By Dr. Jonathan Isibor.
Last week, we published the third part of this article on reincarnation. Below is the final part.
The doctrine of reincarnation was freely discussed by Jesus and His disciples. Many biblical passages attest to this fact.
In Matthew Chapter 17, verses 10-13 relate that His disciples questioned him: “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must first come?”
Jesus answered and said unto them, “Elijah truly shall first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, that Elijah has already come, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they pleased. In the same way the Son of man is going to suffer at their hands”.
Then the disciples understood that he spoke to them about John the Baptist.
In plain language Saint John the Baptist was the reincarnated Elijah. The parable of a man blind from birth is another example.
Chapter 9, verses 1-3 of the Book of John relates that as Jesus passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.
And His disciples asked him, saying; “Master, who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind?”
The suggestion that he was being punished for previous sins presents an interesting matter for reflection.
The facts of Karma and reincarnation, to the disciples, were already commonly acknowledged facts in their community.
Jesus answered them saying, “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him”.
Reincarnation is a popular belief system in Hinduism, the mostly practiced religion in India.
Metaphysical arguments, as such, in favor of reincarnation do not exit, because no philosophical schools of Hinduism deny this doctrine.
Reincarnation can be regarded as an evolutionary process in the progressive evolution of human consciousness towards the realization of Self and ultimate union with the Divine Mind.
So, the doctrine emphasizes progression, rather than retrogression into forms lower than Homosapiens.
Most of the African Traditional religions are deeply rooted in the belief in reincarnation.
“Despite the strong influence of Christianity on Igbo cultures and traditions (in Nigeria), reincarnation has remained a heart belief of the Igbo tribe of Nigeria which the orthodox religion has found hard to abolish”.
It is remarkable to note that thirty most convincing cases of reincarnation have been documented by Trutz Hardo.
For example, the existence of prodigious children (like Mozart or Menuhin) who with their instinctive capacity far superior and prodigious in every way goes to prove that they had a training (or knowledge) before they were born.
Also those, for example, Bridey Murphy, yogis and Buddhist Saints, who claim to remember their previous births and lives, or again the déjà vu experience of some people who have explicit knowledge of people and places without having had any previous contact with them, or, finally, the conception that since the soul is indivisible it cannot be derived from parents.
“One of the best-known reincarnation stories is that of Ruth Simmons. In 1952, she underwent a series of hypnosis sessions during which her therapist, Morey Bernstein, regressed her back to her birth.
She suddenly started to speak with a heavy Irish accent and remembered many specific details from her life as Bridey Murphy, who had lived in Belfast, Ireland in the 19th century.
Not many of the things she mentioned could be verified. However, she recalled two people from whom she used to buy her food—a Mr. John Carrigan and a Mr. Farr.
The town directory for 1865–66 lists the two individuals as grocers. The story is shown in a film from 1956 called The Search for Bridey Murphy”.
Five-year-old Imad Elawar from Lebanon started talking about his life in a nearby village.
The first two words he spoke as a child were the names “Jamileh” and “Mahmoud,” and at the age of two he stopped a stranger outside and told him they had been neighbors.
The child and his parents were investigated by Dr Ian Stevenson. Imad made over 55 different claims about his previous life.
The family visited the village that the boy had spoken of, together with Stevenson, and found the house where he claimed he had lived. Imad and his family were able to positively identify thirteen facts and memories that were confirmed as being accurate.
Imad recognized his previous uncle, Mahmoud, and his mistress from a former life, Jamileh, from photographs. He was able to remember where he had kept his gun, a fact verified by others, and was able to have a chat with a stranger about their experiences during their army days.
In total, 51 out of 57 of the experiences and places mentioned by Imad were verified during the visit.
The famous psychiatrist Professor Ian Stevenson has investigated several cases and has recently scientifically proven that reincarnation is a reality.
These occurrences are mind-boggling and puzzling, so much so that many persons would still regard them as fictional and impossible.
While several examples are there to support this age-old natural law, it is, nevertheless, a feat to remember one’s previous earthly lifetime!
Consider how near impossible it turns out whenever we deliberately try to recollect what meal we had on a particular day of a previous week, a past month, a previous year!
The Veil between the Great Divide remains in accordance with Natural Law and Divine intelligence.
However, in our present incarnation here on Earth, it is not how much recollection of our past lives that matters, but our efforts to live our present life much better now so that we have a more blissful future in accordance with the Law of Karma.
What else could be more convincing than the acknowledgment of reincarnation in the mode of praying by an outstanding personality such as St Augustine?
His prayers: “Grant us to know Thee and love Thee, and rejoice in Thee. And if we cannot do these perfectly in this life, let us at least advance to higher degrees every day till we can come to do them to perfection”, tells it all.
It is my hope that readers of this article will think for themselves and embrace the facts of knowledge.
Dr. Jonathan Isibor is an Associate Professor of Microbiology at Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State of Nigeria. He can be reached at: joe_isibor@yahoo.com
