Yoga, science, and the continuity of consciousness: Toward a trans-materialist psychology

Abstract

Background: The contemporary secularization of Yoga, understood as the excision of its metaphysical foundations to render the tradition acceptable to Western empirical materialism, has produced a conceptual lacuna in the study of psychological development. Reductionist frameworks dismiss Karma and Rebirth (saṃsāra) as culturally contingent myths; yet such dismissal risks a category error, applying descriptive physical criteria to what is fundamentally a normative and axiological system. Methods: This study employs a qualitative, interdisciplinary philosophical methodology integrating systematic conceptual analysis, critical literature review, and cross-traditional comparative philosophy. Sources include classical Indian texts in established scholarly translations, contemporary literature in consciousness science and quantum information theory, and empirical research on claimed past-life memories. Findings: The analysis shows that Karma and Rebirth may be understood as rational postulates of moral equilibrium and mental continuity, fulfilling a regulative function structurally analogous to Kant's postulates of practical reason. The Yogic constructs of cit (consciousness as ontologically primary) and saṃskāras (cognitive imprints that may be modelled as informational states) are shown to be consonant with, though not proven by, findings in quantum physics concerning the observer effect and the conservation of information. Critical review of the empirical literature on past-life memory and associated biological correlates reveals prima facie evidence that, while beset by methodological limitations, resists straightforward dismissal. These findings are limited by the speculative status of the quantum-informational analogy, the methodological weaknesses of past-life research, and the divergence between Buddhist and Pātañjala accounts of the self. Conclusion: The multi-life framework provides a philosophically coherent architecture for moral agency, long-term character development, psychological resilience, and collective social responsibility, functions which, it is hypothesized, single-lifetime models address less fully. Reclaiming these doctrines in academically rigorous form opens a productive trajectory toward what this paper terms Trans-Materialist Psychology. Novelty/Originality of this article: This paper offers a systematic integration, not previously attempted in the literature reviewed, of Yogic and Buddhist accounts of the mental continuum with Kantian practical philosophy, quantum information theory, and contemporary consciousness science, grounding Karma and Rebirth as foundational constructs of a trans-materialist psychology.