How We Remember Our Past Lives (Old Edition)

By Curuppumullage Jinarājadāsa (1875–1953).

74 Pages | First Edition 1915, 1st - 6th reprints 1921 - 1970, 7th reprint 1990 | Softcover | The Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN: 8170591554.

'To the Captain of our Salvation, in Fulfilment of a Promise, Full Moon of Chaitra, 1912'.

Among the many ideas, which have lightened the burden of men, one of the most serviceable has been of Reincarnation. It not only explains why one man is born in the lap of luxury and another in poverty, why one is a genius and another an idiot, but it holds out the hope that, as men now reap what they have sown in the past, so in future lives the poor and the wretched of today shall have what they lack, if so they work for it, and that the idiot may, life after life, build up a mentality, which in far-off days may flower as a genius.

When the idea of reincarnation is heard of for the first time, the student naturally supposes that it is a Hindu doctrine, for it is known to be a fundamental part of both Hinduism and Buddhism. But the strange fact is that reincarnation is found everywhere as a belief, and its origin cannot be traced to Indian sources.

From Chapter - 'The Law of Renunciation'(p. 56):

" I saw my Lady weep,
And Sorrow proud to be advanced so
In those fair eyes where all perfections keep.
Her face was full of woe;
But such woe (believe me) wins more hearts
Than Mirth can do with her enticing parts,
Sorrow was there made fair,
Passion wise; tears a delightful thing;
Silence beyond all speech a Wisdom rare.
She made her sighs to sing.
And all things with so sweet a sadness move
As made my heart at once both grieve and love. "