Reincarnation
is Now a Scientifically Acceptable Phenomenon
by Dr. Granville Dharmawardena,
(Based on a Scientific paper presented at
the 52nd Annual Sessions of the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of
Science, November 1996)
Source: http://www.beyondthenet.net
In the seventeenth century when Rene Descartes divided
everything in the universe into two realms as "Res Extensa" (matter)
and "Res Cogitans" (mind), gathering knowledge within the realm of
Res Extensa was called Science and the phenomenon of reincarnation got pushed
into the other realm Res Cogitans which was condemned to be not respectable and
not up to the dignity of Scientists to probe into. Science was considered the
respectable realm to study.
All important and respectable knowledge of the universe
was thus restricted to science which was restricted to the study of the aspects
of the universe that are measurable. Scientists accepted that the universe
consisted essentially of "objects" leading to the belief that the
ultimate realities of the universe are things and not beings. It was believed
that everything in nature could be explained in terms of interactions of matter
particles.
Science developed in this framework is known as
"Classical Science". Classical Science had great material success
because it helped to develop technology which brought about wealth and material
benefits to mankind. It helped the West to colonise the rest of the world and
acquire economic dominance and political influence.
The frame work of Classical Science was punctured by
Henry Becquerel exactly hundred years ago, in 1896, by the discovery of
Radioactivity. Albert Einstein cracked it at the beginning of this century by
discovering the theory of relativity. It was totally blasted by the advent of
Quantum Theory and the Uncertainty Principle. It is noteworthy that Einstein's
discovery falls entirely within the realm of Res Cogitans as it did not involve
any experiments or measurements.
In classical science scientists made idealised mental
pictures of the phenomena to be understood. Imagined mechanisms were usually
presented to make various phenomena and relationships between them understood.
But as Modern Science boosted man's knowledge transcending the limitations
imposed by the five senses and took us to murky areas of nature, profound
changes had to be introduced to procedures in science. Our ability to
understand everything by way of perceptible mental pictures diminished and it
became necessary to imagine models with components which behaved in ways that
had no counterparts at all in the world familiar to us. Mechanisms involved in
these models in most instances not only are invisible but also consist of
elements that operate in ways never known in the world that we actually
experience through our five senses.
For example a single electron can pass through two
different holes on a screen at the same time and still remain a single particle
on the other side. If we use some mechanism such as flashing a light on the
electron to observe through which hole it passes, then it will pass only
through one of the two holes. Mechanisms of such phenomena are beyond our
imagination at least at present. Mathematical models devoid of pictorial
content which are typical of modern science resulted from attempts to fit the
concepts of atoms and waves to the discoveries made at the end of the 19th
century which led to the quantum theory. Classical science usually stood for
absolute precision where as modern science stands for impossibility of absolute
precision.
Modern science joined up the two realms, Res Extensa and
Res Cogitans and made us to understand that the universe cannot be broken up
into two independent arbitrary realms as Res Extensa and Res Cogitans. They are
not independent and cannot be studied completely independently. Within the
establishment of modern science some of the aspects of nature that did not
strictly adhere to the realm of Res Extensa, which were therefore earlier
condemned as unbecoming of scientists to talk about have become respectable.
Reincarnation falls into this category. Therefore scientists now have the
professional clearence to scientifically investigate reincarnation. This paper
does not distinguish between subtle differences among reincarnation, rebirth
and rebecoming.
If reincarnation is to be examined from an unbiased
scientific point of view, it is necessary first of all to find a way of
bypassing such unscientific barriers as religious bias. This can be done by
considering the standard procedure used at present for the acceptance of any
modern scientific theory and testing reincarnation by following the same
procedure.
Geremy Hayward has described how one ventures to deal
with a new theory. He describes this procedure as a four step scientific
process as follows;
a) study the relevant phenomenon,
b) formulate the new theory,
c) use the theory to predict observations that
we should be able to make if the theory is correct, and
d) look for these predicted observations.
Richard Feynman, Noble Laureate for Physics, describes
this process in detail. He combines steps "a" and "b" and
describes it as a three step process.
If the observations made in the last step do not agree
with the predictions of the earlier step the proposed theory is not acceptable.
