Five Lectures On Reincarnation

by Abhedananda

Swami Abhedananda was born on October 2, 1866 named Kaliprasad Chandra. He was a disciple of Sri Ramakrishna and was known as "Kali Tapaswi" to his fellow disciples. After the death of Sri Ramakrishna, he became known as Swami Abhedananda. He was a forceful orator, prolific writer, yogi and intellectual. He traveled extensively throughout India. The five lectures in this collection are Reincarnation, Heredity and Reincarnation, Evolution and Reincarnation, Which is Scientific, Resurrection or Reincarnation, and Theory of Transmigration.

Genres: Spirituality, India, Nonfiction, Philosophy

48 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1996

About the author

Swāmi Abhedānanda (Bengali: স্বামী অভেদানন্দ), born Kaliprasad Chandra (Bengali: কালীপ্রসাদ চন্দ্র) was a sanyasin associated with the Bengali Rennaisance of Vaisnavite Vedanta. Swami Vivekananda encouraged him to head the Vedanta Society, New York in 1897, and spread the message of Vedanta, a theme on which he authored several books. In 1921 he returned to India, and the next year he traveled to Tibet to study with the lamas there. He later founded the Ramakrishna Vedanta Math in Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Darjeeling, India. At the time of his death, he was last surviving direct disciple of the 19th century mystic Sri Ramakrishna.

Reviews

[Nick · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this to try and get some good arguments in favor of the theory of reincarnation. I was disappointed. Al the arguments herein contained are either obviously illogical, or rest on extreme and unforgivable misunderstandings of science. That said, it is, I suppose a good overview of the Vedantic theory of reincarnation, however flawed and illogical that theory is.

Generally, these arguments are either identical to, or as logically flawed as creationist arguments. For example:

* Scientists cannot explain why genetic mutations occur. Therefore, they must be the result of karma. (wrong, because they could be the result of radiation, imperfections in the DNA copying mechanism, or unknown causes)

* "Suppose a man as five children; one is honest and saintly, another is an idiot, the third becomes a murderer, the fourth is a genius or prodigy, and the fifth is a cripple and diseased. Who made these dissimilarities? They cannot be accidents. There is not such thing as an accident. There is no such thing as an accident. Every event of the universe is bound by the law of cause an effect. There must be some cause of these inequalities." (wrong, because while not actually random, such variations could be the result of the pseudo-random variables of the genetic lottery and environmental factors)

* "Suppose a man, twenty-four years old, who has certain traits, like music or artistic talents, such as painting and so on, has a crooked nose and other peculiarities, like cross-eyes, which resemble those of his grandfather. Suppose his grandfather died six years before he was born. Now, those who believe in the theory of heredity will say that this young man inherited all these peculiarities from his grandfather. When did he inherit? His grandfather died six years before he was born. He inherited, of course, in the form of that germ. What is that germ like? A minute protoplasm, a jelly like substance, and if you examine it with a powerful microscope you will hardly find any difference between it and the proto plasmic germ of a dog or of a cat or of a tree. It is smaller than a pin's head. And in that state this young man inherited all of those peculiarities from his grandfather... Does it not seem absurd to you? (firstly, this is a strawman. Similarities between child and grandfather don't necessarily indicate inheritance from him. Environment, or recessive genes from the other side of the family could be the cause. Secondly, it shows a gross ignorance of biology and genetics, especially in regards to how much information is contained in DNA)

* [Love, truth, self sacrifice, altruism, forgiveness, faith, devotion] cannot be explained as developed from animal nature by means of the struggle for material existence. For these qualities are not to be found in lower animals, although the struggle for existence is there. The moral and spiritual nature of human beings cannot be traced as the outgrowth or gradual development of the animal nature. (Exposes a complete misunderstanding of evolution as a "war of all against all" where cooperation and in-group-altruism are not rewarded. The guy needed to read some Dawkins and Kropotkin. Many of these qualities do seem to be found in "lower" animals.)

*Numerous times he posits evolution as partially correct, but incomplete. Part of what he thinks evolution "got right" is the idea of progress. That life is progressing from single celled life to fishy things to quadrapeds to bipeds, to humans, the most "perfect" beings. "According to Vedanta, the end and aim of Evolution is the attainment of perfection. Physical evolution of animal life reached its perfection in the human form. There cannot be any other form higher than human on this earth under present conditions. It is the perfection of the animal form. From this we can infer that the tendency of the law of Evolution is to reach perfection... Do we see in nature any other higher form evolved out of the human body? No. Shall we not be justified if we say that the end of physical evolution is the attainment of the perfection of animal form?" This is again, a gross misunderstanding of evolution for reasons which should be obvious to anyone with a high school level of scientific literacy. Mankind is no more "perfectly" evolved than the cockroach or the octopus or any other animal which is well suited to its environment. Nor is mankind the "end" or goal of evolution. Indeed, the idea that evolution has a goal is absurd.

