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Reincarnation: A Study of the Human Soul
By J.A. Anderson
Reincarnation The Scientific Evidence
BUT aside from all philosophic necessities or hypotheses, if Reincarnation be true, we shall find evidence of it in nature, for natura non saltet. At the outset of this portion of our inquiry, we see that the repetition of her processes is universal. In the mineral kingdom, the sand, formed from the crumbling rocks of the mountain's side, re-forms into stony stratifications, at the bottom of the sea, to be again upheaved, and reprint the geologic page in future ages. Tree or plant, animal or human, each is reproduced "after its kind," in an apparently endless succession. Embryologists trace the history of the incal- culable periods during which the physical form of man evolved up through the lower kingdoms by means of the repetition of each successive stage, in gestation. Cell, fish, reptile, bird, animal, man each step upwarcj is repeated, though the necessity for this would seem to have
ceased with the completion of the more perfect design.
Man casts aside his 'prentice efforts once he succeeds, but nature ever follows the familiar pathways. Yet the countless elemental hosts and hierarchies of " nature Spirits," engaged in carrying out the practical aspect of evolution do not pause at the simple reproduction of the old form. Having reached the end of beaten paths, each still struggles onward, though its progress is as little perceptible as the impress of a single wave upon the beach which, nevertheless, is slowly wearing away.
This gradual perfection of type also shows that idea precedes form, and that nature is not working blindly, under the impulse of unintelligent force. Ages were occupied in so modifying the gills of water-breathing mammalia that they could live in the purer, rarer atmosphere of the earth; yet is it not evident that the idea of the perfected bird was present and potent during the whole process ? Is it not also evident that the idea of perfected man, with all his wonderful organization, was present when the first protoplasmic cell responded to the force of the inner, energizing thought ? It will be universally admitted that it is the idea, and not the form, which is preserved; the point of dispute is as to the method by which the idea is carried onward.
The materialist avers that it is due to physical procreation alone; that, for instance, if the dove should become unfertile, the idea of it would perish off the earth with the cessation of its physical existence. The Theosophist denies this, and declares that if every dove on earth were to die nature is amply able to reproduce the form out of the pre-existing idea from whence it evolved the species. The materialist affirms that force and matter have, by the merest chance, brought about the evolution of form and intelligence; that both these are but properties of matter, and are dissipated with the dissolution of the chemical and vital forces which caused their manifestation.
The Theosophist declares that spirit, or consciousness, underlies and is the basis of all form, and passes from form to form as these decay or become unfitted for its further oc- cupation. As Plato declares, "The soul weaves ever her garments anew." To interrogate nature as to her methods of taking these subjective steps in pursuit of her objects constitutes the motive of this chapter.
Our first inquiry must be as to the identity of consciousness when passing from vehicle to vehicle. That is, does the same conscious entity ensoul successive bodies? From the human standpoint, the answer to this question is all important. To the kingdoms below man we look for the proof of the affirmative of the question, as under the law of evolution there must be a preparation for, or a beginning of, the processes necessary. It would seem that every center of consciousness forming within the All-Consciousness, or Over Soul/ retains its individuality under all circumstances, except two, which two are practically one.
These are : (a) the failure to maintain itself in the struggle with nature's warring elements, and a consequent loss of identity as an entity; and, (b) the passing through and beyond the Cycle of Necessity, and returning laden with the spoils of conscious victories to the all-embracing Over Soul, which latter process involves no real loss of indi- vidual identity. Certainly, up to the point where consciousness is developed sufficiently to take control of its own destinies, there can hardly be any lapsing back predicated; for the original Energy which set the evolutionary forces in operation the Outbreathing
of the Great Breath can not fail before this stage, because the force is practically omnipotent. And after this the will of the innumerable centers of developed consciousness represent and stand instead of that original
Energy which can not be diminished, and of which they in their totality are the undiminished correlations. Yet, as on the material plane, certain laya centers of worlds, even may lose themselves by a succession of apposite unfavorable causes, so there can arise in the evolution of every soul destructive causes, set up by itself, which end in its annihilation as a self-conscious center of energy.