If they agree the theory becomes acceptable. If more and more observations show
agreement the theory receives stronger scientific acceptance. Once a theory
becomes scientifically accepted by this test it remains so unless someone finds
reliable new data to prove its unacceptability.
Reincarnation is a very old belief and a large fraction
of the world population believes it. For example Rene Descartes' statement
"What I have said is sufficient to show clearly enough that the extinction
of the mind does not follow from the corruption of the body and also to give
men the hope of another life after death." in 1641 confirms his belief in
reincarnation. About 20 percent of those in the Western World whose religions
shun reincarnation nevertheless believe it. According to opinion polls this
percentage is rising.
Hence the phenomenon of reincarnation is already known
and therefore the steps "a" and "b" are already there. In
examining the scientific acceptability of reincarnation therefore one has only
to go through the last two steps of the above scientific process. If this is
done successfully the scientific acceptability of reincarnation is proved in
the way any other theory of modern science is proved.
Reincarnation may be defined as the re-embodiment of an
immaterial part of a person after a short or a long interval after death, in a
new body whence it proceeds to lead a new life in the new body more or less
unconscious of its past existences, but containing within itself the
"essence" of the results of its past lives, which experience goes to
make up its new character or personality. Thus, infancy brings to earth not a
blank scroll for the beginning of a new earthly record, but it is inscribed
with ancestral histories, some like the present scene, most of them unlike it
and stretching back into the remote past.
Reincarnation is an issue of utmost importance, one that
promises to touch the ordinary man, woman and child in a profound and far
reaching way. Crime statistics show that convictions are much lower among those
who believe in reincarnation than among the others. If scientifically accepted,
reincarnation will have a stake in defining human identity in the 21st century.
There are two possible scenarios, No-Reincarnation
scenario and Reincarnation scenario that can be considered. Human being is
composed of the body and an immaterial part. The body which is the material
part is well understood because it fell within the Classical Science realm of
Res Extensa and was extensively studied by scientists. The immaterial part has
not been studied by scientists because it fell within the Classical Science
realm of Res Cogitans.
In the No-Reincarnation scenario death is something like
the Event Horizon of a black hole. Crossing the event horizon is a one way
journey and after crossing it nothing can come back, not even light. Here the
body disintegrates after death and the immaterial part either annihilates or
gets into a scientifically unknown state and remains there for ever, ie. each
individual is borne, lives one life time and at the end of it passes the event
horizon of death to a state of no return.
In the Reincarnation scenario death is not an event
horizon because only the body, the material part, disintegrates and goes into a
state of no return. The immaterial part enters into a scientifically unknown
state and reappears, after a period.
The above description of the phenomenon of reincarnation
constitute steps "a" and "b" of the scientific process. The
next step of the scientific process is looking for observations that can be
predicted assuming the existence of this phenomenon, observations that have a
reasonable chance of being practically examined.
Abilities of individuals to carry memories of past events
differ widely from individual to individual. Some people can remember events
and experiences of long past whereas some easily forget things within a few
years. Most people vividly remember special events such as tragic happenings
for a very long time, even up to death. Under hypnosis people recollect events
which they had completely forgotten. Some people have the exceptional ability
to recall knowledge and experiences gathered long ago and use them when
necessary. For example a friend of mine who had been discussing Advanced Level
Physics with me when he was studying for the GCE AL exam long time ago, but
never did any science there after escaped injury in the Central bank bomb blast
by instantaneously recalling his memories discussing AL Physics. But others who
had studied Physics more recently lost their eyes because that memory didn't
flash back to their rescue at the time of impending disaster. As soon as my
friend saw the flash of the bomb blast from his window , AL Physics flashed
back to his mind and prompted to him that the shock wave comes a little while
after the flash. Instantaneously he threw himself back flat on the floor before
the shock wave blasted the window glasses.
If reincarnation as defined earlier is true it should be
possible to extend some of the above human capabilities, which result from
immaterial aspects of the human being, beyond birth to the previous life and
even beyond to earlier lives. Some people should be able to remember events in
their past lives. Hypnosis must enhance this ability. Some must be able to make
use of knowledge and experiences of past lives.
With these predictions we can move on to the last stage
of the scientific process, to look for these predicted observations.
