Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-05-23
DID WE LIVE BEFORE!
HOW THE THEORY OF PRe-eXIST-
ENCs HAS TAKEN ROOT.

Tall With IA BelIsver-Every Man
What He Has Made HimseIf-Geniu.
an Inheritance From Other Lives.
How to Read Past Incarnations.
Especial Correspondencel
NEW YORK May -Re-embodiment Of
souls is a subject much talked Of in New
York by those who are fond of exploring
new fields of thought Not only is it talked
OF, but believed in, by a large number Of
persons whose brains command respect in
the practical pursuits of life 1t Is little
startling to hear an envied bus ness man
or an able editor" declare his belief in a
pre-eN stence, unless one is familiarized
with the reincarnation doctrine You can't
think of him as anybody hut himself; but
be can, because he has accustomed his
mind to it,
Indeed, among believers in this interesting
theory, it is quite the fashionable recreation
to give your friends the hensfit of what you
think you were in the life Immediately pre-
ceding this one, and also to hazard a few
guesseS to what they were As you can
readily see, this is a fre,h and fascinating
field for conversation 1t has extraordinary
ToSSii ilities AMI NJ limitations But here i
a queer thing in regard TO it, You can tell n
friend that you believe he WAS no end of a
scoundrel in his past emboiimeu:s, and he
never gets angry with you-in all probability
he agrees with you. and admits that the
penalties imposed upon him in this life are
just Yet if You k;ntsd that he had been
wicked and worthless in this life, however
irresponsible he may have been for it, and
that whatever trouble he is now staggering
under is the direct result of his wrOngdoing.
he would most likely knock you down, il
you shOull belong to the sex that get,
knocked down His previous existence,
however, You can SANDER and detract with
impunity. They are long way in his rear.
and neither reflect glory nor shame, for the
reason that regulations data for this exist
ence begins with this existence.
Yet the re-embodiment theory distinctly
states that We are what we have made our
selves. We suffer from ourselves The
objective man born into the physical world
~ tl Tue lhSI
Our joys, SORROWS and sins are of our own
making. Our life is fabric woven by our
selves The eastern word for this is ''karma-"
1t is a sadly put upon word just now, reiter-
ated so often that it is likely to grow a littl.
wearisome We have no western equivalent
for this Hindu term, which is a volume com
pressed into a single word "And what an
idea it conveys of sowing and reaping, and
justicer'
| was present where two or three were
gathered together discussing reincarnation.
The editor of humorous journal
joined us Somebody repeated the CONVEX
'ation to him up to the point We had carried |
It. "Oh, yes believe that l lived before" .
he said. seriously, ''and that | shall live .
again, and again and gain"
Then, in lighter VEIN II must have lived .
% very poor purpose too. when | created .
iuch a karma for myself as | am now expert /
.ncing. Think of it. doomed tn edit the
tuff they call humOr. What could / have
lone to deserve itP
One man. a writer whose name carries
weight all over the American newspaper
world, told me in confidence that he had rea-
on to believe he had been re-embodied nine
cen times on this planet alone, and that in
ne of his embodiments he had been a great
french military man.
! know a woman whose friends believe her
O ha ge been an anchorite in some previous
xistence Traces of grim asceticism are
I'LL noticeable in her IL she were told to
b Jose between a bed of rose leaves and
,Iard, she would chose the board She de-
les herself bodily ease from a curious feel
NJ that she ought to which her reason
oesnt indorse. She makes every bit of toll
5 hard as possible, a.. hough she talks much
bout simplifying Ii e and labor.
Another woman thinks she was a man in
n existence Immediately preceding this, be-
auSe she doesn't care a cent for men; finds
impossible to love them, and is hored by
he socicty of the handsomest and best of
hem in an hour or less time.
And still another admits having been a
ossip and taIebearer in another life Dur
,g her childhood she would risk breaking
er neck any tim. to be the first to tell some
hing ON somebody. However interesting il
10 surmise what our previous lives were, it
still more interesting to shape out our
Iture lives. According to the Buddhist.c
leory we can be what we wish TO be We
re creating our future lives now. In truth,
lat is a law which fultills itself even in this
orld, as StOnewall Jackson, who believed
|, it demonstrated. Emerson also believed
lat every man could possess what he wished
possess if he would only pay the price.
Not every one who believes in re-embodi- s
ent of spirit is Buddhist People of all
.ligions and of no religion take 10 it, at /
ast Just now when it seems TO be the vogue, !
is gratifying to the ego; il makes every
an his own ancestor, and ranks him in the
after of age and experience equal with the !
dest and wiseSt One of the chief allure
ents of this theory is that 1t makes no man q
der than the youngest infant, except in this I
,und of life. 1t cOnsoes the old, for it '
'omises them youth over again. | talked q
it'll one of its strongest adherents the other 4
VA man whose opinion on all subjects |
,rtai.ing To the mundane welfare Of man T
nd is honOred l asked him what was the S
rongest point he could make in favor Of l
e re-embodiment theory. i
The justice of it," he answered. at is a
e only plan which promises absolute JUS a
. TO every hdman being and makes each C
sponsible for himself | believe that we
e the creatures of centuries, of cycles, of 8
illions AMI millions of ages We have al s.
avs a future before us greater than the q
st Our blunders can be retrieved, our &
Is atoned for, our longings realized. We Il
all reap we have sown, and, mark you,
is belief makes US exceedingly particular
the sowing II | were to play the tyrant
ID oppressor here l truly believe that in
y next embodiment | should pay the pen IL
~ by being miserable serf and | should :
sarVa il too q.