Heredity, Predispositions from Past Lives and the Spiritual Path

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In his play Hamlet, William
Shakespeare has the protagonist

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proclaim there are more things
in heaven and earth, Horatio,

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than are dreamt of in your
philosophy, particularly in the

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West, anything that references
the possibility of past lives,

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inherited memories or capacities
or experiences is treated with

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disdain and disbelief.
For the most part, the

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materialist mindset does not
recognize the existence of the

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soul, the process of rebirth as
a mechanism for the growth and

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development of the soul, or any
mechanism that is not directly

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tied to material processes that
can be scientifically evidenced.

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In recent times, the science of
genetics has begun to recognize

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physical hereditary factors.
And if we add into this element

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of nature the support and
education of parents and the

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social setting, in other words,
nurture, the materialists now

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can recognize many traits that
seem to carry forward from one

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generation to the next.
What is missing here, however,

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is an explanation for those
cases that do not rely on

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physical heredity or the
education, training and

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encouragement provided by the
social framework of the family,

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the schools, the peers, and the
social forces of the time.

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Such cases exist.
The case of prodigies such as

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Mozart are frequently raised in
such discussions.

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How can a 5 year old child write
music or begin a Grand Tour of

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Europe performing before royalty
at the age of 6 and write his

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first Symphony at the age of 8
if there is no predisposition

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brought in from a past lifetime?
Materialists have their

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explanation of course that
certain mental, vital and pre

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physical predispositions based
in genetic inheritance provide a

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basis and the education of the
child by the father who was

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himself a musician and composer
make this possible.

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There are, however, intriguing
cases that do not provide both

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the parental predisposition and
the parental training that

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Mozart received.
For example, the French composer

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Camis St.
Cien apparently had a musical

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aptitude to pick out tunes on
the piano already at age 2 and

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began composing at age 3, with
more sophisticated composition

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starting at age 5.
Alma Deutscher is a more modern

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example of a prodigy who began
piano at age 2, violin at age 3,

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and composed her first short
opera at age 7 and full opera at

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age 10.
She apparently claimed that the

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melody she composed came to her
in her dreams.

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It is not only in the field of
music, however, that we can see

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evidence of forces at work
beyond those that the

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materialist explanation will
succeed in covering.

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An individual by the name of
Terence Dow was already teaching

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older children spelling and
addition when he was just two

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years old.
By age 8, he achieved a high

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score on the SAT math section, a
test usually taken by

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individuals in their final year
of high school.

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The question of past lifetimes
becomes more intriguing when we

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study documented cases of young
children who can describe

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details of a past lifetime in
places they have never been and

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circumstances they could never
have experienced, and sometimes

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with languages they have never
been exposed to in their current

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young lifetime.
A substantial and documented

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study was undertaken at the
University of Virginia with a

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number of cases that included
mechanisms to eliminate possible

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alternative explanations.
One of the most well known

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examples of course is the
reincarnation of Tibetan lamas

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such as the Dalai Lama and the
method of identifying the reborn

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lama that acts as a filter to
prevent mistakes.

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Many people will jump from the
one extreme of non belief to the

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other extreme of absolute belief
in predestination and

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predetermination.
Yet Shrid Arrobindo and the

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mother have added another
element to this discussion,

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which is the evolution of
consciousness and the conscious

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choice of the awakened soul.
The stars, if you will, may

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provide a predisposition but do
not control entirely the destiny

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of the awakened soul.
This provides a method for both

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a foundation and an evolutionary
growth.

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In some cases we may even
recognize, as the Tibetan Book

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of the Dead asserts, that the
soul at the time of death can

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remain conscious and avoid
falling into negative or useless

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births, and in some cases can
choose a birth that will carry

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on the direction and aspiration
of the soul into the next

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lifetime.
Generally, the soul does not

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bring along all the baggage of
the details of the past birth,

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but brings with it the essence
of that prior lifetime and

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experience so that progress can
be made without having to start

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all over again from the
beginning in each new birth.

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While this may provide a
foundation for progress, past

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habits or samskaras may carry
over and create limitations and

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obstacles for the spiritual
practitioner to recognize and

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overcome, Sri Orbindo observes.
Quote.

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It is true that we bring most of
ourselves, or rather most of our

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predispositions, tendencies of
reaction to the universal nature

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from past lives.
Heredity only effects strongly

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the external being.
Besides, all the effects of

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heredity are not accepted even
there, only those that are in

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consonance with what we are to
be or not preventative of it at

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least.
End Quote reference.

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Sri Aurobindo, Bases of Yoga
Chapter 5.

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Physical consciousness,
subconscience, sleep and dream

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illness.
Age 90.