A large amount of data has been accumulated by research
workers around the world on matters relating to reincarnation.
Spontaneous Recall of Past Lives:
Most promising evidence bearing on
reincarnation comes from the spontaneous recall of past lives, especially by
children. Often a child begins fumbling at the age of two, or sometimes even
less, to communicate his/her memories of a previous life. A large number of
such cases have been investigated all over the world. For example Dr. Ian
Stevenson, Carlson Professor of Psychiatry at the
These children speak volubly, accurately and
with unswerving conviction about their previous lives and the histories related
have been verified. In most cases these children voice their past life memories
between the ages of two and five. They being small are free of memories crowded
with information of their current lives. They often use phrases such as
"when I was big" and often grumble about their small bodies and even
speak resentfully of not being of the same sex as before. Often they yearn for
the lost company of a husband, wife, son or a daughter. They hanker for the
food, clothing, life style or sometimes even alcohol, drugs and tobacco of a
former existence. They suffer phobias that can be linked directly to their
unexpected deaths in their past lives ie. fear of knives, water, motor vehicles
etc. The strong identification felt by the subjects with the former
personalities, the powerful emotional attachment expressed by them towards
surviving past life relatives and friends, and the spontaneity of these usually
help to confirm the validity of such cases and exclude the possibility of
fraud.
Past Life Therapy
Past life therapy is based on the premise that
some people carry in their subconscious mind memories of unpleasant events of
their past lives and these subconscious memories adversely affect them in their
present lives. By hypnosis they can be regressed beyond their birth to their
previous lives or even to earlier lives. Many ailments, all types phobias and
even certain physical ailments can be cured by such hypnotic regression. Past
life therapy has now become a standard western medical treatment for such
ailments. The first highly publicised case of hypnotic regression to past life
was that of Bridey Murphy in 1952 in the
Several books have been written on this
subject by medical practitioners who carry out such treatment. The interest of
most of them is curing the patients and only a few are interested in checking
the information given about past lives. But a large number has been checked and
documented. When regressed to past lives people often speak in languages they
had spoken in their past lives and completely unknown to them in their current
lives. For example an Australian girl may speak in an ancient Egyptian language
unknown in
Child prodigies and others who can use past life
knowledge and experiences
The Roman philosopher, Cicero, maintained that
the speed with which children grasp innumerable facts is strong proof of men
knowing most things before birth. Since then the belief that genius is
flowering of past life experience held ground. Exceptional precautious talent
of certain children to pick up knowledge can be explained only by
reincarnation. For example a six year old child who had never played a musical
instrument suddenly playing near masterpieces on a piano or a three year old
child mentally following his father's calculations on his employees pay sheet
and spotting mistakes and later becoming one of the greatest mathematicians of
the century cannot be explained by any other way. The latest such person
reported is a four year old American girl who speaks three languages, programs
the home computer and reads Shakespere instead of trying to read children's
books. She has learned Japanese language entirely from books.
One of the best reported cases of people who
can make use of knowledge gathered in a past life is Jetsunma, a girl from a
ghetto house in Brooklyn in the
gathered in their past lives are some of the aspects that have been
subjected to much research and investigation.
The observations
made on the above areas agree with the predictions made in the third stage of
the scientific process thereby successfully completing the four step test for
scientific acceptability. No scientifically acceptable data that can go to
prove the scientific unacceptability of reincarnation have appeared in
scientific literature so far.
On the
basis of these tests it is concluded that the scientific acceptability of the
phenomenon of reincarnation is proven at least on three counts in terms of the
accepted principles of modern science.
A science minded
person often finds it difficult to accept reincarnation because he/she had
failed to perceive a reincarnation mechanism that is intelligible within the
outdated Decartes' classical science frame work. But Modern Science,
specifically Quantum Mechanics, has compelled us to accept unintelligible
mechanisms of natural phenomena like the behaviour of electrons and we do not
hesitate to accept them. Likewise with the data available we are compelled to
accept reincarnation as a reality.
Austrian Scientist
Rudolf Steiner says,
"Just as an age was once ready to receive
the Copernican theory of the universe, so is our age ready for the idea of
reincarnation to be brought into the general consciousness of humanity".
Source: http://www.beyondthenet.net