensible 11th Century elucidator Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (Rashi) explained that he gave them spiritual gifts -- knowledge that they would need for their journey. It's possible that this is the common origin of Judaism and the East's shared belief in reincarnation.
The great Italian Kabbalist Moshe Chaim Luzzato (Ramchal) explained in his classic work The Way of God that "a single soul can be reincarnated a number of times in different bodies, and in this manner, it can rectify damage done in previous incarnations. Similarly, it can also achieve perfection that was not attained in its previous incarnations." Though a full treatment of the logical implications of this idea is not possible in a blog post, this would help to explain the classical existential question of why bad things happen to good people (and vice versa). Jews believe that a human being at his or her core essence is a consciousness, one that transcends the corporeal self. In this light, the human experience is painted on a vastly larger canvas than we currently imagine and has a critical bearing on who we are. One way of exploring this idea is through the following metaphor: You have an axe. It gets a nick in the head so you have it replaced. Then, the handle breaks, and you replace that. Is it the same axe? I once saw a Hare Krishna display in Central Park that illustrated the same idea. It was a small model of a single human life cycle from infancy to old age. "Look at these bodies" the guy explained to me, "do they look related?" "What maintains their continuity?" Biologically speaking we don't inhabit the same container for the duration of our lives as most of our cells fully replicate about every 10 years. If our consciousness can endure a series of shifting bodies then perhaps it can leap from one to another.
Rabbi Isaac Luria's Book of Incarnations is a fascinating exploration of the soul roots of many of the key figures of the Torah. It demonstrates how seemingly unrelated events and people in classic Biblical accounts are actually the same (albeit) reincarnated souls back to take a second crack at achieving their potential or to rectify their poor choices and the negative consequences from previous incarnations. For example, though Noah was considered a righteous man, he is faulted for failing to take responsibility for his generation and allowing them to be destroyed by the flood. The Hebrew word for the boat he built (and that saved humanity) is "teyva." This word is only used one more time in the Torah and it also involves being saved from the water. It's the name given to the little raft that Moses' mother made to hide him from the Egyptians. According to Rabbi Luria, Moses is the soul of Noah who's been offered a second chance to take responsibility for his people and the unusual word is the hint that links the accounts. (This particular soul succeeds with flying colors in round two).
The concept of reincarnation also motivates various aspects of Jewish law, prayer and ethics. Ultimately we believe that good deeds should be performed with no ulterior motive. Nonetheless, it's understood, for instance, that if we transgress the Torah's prohibition against bearing a grudge, (Leviticus 19:18) we might be dragged into someone else's next incarnation to give them the chance to do right by us. To prevent that need there is a wonderful nightly meditation that guides us towards forgiveness of all who may have wronged us that day. It reads (in part) "Master of the Universe, I hereby forgive anyone who angered or antagonized or sinned against me -- whether against my body, my property, my honor or against anything of mine...whether through speech, deed, thought or notion; whether in this transmigration or another transmigration."
Just as Israel geographically stands at the threshold of Europe and Asia, so do its tenets. There is a surprising amount of similarities between Judaism and the spiritual disciplines of the east, including a "shakra" system, a meditative tradition and the aforementioned belief in reincarnation. Through the study of the more esoteric elements of the Jewish tradition, more and more people are discovering the overlap, finding meaning in it and embracing a crucial part of their heritage that has been deemphasized for far too long.
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Ask the Rabbi - Reincarnation - About Judaism
See: http://www.rosicrucian.com and also http://www.whiteagle.org
( http://www.meilach.com/spiritual/books/st/spteach.htm ) :
"India is the source from which is derived much of the religious idea which pervades your faith. From India the chain has been perpetuated through many nations of antiquity. The myths which have centred round the plain truths of revelation owe their origin to India. The Messianic legends date from the earliest days. Men have always pictured to themselves a Saviour of their race, and the best record of your gradual growth is to be found in tracing the early religious history of India. As the study of Indian lore bears much on the scientific aspect of language which you have studied and taught to others, so is the study of the religious aspect of Indian history in the far, dim past, essential for yourself now. Direct your mind to it. We have those with us who can aid you.
