A summary of the main issues discussed in "Do you have a soul" at:
http://home.att.net/~meditation/soul.html1) There is no positive proof for the existence of souls, immortal
karma, reincarnation, or any spiritual afterlife. It is interesting
to note that in their last years even Rajneesh/Osho and J.
Krishnamurti reversed themselves and stated that there was no
reincarnation and thus, presumably, no soul. If there is no
reincarnation and no heaven or hell, then the question of soul is
moot.
2) There are legitimate science based alternate explanations for
phenomena attributed to souls and immortal karma. The enlightened
teachers seem to confuse the effects of DNA for the effects of soul.
For example, people with higher intelligence and a more finely
articulated DNA code are perceived by them as being older and higher
souls.
3) There are obvious profit and political power motives for those who
promote belief in the supernatural. How many gurus have made fortunes
off the idea of souls and reincarnation? How many monasteries,
ashrams, churches, mosques, and synagogues would go out of business if
people found out there is no soul or immortal karma? How can
governments and the religious hierarchies control the masses if word
leaks out that we all end up in the same state of eternal
unconsciousness after we die, no matter how we behave while we are
alive? Would there be a Vatican City or Tibetan Portola Palace
without a belief in souls and/or immortal karma? The idea of soul has
historically been as much a matter of politics as it has been an issue
of personal religious belief.
4) It is highly probable that human animals have a built-in genetic
predisposition to avoid the inevitable fact of our future death in
order to reduce fear and stress. Our brains create myths of God,
soul, immortal karma, reincarnation, and afterlife as a buffer against
the hurtful knowledge of the inevitable demise of ourselves and
everyone we love. By inventing myths of afterlife and/or
reincarnation, the brain can exist comfortably without the highly
charged survival instinct electrically connecting to the newfound
knowledge of the inevitability of our own death. The supernatural
myths thus act as a resistive electrical shunt, blocking a dangerous
short circuit between two parts of the brain.
5) The wild and colorful supernatural myths of Hinduism and Buddhism
were created by the human brain mixing up the very real phenomena of
cosmic consciousness with the romantic, fiction producing part of the
brain that makes us fall in love. Humans have an inbuilt biological
need for love so we can sexually reproduce the species. This urge for
romance becomes embedded in our DNA code through the evolutionary
process, just as our need for strong bones and sharp teeth. Love is a
survival requirement for the human species, and it is the very same
internal brain wiring and euphoric brain chemistry which also creates
fantastic myths of reincarnated religious superheroes. The flawless
Godly guru becomes our non-sexual, fantasy spiritual lover. Many
Asian and Western gurus have taken advantage of this brain phenomena,
and used their own females disciples as a personal harem. Sexual
scandals follow gurus almost as regularly as summer follows spring.
6) The soul-karma-reincarnation theory has no reasonable explanation
as to how disincarnate souls enter a mother's womb and merge with a
newly formed fetus. The traditional Asian myths state that low souls
get less auspicious bodies, and higher souls get better looking,
healthier bodies with more intelligent brains. Few true believers of
reincarnation have ever asked themselves how low souls are rejected
from better quality fetuses, and how high souls avoid the trap of
getting attached to poor quality fetuses. The theory implies that
souls have consciousness that lets them figure out which wombs to
enter and which to avoid, and fetuses and/or wombs have built-in
restrictions as to what type of soul may apply to enter. Certainly,
even low souls would like to enter better quality fetuses, because
everyone wants to be good looking, healthy, and wise. There are a
thousand and one Hindu and Buddhist explanations for this process,
which sounds allot like house shopping and applying for a home
mortgage. None of the traditional theories meet even marginal
standards of believability in explaining such an impossibly complex
theoretical process.
7) Life on earth was created through the nonhuman laws of chemistry,
physics, and probability. Strands of chemicals (DNA) were created by
sheer accident and replicated themselves faster than they could be
destroyed. By further accident, some DNA strands became encased in
protective shells which increased their survivability dramatically,
creating the first bacteria. From simple bacteria more complexity was
added until a myriad of multicelled creatures were produced. Through
this slow process of evolution over billions of years, there was never
any need for soul except as a myth to help human animals deal with
their growing consciousness of the inevitable time-death equation.
Scientists have produced active viruses from their base chemical
components, and they did so without concocting any "soul."
The logistical mathematics of the soul theory do not add up.
Does every new bacteria, seed, egg, spider, minnow, or cockroach that
appears in the world demand a soul to go along with its already
sufficient DNA code? We know that humans evolved from bacteria. When
did soul come into the picture and why? Is there a printing press
somewhere stamping out trillions of new souls every second to keep up
with the demand? The soul theory lacks logical credibility, and
science has shown us that the universe is extremely logical in its
structure, formation, and evolution.
8) The famous film director, Alfred Hitchcock, often added a
theatrical ploy to his movies called a "MacGuffin." The MacGuffin
distracted the audience long enough so that suspense could be created
and the plot could develop without giving away the true course of the
story. In the end, the MacGuffin has no meaning in itself. Likewise,
Hindus and Buddhists have invented complicated myths of reincarnation
and/or immortal karma, declaring that we are all trapped in a cycle of
birth and death and only our eventual enlightenment can set us free.
The Eastern traditions have created a highly sophisticated myth
structure, but the underlying function of their myths is identical to
the more childlike myths of Christianity, with its almighty God,
angels, and heaven. The belief in karma and reincarnation is the
MacGuffin that keeps our minds diverted from the inevitability and
finality of our own death.
No one can honestly say that it is impossible that human beings
have souls or immortal karma. You cannot prove an absolute negative
against such a big and complex issue. One can only say that given the
proven facts of life and nature, the possibility of soul is unlikely.
On one side of the scale you have an almost infinite preponderance of
evidence that the supernatural does not exist, and on the other side
of the scale you have rumors, myths, and wishful thinking. More
realistic and scientifically valid ways to view the big issues of life
and death are detailed in The TES Hypothesis.
Christopher Calder
http://www.mombu.com/medicine/psychology/t-why-reincarnation-is-a-hoax-7231595.html