From these premises the inference is justified that an entity representing an apparent separation of consciousness, whether its outer physical clothing be a plant, a tree, an animal, or the human form, maintains its individuality throughout the major half, if not the whole, of the planetary cycle, or minor manvantara; that is, that the consciousness (elemental in this c^se) of a tree reincarnates or re-embodies itself in another tree; and similarly for all organisms throughout animated nature. For the monadic base, the Ray from the Causeless Cause, upon which all shades and grades of differentiated consciousness rest, must be absolutely colorless. It is only by material experience or expression that it gets this. But having once received a definite stamp in. any kingdom, as was pointed out in the study of the Individualization of the Soul, it has acquired individuality to this extent, and individuality thus impressed upon it can not be removed. It may be added to, as when vegetable consciousness is added to mineral, and animal to this; but
to remove it is unthinkable. Therefore, it logically fol- lows that the consciousness of a tree or plant impressed upon a monadic base renders it impossible . for this monadic center to again re-enter the mineral kingdom, just as the human consciousness, once attained, renders it impossible for the human soul to again reincar- nate in an animal, or any lower form. It would be making the lesser contain the greater a mathematical impossibility and logical absurdity. For this reason, consciousness, having reached any definite point of expression, can only remain stationary, in opposition to the evolutionary impulse, or go forward in harmony with this. We have thus the strongest and most cogent reason for predicating the identity of any monadic expression of consciousness when passing from form to form, upon the dis- integration or death of these. For the consciousness of a
bear, for instance, to lapse back into a universal reservoir of conscious force, as taught by some materialistic hypotheses, implies the destruction of all those emotions and in- stin^ts which distinguish the character of the animal.
Now, consciousness is only related to the material plane in terms of motion or force, and this is universally admitted to be indestructible. Then how is it possible to destroy that force which expresses animal instinct? It cannot be destroyed; it must find expression on the animal plane, and in the bear, or some closely allied species, until it is transmuted by evolution, and the consequent widening of its consciousness into higher forms of conscious expression.There is, thus, an absolute and logical necessity for specific reincarnation, of plant in plant, animal in animal, and man in man, and it only remains to examine the methods which nature adopts to secure this end.
It is evident that the universal repetition of idea in form throughout all nature, to which we have called attention, is but the expression of a deep and basic law. This law is that all existence proceeds in cycles, each having its objective and its subjective arc. Eastern occult philosophy terms the action of this universal law the " Great Breath," a definition in which Theosophy coincides and adopts. That finite time is related to Infinite Duration by means of these cycles of existence, is a great and all-embracing truth, without the proper recognition of which no intelligent conception of reincarnation can be
formulated. From the major manvantara, occupying unthinkable eons of years, to the life of a single cell, last- ing, in many instances, but a few moments, the rhythmic flow of motion and consciousness from without within, and from within without, is absolute, universal, without exception. Objective life succeeds subjective life, subjective life is followed by objective, in an eternal succession. The chain cannot be broken; it is as continuous as Duration itself. In the vegetable kingdom, this ebb and flow of conscious force is within material limits largely, and easily studied.
Especially in the annuals of cold or temperate climates is this flux and efflux plainly apparent. Every year a large portion of the material form dies down. All the beautiful imagery and design expressed in leaf, stalk, and flower perish as completely as though they had never existed. The life force has ebbed, yet not entirely. Root, rhizoma, or bulb hold in subjective embrace every detail, even to the most minute; and when the subjective cycle is completed the inner, subjective entity thrills, expands, clothes itself again with its vestment of cells, and reproduces the dead plant in all its former perfection and beauty. Every such a reproduction by a root or bulb is a genuine, specific reincarnation of the same elemental center of consciousness, or "elemental soul,"* in the same plant, yet we fail to recognize this. To us, nothing unusual has taken place nor has there because of our familiarity with the phenomenon. We say the plant has "grown" again from the root. But, in growing, it has fol- lowed a definite plan and idea. Was this hidden in the
shriveled mass of matter, which gave no indication of its presence whatever? Doubtless; but how? The form was not hidden ; only the elemental entity in its subjective arc, or "pralaya," representing the "idea" of the plant. In other words, the plant has been living a subjective life, without losing one iota of that distinguishing character which made it a denizen of a definite genus, family, and species.
Because of the apparent clinging to material form in root, bulb, or seed, the reality and importance of the subjective arc.of the existence of the plant entity has been lost sight of. There has not been that total separation of subjective from objective which we find upon higher planes. There has been a preparing for, an experiment in, subjective consciousness without entirely abandoning the material vestment, which is just what analogy would have led us to expect in this kingdom, for natura non saltet. Indeed, it would seem reasonable to suppose that it is only by clinging to some portion of the material form that specific reproduction would be most practicable here ; for vegetable, like mineral, consciousness is so little differentiated, its monadic base so general and diffused, that a total abandonment of the material form is to be expected to prove the exception rather than the rule. Where plants are reproduced from the seed, in many seeds plainly, and probably in all if we had the proper means of examination, the form of the plant to be reproduced is already partially expressed in terms of matter. Witness the Hindu emblem of immortality, the lotus, and all cotyledonous plants. In fact, the essential part of any seed is the embryo, upon which one or more leaves are often capable of being distinguished. There is no doubt that nature-elementals can and do really incarnate any ideal form by starting from a single cell, and that any lost form could be so reproduced; but the inquiries undertaken in this chapter do not lie along this particular line. It is reincarnation we are studying not incarnation in general terms. This incomplete reincarnation is universal upon all planes, but of course is most markad in the comparatively low vegetable kingdom. Every tree that puts forth flower
and foliage with returning Spring exemplifies the law.
