Heredity Versus Reincarnation

Despite widespread public interest, scientific research in the field of parapsychology remained inadequate for years. But the Genome Project and other recent findings have changed things, with genetics now starting to contribute to the "foggy" subject of parapsychology. Significantly, the heredity hypothesis, which once rivaled parapsychology's reincarnation hypothesis, now seems to be losing ground.

The heredity theory once ran into almost every aspect of our life, including general physical characteristics ( configuration, illness ) racial characteristics, birthmarks, birth defects ( physical and mental ), general mental problems and general mental characteristics. And the part that dealt with the mind was given the distinct name of Behavioural Genetics. Some psychiatrists even depend on genome-utilisation for cure and prevention purposes.

Lord Krishna says in the Bhagvad Gita ( Chapter 15, Verse 8 ), "Just as the air carries over the smell of one flower into another, the spirit, while leaving a body, carries over the mind and knowledge into another". Here, the finest commentator on Hindu philosophy has postulated a contradictory hypothesis against behavioural genetics. Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism too have agreed with this "carry over" concept. The Indian reincarnation theory even claims to explain why someone is born beautiful and another is not. Although beauty variation is sometimes relative, racial differences are not. The theory might have meant the word "beauty" in the sense of such racial characteristic components.

The "carry over" concept seems to suggest that the transmigration of minds takes place like a fog flowing in the wind. But what is this fog? Ancient India declares, "It is neither "mass" nor "energy", nor is it conceivable directly by the typical five human sense organs ( eye, ear, nose, tongue, skin )". This "foggy" hypothesis interferes with inborn mental characteristics such as aptitude, intelligence, attraction, phobia, habit etc. Intense debate between behavioural genetics and the Bhagvad Gita has been witnessed in regard to topics such as wonder children, general childhood aptitude, subnormal children, phobias in early infancy, etc.

But the time now has come for these two rival theories to stop quarrelling and enter an official debate about the authentic Genome Project. Ever since the first Genome Findings in February 2001, India's reincarnation theory has attracted plenty of attention.

The drama began with the discovery that despite having astronomical intelligence, mankind is endowed with only 30,000 genes ( instead of the long anticipated 1,00,000+ ). Western scientists ran helter skelter to find the "missing" 70 per cent + genes. Again, not only are the numbers of genes similar in mice and men, but the genes themselves, barring a few, are alike in both. All this seemingly indicates the collapse of the theory that a particular gene must be for a particular mental characteristic.

While the West was resorting to the theory of "genes in combination", the drama reached its second phase with Dr Jean-Michel Claverie of France confessing in the magazine, Science, "In fact, with 30,000 genes, each directly interacting with four or five others on average, the human genome is not significantly more complex than a modern jet airplane, which contains more than 200,000 unique parts, each of them interacting with three or four others on average".

Scientists now say, "Essentially, humans get much more out of the genes. It means the same genes make many more of their products, the proteins, than the ones in mice do". But why are "the same genes" more active in case of humans?

Meanwhile, at least 30 disease genes have been identified out of the first genome results ( breast cancer, colour blindness, asthma, epilepsy ). But there hasn't yet surfaced a single mental problem in this list (epilepsy falling under the category of neurological treatments ). The Institute for Behavioural Genetics in Colorado is trying hard, but is only at the sophisticated statistical-linkage-analysis stage, which doesn't provide any concrete proof.

The dramatic climax came when genetics resigned from even explaining the remarkable "physical" race-concept. The February Findings further revealed that all human beings ( Africans / Asians / Caucasians ) share an incredible 99.99 per cent of all genetic material. The astonished scientists "only now" interpret racial differences as environmental adaptations. But why, then, in the same environment in a cold country with white Caucasian people, does an African couple give birth to a baby of the African race? Doesn't this question today open up a new direction in reincarnation research?

Recent research in New Zealand ( 1999 ) has revealed that throughout the world, the average IQ of children is increasing with each generation. And scientists could conclude no Common Environmental Conditions ( such as urbanism / computer-exposure / dieting ) for this mass finding! Again, the children are "getting smarter" from childhood itself, leaving no scope for any personal practice in this life before appearing intelligent. In 1999, the experts finally opined that the event could be explained by only a genetic manipulation through the ages.

But the brilliant genome-revelation has now begun turning this suggestion on its head. It seems ridiculous that the age-old gene pool evolution is taking place within only 30,000 genes, that too those which are 99.99 per cent similar in all human beings. But the "carry over" concept comfortably explains the rising New Children's Intelligence via the Past Life's Personal Practice.

Meanwhile, quite remarkably, within just a few days of the publications of the first results of the Genome Project, Dr Ian Stevenson of the University of Virginia swiftly released the new edition of his 1987 book on reincarnation Children Who Remember Previous Lives: A Question of Reincarnation ( McFarland and Company; February 2001 ).

In this book, Stevenson describes empirical research conducted over the past 40 years. He also addresses some frequently asked questions about these cases. The chapter headings in the February 2001 edition include: `A critique of criticisms', `New material related to birthmarks and birth defects' and `Recent developments in genetic study'. It appears that Stevenson had anticipated the "expected" passive Genome results!

It is hoped that science will eventually recognise that genetics will never provide the answer to more than a significant minority of our characteristics, and that too, only physical ones. Reincarnation research is already under serious empirical progress in at least six universities in the world, including those in the US and other western countries.