------ Then there is also the nasty social consequences of a belief in karma and reincarnation which come to light

*Those who accept the truth of Reincarnation do not blame their parents for their poor talents, or for not possessing extraordinary powers, but they remain content with their own lot, knowing that they have made themselves as they are today by their own thoughts and deeds in their previous incarnations...They explain all the inequalities and diversities of life and character by the law of "Karma" which governs the process of Reincarnation... (reincarnation and karma teach people to accept their social role, and any misfortunes or tyrannies which come their way. They deserve them. This leads to, at best, happy slaves)


I mean, if you dont know much about Vedanta this will tell you some basics about how they think karma and reincarnation works. What their conception of "sin" is (aka, they dont think sin exists except as a manifestation of ignorance. Sort of Aristotelian in a way. Nobody knowingly does wrong. ) But I was hoping for something I could sink my teeth into. Something convincing. This was very very very unconvincing.

[gss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Swami Abedhananda discusses in a very logical and convincing way about the relevance of the theory of re-incarnation which complements the theory of evolution. He showed various theories of Egyptian, Greek, Jewish and Persian views about the creation of man and his after life. His vast knowledge about other philosophical and religious concepts gives a clear comparison between those views and Vedantic views of Sanatana Dharma. He did a superb analysis of various views and justified the relevance of re-incarnation in a lucid and beautiful manner.

[Vivek Shroff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was introduced to Swami Abhedanandaji through this book. It is an excellent book. Swamiji’s breadth of knowledge encompassing eastern and western philosophies is astounding. This is like a research document chronicling views on Reincarnation in various schools of thought through the ages right from Plato and Socrates. And then convincingly makes the case for the Hindu view.

[Ashish Om Gourav · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most logically convincing and persuasive arguments I have ever read on reincarnation/rebirth.

[Lydia Chong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arguments make sense in alignment with my values

[Samantha · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

[Colin Keightley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating dive into the processes and beliefs related to reincarnation. The author makes a logical argument through the use of comparison and contrast to other belief systems. An interesting read on an interesting subject, although a bit of a challenge to read and fully comprehend the first time through.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Swami Abhedananda (2 October 1866 – 8 September 1939), born Kaliprasad Chandra, was a direct disciple of the 19th century mystic Ramakrishna Paramahansa and the founder of Ramakrishna Vedanta Math. He was one of those rare souls who gathered around the magnetic personality of Sri Ramakrishna at Dakshineswar and afterwards became instrumental in the fulfilment of his divine mission.
Swami Abhedananda was a scholar in Sanskrit and Pali literature. He was the first to translate the Buddhist scripture "Abhidhammatattva Sangraha" into English. He also wrote several books on Vedanta philosophy, including "The Philosophy of India", "How to be a Yogi", "The Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna", and "The Gospel of Ramakrishna".

Vedanta philosophy is one of six philosophical foundations of Hinduism. The thoughts and ideas of Vedanta philosophy align closely with the Upanishads. Upanishads are the gist and the goal of the Vedas. Vedanta philosophy attempts to explain those questions that traditional Hindu (Sanatana) philosophies couldn’t answer better and logically.
The term Vedanta means in Sanskrit the “conclusion” (anta) of the Vedas, the earliest sacred literature of India. It applies to the Upanishads, which were elaborations of the Vedas, and to the school that arose out of the study (mimamsa) of the Upanishads.

Reincarnation is a concept that is closely tied to Vedanta philosophy. According to Vedanta philosophy, reincarnation gives us the opportunity to gradually evolve spiritually through the various valuable experiences we acquire in our different incarnations. Eventually, we reach the highest of our spiritual progress through God realization.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whether you believe in reincarnation or not, this is an interesting read, making a logical argument in favour of it. The author takes the Vedanta approach, which originates in Hinduism, but could be applied in any cultural context. He takes time to explain why the traditional one-birth belief of the Abrahamic religions doesn't make any sense, because one short human lifespan doesn't allow for adequate experience and learning if souls are then to be rewarded or punished for their behaviour on Earth for all eternity in the afterlife. Although he also mentions the usual moral and karmic justification of reincarnation, he is unusual in that he doesn't see his philosophy as something against science, but rather something to complement it, and even refers to heredity, genetics and the theory of evolution in his thesis. It was first published in the early twentieth century, but still feels fresh today: technology at the time was rudimentary by modern standards, but the basics of today's scientific principles have not changed since it was written. If you are an atheist, I doubt you will be swayed in your opinion of no soul and no afterlife, but if you have an open mind on the topic, I recommend this fascinating document.

[Vismay Agrawal · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this book with an open mind but I was not satisfied with the arguments presented in it. I agree with the idea of a subtle body, but I didn't get how causality works on the subtle body before or after death.

Overall, I like the first chapter, worth reading. Other chapters are okayish, doesn't answer many general questions and sometimes assumes wrong things about science too.

[Ed Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting read I downloaded from Google books. If you have a hard time accepting the one-shot dogma of the judeo-christian-muslim worldview, this book presents a seductive alternative that may better jibe with your personal sense of justice.

[Beverly Crosson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written

I thought this book was a great insight on the theory of reincarnation. It had alot of information on the theory of reincarnation and some solid arguments as to why this theory seems logical. I would recommend this book to anyone who is open to receive it.

[Ed Dingo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked it.

This book was well written and well organised. Obviously much factual research was presenters and supported the reincarnation hypotheses. Recommended.

[Srikanth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read !!