fields of grain proclaim its completion; the lichen, "creeping up out of the rock," rejoicing in its new vesture, bears witness to the ebb and flow of the Eternal Motion, the " Great Breath," the Force-Aspect of the Causeless Cause, as it bears on its bosom the myriad hosts of nature elementals, now clothed in objective form, now resting in unconscious subjective arcs of their cycles of existence.
Passing to the animal kingdom, we find the evidences of specific reincarnation becoming more and more pronounced. Other elements of consciousness have been gradually added to the colorless base; differentiation has advanced farther, and anything but specific individual re- incarnation has become more difficult in consequence. Adistinct step, and one not observed in the vegetable kingdom, is seen in the metamorphosis of insects. Metamorphosis is, of course, but another exemplification of the repetition by nature of steps already taken in attaining a desired end; yet it is more. It shows a deliberate use of the old material, a reconstruction of a new form from outworn matter without permitting a dispersion of this, which
plainly proves an unwillingness to enter subjective realms with the material connection entirely severed. As this connection was maintained in the vegetable kingdom by roots, seeds, and bulbs, so here it is accomplished by means of larvae, pupae, and perfect insects. Between each stage is a condition of almost perfect subjectivity a Devachanic interlude from the insect standpoint followed by the return of the objective arc, which results in reincarnating the same individual in an entirely different body, constructed out of the old material. Form, function, habit, are all so changed that nothing but the evidence of actual observation would convince us that the beautiful butterfly was the actual reincarnation and re-embodiment of the repulsive caterpillar.
It is interesting to note the preparation for metamorphosis, and its significance in several directions. Newport, quoted in Duncan's "Transformation of Insects," thus describes the process:
"When a full-grown larva is preparing to change into the pupa state, it becomes exceedingly restless, ceases to eat, and diminishes much in weight. Many species spin for themselves a covering of silk, termed a cocoon, or case, in which they await their transformation. Others prepare little cavities in the earth, and line them with silk, for the same purpose; and some suspend themselves by their hindermost legs to the under surface of a leaf. In each of these in- stances the important change takes place in the same manner. Before the larva thus prepares itself for metamorphosis, its alimentary
canal is completely evacuated of its contents; its body becomes dry and shriveled, and much contracted in length; and certain enlarge ments at the sides of the anterior segments indicate the now rapidly developing parts of the future pupa.
' 'The larva of the butterfly either fastens itself by a little rope of silk carried across its thorax to the under surface of some object, as a
ceiling, etc., or suspends itself vertically by its hind legs, with its head directed downwards, as is the case with the common nettle butterfly Vanessa urtica. We have watched the changes with much care in this insect, which frequently remains thus suspended for more than ten or twenty hours before the transformation takes place.
When that period has arrived, the skin bursts along the back part of the first segment, or mesothorax, and is extended along the second and fourth, while the coverings of the head separate into three pieces. The insect then exerts itself to the utmost to extend the fissure along the segments of the abdomen, and, in the meantime pressing its body through the opening, gradually withdraws its antennae and legs, while the skin, by successive contortions of the abdomen, is slipped backwards, and forced towards the extremity of the body, just as a per- son would slip off his glove or stocking. The efforts of the insect to entirely get rid of it are very great; it twists itself in every direction, in order to burst the skin, and when it has exerted itself in this manner for some time, twirls itself swiftly, first in one direction and then in the opposite, until at last the skin is broken through and falls to the ground, or is forced to some distance. The new pupa then hangs for a few seconds at rest.
' ' After the formation of the pupa case, in describing pupa life, the author continues:
"In all insects which undergo complete metamorphosis this is the period of quiescence and entire abstinence. Many species remain in this state during the greater part of their existence, in others it is the shortest period of their lives.
' ' That is to say that all the wonderful changes which transform a crawling, slimy caterpillar into a glorious vis- ion of beauty and freedom take place in silence and darkness, "from within without," in the absence of all that food supply which is so necessary to the "scientific" conception of the generation and continuation of "vital" force. With how little waste of matter nature accomplishes this conformation of external form to internal idea, is shown
by the fact that a pupa weighing some 71 grains immediately after its transformation in August, in the following April weighed over 67 grains, "having thus lost but 3.7 grains in the long period of nearly eight months of complete abstinence."
