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                Karma is the universal, immutable law which adjusts effects to causes. The law of karma is stated in the Bible this way: “Whatsoever a man soweth, that also he shall reap.” In other words, whatever you do will come back to you like a boomerang. If you do evil, you will suffer evil in return and if you do good, then good will come to you.

There is no escaping the law of karma. Each thought, emotion, or action has its corresponding effect or consequence. And karma merely adjusts these effects to their causes. Edgar Cayce defines karma as simply “meeting one’s self,” meaning that we meet the consequences of our actions, either in this lifetime or in the next. Karma, therefore, is the universal mechanism by which we confront our own soul. Reincarnation is for the most part, governed by the law of karma.

The beauty about the doctrine of reincarnation (and of course, the law of karma) is that it places the responsibility for our destiny, for our happiness or sorrow, directly upon our shoulders. No longer can we blame God, our parents, society nor our enemies for our suffering. We realize that these are all our just deserts for things done, or left undone, in our past lives. Nothing happens by chance alone. Realizing that there is no way by which we think we can escape this law, we shall do well to think only positive things and to do only such things that will result in good karma.

The ancient masters and the great mystics knew this when they declared that, “Each man is absolutely his own law-giver, the decreer of his own good or ill.”

It is the law of karma that the following passage in the occult classic, Light on the Path alluded to:

“Each man is to himself absolutely the way, the truth, and the life. But he is only so when he grasps his whole individuality firmly, and by the force of his awakened spiritual will, recognizes this individuality as not himself, but that thing which he was with pain created for his own use and by means which he proposes, as his growth slowly develops his intelligence, to reach out to the life beyond individuality.”

Certain mystics and writers of esoteric wisdom believe that we even choose the place and time of our birth and even our parents. So we cannot say that we did not choose to be born, because we did.

How does it happen?

According to certain mystical sects, after death, we go into a state of existence called the astral plane, which has several sub-planes, and we stay on that plane compatible with our degree of soul evolution or consciousness. Upon entering that plane, we are assisted by spirit helpers in evaluating the life on earth which we have just left. Out of this evaluation, we learn the causes and effects of all our actions. There will be a panoramic review of all that we did on earth – our spiritual weaknesses and strengths, our concern for others or lack of it, our injustices or ill will towards others, etc.

After we have pondered on all these things, we shall choose either to come back to earth to learn our lesson and meet the consequences of our actions, or stay for a while on the astral plane to rest or help others on that plane. Once we choose to reincarnate, we shall seek those conditions and circumstances that will best support our soul growth and learning.

We should not take seriously those who claim they were famous personages in the past. Edgar Cayce says the chances of one’s having been an important historical personage in the past is less than one per cent. And the fact that one was a famous individual before does not mean he is spiritually evolved. Neither is it always an advantage to have been associated with well-known names of the past. IN fact, in one case, Cayce pointed out that the person asking for a reading slipped spiritually when he was a well-known figure of the past era. One thing more, the Cayce readings showed these famous individuals to be less admirable than what history has pictured them to be. They were merely human beings struggling with the same problems ordinary mortals are faced with.

Despite the fact that the doctrine of reincarnation is very reasonable and logical, many people cannot accept it because we have no memory, it seems, of our past lives.

Actually, the soul never forgets. It remembers al its past incarnations. These are hidden in our subconscious. But our conscious minds do not normally have awareness of such things, because otherwise, we may not learn our lesson.

Our lives always have a purpose. When it is time for a person to know the truth about his past, if knowledge of it will help in his spiritual development, then such a fact will be made known to him. Otherwise, it is best left hidden. Most people cannot accept the fact that they have been for instance, a criminal, a traitor or a prostitute in a previous lifetime. For most, it will not do them any good to find out. Once they are ready to face reality, however, the past will gradually be revealed to them.

Sometimes, the revelation comes through meditation, during sleep in dreams, or when in a place that was significant to the entity in a past life. Still, others are made known through the instrumentality of psychics or mediums. But to force knowledge of one’s past life through artificial means like drugs, hypnosis or similar techniques, is not advisable unless done under expert guidance because of their possible dangers.

Objections to Reincarnation

Academicians and scholars in traditional universities usually shy away from a serious study of reincarnation. But not Dr. Ian Stevenson, former chairman of the Department of Neurology and Psychiatry at the University of Virginia. After meticulously tracing and documenting reported cases of spontaneous recall of past lives in the early 60s, he finally selected and published 20 of them in a book entitled Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation. Now a classic in its field, the book is a product of careful and systematic research into a once-mystical subject. It does not prove reincarnation, but suggests the possibility that we may have indeed lived before.

Many questions still remain unanswered with respect to this subject. If reincarnation were true, ask many people, then why can’t we remember our past lives? Why is the population growing is individuals are merely being replaced by those who have gone before? Why should I be punished for a wrongdoing somebody else may have committed in the past?

Allow me to summarize my reply to these questions:

It is not exactly correct to say we do not remember our past lives. We do, for the soul never forgets. We are the sum total of what we have been in the past. During hypnosis, we can recall many details of past lives that we never thought we had. Many psychiatrists and hypnotherapists have regressed thousands of individuals over the past 15 or 20 years with amazing results. In many of these cases, certain phobias and even physical ailments found in the present life were traced to some traumatic events in a previous life or lives.

An Eastern master once explained that the reason our past lives are not easily recalled is to ease our burden and enable us to work out our karma more objectively.

Why is the population growing is reincarnation is true? Shouldn’t population figures remain static?

According to one school of esoteric thought, God created simultaneously billions of souls at one time. These souls await the formation of a physical body or vehicle on earth to inhabit. That’s the reason population grows. Not all persons you find on earth have had previous lives. Some are newly incarnated souls.

Suppose a person is born with a serious physical handicap, for example, blindness, why should he be punished for something somebody else did in the past?

The point here is that no one is punished for a wrongdoing done by another person, unless his Karma is linked with that of another. In the first place, the words “punishment” and “reward” do not apply here. We are not punished for a wrongdoing we have done or rewarded for a good deed in the past. The laws of karma simply adjust effects to their rightful causes. Therefore, one is merely meeting the natural consequences, or effects of one’s actions in the past.

Although he may now occupy a different physical body and even change sex from one life time to another and although he may not have conscious awareness of his previous lifetimes, the entity inhabiting his present body is the same one who had committed the transgressions in the past. In other words, it is still essentially the same soul who committed the act, not somebody else. SO it must also be him who should suffer the consequence of that act.

The laws of karma are exact. Nothing ever happens to us that we do not truly deserve. Reincarnation is essentially a karmic consequence, i.e. a result of choices one freely made. But reincarnation cannot be proved to the satisfaction of everyone

 

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