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Old 02-17-2004, 04:36 PM   #7
MithrandirOlorin
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Pipe Gandalf's reincarnation?

From the chapter The White Rider. "Naked I was sent back - for a brief time, until my task is done."

From the chapter Homeward Bound. "My time is over: it is no longer my task to set things to right, nor to help folk do so."

It is interesting to me the fact that people generally consider Gandalf's event as a reincarnation, when in fact he "resurrected". Reincarnation is the notion of dying and being born again, in a different new body. Resurrection is when somebody dies but comes back to life in his same body. I think that's why he said that he was "sent back". Also, keep in mind that reincarnation involves the process of being born, which means that your body must be born from another body.

I feel this is crucial, since this is not the case for any maia that looses for former body and gets another. Sauron lost his body after being thrown down by Gil-galad and Elendil, and he had to spend some time to develop another body (I cannot consider this as reincarnation). Gandalf, on the other hand, returned to his body.

Now, if you check appendix B it says that the Istari "were messengers sent to contest the power of Sauron, and to unit all those who had the will to resist him; but they were forbidden to to match his power with power, or to seek to dominate Elves or Men by force or fear."

Basically, the task of every istar was to unite the people of Middle Earth, in order to help them defeat Sauron, but they were not allowed to fight Sauron with power. This "power" dilemma was the reason of Saruman's change, and his final doom.

Gandalf, unlike the other istari, remained faithful to his task, and I guess that is the reason of his resurrection. He proved faithful to Ilúvatar, instead of being corrupted, or changing his fate to another thing (like Radagast).

At the end he says why his task is over, and we can easily conclude that it is because Sauron's power has been diminished and he is non longer a threat to Middle Earth.

I do not think that Gandalf should continue to "reincarnate", simply because of two things: (1) he never reincarnated, (2) his nature is that of the ainur, speciafically from the order of the maiar, which are not beings from Arda.

Being a maia, and being his task fulfilled, he was no longer needed in Middle Earth, and maybe he might need to take care of other tasks he probably had in Valinor.
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