India, Persia, Egypt, Greece, Rome, Judea--of these and of God's dealings with them in revealing the Divine Ideal as man has been able to grasp it, it behoves you to know. You must learn how Djeminy and Veda Vyasa were the predecessors of Socrates and Plato. You will be told of this by those who know, and whose earth-life was spent at that epoch. But, first, you must labour to gather up for yourself such knowledge as is stored up. "
Manou of India was a learned and erudite scholar, a profound student of philosophy, more than three thousand years before the Christ was born among you. Nay, he in his turn was but a late reformer compared with those whose words are written in the ancient commentaries which belong to venerable Brahminical lore thousands of years before Manou expounded philosophically the mysteries of God, of creation, and of man's destiny.
To him Zarathustra, or Zoroaster, owed whatever of truth he taught of old in Persia. All the sublimest conceptions of God date from him. The influence of India on all ancient races, in legislation, in theology, in philosophy, in science, is as surely proven to you as the fact that the language which you use is the same tongue as that spoken by Manou himself. The adulterations of modern times have so changed it that you can hardly trace the resemblance, yet your learned philologists will tell you that it is the same. The religions of the world bear to a superficial eye no apparent identity with the ideas which are enshrined in Brahminical lore, yet they are derived frequently from those primitive teachings which Manou systemised, which Manes naturalised in Egypt, and Moses introduced among the Hebrews."
“A fascinating parallel between kabbalistic and Hindu thought is found in their respective treatment of the transmigration of souls. Spoken of as Gilgul (the wheel) in Judaism, reincarnation is an idea that was rejected by Jewish philosophers (such as Saadya Gaon and Maimonides) but taken for granted among the early Kabbalists, beginning with the Sefer Ha-Bahir.” Gilgul has a central place in Tikkun Ha-Olam (the restoration of the world) within Jewish theosophy. (Sanford Drob)
as always
Is it simply the fear? that there will be a time when there is no manifestation of the universe called Olmossy ? I get another try to "get it right".
If there is nothing after this life, then ,Hey, it's been fun. Wouldn't have missed it for the world. If there is something , well I like surprises.
The axe example fails as I see it.
If a rifle used in the Revolution is passed on to a son, and over the centuries all the parts are worn out and replaced again and again. You do not ,now, have an "antique " rifle used in the Revolutionary War.
All this talk about "perfection" . Where is perfection other than the whole "perfect" universe?
"Bad" Black Holes?, "Good" Water Falls?, "Perfect People?". Just concepts/code words ,that have no reality.
Frankly, Olmossy, I think that such claims against the notion of reincarnation (As well as some New Age marketing *of* certain ideas of reincarnation) really constitute monotheistic and mono-atheist *projections* of more-'modern' existential fears. (not to mention assumptions about 'My' and certain value judgments about 'perfection.') Also assumptions that it must necessarily be a 'pie-in-the-sky' sort of belief that people must 'want to believe' and therefore convince themselves of, etc, etc.
Reincarnation in various cultural takes isn't even about that.. Personally, I'd surely be 'agnostic' on the 'literalness' of the subject if I hadn't been a pretty blatant case of the phenomenon, myself. For me it was always a question of 'What happened here,' and 'Can you really say that's 'me' and how?' than 'Does anything like this happen.' (Interesting times for this. If you happen to be being a details person in an information age, you can actually *check stuff out* to degrees people don't usually think about. Course, it's probably a lesson in why we generally forget, but I can't say I'm not well-past convinced.
The important thing, really, I think, is the understanding it can give about the moment, and it's apart from notions of 'eternities' or 'everything's really about this one 'real' life,' or even 'comfort.'
It sure does get a lot of existential terrors out of the way, but that doesn't mean it's 'easy.' Really does mean learn now, or learn later.
Actually, in similar wise, old Pagan ideas weren't about 'eternity' as such, anyway. That emphasis (particularly in the form of 'Eternal or Nothing' kind of comes of how the monotheists appropriated parts of Greek philosophy and authoritarian legalisms: the whole 'top down one and only eternal order' thing: it works fairly well at interpreting the physical world, but does tend to break down when you try to make it religious/spiritual.)