In the higher planes of the animal kingdom, metamorphosis of the entire organization practically ceases; the remnants of it which persist being limited to organs rather than bodies, as in the transformation of the water-breathing tadpole into the air-breathing frog, through the metamorphosis of the respiratory apparatus, together with that of locomotion. The long abstinence from food among insects in the pupa state is also found in a modified form
in some of the higher vertebratae, as in the various hibernating animals, and in the fasts of reptiles, in all of which the consciousness practically retires to subjective realms.
Yet in this kingdom the most important advance made is in the substitution of the egg for the seed as a point d'appui for the reincarnating entity.* The clinging to the material form in the latter has been boldly abandoned, and a minute speck of protoplasm substituted. This shows that the entity has evolved to a point of greater differentiation has acquired greater confidence, as it were. It also af- fords room for greater variation ; as the soul, whether ani- mal or human, is not rigidly bound by a form already partly constructed in advance. Greater freedom is thus afforded it in modifying its own tenement; and the evolution not only of more perfect forms, but of a greater di- versity of organs in the same form is provided for. The balance of evolution has distinctly swung to the spiritual or Conscious-Aspect of nature; the middle point has been reached in the animal and passed in the human kingdom.
To sum up, it is plainly evident that consciousness en- souled in the mineral kingdom has the mineral stamp impressed upon it, and is limited by this until it struggles out as a zoophyte or lichen, under the pressure of the general evolutionary impulse. In this kingdom, reincarnation as a universal process can only occur at the birth of a new world, and every such birth is a reincarnation of a previously existing planet which has died. There is no creation in its ordinary sense possible in nature.
Matter, Force, and Consciousness are equally indestructible, and uncreate. In the vegetable kingdom, specific reincarnation of plants takes place under the ebb and flow of the natural, cyclic laws known as the " seasons." In the animal, the metamorphosis of insects absolutely proves the re-embodiment of the same conscious entity in an entirely different organism, under an inner, subjective force, unaided by external conditions. And between the creeping caterpillar and the beautiful butterfly there is certainly a vaster difference in form and function than is necessitated on any plane by the conscious entity, or soul, merely passing from body to body through the medium of intervening subjective states. Efflux and influx, subjectivity and objectivity, follow each other in unending succession, and are universal in nature. Life succeeds death, to again give place to its opposite when the subjective arc of the cycle is reached.
The periods occupied by their alternations are infinitely varied, as well as the degree to which the one state is re- placed by the other. It is easy to trace the beginning of these subjective and objective alternations in the vegetable kingdom into and through the animal, and to observe them becoming all the time more pronounced and, apparently, more disconnected from each other. But we have seen that this disconnection was only apparent, and not real ; that the same entity was merely passing through the subjective arc of its life-spiral during the period we variously term root-life, metamorphosis, hibernation, sleep, and death. It has been shown that the monadic base, the Ray from the Conscious-Aspect of the Causeless Cause, being
of necessity uncolored and attributeless, has attributes and limitations impressed upon it by the various material ex- periences it passes through, and the widening of its conscious area, as a result of this. We have noticed that as this consciousness is widened each addition, to the human
state at least, increases limitation and intensifies individualization, so that the range of possible choice in reincarnation becomes all the time more restricted. Thus an entity that could choose from the whole mineral kingdom, in the vegetable might be limited to a genus, in the animal
to a species, and in the human to a family.
Now, if the individualization of a tulip, even, has proceeded so far that nature has expressly provided for subjective cycles of the same individual, by the evolution of a bulb, how much more reasonable it is that the intense indi- vidualization in man should also be conserved by subjective periods in his life history. That the conditions limiting his consciousness in each state are different is no argument against these existing. The consciousness of a butterfly differs vastly from that of a caterpillar; nor does the butterfly ever know of the caterpillar state, as far, at least, as we can judge. The two are quite separated in time. It logically follows, then, that the individualization, carried to so marked an extent as it is in man, should be provided with subjective periods in which to assimilate and make its own the experiences of the last physical life. It is also reasonable that this experience, being so widely
varied, should be best assimilated under conditions of entire subjectivity. If, as Plato declares, " the soul reasons best when least harassed by the bodily senses," so much the better will it garner the wisdom taught by the fleeting panorama of its past life when entirely free from physical
perturbation.
Then, if everything in nature is pointing towards and preparing for distinct periods of subjective experience in the cycle of human existence, we can hardly be wrong when assuming that reincarnation is fully and completely proven by this preparation for and gradual leading up to it on her part, for again the truism meets us that natura non saltet, and it would be a great deal more than a leap for her to suspend processes once inaugurated. It would be like a great river, whose waters have been collected from the four quarters of a continent, suddenly ceasing to flow and disappearing into nothingness when within sound of its aim and end, the sea.
