The Mystery of Reincarnation Explained
In each generation, the same souls that existed in previous generations reappear. They are clothed in new bodies, evolve, and become more sensitive and receptive to sublime and complex spiritual knowledge. Thus, people who lived thousands of years ago had the same souls as our own but are more developed today, bringing technological and spiritual progress to our world.
Any progress in humankind is the result of souls rising to a higher degree, after having gained experience in previous lives. Each soul that comes to our world begins its life with the experiences it has accumulated in the previous life. Hence, the soul goes through a process of accumulating knowledge, spiritual attainments, and worldly sensations, leaving it with memories we call Reshimot (records or reminiscences).
Of all the souls that have come down to our world from previous generations, only a few have wished to evolve into the spiritual realms. However, in our time, many have done so. We are much more advanced than our ancestors. It is easier for us to absorb new information and live it, because we are born prepared to absorb this information. Hence, each new piece of data is completely natural for us.
How the Concealment of Kabbalah and Reincarnation are Related
Kabbalah books tend to be revealed and concealed intermittently. They can be hidden for several generations, reappear, and then be lost again. It happens this way so that humanity can go through certain “corrections” (Tikkunim). Generally speaking, these books exist throughout the history of humankind to correct humanity and assure its development. All these books will be known to everyone in the future. The Zohar and the books of the prophets state that in our final days, all humanity will use these books as manuals for attaining the upper worlds, and people will have happy, eternal, and complete lives.
Souls of great Kabbalists go through special cycles. They do not appear in our world in every generation but, like the books, only in special ones. The soul of the first man incarnated later on in Abraham the Patriarch, Moses, Rabbi Shimon Bar- Yochai, the Holy Ari, and, in our days, Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag.
Such a soul comes only during special times, when it is meant to influence and correct the entire human race.
The Story of the Reincarnation of a Very Special Soul: The Ari
In the 16th century, the time of the Middle Ages and barbarism, a child was born in Jerusalem. Later in his life he received the name the Holy Ari. He absorbed the entire Kabbalistic knowledge since the first man and processed it and phrased it in such a way that all the generations following him could receive their spiritual nourishment from his books.
At the age of 35 he came to Tzfat, an ancient city in Israel that at the time of the Ari was home to many Kabbalists.
The Ari taught in a school he had arranged for his disciples for eighteen months and then died at age thirty-six. His first disciple was Chaim Vital, who was twenty-eight at the time. Chaim Vital wrote down everything he’d heard during those eighteen months, and what he wrote comprised the twenty volumes we know as the writings of the Ari. When the Ari passed away, he left his work to Chaim Vital and no one else. Chaim Vital was the only one permitted to practice Kabbalah after the demise of the Ari and publish the writings of his teacher.
How Reincarnation Speeds Up Human Development
What distinguishes the Ari is not only that his soul was an incarnation of the souls of giant Kabbalists, but also that it was born precisely at the time when the general level of souls in the world demanded spiritual evolution. The first phase of the evolution of the souls ended with the Ari—a phase of unconscious evolution, the Middle Ages, a time of barbarism and savagery.
The appearance of the Ari brought with it a new era of human development. Souls that awaken a desire for spirituality and knowledge of the upper world began to descend and clothe themselves in the bodies of our world. This caused the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Renaissance. It was a time of evolution, leading to the industrial revolution.
The Ari was given permission from above to renew the system that existed back in the days of the first man and change it from a system for unique, individual souls to one that is suitable for the masses—a large number of souls who evolved previously in this world and were now ready for spiritual ascent.
With Each New Generation, Kabbalah Is Tailored to Fit the Needs of the Public
The Ari received The Book of Zohar in the 16th century. He taught his students all the Kabbalistic sources that preceded him. Later on, these sources were published in one book, called The Tree of Life (Etz Hayim). It is a textbook that teaches about the way to the spiritual world, explaining how we can rise and attain perfection and eternity.
The Ari wrote some 20 other books in addition to The Tree of Life. They are very difficult to understand, but today they form the basis for the entire method of Kabbalah. In those books, the Ari describes the laws of creation as a clear scientific system, in a way that could be used in textbooks for study. The primary part of the Ari’s books is divided into eight parts called “Eight Gates.” Each gate describes a certain topic in Kabbalah in a clear, scientific manner. He explains the laws of the upper world, how humans influence these laws, and the reincarnations.
All the books of the Ari were written in a new and completely different approach, suitable for the souls beginning the correction of the world. Many Kabbalists all over the world relied on his work, especially in Eastern Europe, Ukraine, White Russia, and Poland. Many were drawn to Kabbalah, and a mass movement called Hasidism was established on the basis of it. The Hasidim are people who are drawn to connect with the upper spiritual world. They see that there is a sublime goal to their worldly lives.
Why Reincarnation Today Is Fundamentally Different than in the Past
Studying the books of the Ari raises us beyond the level of our world. The Ari stated that anyone who felt a desire for the spiritual world could study his books. Before the Ari, the special soul of a Kabbalist would descend as if by grace from above, and the right book for that generation would appear. But since the time of the Ari, anyone with any kind of desire for spirituality can study Kabbalah, and by learning from his books, one can enter the upper world.
The Ari took the wisdom of Kabbalah and created an entirely new system, suited for souls that want to rise by themselves.
Before the Ari, two types of souls came to this world: one, the beastly kind, was concerned only with procreation and preservation of the species, while the other, the Kabbalistic souls, were independently occupied with studying the spiritual world. Since the time of the Ari, the souls that descend to our world can no longer settle for the beastly sustenance of this world. They have evolved to such a degree that a great many of them want to rise to the spiritual world.
Today, souls are acquiring desires for independent spiritual ascent, and they need a method to help them come to the spiritual world. The Ari was the first to establish such a method and thus is considered the most important Kabbalist. The Ari writes that since the establishment of his method, any person wishing to study Kabbalah can do so, regardless of his age, sex, or nationality.
“How Reincarnation Really Works” is based on the book, Awakening to Kabbalah: The Guiding Light of Spiritual Fulfillment by Dr. Michael Laitman.
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