Biological death is defined and accepted. Winstead- Fry points out that within
sensory science, death is the termination of certain biophysical functions.
“We can empirically confirm the existence and ending of life.” ( 163) The
criteria for brain death are accepted as proof of biological death. Of course if
one considers the human being and the human body as one, then death must be a
definite ending. But what about those who believes the soul never dies? There is
the belief that the body is like a set of clothes the soul changes when the body
gets worn out. Can the human body be considered such a worthless object? Many
say no and yet others believe it truly. The debate about death is in the
question of existence after death. It is not possible at present to recreate or
validate existence after death using our senses. This is why there is so much of
an interest in near-death experiences. Dr. Morse and his team have proven that a
person actually needs to be near death to have a near death experience. The team
compared seriously ill people with those near the brink of death and people who
had near-death experiences were clinically dead at the time of their experience
and ‘were brought back from the dead.’(183) This is the closest one can get
to death ; therefore, it is reasonable to use these experiences to learn about
death. Near- death phenomena are as old as recorded history. Such an experience
is reported in Plato’s Republic, written in the fourth century before
Christ.(Blackmore 79) The phenomenon is wide spread. Over eight million adults
in the United States have claimed to have a near- death experience. Dr.
Stevenson believes that by him writing books it will 7 encourage more people to
share their experience. He believes many people may not share their story for
fear of ridicule.( Santos F1) Mr. Underwood reveals that one in three people who
recover from coming close to death or becoming clinically dead reports having a
near-death experience. (245) Some critics argue that the near- death experience
results from the brain’s response to distress. They claim that the brain
reacts to the threat to the body so that fantasies and memories of the
‘childhood flood the consciousness’.(264) However, if the skeptics were
right the experience would be unique to the individual. We know what the brain
is capable of, but to say that the content of every brain is the same is
farfetched. There are common components in experiences described irrespective of
differences of the people who experienced it. The sense of being dead, being in
a tunnel, meeting people of light, life review and the presence of light. These
people were different in age, nationality and religion. It is recognized that
every human being is unique. Then, why should everyone’s brain produce the
same images? Children and adults differ in the memories they gather and the way
they comprehend the world, yet their core experiences were the same. Therefore,
the argument of the brain flooding one with past memories does not seem logical.
Some argue that the experiences contain cultural and personal marks of those who
have them. Then the near- death experiences of Hindu’s would differ from those
of Christians and Americans different from Japanese. But here too the core
experiences were the same. There is obviously two sides of the story. One must
look at both sides with careful eye and determine for themselves what they
believe is true. This is where the idea of reincarnation comes in. Because it is
7 incorporated in so many religions, you find an answer to a question which you
truly want to know the answer to and do not abandon your faith in doing so.
Reincarnation is detected in many religions. Reincarnation is normally thought
of as a Hindu philosophy and it is traced back to Hinduism, yet it can be found
in Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism and in many more religions. In Judaism,
reincarnation is known as Gilgul. Though it has a different name it has almost
the exact same meaning. Gilgul was a dominant teaching in Judaism for over three
hundred years. Cabala, a book of Judaism which is often studied by Rabbi’s,
one of the holy books of the Jews which talks of reincarnation. Rabbi Steinsaltz
(Cranston 181) is an authority on the Cabala. He states: According to Cabalistic
doctrine, the Torah contains not only manifest but also hidden truths: the same
transcendent God whom the Bible celebatres as supreme king and law giver is,
from the mystical also an infinity of divine knight that exists as the
foundation of every human beings soul. For me, every soul is an emanation or
spark of the divine, and its ultimate purpose is to rejoin the God it came
from....I hope to demonstrate the secrets of the Cabbala- which rationalistic
Rabbi’s of the nineteenth century dismissed as dangerous magic- are fully
consonant with traditional Rabbinic Judaism.(181) 7 This view is also held by a
large group of Orthodox Jews known as the Hasidim. Reincarnation is universally
taught among them. On the other hand, the soul, it’s life and immortality are
rarely mentioned in the Old Testament. There is also no direct denial of it
either. In the Book of Job(14:14), Job plainly asks “ If a man dies will he
live again?” but receives no answer. So in the Old Testament, reincarnation is
not ruled out it is just not brought up as a major point in the book. On the
other hand, if one were to look into the Bible, the question of like after death
is brought up and answered. Professor Macgregor writes: Reincarnation is one of
the most fascinating ideas in the history of religion, as it is also one of the
most recurrent themes in the literature of the world. It is widely assumed to be
foreign to the Christian heritage, and especially alien to the Hebrew roots of
biblical thought. That assumption is questionable.... It has persistently
cropped up in various crannies along the Christian Way, from the earliest times
down to the present. It has also flourished in Judaism.(367) It is
understandable that Christians today frequently object to reincarnation because
for some it provides an excuse to postpone salvation 7 for the next life. To
make it more confusing for Christians, Protestant’s and Catholics have
different views as to what happens after death. Protestants believe that after
death they are asleep until Judgment Day. Those asleep in the grave include
people before and after Christ. They believe that when Jesus returns that they
bodies of the saved are transformed and glorified. On the contrary, bodies of
sinners are burned eternally. Some also think that between death and Judgment
Day there is absolutely nothing. Catholics have an entirely different view
point. They believe that damned souls go immediately to hell. Those who gain
salvation still require purification and then go to heaven. And finally the
saintly go strait to paradise. Because of this conflict and confusion Christians
often look to Reincarnation to explain the mysteries of death. In the Bible,
Jesus states, “ Truly, Truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am” ( John
8:56-58) Another example from the Bible says, “[ As Jesus] passed by, he saw a
man blind form his birth. And his disciples asked him, ‘ Rabbi, who sinned,
this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ ” ( John 9:1 -2)
Christianity has obvious connections with reincarnation as it does with
Hinduism. In Christianity, Jesus is the incarnation of Godhead, the Christian
trinity. In Hinduism, Krishna is the incarnation of Vishnu, the Hindu trinity.
Both Jesus and Krishna were of royal descent and were born of virgins. Also
Krishna was brought up by shepards and called the Shepard of God while Jesus was
worshipped by shepards and called the Good Shepard. Because of all these
similarities, Christian missionaries in India thought that the Hindu’s were
coping their religion. Only later did they find out that Hinduism began hundreds
of years before Christianity. 7 The theory of reincarnation is so common in
India it is hardly reinforced any more. Cranston says: The acceptance of rebirth
is so widespread in India that its philosophers and religious teachers felt no
need to prove the doctrine, anymore than an instructor in our society would
spend time demonstrating that day follows night, and night day. (227) Just as
reincarnation pervades Indian thought, it also pervades the Bagavad- Gita. The
main story of the Bagavad- Gita is of Arjuna and Krishna and the manner Krishna
teaches Arjuna all of lives philosophy while Arjuna awaits a war among all of
his relatives. Krishna tries to teach Arjuna that fighting them will not really
harm them for their soul will always live on. Krishna states to Arjuna, “ It
is said the soul is invisible, inconceivable, immutable, and unchangeable.
Knowing this, you should not grieve for the body .” ( Text 25) Krishna was
trying to convince Arjuna that he should not fear for them for their soul would
not die and once the body died the soul would continue to live. “ As a person
puts on new garments, giving up old ones, similarly, the soul accepts new
material bodies, giving up old ones and useless ones.” ( Text 22) It is
obvious reincarnation is a large part of Hinduism. But as in any great
philosophy or theory there is still an argument as to who first came up with the
idea.