Talk:The Doctrine of Rebirth & the Spiritual Potential of Children: Perspectives from Āyurveda

By Vishal Agarwal

Interestingly, the embryology and parturition sections of ancient medical (‘Ayurvedic’) texts also argue in favor of the philosophy of rebirth from various perspectives and then give a more ‘material’ or concrete basis for the development of and ‘retention’ of spiritual traits in infants and children.

According to these texts, life commences immediately after conception, when the Ātman is enveloped by a ‘subtle body’ (that includes the mind and subtle forms of sense organs and impressions of karm of previous lives) enters the fertilized egg. In the third or the fourth month, the embryo becomes ‘alive’ or ‘conscious’ but is not an individual yet because its own experiences and feelings are dependent on that of the mother (and vice versa to some extent). The exchange of emotions between the mother and the embryo takes place through the umbilical cord, which is why the texts urge that all the wishes and cravings of a pregnant woman must be fulfilled. In the fifth month, the fetus is endowed with a mind, and in the sixth with a sense of cognition. In other words, the personality of a child starts developing (over and above the personality inherited from prior births) in the embryonic state itself, and he does not have to wait for his physical birth to experience the sensations of the outer world. It's also suggested that the expectant mother must listen to recitations of sacred texts and religious hymns to enhance virtue and spirituality in the growing embryo.