The idea of 'once and for all' (as well as its kin 'The end of the world') may have a certain appeal in a world that seems chaotic, but ends up causing more pain and trouble and ignorance than it's worth in many ways: result: people go to elaborate lengths to 'keep it simple.' )
It's kind of evident how they claim a 'Once and only savior from 'original sin,' ...but the last possibility they'd ever accept is 'What if it worked?' There they are adding conditions and all the condemnations again, just with no real sense of continuity. :)
I think underneath what we're taught by some is both 'reason' and 'religion,' there's still a much more organic sense of these things among Europeans that are simply *not articulated* as such. Just considered 'sentimental' or indeed 'tucked away in some attic.' But it's right there in the old poetry, (and new) as well. There's a general bifurcation of these things from how people *talk,* but there's also a recognition there as well.
I really think that failing to deal with reincarnation is one of the big problems in 'western culture' ...one mostly thinks of it in terms of various grandiose new Age claims, invariably about someone having been historical celebrities, but on a real human level, the doctrine that people just come out of nowhere is something that starts kids out in life kind of suspended over some abyss or something, ...no wonder everyone's existentially all freaked out. :)
Not to mention that if for any reason you've got outstanding holdovers, the adults around are freaking out like something's very *wrong* instead of, well, being in a nurturing/comforting role. As we know in more mundane circumstances, a kid with a boo-boo's more likely to be scared if the adults are freaking out: same sort of thing. Failure to take any continuity or karma into account actually leaves pretty much two options: 'something evil/wrong is happening,' and/or 'it's all happening right now in your head,' to a young mind, key words 'it's happening right now.'
Denial, especially denial till something distressing or scary comes up, isn't coping or welcoming or putting things in perspective: like: 'You're here, you belong here, you're OK *now.*'
...(playing Welcome Back, Kotter theme. :) )
However, in Hinduism, the idea of divinity comes from a very different perspective. It is about describing the universe through its principal components. The fundamental question is, therefore, "what is here" and not "who rules over here". Natural elements like wind, rain and sun become thus divine. Components of a physical human being - both material and mental - become divine. This includes the process of breathing, the process of eating, and even the process of excreting. These elements get grouped together into bigger and bigger composite wholes. All of these finally merge into three Supreme beings. The merger beyond them is considered to exist but is said to be beyond any verbal description. That is the Hindu idea of "God".
Though both the Hindu and Jewish ideas of God have certain parallels, there exist some irrevocable differences. The most important is the relation between God and the innermost self of a human being. Hindu thought postulates an equality here, whereas Jewish thought spells an inequality.
The Abrahamic religions have very different roots, and possibly derive some of them from Zoroastrianism. Jewish ancestors have spent quite some time in Persia.
I don't think much about reincarnation either. What intrigues me, however, is the story of the flood. It is found also in India. The Vaivasvata Manu was supposed to have been steered to safety by none other than the supreme Vishnu himself, when the entire world was flooded. This story could definitely have some historical origins - when a physical flood destroyed a mighty civilization and its heirs spread to various corners of the world.
But it is still a curiosity where this flood happened. I once heard a theory that links this with the Toba catastrophe. This is about the massive eruption of a volcano in today's Indonesia that covered up the skies with smoke for years. The resulting acid rain and volcanic winter has made extinct many species, including several human and proto-human societies. The theory I heard says that this volcanic eruption could have caused a tsunami that created a tidal bore which swept through the land mass. A very plausible theory, if you ask me.
Really goes to what people want to think about absolutes and eternities and even personally-dying, I think. They'll often go to elaborate lengths in the name of supposedly-making it simple, but to my mind it's this 'once-born' illusion that really blinds people, makes them helpless, denying karma or responsibility, and only feeling *shame* while never really doing any better, and often doing worse.
Interesting article, good to know that reincarnation is something that was discussed amongst the Jewish scholars throughout time. Just a few comments, I think the goal of interfaith studies should focus on spiritual truths rather than points of simple harmony. For example, the analysis above in regards to roots of Krishna, Brahma and Shiva are a bit flawed. I don't know hebrew roots but I do know Sanskrit ones. Brahma is taken from the root brh which means that which swells or grows, Krishna is from the root krsh which means black, Shiva means gracious and Sarasvati is from the root saras meaning flowing. I think it is important to remember the similar sounding names doesn't imply any sort of link. That being said we should try and understand the relevant spiritual truths, like if reincarnation is attested in many of the world's religions, maybe there is something there to be understood and studied both from a religious view and an anthrological view. I would most certainly welcome a discussion in regards to reincarnation and its implications/history in Judaism and even eastern thought.
- Mukunda