Reincarnation and the Law of Karma: A Study of the Old-New World-Doctrine of Rebirth, and Spiritual Cause and EffectAtkinson, William Walker
Religion
Reincarnation and the Law of Karma: A Study of the Old-New World-Doctrine of Rebirth, and Spiritual Cause and Effect
Atkinson, William Walker
Karma; Reincarnation
The second objection usually made is that Reincarnation cannot be true,
else we would remember the incidents of our past lives, clearly and
distinctly, the fact that the majority of persons have no such
recollection, being held to be a disproof of the doctrine. The reply to
this objection is (1) that it is not true that people do not remember
the events of their past lives, the instances quoted by us, and similar
ones happening to others, together with the fact that nearly every one
remembers something of the past, showing that the objection is not
correctly stated. And (2) that the fact that we have but a very cloudy
and imperfect recollection is not an objection at all, for have we a
clear recollection of the events of our infancy and childhood in this
life? Have we a clear recollection of the events of twenty years ago,
outside of a few scattered instances, of which the majority are only
recalled when some associated fact is mentioned? Are not the great
majority of the events of our present life completely forgotten? How
many can recall the events of the youthful life? Old companions and
friends are completely forgotten or only recalled after much thought and
assistance in the way of suggested associations. Then again, do we not
witness a complete forgetfulness in cases of very old people who relapse
into a state of "second childhood," and who then live entirely in the
present, the past having vanished for them. There are cases of people
having grown old, and while retaining their reasoning faculties, were as
children, so far as the past was concerned. A well-known writer, when in
this state, was wont to read the books that he had written, enjoying
them very much and not dreaming that he was their author. Professor
Knight says of this matter: "Memory of the details of the past is
absolutely impossible."
"The power of the conservative faculty, though relatively great, is
extremely limited. We forget the larger portion of experience soon after
we have passed through it, and we should be able to recall the
particulars of our past years, filling all the missing links of
consciousness since we entered on the present life, before we were in a
position to remember our ante-natal experience. Birth must necessarily
be preceded by crossing the river of oblivion, while the capacity for
fresh acquisition survives, and the garnered wealth of old experience
determines the amount and characters of the new." Loss of memory is not
loss of being--or even loss of individuality or character.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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